7 Ways to Screen Potential Candidates Online

7 Ways to Screen Potential Candidates Online There are many terms for it in the corporate recruiting world: data mining, identity research, online  screening  or social recruiting. No matter the term, more than 90 percent of employers say they  use social media to find employees. For most employers, this online screening is an important part of their due diligence using public  information posted by the candidates themselves. If you, like most employers, are planning on looking  into the Internet presence of your potential hires, here are a few ways to make sure you do it right. 1. Start With a Search You may be surprised just how much information you can find with a Google search, but it would be  your first step when digging into a potential employee. Of course, a search can become clouded with  results if a candidate has a common name, so dig a bit deeper into their resume to cross-reference employment claims, association membership or volunteer work. Google can supply a wealth of  information if you can target your search properly. Opening a Google Alert on each of your candidates’  names can provide ongoing monitoring throughout the application and interview process. 2. Don’t Wait to Check Their Profiles If you want to get an accurate view of a candidate’s social media profile, it is important to be  proactive. Start researching them before your first contact to arrange an interview or call. Though  they are actively searching for jobs, many candidates can be short-sighted in regards to their online  personas, only cleaning them up once they know someone is interested. However, a 2010 Technisource  study showed that 50 percent of applicants would not change or delete content from their profiles,  even if they knew a potential employer would be checking their page. 3. Look for Repetitive Behavior, Not Isolated Incidents Taken on their own, some pictures or status updates should not immediately invalidate an applicant.  It’s important to be realistic about employee behavior. Look beyond occasional images and posts to  see if the applicant has a personality or sense of humor that would fit with your company. Only if the  candidate shows a pattern of objectionable behavior should you consider losing their application. 4. Find Candidates Who Build a Brand While too many potential employees may torpedo their job hopes with inappropriate pictures, political  rants or dubious associations, just as many will be responsible administrators of their online persona.  These candidates will be readily identifiable with even modest digging. Here are a few things to look for  on major social networks: Facebook â€" Look for candidates who share content related to their industry, rather than updates  about where they partied last night. Even better, just stick to the Info Page to get a sense of how  the candidate portrays themselves. This might not show you who is a party animal, but it will  help you avoid some ethical and legal gray areas. LinkedIn â€" LinkedIn should be every recruiter’s dream. Many people will use it just to share their  job status and resumes, but with the wide range of discussion forums and online networking  tools, LinkedIn makes it easy to identify candidates who are engaged in the industry and looking  to advance. Of all the social networks, searching LinkedIn should give the clearest snapshot of  what sort of employee a candidate might be. Twitter â€" Twitter gives much more visibility for online screening, and it can say a lot about  any candidate. While Facebook pictures can tell you a lot about someone, how a candidate  interacts with a global audience can be more telling. Look for people who engage positively and  intelligibly with people and companies. 5. Don’t Penalize Responsible Candidates It can be tempting to respond negatively to prospective employees who have their online presence so  locked-down (or nonexistent) that you can’t find any information on them. Is this candidate too good to  be true or just hiding something? More often than not, it just means that the candidate is a responsible  manager of their online presence. Negativity bias is a natural thing for recruiters who are denied information, but a potential employee  who is responsible enough to tend their social media will probably make a responsible employee.  Rather than penalizing employees who show little information, dig into the information they have  provided. Call their references, dig through their contacts on LinkedIn and prepare some extra questions  for an interview. 6. Be Consistent With Your Screening While these public online searches may not be as regulated as a background check, employers should  still be careful with what they find. It’s easy to discriminate with information found online, especially  since people willingly provide so much through social media. Make sure that you are only screening  candidates to see if they would be an appropriate fit for your company culture and work ethic. It is  much harder for a candidate to prove discrimination occurred following an online search, but creating  inconsistent screening methods is an easy way to land in hot water. 7. Follow Up With Candidates Finally, don’t let your screening be the end of the story. If a candidate looks like a great employee on  paper, don’t let a few online indiscretions rule them out. Follow up on their interests and passions in an  interview and ask for reasonable clarification of any concerns you may have. Cara Barone is the Social Media Marketing Manager at Kforce, a provider of staffing and solutions. Cara  also manages Knowledge Employed, a career advice blog for job hunters, seasoned employees and  hiring managers. Follow her on Twitter: @CaraBarone

Top 4 Elements to Include in Employee Health Benefits

Top 4 Elements to Include in Employee Health Benefits When was the last time you reviewed the range of medical benefits provided to your employees? Provincial health plans are excellent, but there are still some areas where your employees could use some extra support. Being the type of business owner you happen to be, taking proper care of your employees matters. Spend some time today reviewing the current health benefits and make sure these four elements are present. A Health Spending Account Health spending accounts work very well in tandem with employee health insurance as well as provincial health coverage. Essentially, these directed plans provide the funds needed to pay any out of pocket expenses associated with the different treatments covered in those insurance plans. The funds are kept on tap and can be drawn upon when needed. They can be helpful just about any time, but they are particularly helpful if an employee needs some type of prolonged medical care and the health insurance does not cover all the expenses. Coverage for Alternative Medical Treatments What happens if your employee believes some alternative treatment would help with an ailment, but that treatment is not covered by the health insurance currently in place? Do you really want the employee to settle for a less effective treatment that is covered? Of course not. It is possible to secure a health plan that will cover what other types of coverage does not. That means if your employee believes a treatment like acupuncture would help with a condition, the resources are there to help with the costs. Prescription and Vision Coverage Perhaps some additional health insurance employee benefits solutions for things like prescription medications or a new pair of glasses or contact lenses is in order. You certainly want employees to take whatever medicine they need. As it relates to vision coverage, employees who can use glasses or contact lenses to enjoy a higher level of visual acuity will certainly manage their assigned tasks with greater ease. Remember the benefits aren’t just about covering the cost of a new pair of glasses or making sure a prescription filled. The benefits also apply to vision examinations, consultants with pharmacists, and other matters directly related to these two forms of medical care. Benefits for Catastrophic Events What if a medical emergency required critical care for an extended period of time? Would the benefits already in place be sufficient to cover the expenses? If the answer is no, something must be done. By looking at ways to enhance the current health benefits offered through the company, you ease the stress that would interfere with the recovery process. An employee who can focus on getting better will be back to work sooner than later. Does your assessment of the current health benefits offered confirm that you could do better? If so, today is the day to talk with a provider who can help. Take your list of issues you want to discuss and find out what that provider can do. You may be surprised at how easy and cost-effective it is to offer more to your employees and ensure they really do have adequate coverage.

How to Network Like Crazy

How to Network Like Crazy Today I had a chat with the popular career blogger and speaker Tim Tyrell-Smith. He shared his insights on interviews, social media for job seekers and how to network like mad to get results. What is your day job Tim? My current daytime role is vice president of marketing for a food company located just north of San Diego, CA What is your background? I have been a marketing guy my whole career specializing in product and brand management. I started my career with Nestle and continued with smaller, more entrepreneurial companies in the food, computer and automotive industries. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area (California, USA), got an undergraduate degree in English and then completed an MBA a few years later. I now live in Mission Viejo, CA with my wife and three kids. Tell us about your blog Tim’s Strategy? I started Tim’s Strategy (originally called spin strategy) in September, 2008. It was about 7 months after completing my own job search. I have always loved to write and combined that with my desire to give back to the local community. So I started sharing my strategy and ideas to help others through their own journey. I brought to life and shared the tools and templates I used to prepare me for interviews. Or to otherwise get my search organized and efficient. Those are all available on the free downloads page. I also have a career expert directory and my Watchlyst (a tool to keep track of the needs of my network). And much more on the way! What’s the Tru Focus resumes and cover letters? I launched the TruFocus templates a few weeks ago because I saw so many people struggling with their resume and CV format. Too many pages, poorly written accomplishments and no key data in the top 1/3 of page one. The original resume template post includes a tutorial to walk you through each section. A few weeks later, readers started asking about the cover letter. While I am not a big fan of cover letters (they often are not read and can be a negative if poorly written), I wrote a similar post and template. And I freely share my versions of both templates with anyone who asks. How important are resumes and cover letters? They are becoming increasingly less important with the growth of social media and networking. But they are still (at least in the US) a required document asked for by everyone in the hiring process. More and more, job seekers are being found on LinkedIn, XING and other social media sites in advance of the job seeker applying for a job. So since you need one, it is crucial that they quickly get your relevant experience, strengths and accomplishments across to the hiring manager. Should job seekers rely on recruiters or go it alone? Recruiters should be a part of the job search strategy, yes. But relying too much on recruiters or any other resource is a poor choice. It is said that recruiters represent only 8-12% of the available jobs. The percentage is higher at the executive level. My strategy: get your resume or CV in front of them, follow-up from time to time and then wait. If a new search matches your experience, they will call you. Any more communication and you risk becoming a nuisance. What are you top 3 interviewing tips? 1. Be yourself. If someone hires the real you, it will likely make for a successful job for years to come. If you try to be someone else to get the job, you may find yourself unhappy in the job or out on the street looking for another role sooner than you’d like. 2. Tell great stories. Everyone likes a great story. Full of rich details, passion and energy. With good stories, you capture the attention of the interview team and give them a good reason to support your candidacy. 3. Be prepared. That way you can walk into the interview room relaxed and ready. Ready to discuss your relevant experience. Prepared to talk with specifics about the challenges your target company is facing in the market. And confident enough to deliver a strong first impression. With a smile. Where should a job seeker be seen online? The answer is “everywhere”. And I’m afraid that if you are nervous about your personal information being online, you need to change your way of thinking. You should have a profile on LinkedIn, Monster, Google, Facebook, Twitter and other relevant sites in your part of the world or industry. And include a nice, professional looking picture. It is absolutely essential that you be visible and with a strong, well-written summary, key strengths and work history. People are being found online now more than ever. Is social media a big waste of time? Sounds like a trick question  Of course not! But like any other activity in job search, it needs to be managed. Four hours on Twitter or Facebook can go by very quickly. And can be very ineffective if not done as part of a plan. You can use social media to build new relationships with target companies, recruiters, career coaches and even us friendly bloggers. It is a big part of the way networking happens today. And can be a great way to build on a relationship from a networking event. What is the biggest tip you would give to job seekers today? Get out of the house and network like crazy. Anywhere from 60-70 percent of the job leads are first found while networking. And many of the people you meet can provide introductions to key employees at a target company. Much better than hoping that your resume will catch the employer’s eye on its own. At least half of the job seekers I meet with each week are not networking enough. Instead they are relying upon old methods (resume blasting and job boards). They are wasting valuable time. What is one thing people can do for you? You know I really appreciate a referral. If someone likes what I write or has success with a template, tool or e-book I’ve created, sharing with others is greatly appreciated. What has Tim got in the pipeline? I am really excited about what is coming next for Tim’s Strategy. First, I am days away from the launch of a brand new logo and website re-design. Second, I have a number of really fun speaking events coming up here in Southern California. And third, I just launched my third e-book (this one on the benefit of taking action on your ideas). Further down the road I hope to get a book published the old-fashioned way and to move aggressively into digital media to deliver my ideas (podcasts and videos). Final word of wisdom? Since you can’t reasonably look for a job 12 hours a day, I’d love to encourage everyone to find time for two things during transition. First, help others. And, in so doing, build a lifelong network. One that cares about you and will be there when you need them. Second, take advantage of this period of your life. Spend quality time with family and friends. Tackle a few big projects in life (run a marathon, learn to play guitar, write that novel). And, if you have one, pursue a dream. Be sure to check out our follow-up interview with Tim: Looking for a new job? Get out of the house! Tim Tyrell-Smith is the founder of Tim’s Strategy: Ideas for Job Search Career and Life, a fast growing blog and website. Tim is also the author of: 30 Ideas. The Ideas of Successful Job Search. Download the book and other free tools at @TimsStrategy

Top 10 Facebook Fan Pages for Job Seekers

Top 10 Facebook Fan Pages for Job Seekers I don’t know about you, but I get Fan Page suggestions sent to me on Facebook every day. From Cheryl Cole to sausage rolls, everyone’s got one nowadays. If you are a job seeker or just take an active interest in your career there are a few good Pages you should consider joining. I have listed what I think is the top 10 in careerland, the titles are hyperlinked to the respective Fan Pages on Facebook. 1. Career Savvy Heather E. Coleman keeps us posted on career trends via networking, personal branding and social media. Lots of articles from different sources to sink your teeth into. 2. About.com Job Searching Alison Doyle writes and compiles interesting articles on job search. Don’t miss the wall photo of her dog Ollie with no less than 3 tennis balls in his mouth. 3. Tim’s Strategy Tim Tyrell-Smith shares his great ideas on job search, career and life. Good level of interaction between Tim and his loyal subjects here. 4. Expat Coach Megan Megan is an American in Italy and unlike the Talented Mr. Ripley, she helps expats with personal branding, careers and chasing their dreams worldwide. 5. Punk Rock HR Laurie Ruettimann describes herself as a self-deprecating Human Resources professional and this Page is for anyone interested in the intricacies behind the iron curtain that is HR (recruiters pay attention!). 6.  Personal Branding Guy The personal branding guru of the Middle East, Mohammed Al-Taee keeps us all very up to date on any Personal Branding, Career and Social Media news out there. 7. Keppie Careers Miriam Salpeter shares her insights on important and timely career search strategies. Why it’s called Keppie I don’t know but I am sure she will enlighten us one day. 8. Windmill Networking Neal Schaffer is a networking guru based in California. His Windmill Networking strategies are very applicable to careers and other aspects of your professional life. 9. Wise Man Say Hung Lee is a fellow Englishman as well as the Wise Man of careers. His Page is a job search guide for the Web 2.0 era. 10. The Undercover Recruiter This is what you call a shameless self plug. If you are joining the others, you have to join this as well according to international law. Final words If you choose to join all of these Fan Pages, be prepared for a barrage of articles coming up on your home feed on Facebook. If you are not comfortable with this, you can always hide the feed from the Pages you don’t think are that relevant or you can easily unsubscribe. Heres more on how to use Facebook for your job networking. What great Fan Pages in the career space should be included for the update? Image: Shutterstock

What Does An Engineering Manager Do

What Does An Engineering Manager Do More likely than not, you got into engineering for the opportunity to build things â€" Computer software, bridges, spaceships, medical equipment . Engineers get the rare professional opportunity to see their creations come to life before their eyes. Unlike other careers, engineering applies math and logic to produce something the world desperately needs. Why would you ever give that up?You might change your mind after learning about engineering management. Like engineers, engineering managers get to contribute to the creation of necessary structures with the bonus of a pay raise and a more impressive title. In most engineering fields, there are few opportunities for advancement â€" unless you head to management. Therefore, you might consider the pros and cons of moving into management during your engineering career.1. Putting Fingers in Many Engineering Project PiesevalAs an engineer, you are lucky to work on a few projects every year. While you might be able to devote yourself entir ely to a single problem, working until a viable solution is found, the fact is that your impact is severely limited by your restricted time and effort.Conversely, engineering managers have the opportunity to work on dozens of projects at once. Managers tend to supervise multiple teams, allowing them to advise on several projects throughout the year. After completing an online engineering program, you’ll be prepared to organize projects rather than simply carry them out; engineering managers will plan timelines, set budgets, and direct individual workers.2. Finally Understanding Exactly What Clients WantClients tend to be exceedingly specific in regards to their needs, but engineers hardly ever meet them face-to-face. Instead, clients’ desires are filtered through dozens of administrators, eventually finding themselves in engineers’ inboxes with little explanation to guide the project. Dealing with clients’ needs without the opportunity to meet with clients is frustrating and exhausting.As an engineering manager, you are responsible for meeting with clients, which means you can ensure that your team is never confused by garbled client instructions.Engineering managers are present at initial client meetings and are integral in reviewing initial project specifications, so you can be certain from the get-go that your team can give clients what they want.3. Giving Advice to Youngsters Like a Sage EngineerDue to the stability of the career, many young people are diving head-first into engineering. You might not remember the insecurity and bewilderment of your first few years as a working engineer, but you can see it plainly on the newcomers’ faces.Fortunately, as an engineering manager, you are in the perfect position to mentor and help young engineers become confident and competent at their jobs. Managers function as resources for their teams; you are experienced and educated enough to provide advice to any and all engineers who step into your office.4. A pplying Soft Skills Like Never BeforeevalEngineers are rarely known for their empathy. It is a running joke that engineers don’t write or speak particularly well, and engineers tend to avoid especially creative endeavors that don’t also employ strict, cold logic. In short, soft skills are not many engineers’ strong points.Yet, if you take pride in your emotional intelligence, your effective communication strategies, and your creative problem-solving abilities, you might feel at home in an engineer management position.All managers are principally focused on people â€" engaging them, motivating them, etc. â€" which requires proficiency in many soft skills, but engineer managers must also use hard rationality to work with and alongside engineers.5. Finally Getting Input on the Project BudgetsevalOften, engineers must move mountains with barely enough cash to shovel gravel. To make money, most engineering firms keep budgets tight, which severely restricts how engineers design and build. It causes many engineers to wonder who, exactly, is in charge of creating projects’ financial plans.The answer, in part, is you, the engineer manager. Armed with information regarding expected expenses, you meet with other business and engineering leaders to create viable budgets for departments and teams. Thus, engineering managers can restructure budgets if they are prohibiting innovation to clients’ detriment.6. Earning What You Are Rightfully OwedEngineers are responsible for advancing civilization, and for that, they are paid better than most professionals. Still, many engineers feel their salaries do not match the time and effort they put into their jobs.This is generally not true of engineer managers, whose median salaries hover around $132,800 â€" a potential increase of at least $50,000, depending on your engineering specialty. If nothing else, the salary of an engineer manager should convince you to take a step up the career ladder.

Summary Sunday The new workplace, Twitter and Google+

Summary Sunday The new workplace, Twitter and Google+ Summary Sunday is a collection of posts from this week Ive found and shared.   I attempt to put them in some sort of related order to make a point or help increase your level of awareness and knowledge.   I hope you find these posts as helpful as I did! The new workplace If I had one wish this week (today) for every person employed today, it would be to understand the messages in this post (with videos) from GigaOm in the interview with John Hagel. He is cited as one of the foremost thinkers on technology and its impact on the future of work. Hes also co-authored The Power of Pull. This post The Future of companies and the modern workforcewill help you understand where were heading and why! Part 1: The State of the Company Part 2: The Changing Corporate World Part 3: The Modern Workforce If you want to understand why there arent any jobs out there today and why big companies keep laying off and why YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR VIEWS today, please watch and listen! Twitter Chats for Job Seekers The other great post this week is from Tim Tyrell-Smith who posted this on On Careers. Twitter Chats for Job Seekers There are three popular Twitter chats specifically for job seekers.   To learn more about them, read this post. Theres been a lot written about Twitter chats.   Here are some more posts you may want to dive into for more information: How to use Twitter to find a job from Keppie Careers Secrets, Twitter Chat tools and JobHuntChat Anniversary from Blogging4Jobs What Twitter Chats can do for your Job Search from CareerRocketeer Tackling Twitter from Campus to Career Along this same line is an upcoming conference hosted by TweetMyJobs.   This is the first of its kind conference via Twitter.   Experts will be tweeting their career advice.   It is July 19th, so there is still time to register (free).   Follow the hashtag #jobs4us .   This is a link to the agenda! Google + I have been a bit distracted this week setting up my Google circles and trying to figure out how I might use this new social tool differently than I use LinkedIn and Twitter. Chris Voss created this helpful video on how to set up circlesfor those of you ready to give Google + a whirl. How to set up your circle of friends

Salary Transparency in the Job Hunt and On the Job -

Salary Transparency in the Job Hunt and On the Job - Have you heard the new tread in career-ology? Lisa Belkin of the New York Times recently wrote about it. Its called salary transparency, and the point is that everyone in an organization will know what everyone else in the organization earns. The thought is, if everyone is paid what he or she is worth, there is no need for workers to be secretive about salaries. A key point for job seekers, true transparency will offer more than one leg up when it comes to negotiating compensation. Some workers have always had salary transparency. Government workers salaries are public, as are many non-profit employee salaries. The JobBoard reminds us that there are a variety of tools to help workers learn what their jobs are worth, such as Salary.com and next-generation competitors like PayScale, GlassDoor and SalaryScout, [who] are taking things even further. Portfolio.com notes that actual salary transparency raises prickly privacy issues and lets rivals poach more easily (they know what to offer to snag desirable employees). However, the site also notes benefits of salary transparency: A fair compensation system based on actual performance. Employee understanding of the business (e.g., why payroll is usually the largest cost; why certain employees earn more). A culture of trust, as employees and senior managers share more information. Pay would not be a primary weapon in the fight for talent. Organizations could create a more collegial, open system with some salary transparency. Companies would be able to create a rigorous performance-based pay system. So, what do you think? Is it a good idea for everyone to know what everyone else earns? Would it encourage fairness in compensation? Or is it a train wreck? If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to keep up with workplace trends and help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you! You have no idea what youre worth? Cant even get your resume underway? Keppie Careers is here for you! Did you know we offer a resume consulting service? We advise, you write! Or, hire us to write your resume for you. Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com. photo by Tony Ciranjiiva