Manual data entry and repetitive admin tasks sit at the top of most recruiter’s day-to-day frustrations. In a recent survey by Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance 63% of recruiters listed their ‘worst nightmare’ as spending too much time on administrative tasks¹. A problem echoed in Sales roles, as highlighted in HubSpot’s 2014-2015 State of Inbound; Sales Edition Report, with over 20% of professionals highlighting data entry as their top CRM challenge².

According to Recruiting Intelligence an average of 1,000 individuals will view a recruiter’s job post, 200 will begin the application process, 100 will complete the process, 75 applicants will be screened out, with only 25 of the original 100 making it to the hiring managers desk³.

Numbers will obviously vary dependant on the industry, the core requirements, hiring manager’s expectations etc. but let’s work with these metrics from Recruitment Intelligence for the scenario outlined below.

Quality, up to date and accurate data is essential in successful recruitment, the best candidates to engage quickly are those already in your database. A complete and current candidate record enables placements to be made far more efficiently. With 100 CVs landing in a recruiter’s inbox for every open position a database of potential candidates for future positions can quickly be built up.

A complete candidate profile is comprised of:

• Ÿ Name
• Ÿ Contact details (including social media links)
• Ÿ Current position and work history (job title, responsibilities, duration of employment etc.)
• Ÿ Key skills
• Ÿ Education and professional development history
• Ÿ Positions sought (likely to be similar to the position they applied for…)
• Ÿ Salary expectations (likely to be similar to the position they applied for…)

Essentially almost all of the information required should be present in a candidates CV / application. The challenge is efficiently transferring the 100 applicants details into your recruitment software.

Having to copy and paste 100 names, contact details, work history etc. is a simple task but a time consuming one. If it only takes 60 seconds to create each candidate record a recruiter has still spent well over an hour and a half populating the database, not an efficient use of time. Within those 100 minutes a recruitment professional could have…

A task so intrinsic to recruitment such as the creation of candidate records has to be automated… which is where CV parsing comes in; the process of breaking information (CVs / applications) down into smaller chunks so that they can be transferred to a new destination (a database).

The ability to bulk upload CVs in seconds from Word documents, PDFs and emails will increase recruitment efficiency and the morale of sales employees as one of their biggest grievances is resolved.

With HRS’s built-in CV parsing technology candidate records are created and updated as new information is parsed into the system. If there is a duplicate then our intelligent automation alerts users of candidates already in the database. This helps keep vital candidate data clean and accurate.

Once the parse has been completed you have a useful, searchable record for open and future roles. In addition to parsing technology HRS’s formatted CV creator quickly generates client ready PDFs. This keeps a consistent brand across all of the CVs you send in addition to stripping out information that could be used by unscrupulous clients/ candidates, therefore preventing backdoor placements.

To view HRS CV parsing in action simply click play on the video:

If you want to see how HRS can help you find, engage and place more candidates schedule an online demo using the form below.

Sources:

1. HubSpot’s 2014-2015 State of Inbound; Sales Edition report:http://blog.hubspot.com/sales/manual-data-entry-is-salespeoples-chief-crm-complainthttp://offers.hubspot.com/state-of-inbound-sales-2014-2015
2. A recruiter’s worst nightmare. Hitachi Capital Invoice Research | Recruitment Grapevine: http://www.recruitmentgrapevine.com/article/2015-09-21-every-recruiters-worst-nightmare-revealed
3. Recruiting explained by the numbers| ERE, Recruitment Intelligencehttp://www.eremedia.com/ere/why-you-cant-get-a-job-recruiting-explained-by-the-numbers/

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In 2016, the age of social media, BIG data and increased competition what does it take to be a successful recruitment professional? Recruitment has evolved, today successful recruitment professionals are…

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The 2016 Recruitment Professional

Self-starters
Everyone in a target-based role will at some point go through a difficult spell, the ability to pick yourself up and keep pushing through the leaner spells is essential for a long and successful career in recruitment.

Social media gurus
A top recruiter knows that using social media to recruit involves far more than posting links to job adverts. Social recruiting is recruiting; the 2016 recruiter knows where their target audience is online and is actively joining in the conversation.

Communications experts
Communication is key to recruitment. Whether it is face-to-face, over the phone or through email it is vital the recruitment professional can develop lasting relationships with clients and candidates.

Tech lovers
Advances in technology have helped recruitment professionals find, engage and place more candidates. From ATS and CRM systems to social recruiting software, a top recruiter keeps on top of the latest recruitment tech developments.

Content creators
Relevant, quality content plays an increasingly important role in engaging candidates, particularly the passive candidate. The 2016 recruiter should be a confident, content creator and curator. Sharing industry news, tips, advice and more.

Sales experts
On-boarding new clients, negotiating fees, selling candidates to companies and companies to candidates, the role of a recruiter is still a sales position in most agencies. The 2016 recruiter is persuasive, understands buying signals and can manage a sales pipeline.

In the know
The 2016 recruiter knows their candidates and their target sectors. An IT recruitment consultant won’t have to develop a client’s website but they should know what differentiates a UI designer from a UX developer.

Not a 9 to 5 people
Recruitment doesn’t always adhere to the traditional working week. In order to connect with candidates, the 2016 recruiter is prepared to put time aside outside of 9-5. Passive candidates or those currently in work might need to be contacted before 9, during lunch or after work.

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It has been a year of growth for HRS thanks to all of our new and existing customers. May we take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See below for the HRS support hours over the festive period. If you have any questions email support@gethrs.com or call +44 (0)203 4755 775. We look forward to working together throughout 2016 and beyond.

• Thursday December 24^th – Skeleton support from midday
• Friday December 25^th – Closed
• Saturday December 26^th – Closed
• Sunday December 27^th – Closed
• Monday December 28^th – Closed
• Tuesday December 29^th – Skeleton support
• Wednesday December 30^th – Skeleton support
• Thursday December 31^st – Skeleton support
• Friday January 1^st – Closed
• Saturday January 2^nd – Closed
• Sunday January 3^rd – Closed
• Monday January 4^th – Full technical support

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Successful social recruiting is much more than bombarding potential candidates with job descriptions. Successful social recruiting builds a following of passive and active candidates, it helps sell what you do but more importantly why you do it. (Checkout Simon Sinek Ted Talk: Start with why?, if you haven’t before).

Using social tools in recruitment can help differentiate you from the competition, increase credibility and maximise the likelihood of placements by getting the right information in front of the right people.

In this blog I highlight some of the core components of successful social recruitment- by no means a complete guide; but a good starting point if you are looking to utilise social in your recruiting efforts.

Get everyone on board

Get everyone on the same page. Setting your stall and getting buy-in from staff is vital to the success of social recruitment. Start by creating a relevant Brand Guideline Document and a Social Media Usage Policy, it is important employees know what is acceptable and what isn’t when referencing your organisation online.

Use the documentation as a base to form training sessions, educate recruiters by going through example strategies, message templates and social recruitment workflows. Set time aside within your recruiter’s daily workload to utilise social media.

Useful links:

• HRS free downloads

Create great content

Relevant, useful content is a key component of successful social marketing and recruiting, particularly when engaging the passive candidate.

Social recruiting is much more than posting every open job advert out one after the other. Imagine the equivalent at a networking event; a recruiter spending the entire event repeatedly stating the open positions he/she is recruiting for, no questions or conversations initiated, just job, after job, after job… it wouldn’t take long for everyone in the room to start avoiding said recruiter.

The clue is in the title, social media is designed to be social. A large number of recruitment professionals forget normal social constructs when engaging in social media.

Mix job related content (example CVs, profiles etc.) with industry news, opinions, useful downloads and tips. Ask questions, share and respond to potential candidate social content. Be Social.

Take the time to plan and create relevant content with your target sectors in mind. If you work for a creative recruitment agency you should create content to engage, creative types. Why not collate and create:

• Blogs
• Info-graphics
• Video content
• Testimonials

Great web content will provide a base for social outreach and could even help with your search engine ranking (SEO).

Social profiles (look beyond the top 4)

Research your target audience and where they hang out online. The major social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter etc.) have a broad spectrum of users from almost all industries but there are niche communities that could be far more relevant.

Recruit for designers and art workers? Check out Tavern, Behance and Dribbble, three social networks dedicated to the creative sector.

Useful links:

• 20 Social networks for business professionals (Sitepoint)

Triggers, schedulers and newsletters

Social media content is of the moment, if you send a tweet or leave a comment you generally expect a response within a relatively short window of time.

When scheduling and distributing social content consider your availability, a quick response increases the chances of further engagement.

If you are driving traffic to a job advert or contact form make sure you have automated responses informing candidates of the next steps. Use automatic responses to manage expectations and inform candidates when you are likely to be in touch.

In addition to automated responses set up web forms so inbound enquiries are segmented by appropriate criteria (job type, interests, salary expectations etc.).

If a candidate applies for an engineering role update them with engineering related content. Keep them interested and connected with your organisation.

Hopefully this blog post provides some food for thought on getting started with social recruitment. If you want to find out how HRS can help you find, engage and place more candidates access your short introduction demonstration online today:
[contact-form-7]

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If you are looking to change recruitment software it is expected that a new system will help you find, engage and place more candidates. It should seamlessly manage the entire recruitment workflow, incorporating CRM, applicant tracking, social media and marketing tech. (If it doesn’t, why move?)

Working with recruitment businesses of all shapes and sizes we have found that taking on new recruitment software has helped recruitment professionals in ways they did not expect before making the move. Adopting new recruitment software provides a great opportunity to:

Review workflows
At its’ core recruitment still provides the same service, matching the right people with the right companies. However, the road to fulfilling this has changed significantly since the birth of recruitment due to changes in society and advances in tech.

Today social media, triggered events, data and analytics play an increasingly important role in recruitment. These new technologies have changed the recruitment workflow, helping recruiters engage candidates more efficiently.

Modern recruitment software is designed with the modern recruitment workflow in mind. When was the last time your practices were reviewed? As mentioned at LinkedIn Talent Connect, a small change can make a world of difference in talent acquisition. Review your recruitment workflow in tandem with new software, determine if anything that could be improved.

Training and direction
The implementation of new recruitment software will mean setting aside sometime for staff training of the system (HRS training options). Coupled with a review of recruitment workflows the implementation of new software provides a great opportunity to outline the vision of the business and train/retrain employees on key matters.

Increase motivation and morale by getting employees onboard with the long-term goals of the business.

Clean your data
Moving to a new system provides a great opportunity to clean client and candidate data. You may have a database containing tens of thousands of records but how many are current? How many contain old contact details or out dated CVs?

Before moving to a new system take the time to review your database. Use email, SMS, social channels and the phone to reach out to candidates for up to date information. A candidate record for a Graduate 5 years ago is likely to be of little use today if it has not been updated.

Clean and relevant data will make a recruiter’s life easier, it will maximise the likelihood of getting the right jobs in front of the right candidates.

If you have 30 minutes to spare and want to find out how HRS can provide you with a competitive advantage, click the link below to access an online demo. Find, engage and place more candidates.

Useful links:

• Access demo
• What makes HRS different?
• Free resources and downloads

The post Overlooked benefits of a change in software appeared first on Recruitment Software for Recruitment Professionals | HRS.

Advances in technology have made remote working a real alternative to the traditional office model. Pioneered by technical and digital companies, remote working is now on the rise in the recruitment industry.

From reducing commuting time and increasing geographical reach to boosting productivity, remote working provides numerous advantages to both business owners and employees.

Speed and flexibility are two major influencing factors in successful recruitment. Remote working enables recruiters to work the hours candidates are contactable whilst maintaining a healthy work/life balance. It should also help recruiters engage the top candidates quicker, with mobile recruitment technology at your fingertips the response window is significantly shorter.

Thinking about giving remote working a go? Checkout the recruiter’s remote working checklist:

The obvious: Mobile phone, laptop, and stationary
You would be hard pressed to do the job of a modern day recruitment professional without them.

Portable power packs and charging cables
Wireless charging is on the horizon but it is not quite here yet. If you are out and about it is important you have enough charge in your laptop and phone to get through the day. Take care of your charging wires and purchase a portable power pack as a backup.

Portable power packs vary in price depending on the capacity (starting at around £10). Check out Tech Radar’s review of the ‘Best portable chargers’.

4G Internet / WiFi Hotspot
It is best practice to have a back-up. If your power cuts out at home or the local coffee shop doesn’t have WiFi, you could be left disconnected. Invest in a 4G dongle so you are always connected. Prices vary but you should be able to pick up a decent one for around £30.

Use the OfCom mobile coverage checker to ensure you get the best signal. – http://www.ofcom.org.uk/mobile-coverage

Video calling/Virtual meeting software
Recruiting remotely can be a lonely task. If you are managing a team it won’t always be possible to meet face-to-face regularly. Make use of video calling technology (Facetime, Skype etc.) and check in as required.

You should also sign up for some virtual meeting software so when required you can share your screen. The ability to share your screen can be extremely useful when trying to communicate ideas over the phone. Check out join.me and GoToMeeting.

High quality headphones
Invest in some high quality headphones with a microphone. If you are using Skype to communicate with clients and candidates it is important the audio is clear and your microphone doesn’t pick up a load of unwanted background noise.

Noise cancelling headphones are also useful when you want to get your head down and concentrate.

Prices vary depending on brand and tech specs but you should be able to get a decent pair for around £80.

A quality bag built for work
Get your mobile office in order. A robust laptop bag with plenty of compartments and storage will help you remember everything you need. Pick a bag that is designed for your screen size and take into consideration how you will be travelling.

Prices vary massively depending on the brand, with the countless options available you might want to start by checking out PC Advisor’s 12 best laptop bags of 2015/2016

Have you already switched to remote working? Let us know how you have found the transition and what your essential purchases are. Leave a comment below or get involved through the HRS social media channels.

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HRS Software Update | Social Sourcer, Scheduler and more

We are excited to announce the latest update to HRS Connect. This release with a host of features and improvements was officially launched at the UK Recruiter Technology Showcase on the 8^th of October, existing Cloud customers can expect the upgrade to be rolled out in the coming weeks. See below for a quick introduction to the latest features:

New Features:

HRS Social Sourcer
Social networks and recruitment go hand in hand as they are both about connecting people and building relationships. Utilise the HRS Social Sourcer to find candidates across major online platforms including and beyond the leading social networks. Speak to one of the HRS sales team today for more details. Users that sign up before 2016 get the first month of Social Sourcer for free.

MailChimp Integration
One of the biggest providers of bulk emailing services is now integrated within HRS. This provides users the ability to create campaigns, mailing lists and email content directly from HRS. You can also run reports to optimise the effectiveness of your campaigns. Build targeted campaigns to maximise the impact of your recruitment emails.

Social Media Scheduler
Access Hootsuite directly from your HRS system. Manage your social networks, schedule messages, engage candidates and optimise social media performance. Utilise links from Tiro job board to get your open jobs in front of the right candidates.

Follow up ‘To Dos’ on emails and workflow events
We know that recruitment can be a high pressure, fast paced environment. Need to remember to do something? No problem. With HRS you can create a follow up action on each communication as well as on recruitment workflow events.

Calendar Connectivity
You can now link contacts and candidates in HRS to calendar events, ensuring candidates and contacts to be kept up to date.

In addition to event connectivity HRS will now push events from the HRS calendar to your local calendar app. This means you can keep track of important events in your main calendar. For details on specific Outlook versions or for more information arrange a call back with a member of the HRS team.

Duplicate Management
Merge and resolve any duplicates in your Contacts and Candidates to ensure your data is kept clean and accurate.

Speculative CV Send
Send and track speculative CV sends, and convert to jobs in a few simple steps.

Quick Send Email
Write an email to anyone in the system from any area of HRS. Simply find the contacts, add a template and attachment.

CV Text Highlight
Short on time? With HRS you can utilise CV text highlight to identify if and how many times a specific word occurs within a candidate CV.

Workflow filtering
Filter your workflow to show certain activities or candidates.

Skype Integration
Populate Skype details for candidates and clients to quickly and simply initiate a Skype call or chat from HRS.

Improvements

• Hover-over main navigation drop-down menu.
• Improved Tiro job board presentation. The latest update includes space for your own advertising artwork and links to other pages.
• Search Key can be copied from list views and pasted into the search to return a set list of contact and candidate records.

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We’ve all been there, sat staring aimlessly at the computer screen, clock watching, taking a sneaky glance at Facebook or Twitter. There’s nothing worse than reaching a point of the day when we feel like time has stopped. We know we have deadlines to reach, goals to achieve but sometimes we find ourselves drifting off into our own world and loosing motivation.

It can be difficult to switch back onto the task in hand and regain focus, but with these handy tips you’ll be back on track in no time!

Stay hydrated
Step away from the energy drinks! Water is a great way of hydrating the body and keeping you focused throughout the day. Whilst energy drinks may give you a quick boost they don’t last long, water on the other hand can help combat headaches and tiredness leaving you feeling fresh and revitalised.

Step away from the screen
Staring at a computer screen for to long can cause you to loose focus in addition to inducing headaches and eyestrain. Taking a 5-minute break away from the screen to make a drink or stretch your legs gives you time to clear your head. When required a short break can help you regain focus and start afresh.

Make lists
If you’ve got a particularly busy day or know you’ve got deadlines that need completing, make a list and break down what needs to be done to achieve the larger goal. Prioritise key tasks for the times you are most productive and work your way through. Although a very simple method, keeping a job list can be an effective way of staying on track.

Set personal targets
Working towards the same target each month can become a bit tedious and eventually impact your motivation to keep progressing. Set yourself a personal goal or target to keep you focused. So say your monthly target is 15 candidates per month and you achieve this every time, think of something you want. Whether it’s a holiday, new pair of shoes or just a well-earned day off at the end of the month, make that your goal. A personal goal will help keep you focused and motivated.

Drop in guaranteed calls
A run of difficult gatekeepers or frustrating calls can test the motivation of the most seasoned recruitment professionals.During spells you are struggling to get through to decision makers or candidates pick up the phone to a guaranteed conversation. Check in with a client or update a potential candidate (even if the news, is no news yet). A good conversation can pick you back up ready for the next set of calls.

Do you have any tips that help keep you motivated? If you do get involved using the comment box below or get involved via the HRS social profiles.

The post Quick tips for staying motivated appeared first on Recruitment Software for Recruitment Professionals | HRS.

The final Recruitment Technology Showcase of 2015 is just two weeks away! The event for recruitment decision makers, by UK Recruiter, brings together the latest innovative products and services from a range of organisations.

Whether you are looking for video interviewing tools, recruitment marketing or applicant tracking systems, UK Recruiter bring everyone together under one roof so you can review what is on the market over a few hours, opposed to a few days.

Attendees are invited to listen to a intro pitch from exhibiting suppliers and then take a closer look at the recruitment solutions on offer through a speed demo. Taking part in a number of speed demos enables you to create a short-list of preferred suppliers in just one day, something that could otherwise take weeks.

In addition to the recruitment tech on show attendees have the opportunity to learn from industry experts during group sessions on a range of topics (everything from legislation to social recruiting). This time around the event will host the APSCo Technology Leadership Forum in addition to 20 minute consultancy sessions from the magnificent seven.

The HRS team will be there showcasing the latest in Recruitment Marketing, Applicant Tracking and CRM solutions. For a quick introduction click play on the video below.

Find out more: Tech Showcase HRS online demo HRS Free Downloads

Let’s talk recruitment. Find, engage and place more candidates with HRS.

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When it comes to social media there’s a lot of do’s and don’ts, blogs, videos and guides that can often confuse more than help. So instead of a guide filled with technical jargon that leaves you baffled, I’ve complied my top 5 social recruiting basics.

Use the right networks
Using the right social networks can help you connect and engage a huge number of candidates and clients. Although the major social networks have users of all ages and demographics it is important you do some research to make sure you are using the right networks. Spend your time wisely by engaging in the right networks.

Engagement
Biggest tip of them all! Get involved, outreach to your target audience! Be that re-tweeting, asking questions, following the relevant people in your sector, commenting on blogs or sharing updates and relevant content. Get your name out there and get yourself heard. Take a look at our blogs on growing your online profile and the top 5 blogs for the savvy recruiter.

Branded Profiles
Make sure all your social channels follow your company brand i.e. correct company logo, font and corporate colour scheme. Maintain consistency throughout each network. See our blog on ‘All-Star LinkedIn Profile’ for tips on how to create a great LinkedIn profile.

Job Distributions
Whilst social recruiting is fundamentally looking to fill the jobs you have to offer be careful not to over load your posts/tweets with just jobs. Whilst it’s essential to advertise your jobs remember you also want to engage with your audience so balance out your job postings with relevant content and useful tips/advice.

Be Human
Don’t be a robot! Bring your personality to your social outreach don’t just automate. A feed of repeat messages is unlikely to engage any passive candidates. Inject character into your updates but remember if you wouldn’t say it over the phone it’s probably not right for social.

Tracking
Same way you would track call times, conversions, daily recruitment tasks, track your social activity too. Look to see what works and what doesn’t. Vary your post times and use link shorteners to track activity. Work out when your audience is most active and schedule accordingly.

For more tips, guides and resources head on over to the HRS free downloads page. If you would like to see HRS social recruiting software in action access your online demo today.

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