What Is Employment Verification?

Candidate Experience, Contractor Experience, Employee Documents

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What Defines Employment Verification?

When you’re taking the chance of hiring someone, you’ll want to know who they are and where they’ve worked, which involves knowing the details of employment verification. Employment verification is used to make sure that your potential hire and their skills and background align with your business’s culture, needs, and trajectory. At Brightwing, our mission is to find your team a perfect match. With our three-stage qualification process, we’ll ensure that your new candidate is prepared to join your team. We take employment verification seriously, so that your business has only the most qualified employees.

Verification of Employment

The process of verification of employment consists of multiple different parts. When you choose Brightwing, you’re leaving this involved process to us, so you can focus on your business. Verification of employment includes certifying candidates’ past forms of employment to make sure that they are qualified to work for you. It also may include dates of employment, salary information, and job role details. Employment verification can also entail conducting background checks on your prospective candidates. We’ll go into the importance of background checks later on, but for now, let’s explore why employment verification is crucial as you look for new team members.

Importance of Verification of Employment

At Brightwing, our expert recruiters are highly knowledgeable in their field of specialization. They know what to look for when finding the best candidates for your company. Since our recruiters are experienced in IT, engineering and design, financial services, and operations, they are prepared to look at the fine details of verification of employment for your potential candidates. Unfortunately, sometimes, candidates may falsify information they provide on their resumes or CVs. At Brightwing, our purpose is to make sure that a candidate’s information is correct.

Employee Verification

When we conduct employee verification, we ensure that your candidates’ credentials are true and up to par. We may contact a candidate’s past employer to double-check that they worked there, and what the details of their past role were. By doing so, employment verification determines how a candidate’s past job experience aligns with your business needs. When you choose Brightwing for employee verification, you can find out details about your candidate before you even meet them. Employee verification can also save your company time and money. Instead of finding out that your new employee falsified their credentials and is unqualified for a job, hiring professional employee verification will save you from having to hire someone again on such short notice. This includes running a background check on your candidates before you hire them.

How Does a Background Check Verify Employment?

Background checks are a crucial part of the employee verification process. A background check can take between 48 hours and five business days, which is a small time to wait to ensure that your business receives a high-quality and skilled candidate. There are many parts that make up the answer to “How does a background check verify employment?”, so let’s go through each one:

Employment History

Checking your candidate’s employment history guarantees that the candidate provided their true qualifications on their application. This also certifies that their past jobs and experience align with what you’re looking for in a potential hire. But how does a background check verify employment? During a background check, we may contact the candidate’s past employers to confirm that they did work there and that they had the role that they provided. This step is vital, after all, we want your candidates to be more than prepared for your company’s needs.

Education History

As part of a background check, we can confirm the details of your candidate’s education. Details like what college they went to, their GPA, and even transcripts may appear during a background check, to verify that your candidate’s academic training aligns with your job listing. A strong and consistent academic record can indicate success in the corporate world, as well as previous work experience.

Criminal Records

Background checks also include finding out if your candidate has any prior convictions, either misdemeanors or felonies. Depending on the state, however, there are restrictions on what and how far back an employer can look for prior convictions. At Brightwing, we handle the details of your candidate’s background check so you can continue to focus on your business. We understand the importance of making sure that your candidates are cleared to work for your company.

Credit Reports

Although we won’t see a candidate’s credit score, we can get a number of details from a credit report that can help us determine if they’re suitable for a role. A bad credit report may indicate that the candidate is irresponsible or in financial distress. A credit report can detail debt, open lines of credit, missed payments, and more. For a role that requires good organization, a good credit report can help us find responsible candidates.

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it highlights the most common aspects of a background check. By answering “How does a background check verify employment?”, we’ve shown that verification of employment is an important part of the hiring process. By allowing a professional recruiting firm such as Brightwing to conduct background checks, we can finely sift through the details of your candidates’ past experience.

Choosing a professional talent acquisition firm such as Brightwing allows you to focus on your business while we handle the verification of employment. Employment verification ensures that we find you top-notch candidates with skills and experience that match your company’s needs. By confirming their past professional roles, education, and background, we provide your business with candidates ready to handle the job. Our goal is to increase job posting awareness, manage the hiring process, and increase retention rates, all while you focus on your business. At Brightwing, our expert recruiters have training in many different fields and are skilled in the hiring process. Our experts will work with you and your business closely so that we find only the best matches for your job postings and company culture.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

February 15, 2023

What Is Employment Verification?

Candidate Experience, Contractor Experience, Employee Documents

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

What Defines Employment Verification?

When you’re taking the chance of hiring someone, you’ll want to know who they are and where they’ve worked, which involves knowing the details of employment verification. Employment verification is used to make sure that your potential hire and their skills and background align with your business’s culture, needs, and trajectory. At Brightwing, our mission is to find your team a perfect match. With our three-stage qualification process, we’ll ensure that your new candidate is prepared to join your team. We take employment verification seriously, so that your business has only the most qualified employees.

Verification of Employment

The process of verification of employment consists of multiple different parts. When you choose Brightwing, you’re leaving this involved process to us, so you can focus on your business. Verification of employment includes certifying candidates’ past forms of employment to make sure that they are qualified to work for you. It also may include dates of employment, salary information, and job role details. Employment verification can also entail conducting background checks on your prospective candidates. We’ll go into the importance of background checks later on, but for now, let’s explore why employment verification is crucial as you look for new team members.

Importance of Verification of Employment

At Brightwing, our expert recruiters are highly knowledgeable in their field of specialization. They know what to look for when finding the best candidates for your company. Since our recruiters are experienced in IT, engineering and design, financial services, and operations, they are prepared to look at the fine details of verification of employment for your potential candidates. Unfortunately, sometimes, candidates may falsify information they provide on their resumes or CVs. At Brightwing, our purpose is to make sure that a candidate’s information is correct.

Employee Verification

When we conduct employee verification, we ensure that your candidates’ credentials are true and up to par. We may contact a candidate’s past employer to double-check that they worked there, and what the details of their past role were. By doing so, employment verification determines how a candidate’s past job experience aligns with your business needs. When you choose Brightwing for employee verification, you can find out details about your candidate before you even meet them. Employee verification can also save your company time and money. Instead of finding out that your new employee falsified their credentials and is unqualified for a job, hiring professional employee verification will save you from having to hire someone again on such short notice. This includes running a background check on your candidates before you hire them.

How Does a Background Check Verify Employment?

Background checks are a crucial part of the employee verification process. A background check can take between 48 hours and five business days, which is a small time to wait to ensure that your business receives a high-quality and skilled candidate. There are many parts that make up the answer to “How does a background check verify employment?”, so let’s go through each one:

Employment History

Checking your candidate’s employment history guarantees that the candidate provided their true qualifications on their application. This also certifies that their past jobs and experience align with what you’re looking for in a potential hire. But how does a background check verify employment? During a background check, we may contact the candidate’s past employers to confirm that they did work there and that they had the role that they provided. This step is vital, after all, we want your candidates to be more than prepared for your company’s needs.

Education History

As part of a background check, we can confirm the details of your candidate’s education. Details like what college they went to, their GPA, and even transcripts may appear during a background check, to verify that your candidate’s academic training aligns with your job listing. A strong and consistent academic record can indicate success in the corporate world, as well as previous work experience.

Criminal Records

Background checks also include finding out if your candidate has any prior convictions, either misdemeanors or felonies. Depending on the state, however, there are restrictions on what and how far back an employer can look for prior convictions. At Brightwing, we handle the details of your candidate’s background check so you can continue to focus on your business. We understand the importance of making sure that your candidates are cleared to work for your company.

Credit Reports

Although we won’t see a candidate’s credit score, we can get a number of details from a credit report that can help us determine if they’re suitable for a role. A bad credit report may indicate that the candidate is irresponsible or in financial distress. A credit report can detail debt, open lines of credit, missed payments, and more. For a role that requires good organization, a good credit report can help us find responsible candidates.

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it highlights the most common aspects of a background check. By answering “How does a background check verify employment?”, we’ve shown that verification of employment is an important part of the hiring process. By allowing a professional recruiting firm such as Brightwing to conduct background checks, we can finely sift through the details of your candidates’ past experience.

Choosing a professional talent acquisition firm such as Brightwing allows you to focus on your business while we handle the verification of employment. Employment verification ensures that we find you top-notch candidates with skills and experience that match your company’s needs. By confirming their past professional roles, education, and background, we provide your business with candidates ready to handle the job. Our goal is to increase job posting awareness, manage the hiring process, and increase retention rates, all while you focus on your business. At Brightwing, our expert recruiters have training in many different fields and are skilled in the hiring process. Our experts will work with you and your business closely so that we find only the best matches for your job postings and company culture.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

February 15, 2023

What Is Sponsorship for Employment?

Candidate Experience, Employee Documents, Job Search, Job Seekers

In this article, we will tell you everything you need to know about sponsorship for employment, including what steps to take to get it.

How Long Does a Pre-Employment Background Check Take?

Candidate Experience, Human Resources, Job Search, Job Seekers

Employers and job seekers alike might be wondering, how long does a pre-employment background check take? Let’s take a look.

What Types of Interviews Are There and How Can You Prepare for Them?

Candidate Experience, Career Growth, Employers, Hiring Best Practices, Interview Tips, Job Search, Job Seekers

Whether you’re looking for your first job or are searching for a new one, learning the different types of interviews and how to prepare for them can help you land a desired position. There is often competition for a position, and often only 20% of candidates are offered an interview. With these odds, it never hurts to brush up on the types of interviews and how to ace them.

Types of Interviews

Interviews are used throughout the different stages of the hiring process, from initial screening to making a final decision. Each type of interview is designed to glean specific information, see how candidates react in scenarios, or test candidates in certain ways. Even though interviews can often be separated into types, they can also overlap. For example, you may be presented with a problem-solving question during your traditional one-on-one interview.

Types of Job Interviews

Traditional Interview

The traditional one-on-one interview is still the most common type of interview. Usually, these interviews are conducted by a hiring manager or an HR representative. They last for 30 minutes to an hour and a half. Traditional interviews often have a balance of questions. They are aimed to get to know you personally, to learn about your behavior, and to test some problem-solving. These can be done in person, though many companies are opting for Zoom interviews nowadays. This is both to protect those post-pandemic, as well as to provide more convenient scheduling for all parties.

Phone Interview

Phone interviews are for candidates who have something appealing on their resume, but are still being screened for a future interview. These interviews are often 15 to 20 minutes. They allow recruiters to confirm a candidate’s interest and availability in a position. Additionally, they can identify salary requirements. Plus, it is a good way to see if the candidate demonstrates an overall good first impression.

Project or Case Interview

A project or case interview is concerned with testing a candidate’s technical skills. Usually, the candidate is assigned a task or project with a deadline. This is used to demonstrate their skill and how they perform on a task under pressure. Sometimes, the assignments are purposefully difficult, making it important to demonstrate a well-thought-out thinking process.

Group Interview

Group interviews are when multiple candidates are brought in for an interview at the same time. These interviews help hirers find an ideal candidate quickly and are structured like a group conversation. These interviews demonstrate how candidates act in a group environment and how they treat their colleagues in a high-stakes situation.

Panel Interview

Panel interviews are when multiple staff members, usually around 3-5, interview an individual candidate at the same time. These interviews are more common in highly-structured hiring processes or when a search committee is being used to find an ideal candidate. Each member of the panel has their own agenda and will ask different questions. While it can feel overwhelming, do your best to directly answer one question at a time and then try to connect it to the interests or perspectives of the other panelists.

Mealtime Interview

Mealtime interviews are more common in positions that require meetings with clients (such as sales) or frequent outings and connecting with colleagues. The interviewer will meet the candidate over lunch, usually to get to know them as a person and to examine their social skills. Watching your table manners is critical in a mealtime interview.

How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Research the Company

During the interview, you may be presented with questions related to a company, such as a favorite product or service, or how you are a good fit for company values. To prepare for these questions, it is important to understand the company you are interviewing with. Learn about their competitors and their ideals. If possible, it’s also a good idea to research your interviewer(s) to find something in their background you can connect with.

Prepare Your Answers

While each company will have its own specific questions, there are common interview questions that will pop up frequently during your job search. While you don’t have to answer any single one of these questions, look through common questions lists and think of your answers. They will help you sound prepared and confident in your interview.

You can also prepare defense answers for your weaknesses or answers that ease the interviewer’s doubts about you. For example, if you know you’re a dedicated employee that sometimes works hard or extra hours, your interviewer might be concerned if burnout will affect your performance. You can ease the interviewer’s concerns if you counter with how you counter burnout.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Even if you have your interview answers thought out, nothing beats practicing saying them out loud. This can help you get the phrasing right to sound articulate. Not to mention, it can prevent you from being paralyzed when your thoughts are racing under the pressure of an interview.

Make Sure Your Space and Technology Are Ready

For phone and video interviews, make sure that you will not be disturbed, a glass of water is ready, and that your technology works. Especially for video interviews, make sure you have a strong internet connection and that your speakers and microphone are functioning.

Speak Up About Your Selling Points

Often, interviewers won’t ask the exact questions you might want them to. If there’s something you especially want the interviewer to know, such as a specific experience or skill, it is your responsibility to bring it up during the conversation. When you’re elaborating on an experience, make sure you share the situation, the task, your actions, and the results. In group interviews, it is especially important to speak up without dominating the conversation.

Have Some Questions for the Interviewer

Having questions for your interviewer demonstrates your interest in the company and is also a great chance for you to learn more about the company, its workplace culture, and its values. Not having prepared your own questions can paint you as disinterested and less proactive.

Getting the Interview

If you’re worried about getting interviews to begin with, recruiting companies are the way to go. Here at Brightwing, we pride ourselves on matching employees with the right companies. We can aid your process of getting interviews so that you can move forward and nail them with these tips and advice tailored to your situation.

May 17, 2022

5 Steps to Acing Your Interview

Candidate Experience, Interview Tips, Job Seekers

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1573242552154{margin-right: 20px !important;margin-left: 20px !important;}”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Do you approach interviews like a student sitting down to take an exam? You “study” ahead of time, trying to anticipate the “right” answers so you can ace your job interview?

If you do, it’s time to stop.

The student-teacher analogy is the wrong one. Interviews are not tests where one side goes in blind and the other has the answer key.

Interviews are the beginning of a negotiation. You’ve got value to offer in the form of your talent, just like hiring managers have value to offer in the form of a paying job.

Here are five steps to ace your job interview and land the next step in your career.

1. Understand the stakes

Landing the wrong role can be just as devastating to your career as not landing any role at all. Your goal is not to contort yourself to fit into the mold of some ideal, hirable candidate.

Your goal is to communicate the value you could bring to the organization, as well as qualify the opportunity for yourself.

Ask yourself: what’s the worst thing that could happen? The answer: you don’t get the job. Those are the stakes – not more, not less. If the worst happens and you don’t get the job, that’s not a statement about your potential as a professional. It’s about that specific role on that specific team.

2. Qualify the opportunity

You need to make a judgment about the company you’re interviewing with, and that requires you to ask qualifying questions. The hiring manager needs to sell you not only on the role, but also on their own vision for their team.

Here’s an example of one way to do that: it’s common practice in interviews for managers to ask candidates where they see themselves in 5 years. But as the candidate, it’s time to start asking hiring managers what their 5-year strategy is.

What kind of team will they need to accomplish those goals? What kind of skills will they rely on?

Given the broader context, you can understand and show how you’re the right person not only for now, but also for the future.

3. Put your interviewer at ease

If you want to ace your job interview, don’t just focus on what you say, but how you say it.

Use the mirroring technique while interviewing to help your interviewer feel more comfortable and familiar, faster.

When you’re on the phone, listen to the tone, rate of speech or cadence of how the hiring manager is asking questions and try to match those qualities in your replies.

For example, if the manager has high energy and speaks quickly, you should try to respond with plenty of energy and pace yourself. If in person, it’s always good to match the body posture/body language, too.

4. Get comfortable with silence

As with any negotiation, rushing to fill silences puts you at a disadvantage.

When you act (and feel) like you’re on more equal footing with your interviewer, it becomes easier to allow pauses to pass naturally.

Don’t give your nerves the reigns: stay focused and concise when you answer an interviewer’s questions. Sometimes, silence is all you need to ace your job interview.

5. Ace your next job interview with the right recruiter

Pick the right recruiter.

There are a LOT of recruiters out there. So, do your research. Choose the right recruiter based on their reputation, area of focus (skillset), and location. Search for recruiters at firms that are Great Recruiters Certified, for example, as a way to narrow in on high quality.

Having the right recruiter at your side is a much more efficient way to go through a job search process, and really develop the best possible offer.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”check out our open jobs!” style=”custom” custom_background=”#ffc600″ custom_text=”#0a0a0a” shape=”round” size=”lg” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightwingbdev.wpenginepowered.com%2Fjobs%2F|title:News%3A%20Job%20Seekers”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”75px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1585078567282{background-image: url(https://brightwingbdev.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/yellow-rectangle-scaled.jpg?id=27545) !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1639428661379{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;}”]

let’s get to know each other

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SEND US A MESSAGE

[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][wpforms id=”27272″ title=”false” description=”false”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”55px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

June 28, 2021

5 Recruiters Weigh In On Best Interview Techniques

Candidate Experience, Interview Tips, Job Seekers

[vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1574868853781{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #f7f7f7 !important;}”][vc_column_text]

contact us:

[/vc_column_text][wpforms id=”27251″ title=”false” description=”false”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1573242552154{margin-right: 20px !important;margin-left: 20px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Here are tips from 5 Brightwing recruiters on how to ace the interview…

1. How to beat the nerves
Jason Hochstein Director of Talent Acquisiton, Brightwing		“I was working with a candidate who used to get so nervous about interviewing, she’d lose sleep. The night before, she’d think about how it was going to go. The night after she’d pick apart her performance. Interviews are definitely nerve-wracking – there’s no way around that – but I don’t think they should be a miserable experience! After a mock interview, I gave a few tips on how to combat the nerves: → Remember you’ve got power, too. And you have priorities other than making yourself hirable. You need to make a judgment about the company you’re interviewing with! → Put it in perspective. Ask yourself, what’s the worst thing that could happen? The answer: you don’t get the job. Those are the stakes – not more, not less. → If the worst happens and you don’t get the job, that’s not a statement about your potential as a professional. It’s about that specific role on that specific team.”


2. Get comfortable with silence
Dan Start Brightwing Finance & Accounting Recruiter		“Stay focused and concise when you answer an interviewer’s questions. If you can’t be succinct, they’ll imagine you rambling on in future conversations and meetings. So get comfortable with pauses – don’t talk just to fill them.”


3. Use the mirroring technique
Will Foss Brightwing IT Recruiter		“One thing I like to tell candidates is to use the mirroring technique while interviewing. It can help make the interviewer feel at ease with you, faster. When you’re on the phone, listen to the tone, rate of speech or cadence of how the hiring manager is asking questions and try to match those qualities in your replies. For example, if the manager has high energy and speaks quickly, you should try to respond with plenty of energy and pace yourself. If in person, its always good to match the body posture/body language, too. You definitely don’t want to look like a copycat – it should just feel natural.”


4. Be yourself (while selling yourself)
Justin Hochstein Brightwing Finance & Accounting Recruiter		“I know it sounds simple, but BE YOURSELF. Let a company hire the real YOU. Of course you want to come prepared (with your proudest achievements, the reasons you want the job, etc.), but don’t confuse presenting your best self with hiding who you really are.”


5. Choose your representative wisely
Mike Gourley Brightwing Engineering & Design Recruiter		“Pick the right recruiter. There’s a lot of us out there. So, do your research. Choose the right recruiter based on their reputation, area of focus (skillset), and location. I’ve seen the value we can provide to candidates. It’s just a much more efficient way to go through a job search process, and really develop the best possible offer.”

[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”check out our open jobs!” style=”custom” custom_background=”#ffc600″ custom_text=”#0a0a0a” shape=”round” size=”lg” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightwingbdev.wpenginepowered.com%2Fjobs%2F|title:News%3A%20Job%20Seekers”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”75px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1585078567282{background-image: url(https://brightwingbdev.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/yellow-rectangle-scaled.jpg?id=27545) !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1639175787044{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;}”]

let’s get to know each other

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SEND US A MESSAGE

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October 10, 2019

Why You’re Not Closing Job Offers …and 5 Ways to Fix It

Brightwing News, Candidate Experience, Employers, Hiring Best Practices, Interview Tips

There are plenty of obvious things that make a job offer attractive. Competitive or above-market pay, bonus opportunities, and benefits all play a part. And it’s all the better when the compelling compensation package comes from an organization with a strong employer brand.

But there are also subtle dynamics that attract and repel candidates on the way to the offer. To maximize offer acceptance, you’ve got to help candidates imagine a future where they love working for you and with you.

68% of candidates believe that the way you treat them during the hiring process is a direct window into the way you’d treat them as an employee. That means: the experience you gift (or inflict on) your candidate is part of the offer you put on the table.

To maximize offer acceptance, you’ve got to help candidates imagine a future where they love working for you and with you. Here are 5 keys to making it nearly impossible to turn down your offer…

Assume there aren’t many good fish in the sea.

Of course, you’re interviewing many candidates for just one opening. But never slip into the false impression that the hiring party holds all the power, the job seeker, none.

You’ve got choices, and so does the job seeker.

There isn’t an infinite supply of excellent candidates (even though it may sometimes feel like it). You’ve got to look for what makes each candidate different, and then move fast when you find someone great.

Aim for honesty, not transparency.

100% transparency is not the goal. There are plenty of facts or details that don’t need to be passed on to the candidate.

But you should over-communicate progress or lack of progress.

If the process isn’t unfolding the way you said it would, say so and revisit the plan. Be up front and direct about pertinent facts – snags in the timeline, feedback, obstacles – and candidates can imagine a healthy future working relationship predicated on trust and honesty.

Give the gift of your full attention.

You’ve got to make the most of the time you’re given with each candidate. That means: you brush up on candidates’ backgrounds before speaking with them. You let interviews run only as long as you both agreed to. And you give candidates your full attention during your discussions. As tempting as it is to sneakily check your phone under the table, that signals to candidates that either you don’t adequately value their time or that you are overwhelmed or distracted as a manager. Neither interpretation is flattering.

Team members thrive when they’re given their managers’ attention. If you take the time to be present with a candidate and get to know who they are as a person and a professional, then you’ll have set the stage for an engaged employee.

Articulate a clear (and shared!) vision of the opportunity.

All stakeholders in the process should generally agree about the role and its purpose, and the formal job description should reflect the same line of thought. Of course, there will be variations in the way different people discuss or understand the opportunity. But if a program manager describes goals for the role that have absolutely nothing to do with how a VP describes the same thing, you’re in trouble.

When there are jarring discrepancies between each interviewer’s account of a position, candidates have trouble picturing themselves in the role. That’s the opposite of the desired effect.

You want candidates to be able to envision the contributions they’d make to your organization, so make sure not to let organizational misalignment sully their view.

Give candidates a taste of company life outside the interview room.

There’s no doubt you’ve made promises about what your company culture is like – on your website, social media, in conversations, etc. Since you talk the talk, candidates will want to know if you walk the walk.

So, have candidates meet other people both on and off the team. Give them a tour of the office. With a glimpse of the coffee or game room, candidates can envision colleagues that turn into friends. The buzz of a busy office can conjure up thoughts of happy productivity. Give candidates enough data for them to extrapolate the rest of the pretty picture. It’ll help nudge them in the right direction once they’ve got your offer in-hand.

At Brightwing, our talent acquisition approach is one-part relationships, one-part insight, and one-part results. We know it’s a recipe that can work for you.

LET’S PARTNER UP. WE CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU.

July 18, 2019

3 Ways to Fail at Employee Onboarding (and How to Avoid Them)

Candidate Experience, Company Culture, Employee Engagement, Employers

Nearly a quarter of all new employees leave within a year. And up to 20% of turnover happens within the first 45 days of employment. In the war for talent, poor retention is as good as a dull spear.

So how do you stem the tide of early exits? Part of the answer lies in making sure you hire the right people in the first place. The other key, of course, is building, measuring, and continuously improving your onboarding program. A good onboarding program gets your new hires productive, faster. A great program helps turn new hires into loyal, longstanding employees.

Here are three ways to botch onboarding, along with examples of how to create a better new hire experience…

Mistake #1: Encourage new hires to focus solely on their own responsibilities.

On the surface, it may sound logical that new hires should have tunnel vision. It may seem like a faster route to productivity. But if you push them to keep their eyes on their own work, new employees will have a hard time getting a sense of context for their role and finding a sense of purpose for their efforts.

Instead, put thought into how to give new hires as much exposure to other parts of the business, as quickly as possible. Invite new employees to sit in on meetings in other departments. Have them observe client meetings or other types of customer interactions. The point is not for them to understand every detail of what they observe. Instead, early exposure to other parts of the business gives new hires access to a bigger picture. In the long run, understanding the greater business context will empower new hires to contribute more.

At Brightwing, for example, no matter what kind of position they’re in, every new hire observes a client meeting and a candidate meeting as part of their onboarding. Building relationships with our candidates and clients is at the heart of our business. It’s important that every single team member understands what that looks like, even if their daily tasks will never put them face-to-face with candidates or clients again.

Mistake #2: Forget the small wins. Ignore the milestones.

Who cares if a new hire just mastered a process? Or reached their first goal? It’s expected of them, so why make a fuss about it?

There are a few good reasons to make a big deal out of small wins, one of which is psychological: celebrating smaller successes is motivating. It helps people to feel valued and like they’re making progress. Another reason is practical: it brings the team together.

At Brightwing, every new hire gets a welcome bag that includes an onboarding “Passport.” You get a stamp for each milestone you achieve: attending your “Meet & Greet” luncheon, having lunch with your mentor, observing a client visit, beginning cross-training, and the list goes on.

At the point of your first-year anniversary, you’re asked to give a presentation at the company monthly meeting reflecting on your experience.

The first year is charted out in a fun and manageable way, so that new hires can feel rooted in the team and the culture quickly.

Mistake #3: Depend on a new hire’s manager to do all the heavy lifting.

The responsibility of ramping up a new hire rests squarely on the manager’s shoulders. It’s their job to support and develop the team, so involving others is unnecessary, right?

Wrong. Not only will that approach burn out your managers, but it will also be less effective for your new hires. Onboarding is best tackled as a broader team exercise.

For example, Microsoft recently implemented an “onboarding buddy” pilot program where they paired new hires with peers. They found that the buddy system helped provide context, accelerated speed to productivity, and improved new employee satisfaction.

At Brightwing, every new hire is paired with a mentor. The formal relationship lasts for 6 months, but many extend informally beyond that. Mentors and mentees meet once a week so that new employees can get a better understanding of Brightwing’s values and how we live them out. It’s also an opportunity to dive deeper into how the organization functions. We’ve seen that the deliberate relationship-building helps new employees feel more comfortable and confident, faster.

At Brightwing, we’re focused on helping our clients build teams that perform at high levels and last for the long haul. Let us help you find amazing people that fit your culture. Let’s partner up. We can’t wait to hear from you.

June 17, 2019

Does Employer Brand Outweigh …Comp Packages?

Candidate Experience, Company Culture, Employers, Hiring Best Practices

Our brains are designed to compute split-second impressions of people and things. We then drop those impressions into one of many preset categories as a way to shortcut decision-making.

In the wild, for example, bright colors usually mean poison. We could take the time to work out the logic every time we come across a bright color in nature. (What do those bright red berries, poison dart frogs, and vibrant snakes have in common? Poison and bright colors!) But instead, our brains make the leap: Bright colors? Stay away!

These snap judgments are how we discern what to trust and what not to trust quickly enough to avoid danger.

The interesting thing is, we think this way even when our survival does not hang in the balance. When we come across brands, the same almost subconscious process unfolds. Indicators of culture — both subtle and obvious — stir certain instinctive responses in us.

Long before you’re even aware of their existence, a job seeker either accepts or rejects your company based entirely on your brand and reputation.

A job seeker’s first impressions of your company will make or break their decision to accept a job offer — or to even apply to an opening at your company.

The results from our recent Brightwing Talent Insights Survey confirm this. 62% of professionals rank brand and reputation as the most important factor while they decide whether to apply to a job or accept an offer.

And the internet has multiplied the number of opportunities everyone has to make judgments about your brand.

How Your Employer Brand Impacts Your Recruiting

The rise in popularity of social platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, on top of mega-networks like Facebook and LinkedIn, has raised the stakes when it comes to employer branding. Social media is where most candidates are already “hanging out.” So, it’s the first place they’ll look for your brand when applying to or interviewing with a company.

If your social brand is engaging, you’ll certainly catch their eye. If, on the other hand, your social brand is unappealing or, worse, nonexistent, you’ll be out of the running almost immediately.

These platforms enable you to showcase your employer brand in action. Sharing fun photos of company events, timely memes about the state of your industry, or insightful articles can help you appeal to your audience of potential employees.

Social media isn’t the end, though. Your website (especially your careers page) and the messaging your talent acquisition team uses in emails, ads and job postings are all reflections of your brand.

What Role Candidate Experience Plays in Your Brand

Research shows that a large majority of candidates believe the candidate experience indicates how a company values its people. Yet less than half say employers treat candidates with the same level of respect as their current employees. This is a massive disconnect that poses a risk to a company’s overall employer brand.

From the moment a candidate interacts with your company via email, phone, or social media, the experience must be positive, respectful, and engaging. This should continue throughout the screening and interview process, all the way through to a candidate’s first day and beyond.

How do these interactions impact your brand? Consider how and where candidates may share their experiences of your hiring process. According to our Brightwing Talent Insights survey, the second most important factor for professionals considering a potential employer is online reviews, via sites like Glassdoor and Great Recruiters. Job seekers will often leave transparent reviews of their candidate experience on these websites. If their experience was less than stellar, that will be a red flag to future candidates, negatively impacting your brand.

How Your Brand Is Reflected in Your Company Culture

Your company culture is what brings everything full circle. From how it is showcased in your social media accounts and via online review sites to how it is perceived during candidate interviews, your culture is inextricable from your brand.

You could have the best marketing in the world with a beautiful website, social feed, and messaging, but if your culture is unappealing, your brand is still negatively impacted. If you’re struggling to attract and retain top talent, it may be time to reevaluate more fundamental aspects of your culture: how do your teams function? how are your core values lived out day-to-day?

When components like compensation, benefits, and career path are comparable, it’s your brand and reputation that may make or break a job seeker’s decision. Where do you stack up against the competition?

At Brightwing, we advocate for your business, finding you amazing people that fit your culture and delivering the insight you need to truly shine as an employer. Let’s partner up. We can’t wait to hear from you.

May 23, 2019

Are All Hires Now Purple Squirrels? Recruiting in a 0% Unemployment Market

Candidate Experience, Employers, Job Seekers, Personal Branding, Recruiters, Recruiting Trends

From the Desk of Jason Hochstein, Director of Talent Acquisition at Brightwing

Your firm just got hit with a great job req (.NET Developer? Corporate Accountant? Quality Engineer? You pick!), and it’s a client you can’t afford to disappoint. Only problem is, every trick up your sleeve and tool in your shed may not be enough to find the right person.

That’s the reality of recruiting in a zero-unemployment market: a great – but otherwise ordinary – job req can turn into a hunt for a purple squirrel.

You’ve seen with your own eyes the hundreds of amazing jobs out there – with no one there to fill them. With such a ridiculously low unemployment rate, finding the right candidate takes a massive network and a ton of time (not to mention intuition and experience). It’s the reason employers need stellar recruiters more than ever.

Here’s what it takes to become the go-to recruiter when there are more jobs than candidates to take them.

1. A Brand You Believe In

The hardest part of recruiting in a zero-unemployment landscape is that candidates are picky. They’re in the driver’s seat, going full-throttle, with the radio blasting their favorite tune. Most recruiters won’t be heard – or seen – unless they’ve got something truly spectacular to offer.

First impressions are everything. Candidates accept or reject you based on your brand and reputation before you even know they exist. As a recruiter, that means your work is cut out for you: your personal brand and your firm’s brand and your client’s brand all matter. A lot.

If you really want to attract and recruit amazing candidates, you have to choose to work for a firm that has a brand, vision, and purpose you truly believe in. And you need to choose a firm that’s intentional about the clients they choose to work with. For example, I chose Brightwing because their mission is my mission: we fight for our candidates and clients because we believe in them and because we’re committed to helping them realize their potential. That covers my first two brand bases.

The last piece to manage is your personal brand. You probably don’t need me to tell you to be active on LinkedIn – every recruiter knows that. But make sure you post your own take on what’s happening in your field, and that you participate and even land speaking opportunities at conferences, local events and meetups. Get your name out there, and the best professionals will know to come to you when they’re looking for something new.

2. A Candidate Experience You Can Be Proud Of

Here’s an eye-opening story. In 2014, over 130,000 candidates applied for jobs with Virgin Media. 18% of those candidates were existing customers. But the candidate experience was so bad that more than 7,500 of those customers-turned-candidates canceled their subscriptions, costing the company an estimated $5.4 million in lost revenue – not to mention lost opportunity.

Today’s jobseekers have little to no patience for less-than-stellar experiences. You may not be able to choose the ATS your firm uses or decide the steps of the hiring process, but from the moment a candidate interacts with you – through email, LinkedIn, or the phone – you are in charge of the experience.

What does that experience look like? It starts with the basic stuff – don’t misspell their name in an email, provide timely follow-up – you know the drill.

But what makes for a truly great experience is the time you take to understand and advocate for a candidate’s career goals, help them navigate rejection, walk through negotiations, and more.

3. Relationship-Building You Rock At

You’ve probably heard of the “post-and-pray” tactic that many recruiters have turned to in desperation. Post a job ad on every available job board and pray to the recruiting gods that the right candidate will magically show up.

I’m all for job boards when they’re a part of a comprehensive recruiting strategy, but you need to work the big picture. Our 2019 talent survey revealed that many professionals choose to work with industry-specific recruiters and network on social media instead of digging through job boards.

Why? Because recruiters have the kind of intuition and insight that search algorithms don’t.

But candidates won’t get a sense for the value you bring to the table if you approach job placements like transactions.

If you work to build relationships with candidates, they will come to learn about the natural advantages you offer. Maybe the first position you approached them about doesn’t sway them, but when another req comes across your desk that’s a better fit, don’t you want them to pick up your phone call? Better yet, when they’re ready to make a move, don’t you want them to call YOU?

Building a relationship means spending a little extra time with each candidate to find out what makes them special. The beauty of it is – the extra time works its magic in both directions, and candidates will see what makes you a special recruiter.

Recruiting in a zero-unemployment market isn’t easy. But if you are armed with the right resources, attitude, and approach, you’ve got it made.

Jason is our Director, Talent Acquisition and has been a Brightwinger for 8 years. When he’s not helping people land their dream job, you can find him playing cards, camping, or spending time with his family. Learn more about him here.

Feeling held back in your current position? Join a company that gives you the resources, tools, and environment to really make a difference in this challenging market. Become a Brightwinger! Check out our careers page today for more information about what it’s like to work here.

May 16, 2019

4 out of 5 Employees May Switch Jobs in 2019: What Does That Mean for Your Organization?

Candidate Experience, Company Culture, Employee Engagement, Employers, Hiring Best Practices, Talent Advisor

Want to take these insights with you? Download the PDF.

Brightwing Talent Insights Survey Results 2019

Brightwing recently invited its talent network to participate in a survey to gain an inside perspective of the candidate market. For employers, this is important data to help them understand what candidates are looking for in a new opportunity and how companies should adjust their processes accordingly. Read on!

We like to get inside people’s heads. Find out what makes them tick, what makes them jump for joy or groan with boredom.

Nowhere is this truer than when it comes to jobseekers.

Making the perfect match between a professional and their future employer isn’t a game of throwing resumes at the wall to see what sticks. It’s about getting to the core of what really matters, building a relationship based on trust and intuition.

That’s why we reached out to our talent network to find out more about their experiences, hopes, and strategies in the job search. Turns out, this is profound information to help employers shape their recruitment strategies in ways that truly engage top talent.

Let’s dive in.

Only 1 in 5 employees are committed to staying at their current job

So, there’s good news and there’s bad news.

The good news is that if you’re actively hiring, there may be more available talent than what appears at first glance.

Chasing down those “passive” jobseekers – the 40% of people who are interested if an opportunity presents itself – will be particularly valuable in this case. If your employer branding game is on point and you know how to market your company and open positions in engaging ways, the chance you’ll be able to attract the right people is strong.

However, the bad news is that you may need to be concerned about retention. Most companies probably have a few employees who are either actively searching for a new job or at least willing to entertain a new opportunity should it present itself. Can you afford to lose them? Are you prepared to hire replacements? Can your team cover the gap if someone leaves? These questions probably make you nervous, but a strong retention strategy should reduce the chance that you’ll actually need to face these questions head-on.

Job boards, recruiters, and social networks are popular job search resources

Where are you looking for candidates to expand your talent pool?

Posting a job description to your website is simply not enough. Neither is posting to CareerBuilder, Monster, Indeed, or any of the other prominent job boards out there. While you could make the accurate assumption that many candidates are searching these job boards, more than 3 out of 5 are actually looking in other places.

Many candidates are connecting with recruiters in their industry. This is often the case with those “passive” job seekers who are employed full-time and don’t have the spare hours to search on their own. They also recognize that a recruiter’s network is much deeper than their own and they have the tools to gather information that the candidate couldn’t obtain on their own. Have you considered working with a staffing company to gain access to their candidates?

Another significant resource that candidates are using in the job search is social media – especially LinkedIn. Complete with its own job board, LinkedIn gives jobseekers the power to research companies, connect with peers and leaders, and showcase the details of their resume, skills, and accomplishments. Are you reaching candidates where they are?

56% of Jobseekers Prefer Email Communication

A decade ago, employees everywhere feared for their job in the wake of the economic recession. At that point, they probably had little preference how a potential employer contacted them.

Today, we’re all too aware that it’s a candidate’s market. Top talent is regularly inundated with messages from both corporate and agency recruiters. Plus, they’re simply busy. So, it’s little surprise that they’re picky about which messages they give their attention.

More than half of surveyed talent are more likely to initially engage with a potential employer through email.

With subscriptions and spam typically sent to secondary folders (thanks Gmail), people have more control of the content of their inbox than any other avenue. Algorithms control their social feeds, telemarketers won’t cease their phone calls, but your inbox is your own. That said, 2 out of 5 candidates do still prefer a phone call. In this case, then, your method of communication depends a little bit on trial-and-error for each individual candidate. Your choice.

Two Thirds of Jobseekers Are Checking on Your Reputation

There are plenty of opportunities out there for most candidates these days. As such, they’re not applying to every job they see or accepting the first job offer that comes their way. They’re doing their research first.

What makes a company attractive to apply to or accept a job with?

Almost two thirds of survey respondents view the company’s brand or reputation as the most important factor. Quite frankly, that’s a massive number. If a company isn’t on top of brand/reputation management, they may be falling short without even realizing it. Every factor that builds a brand – website, social presence, advertising, partnerships, thought leadership, quality of products/services, customer service, and more – must be aligned with how a company is portraying itself as an employer. If a piece of the puzzle is missing or damaged, candidates may dismiss the thought of ever applying for a job.

The second most popular factor in applying to or accepting a job with a specific company is their Glassdoor (or similar) reviews. The insights of both current and former employees (and any responses from the employer themselves) tell a candidate what it’s like to work there. This information is gold. Do you know what people are saying about you? How are you responding?

Jobseekers Crave Skills Growth and Opportunity

In today’s competitive candidate market, many companies are willing to pay top dollar to win talent. However, money isn’t always the answer. In fact, compensation ranks a joint third place (with company culture) as the most important factor in accepting a job offer.

Candidates crave growth more than money.

Skills development and a projected career path are critical to engaging your employees – and attracting new ones. Without these opportunities, employees grow stagnant, bored, and disengaged. They don’t want that – and neither should you. Smart jobseekers ensure that these opportunities will be available to them before they sign the employment contract. Can you deliver?

Almost as important is an employee’s work-life balance, and this ranks second in the survey. How are you providing your teams flexibility? Consider remote work opportunities, flex hours, unlimited PTO, or other alternatives. Make sure you regularly evaluate each team member’s workload to diminish burnout and ensure they don’t feel overwhelmed.

Follow Up Within One Week or Risk Losing Top Candidates

Even though top talent can seem scarce, that doesn’t mean you won’t be inundated with resumes and applications the minute you post a job description online – a majority of which will be underqualified. It’s no wonder that sorting through and screening those applications can take days if not weeks to find the right people.

Unfortunately, you simply don’t have weeks. More than one third of survey respondents said they were willing to wait no longer than one week for a response after they’d applied. And two out of five responded with 3-5 days! A more generous 30% replied with 2 weeks, and, in the minority, 12% said 3+ weeks. It’s clear, then, that prompt follow up is critical to retaining top candidates before they move on to other opportunities.

Flex Time and Healthcare Benefits Are Equally Important

An almost identical number of people ranked flex-time/work-from-home and healthcare as the number one most important employer benefit. Though these benefits are very different in nature, they both speak to an employee’s sense of wellbeing – both mental and physical. These are followed by paid vacation and retirement benefits in 3^rd and 4^th place. Can you meet their expectations?

Counteroffers Rarely Work

If you’re worried about losing top employees – or if you’re worried about losing top candidates to their current employers – you need to know that only 6% of survey respondents are very likely to accept a counteroffer after they’ve given their resignation. A quarter of them may consider a counteroffer only if it’s significant. But about two thirds of jobseekers are unlikely (though that’s not to say not tempted) by a counteroffer.

This confirms that most people are simply not motivated by money. While everyone has bills to pay, when it comes to spending eight or more hours doing the same job in the same place with the same people, there are several more important factors prompting them to either stay or leave.

Brightwing Talent Insights 2019

With four out of five employees open to new job opportunities this year, it’s likely that if you’re not already hiring, you will be soon. We hope this survey data helps provide some insight for honing your recruitment strategy, as well as any employee engagement and retention initiatives.

Finally, with two out of five candidates choosing to use a recruiter in their job search, we can’t help but ask whether you’ve considered partnering with a staffing and recruiting firm. At Brightwing, our talent acquisition approach is one-part relationships, one-part insight, and one-part results. We know it’s a recipe that can work for you.

Let’s partner up. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Save these insights straight to your desktop by downloading the PDF.

April 2, 2019

How Do Recruiting Chatbots Impact the Candidate Experience?

Candidate Experience, Employers, Hiring Best Practices, Recruiting Trends

In the customer service space, 83% of consumers prefer to interact with real-life human beings instead of chatbots. In recruiting and hiring, where the stakes are critically higher, we believe the majority of candidates have the same preference. In fact, we recently explored how AI is sparking evolution of the recruitment process (grab the eBook here), and we are particularly interested in the role of AI in the candidate journey. A candidate’s experience is significantly impacted by who or what is driving the interaction, and we believe that no matter how smart recruiting chatbots get, the humanity of a real-life recruiter is impossible to replicate.

That said, let’s explore how recruiting chatbots impact the candidate experience.

The Advantage of Recruiting Chatbots

The most obvious benefit to implementing an AI-powered recruiting tool like a chatbot is the sheer volume of applicants they can process in the least amount of time. The ease of submitting a resume through job boards and career sites has always had the negative impact of creating a “resume black hole,” in which candidates receive little to no feedback about the positions they apply to. That’s where recruiting chatbots are changing the game.

A CareerBuilder survey reveals that over half of all applicants give up on a company if they haven’t received feedback within two weeks of applying. But recruiting chatbots can provide an immediate response, answering any questions the candidate may have about the company or the position. Plus, with 31% of those candidates expecting a customized message, intelligent chatbots are the perfect solution, leveraging big data, machine learning, and natural language processing to deliver a valuable, personalized interaction within hours, or even minutes, of a submitted application.

AI recruiting tools also have the power to more thoroughly cross-reference candidates against job requirements, assessing resumes, test results, and even interview transcripts for skills alignment and cultural fit. Once again, the volume at which these tools can execute far surpasses that of a real-life recruiter.

Drivers of the Candidate Experience

According to statistics from the company that created AI recruiting tool Mya, a massive 73% of candidates didn’t even realize they were speaking with a chatbot when interacting via text about basic application questions. That’s great, but will that statistic really hold up deeper in the hiring funnel when candidates are looking for career advice?

Our highly educated guess is, no.

Responsiveness and personalization are key drivers of the candidate experience, but they aren’t the only factors. No matter how quick or cute the feedback, the journey from applicant to new hire can be intimidating, confusing, tedious, or frustrating without the help of a true advisor. A recruiting chatbot can only understand a candidate’s challenges and motivations from a semantic point of view, but it’s a genuine connection that really defines a successful candidate experience.

A recruiter’s experience, intuition, and compassion – as well as their drive to make a real difference in the lives of the people they’re recruiting – is what fuels the quality of candidate experience that leads to the absolute best-fit placement.

This is especially true in the case of passive candidates who aren’t actively looking for a new job opportunity in the first place. These candidates are some of the most valuable on the market, especially in hard-to-recruit fields like IT and engineering, among others. In these scenarios, recruiting chatbots have little to no capacity to engage these professionals. The candidate experience for them begins with conversation and relationship-building; something only an experienced real-life recruiter can do.

Recruiting Chatbots and the Candidate Experience

According to CareerBuilder, 68% of employees say that the candidate experience is a reflection of the employee experience. Furthermore, another survey reveals that 82% of candidates will refer friends and colleagues if they had a positive candidate experience.

In short, the data shows that the candidate experience is a critical component in a professional’s decision to accept a job offer and, subsequently, make referrals. Thus, it is crucial that employers consider how AI-powered recruiting tools like chatbots impact this experience. Advancements in natural language processing and machine learning have enabled valuable interactions at impressive volumes, but it’s the recruiter relationship that results in the most fruitful kind of candidate experience – one that leads to a best-fit, long-term placement.

For a deeper dive into chatbots and AI in the hiring process, grab your copy of our latest eBook: AI in Hiring: The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? Or Is It Toast?

Read this next!

Alexa, Find Me a New Job! Exploring the Role of Recruiting Chatbots in Talent Acquisition

What to Look for in a Staffing & Recruiting Firm: A Checklist

The Power of Company Culture in Your Talent Acquisition Strategy

December 17, 2018

Alexa, Find Me a New Job! Exploring the Role of Recruiting Chatbots in Talent Acquisition

Candidate Experience, Employers, Hiring Best Practices

With 20% of American households owning a smart speaker like Amazon’s Alexa-enabled Echo devices, that simple request isn’t altogether out-of-this-world.

The ease with which we’re adapting to AI-powered devices suggests we’d be willing to hand over even the most impactful decisions like finding a new career or searching for top talent. And, in fact, the reality of this scenario is already alive with the introduction of recruiting chatbots – or “smart recruiters”.

For example, meet Mya .Or Olivia , Alex , Ari… The list goes on.

In the same way that Alexa connects with your day-to-day routines, each of these smart recruiting assistants leverages natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to engage with candidates. From the moment a candidate views a job ad or career page, a recruiting bot has the ability to interact with them and assist in the application, screening, and interviewing processes. Recruiting chatbots also integrate with existing ATS or CRM platforms, and even email, job boards, calendars, video conferencing tools, and more, with comprehensive, end-to-end support.

For jobseekers, these AI tools deliver feedback and answers faster than they otherwise might from the companies they apply with. For recruiters and corporate talent acquisition professionals, the sheer amount of time and volume of candidates these tools can screen is impressive, enabling them to focus on more complex, valuable recruiting tasks.

But can you really trust AI-powered recruiting chatbots?

Consider this: almost every AI-powered device on the market has been humanized by its manufacturer; Alexa, Siri, and Cortana, just to name a few. The reality that AI-powered recruitment tools have taken the same route, using human names to identify them, says something important about what people value in their interactions. In short, as impressive as artificial intelligence is, people don’t really want to think that they’re essentially talking to a robot. They still want the human element.

But even as recruiting chatbots appear more and more human, their core purpose or raison d’être is most assuredly not. Despite the power of machine learning and natural language processing, chatbots are still ultimately programmed to facilitate placements. No matter how intelligently and objectively this occurs, it lacks real-life relationship building and intuition-based decision-making that are essential to successful recruiting.

How do we know? Take a look at these examples, recently published in our “Real Stories from Real Recruiters” series:

Steve was looking for a Senior Embedded Software Engineer .He came across the perfect candidate, but it was immediately clear that he didn’t trust recruiters based on his previous experiences. Steve was able to learn more about him and establish a genuine relationship in which the candidate felt comfortable with the opportunity we were presenting to him. Would he ever have trusted Alexa – or any AI recruiting chatbot – with his career? We’re confident the answer is no.

Adriana was trying to place a referral candidate. He was incredibly smart but struggled with his interviewing skills. After three unsuccessful interviews with negative feedback from the hiring managers, most algorithm-powered “smart recruiters” would probably have tagged him in the system and moved on to more promising candidates. But Adriana didn’t give up on him. She coached him on his interview technique and ended up placing him at a job he loved and succeeded in.

Steve was working with a client in the automotive space who had a stringent list of requirements for their open position and had struggled to fill that role for the last six months. Given that recruiting chatbots are programmed to simply match words from a job requirement or interview to a resume, it’s unlikely that the list of published skill requirements would have ever been questioned in the search for good-fit candidates. But Steve pushed back on the job description, boiling the list down to essential skills and experience, which opened up the talent pool and attracted a stellar candidate who still works there today.

Machine learning is smart, but intelligence doesn’t replace intuition and experience-backed insight. That’s where real-life relationships with knowledgeable and dedicated recruiters are superior. Yes, AI-powered recruiting chatbots are highly valuable in freeing up time and keeping candidates in the loop, but highly experienced, intuitive recruiters are irreplaceable.

Who’s in charge of your talent acquisition process? Our latest eBook explores this topic at a deeper level. Grab your copy of “AI in Hiring: The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread?” here.

November 13, 2018

Real Stories from Real Recruiters: Going Above and Beyond

Candidate Experience, Employers, Hiring Best Practices, Job Seekers, Recruiting Trends, Talent Advisor

This article is Part 6 in a series of “Real Stories from Real Recruiters.” We check in with several Brightwingers to reveal some important lessons for anyone who’s looking either for talent or for opportunities. This story is from Brightwing’s Adriana Michaels, Senior Recruiter.

When candidates work with recruiters, they’re essentially putting their career – and their life – in the hands of a stranger. That can be an extremely vulnerable position for these talented individuals, and, as recruiters, we recognize the huge responsibility we have to put them at ease and deliver a great experience.

At Brightwing, we have an established BRIGHTview process to streamline recruitment and hiring, but even with this time-tested strategy, there’s always room for things to go awry. That’s when I rely on my intuition and creativity to work everything out, as well as my commitment to go above and beyond to ensure a candidate is as comfortable as possible and equipped for success.

A great example of this is a software engineer I recruited for one of our automotive clients. We had worked closely with the client to narrow down their technical requirements and expand their talent pool (read that story here), and we found the perfect candidate four states away in the aerospace industry. It would be a huge transition for this candidate; not only would he be moving his career to a new industry (automotive), he’d be moving his wife and four kids to a new state, one he’d never even visited before. I worked closely with him to support and encourage him through the process. He nailed the phone interview, and the next step was to fly in for a face-to-face interview.

From the beginning, I could tell he was enthusiastic about the opportunity, but it was clear there was some hesitation about uprooting his entire family and moving them somewhere brand new. For many recruiters, this hesitation would have been a red flag; was he really serious about leaving his current job and moving his family? But because I had taken the time to understand his goals and motivations, I was confident about continuing to support him through this process.

We set up the in-person interview, with the client securing travel and hotel arrangements for my candidate, but at the last minute, an urgent family issue came up. With everything already arranged, it was a predicament that clearly made him anxious. Again, many other recruiters may have taken this opportunity to walk away, but I knew my candidate was genuine. I worked with the client to figure out the scheduling to make the interview happen.

The interview was scheduled early on a Monday morning, with the candidate flying in the night before and flying back out immediately after the interview, spending a minimal amount of time away from his family. Incredibly, when he arrived, something went wrong with the hotel reservation. He called me panicking. I knew how important it would be for him to be comfortable and rested before the interview, so I called the hotel myself and worked it out.

The interview went well, and our client quickly presented him with a great job offer and a very attractive relocation package (complete with a consultant to help him and his family find the perfect new home). When I sat down to lunch with him two weeks after he started, he was unbelievably appreciative, saying he could not have done this without our help. His family was settling his well, he loves the company, and they have great feedback about him, too. Since he’s been there, he has also sent two referrals my way, proving to me just how much he trusted us with this life-changing career move. Knowing how much my candidates trust me motivates me to continue going above and beyond for them throughout the entire hiring process.

Watch out for more stories and blog posts by following us on LinkedIn. We’d love to share more of our insight with you – dig deeper into our process here.

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September 4, 2018

Real Stories from Real Recruiters: The Power of Candidate Referrals

Candidate Experience, Employers, Hiring Best Practices, Job Seekers, Recruiting Trends, Talent Advisor

This article is Part 5 in a series of “Real Stories from Real Recruiters.” We check in with several Brightwingers to reveal some important lessons for anyone who’s looking either for talent or for opportunities. This story is from Brightwing’s Adriana Michaels, Senior Recruiter.

Referrals really are one of the most powerful sources of top-notch candidates. When you take the time and energy to build great relationships with every candidate, they won’t hesitate to refer their friends or family members who are seeking new opportunities.

I’ve read many studies that explain the value of referrals. In particular, this study from Jobvite shows that even though referrals make up just 7% of total applicants, they account for almost half of all hires. Plus, they’re usually a better fit and stay with a company longer than other candidates. It’s why Brightwing has an amazing referral program, BrightSHARE, to help build a rich network of strong candidates.

It’s my personal experience with referral candidates that really makes these truths hit home, and is why I am personally dedicated to every referral that is sent my way. Every candidate I speak to, whether they are a referral or not, is an opportunity to build a relationship and make the perfect match (see our BRIGHTview process).

I feel an extra level of commitment to nurturing the relationship when I know someone trusted me enough to refer them. This is exactly what happened when a candidate I placed reached out to me six months later to help his recently graduated son.

The father was a candidate I had recruited and supported through a long client hiring process, engaging and collaborating with him to make the best possible match. We had built a solid relationship, so I was honored when he referred his son. I was immediately committed to understanding this candidate and going above and beyond to help him. The pressure was on!

Because the son was a recent graduate, he had limited interviewing experience, which was definitely a hurdle to landing an offer. He was super smart, technically proficient, and clearly had the skills to succeed. But after three interviews, I was surprised to hear negative feedback from several hiring managers.

While some recruiters may have given up after three unsuccessful interviews, my relationship with both him and his dad solidified my belief that he could still succeed. He had the talent to be a stellar employee – if we could get past this interview barrier. I went back to the clients he interviewed with to ask for more specific feedback, and then brought him into the office to coach him on his interview technique and build his confidence.

In the end, I set him up with a company where I just knew he’d be the perfect fit – both technically and culturally. He aced the interview and the client quickly made him an offer. In fact, he’s still with the same company to this day.

In most cases, referrals end up being a great fit for our clients, making me all the more committed to nurturing these connections. The success I’ve seen placing referred candidates into positions where they’ll thrive is a testament that I’m doing meaningful work and really making a difference in people’s lives.

Watch out for more of our “Real Stories from Real Recruiters” by following us on LinkedIn. We’d love to share more of our insight with you – dig deeper into our process here.

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August 21, 2018

The Power of Company Culture in Your Talent Acquisition Strategy

Candidate Experience, Company Culture, Employers, Hiring Best Practices

If you build it, they will come. An excellent company culture goes a long way in attracting candidates, and at a time when chasing talent for weeks and months on end is the norm, it can make all the difference in landing the right professionals quickly. According to a survey of over 615,000 Glassdoor users, culture is the workplace factor that matters most to employees, ranking well above compensation. But building a great culture is only part of the battle. Let’s take a look at the power of an outstanding company culture and how to leverage it to improve your talent acquisition strategy.

How a Great Company Culture Attracts Candidates

It’s not necessary to reach the heights of Google or Facebook before your company culture can attract candidates and boost the hiring process. As consumers, we are increasingly seeking out reviews and the opinions of peers for even the smallest of purchases. Job seekers approach career opportunities the same way, which is a major reason culture is so vital to talent acquisition.

Positive word of mouth cannot be bought. If your employees truly enjoy their workplace environment and being around their coworkers, they tell their family, friends, and professional peers. A great culture creates an army of promoters who sing your praises when the inevitable “so how’s work been?” conversations arise. When your employees have something positive to respond with, it resonates with those working within subpar cultures. As 60% of today’s talent are passive job seekers, a contagious culture becomes an effective tool for capturing their attention.

Whether or not they are tipped off by a current employee, candidates considering applying for a role with your organization are assessing company culture right away. If they see positive signs everywhere they turn, from your Facebook page, to your website, down to your hallways and amenities if they have come in for an interview, then their desire to work for you grows. Existing employees who go out of their way to introduce themselves, along with those in the background who are clearly enjoying their jobs, make a big difference.

What Makes a Great Culture?

Company culture is made up of the dynamic between employees and their surroundings, but improving culture takes more than just remodeling a break room. A great company culture equates to a sense of comradery, acceptance, and encouragement. Opportunities for team building and collaboration should be abundant. Likewise, fostering a healthy work-life balance where employees feel in control of their day rather than confined to rigid procedures helps increase employee engagement, which in turn can make a business 21% more profitable.

Finally, a desired company culture is one that allows employees to grow in their careers. 87% of Millennials and 69% of other generations rate professional development and career growth opportunities as very important. Businesses that focus on career pathing, implement professional development, and check in with employees regularly can improve engagement and contribute to a positive culture.

How to Spread the Word

Building a fantastic culture isn’t something to be quiet about. While your employees will generate positive word of mouth, you will want to take action to see the biggest impact on your talent acquisition strategy. Since 79% of job seekers utilize social media in their job search, show off your culture on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Sharing fun images from events like monthly lunches, awards ceremonies, or weekly bowling leagues is a good start, but also consider showcasing the everyday things that make your culture great.

Further, take a hard look at your website. Does it accurately represent your awesome culture and environment? Is it regularly updated with new videos, photos, and blogs that recap the events going on in your office? And does it reflect community or charity involvement? Job seekers will undoubtedly be combing through your website when deciding whether or not to apply for one of your roles. When they find signs of an excellent culture, they will be much more interested in working with you.

The Power of Company Culture in Your Talent Acquisition Strategy

An outstanding company culture, when leveraged, can provide numerous benefits to your organization. Not only will it help attract the professionals you need most, but it will ensure that your current employees perform at their highest level since engaged employees are 60% less likely to make an error. With the potential for thriving productivity and a flourishing talent acquisition strategy, it’s not hard to see why so many organizations are placing an emphasis on improving culture.

Looking for the right talent who can mesh perfectly with your unique culture? Brightwing can help. Contact us today.

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February 27, 2018

Get Competitive with a Candidate-Driven Talent Acquisition Process

Candidate Experience, Employee Engagement, Employers, Hiring Best Practices, Talent Advisor

The talent economy in today’s job market is low—demand is higher than supply. Because top talent is so difficult to find, the best way to compete in today’s job market is to develop a fast-acting, flexible talent acquisition process.

Deliver an experience your own employees would want

75% of job seekers say a company’s candidate experience indicates how they will treat their employees, and 86% of job seekers believe that employers should treat candidates with the same respect as current employees. Knowing this, it’s critical to understand how to interact with your candidates in each stage so you can deliver an engaging candidate experience.

There are five stages in the candidate journey: Awareness & Consideration, Talent Acquisition, Interview, Offer, and Onboarding. In our eBook “The Candidate Journey: How to Optimize Your Hiring Process in Every Stage”, you’ll learn:

How to develop a swift and efficient talent acquisition process
Specific actions required in each stage to engage candidates
What makes you competitive for top talent

Complete the form to download our eBook today!

[contact-form-7 id=”21592″ title=”Candidate Journey Download”]

February 15, 2018

5 Strategies for Assessing the Strength of Your Hiring Process

Candidate Experience, Employers, Hiring Best Practices

According to Indeed, a massive 61 percent of employers are expecting to hire more people in 2018 than they did in 2017. But expecting to do so and successfully executing on that plan are two different things. In our experience, whether it’s because of infrequent hiring or outdated procedures, few companies have a robust hiring process – and even if they do, it is rarely updated to align with current market demands. Thus, those 61 percent of employers may not end up onboarding the people they need.

If you’re not regularly assessing the strength of your hiring process, 2018 is the year to start. Here are five key areas you should consider.

Are You Losing Candidates in the Application Process?

A recent Careerbuilder report reveals that 52 percent of jobseekers say their biggest frustration is the lack of response from employers during the job search. What typically happens is that these candidates apply to positions only to get buried in an inbox of resumes or the labyrinth of a complex ATS. Considering that 78 percent of these same jobseekers believe the candidate experience reflects how a company values its employees, the fact that so many candidates receive no feedback is a huge red flag.

However, 82 percent of hiring managers consider the candidate experience extremely important. So employers and jobseekers appear to be on the same page! Where’s the disconnect? The data says it’s in how an organization perceives its own candidate experience; only 1 in 3 hiring managers have personally gone through the application and hiring process to assess the experience. Here, then, is a great place to start. Put your hiring process to the test to personally assess any gaps that may exist.

Are You Selling Your Company?

Today’s top talent want more than “just a job.” They want an opportunity to grow in their career at a place they’re excited to wake up for each morning. Because of this trend, it’s entirely possible that your hiring process is too candidate-centric, with little room for selling the perks and benefits of working for your company.

Jobseekers are assessing your company from the moment they read your advertised job description. From there, they are interacting with your website, receiving automated emails from your ATS, checking out your social media accounts, talking to your people on the phone, and eventually meeting with them face-to-face. Every interaction is an opportunity to sell them on why they would want to work for your company. Does your hiring process leverage those opportunities? Or is it too narrowly focused on screening out unqualified candidates? If it’s the latter, chances are you’ll end up unintentionally screening out the qualified ones, too.

Are You Using the Same Old Interview Techniques?

Every candidate is going to be prepared for the same old interview questions. A quick Google search will give them tips and tricks for answering them in the most articulate, qualified manner. So how much can those questions really reveal about a candidate?

Companies need to get creative in their interview processes. Creating questions that better align with the job requirements, company culture, and business objectives will be much more helpful. Finding new ways of understanding what makes a candidate tick, how they learn and think, and what they’re passionate about will serve you better in the long run than falling back on the same old interview questions.

Additionally, conducting the interview across the conference table is going to limit how much you can really learn about someone. Instead, give them a tour around the office to see how they interact with the rest of your staff. Get your team involved to ask them questions. Take them out to lunch or dinner and continue the interview in that setting. These are just a few ways to help discover a candidate’s true personality and motivations.

Are You Hiring Worn Out Profiles?

When you’re hiring talent for the same position you’ve hired in the past, the easiest tactic is to grab the job description you last used and immediately start advertising. Even if you’re writing up a new job ad, it’s likely you have the same profile of candidate in mind. You’re probably looking for similar experiences, career path and education as your existing team, but how recently have you assessed that profile? Does that age-old job description align with how your company has progressed over the years?

It’s worth taking the time to reevaluate how your ideal candidate profile aligns with your current company culture, business objectives, and evolved job requirements. Additionally, be aware that some diversity in career path or previous experience can bring different perspectives into your team, opening the door to greater innovation and problem solving.

Have You Lost the Human Element?

Finally, one of the biggest mistakes companies make when they implement hiring technologies like an ATS is that they lose the human element that defines the quality of the hiring process. ATS platforms are highly valuable for streamlining the process and storing thousands of searchable records, but it’s easy to focus too much attention on metrics, keyword searches, and automation.

If you’re looking for an emotionally intelligent candidate, someone with quality soft skills who will fit into your company culture as well match the technical skills you need, then you need an emotionally intelligent hiring process. Although speed and efficiency are huge drivers of a successful process, nurturing the human element is a non-negotiable part of the equation. That means your recruiters need to build genuine relationships with the candidates you’re screening. Those relationships will help you learn more about the candidate in question, uncovering the intangible, unmeasurable qualities of their personality, skills, and experience that an ATS will always miss.

Is Your Hiring Process Actually Working?

The strength of your hiring process depends upon more than just the latest recruiting tools and technologies. Attracting top talent – and keeping them interested throughout the process – requires a creative approach and an intimate understanding of current market trends. If your hiring process hasn’t evolved or been assessed in years, it’s probably time to discover what you might be missing.

At Brightwing, our commitment to the human element in hiring shines in every interaction. We can’t wait to learn more about your hiring needs. Let’s chat today.

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January 29, 2018

12 Employment Statistics to Know

Candidate Experience, Employee Engagement, Employers, Hiring Best Practices

How do you find candidates that constantly align with your company’s mission and vision? Answering million-dollar question is key to executing a competent talent acquisition strategy and filling those hard-to-place roles.

But in today’s fast-paced business landscape, you need a constant stream of top talent to stay ahead of your competition. But staying ahead of ongoing trends and dynamics is easier said than done, and can post a challenge to remaining competitive and relevant in your market.

Whether we’re talking industry-specific demands, emerging skill sets, or standard salary expectations, staying ahead of the curve will position your company as an attractive employer to high-performing candidates who are looking for competitive compensation, culture, and other factors that can advance their career.

From the initial application to the final interview, every touchpoint along your candidate’s journey should reflect your company’s values and commitment to a seamless and transparent hiring process. Some specific practices to illustrate this include:

Timely communication with the candidate (don’t make them wait on you for longer than absolutely necessary)
Personalized engagement (no automated stock email templates!)
Matching your company’s value prop to their career goals and aspirations (this requires active listening and engagement)

To ensure reliable employment outcomes and make meaningful changes to your recruitment strategy, we’ve put together the following infographic “12 Employment Statistics to Know for 2018.” Use this resource to bolster your talent acquisition efforts so you can secure the best candidates for your company’s strategic needs.

Click the image below to view and download the full infographic.

January 23, 2018

Hiring Tips to Acquire the Best Talent

Candidate Experience, Employers, Hiring Best Practices

Acquiring talent for your organization is one thing, but knowing how to find the best of the best is crucial – especially in a candidate-driven market. Hiring Tips to Acquire the BEST Talent:

Down to Business: Seven tips for better hiring

Finding great employees can be the difference between your business stagnating, or successfully growing your organization. You must actively seek out information on how to hire well and endure the school of experience. 7 Hiring Tips…

How to Know You’ve Failed as a Hiring Manager / Hiring Tips

Admittedly, hiring is one of the most challenging parts of building and growing a company. You have to learn how to identify those people who will add to your organization instead of draining your resources. Here are a few ways that you can assess your choice of potential employees during the hiring process. Read more…

The 7 Most Important Hires For Creating A Culture Of Innovation

Studies have shown that office culture is one of the most revealing indicators of workplace satisfaction. How can companies be intentional about building and nurturing a good workplace culture? The short answer: Hire for the right roles. Read more…

April 20, 2016

Hiring Numbers Up Again – Employment Trends to Follow

Candidate Experience, Employers, Hiring Best Practices

U.S. hiring numbers are up once again this month. More than ever, companies must rely on employment trends that actually work to compete with the best. 4 trending topics to aide your hiring efforts:

US hiring reaches 9-year high; job openings slip

The Labor Department recently reported that 5.4 million people found jobs, a 5.8 percent jump from January and the most since November 2006. Both figures point to a healthier, more dynamic labor market. Businesses have been reluctant to accelerate hiring for much of the nearly seven year old recovery. Employers added a solid 215,000 positions in March, while the unemployment rate rose to 5 percent from 4.9 percent. Read more…

The Top 5 HR Trends For 2016 And Beyond

I’m very excited and optimistic about the future of HR. This role is undergoing massive transformation both in terms of name and function. Over the past few months I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time speaking with some of the world’s top talent, human resource, and people officers at organizations around the world. The five trends shaping the future of HR for 2016

Attitudes changing about rehiring workers who left

76 percent of 1,800-plus human resources professionals surveyed were willing to consider taking workers back, while another survey found 98 percent of 300 human resources managers polled open to such a move. Read more…

An Inside Look at the Fast-Growing IT Industry’s New and Emerging Jobs

Information Technology is the “IT” industry – and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. For students who don’t want to pursue a medical or law degree, IT represents the next highest-paying job market, and the shortage of students completing an IT degree makes this a high-demand field. Read more…

April 6, 2016

Closing the Deal as a Hiring Manager

Candidate Experience, Employers, Hiring Best Practices

The economy as it relates to the recruiting industry is in an interesting place. From 2010 to 2013, we witnessed a recession bounce-back – both demand (job requisitions) and supply (candidates) were on a steady rise. The last few years has been a different story though. Demand for high caliber IT and Engineering professionals has been constant, but the supply hasn’t.

So how do hiring managers and recruiters get ahead in 2016? For one, they must always be closing. In other words, making sure your hiring process is efficient and timely is important when candidates often have 4-5 other companies fighting for them. If you don’t make it all about them, you may be wasting your time.

Here are a few more trendy recruiting tips to assure your hiring process is where it needs to be:

Improving Quality of Hire Requires Better Jobs, Better Recruiters and Better Hiring Managers

To raise your company’s quality of hire, you need a hiring strategy designed to attract the best not one designed to weed out the weak. Read more…

The Future of Recruiting: Major Trends to Watch

The way companies locate and attract top talent has changed dramatically in recent years. Hiring managers and HR experts weighed in on the current landscape. Read more…

Death to Purple Squirrels

Every recruiter is after the proverbial purple squirrels, but the problem is that by focusing on the unfindable, sourcers ignore what matters most. Read more…

March 9, 2016

Talent Acquisition – It’s All About Keeping Up With The Times

Candidate Experience, Employee Engagement, Employers, Hiring Best Practices

It’s no secret that we’re in the midst of a candidate-driven market. Candidates have more choices than ever, so employers must break from the norm. Some hiring managers are raising red flags, but the smarter ones are viewing this as a talent acquisition opportunity. Getting ahead of the curve, and involving technology in your recruiting efforts is key.

4 trending talent acquisition topics to get ahead of the curve:

Candidate Experience by Design: Applying UX To Recruiting.

Since almost every job search happens online, there’s really no difference between candidate experience and UX anymore. We must accept that today’s job search and recruiting process happens exclusively online, for every position, for every candidate, for every sector (save the oddest of outliers). 9 UX Principles for Hiring Success

6 Ways to Recruit Superstar Talent to Your New Company

Recruiting in today’s ultra-competitive job market is tough and success can often hinge on the team that you already have in place. Some sources suggest that in the start-up world the team is second only to timing when it comes to recruiting. The team is more important than the idea, the business model, and funding. 6 ways…

How Employers Are Wasting Time/Money To Recruit New Hires

With over 100 occupations in the U.S. currently posting more jobs than actual hires month over month, according to CareerBuilder, the war for talent is on. So you would think employers would be scrambling to figure out the best ways to lure talent, especially considering that millennials who will make up 75% of the workforce in the next decade are itching for their next career opportunity. Read more…

Cover Letters Are Dead And Other 2016 Recruiting Trends

Almost every cover letter says the same thing – it says ‘Here’s my resume, and here’s why I’m qualified for your job opening.’ No one has time to read cover letters, because the contents of the cover letter are so unlikely to make the manager’s heart beat faster that he or she doesn’t invest the twenty seconds it would take to scan the cover letter. Read more…

February 23, 2016

What Defines Employment Verification?

Verification of Employment

Importance of Verification of Employment

Employee Verification

How Does a Background Check Verify Employment?

Employment History

Education History

Criminal Records

Credit Reports

What Defines Employment Verification?

Verification of Employment

Importance of Verification of Employment

Employee Verification

How Does a Background Check Verify Employment?

Employment History

Education History

Criminal Records

Credit Reports

Types of Interviews

Types of Job Interviews

Traditional Interview

Phone Interview

Project or Case Interview

Group Interview

Panel Interview

Mealtime Interview

How to Prepare for a Job Interview

Research the Company

Prepare Your Answers

Practice, Practice, Practice

Make Sure Your Space and Technology Are Ready

Speak Up About Your Selling Points

Have Some Questions for the Interviewer

Getting the Interview

1. Understand the stakes

2. Qualify the opportunity

3. Put your interviewer at ease

4. Get comfortable with silence

5. Ace your next job interview with the right recruiter

let’s get to know each other

contact us:

1. How to beat the nerves

2. Get comfortable with silence

3. Use the mirroring technique

4. Be yourself (while selling yourself)

5. Choose your representative wisely

let’s get to know each other

At Brightwing, our talent acquisition approach is one-part relationships, one-part insight, and one-part results. We know it’s a recipe that can work for you.

Mistake #1: Encourage new hires to focus solely on their own responsibilities.

Mistake #2: Forget the small wins. Ignore the milestones.

Mistake #3: Depend on a new hire’s manager to do all the heavy lifting.

At Brightwing, we’re focused on helping our clients build teams that perform at high levels and last for the long haul. Let us help you find amazing people that fit your culture. Let’s partner up. We can’t wait to hear from you.

How Your Employer Brand Impacts Your Recruiting

What Role Candidate Experience Plays in Your Brand

How Your Brand Is Reflected in Your Company Culture

From the Desk of Jason Hochstein, Director of Talent Acquisition at Brightwing

1. A Brand You Believe In

2. A Candidate Experience You Can Be Proud Of

3. Relationship-Building You Rock At

Feeling held back in your current position? Join a company that gives you the resources, tools, and environment to really make a difference in this challenging market. Become a Brightwinger! Check out our careers page today for more information about what it’s like to work here.

<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-23531 aligncenter" src="https://gobrightwing.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/4-out-of-5-Employees-May-Switch-Jobs-in-2019-Banner.png" alt="4 out of 5 Employees May Switch Jobs in 2019" width="866" height="350" />

Brightwing Talent Insights Survey Results 2019

Only 1 in 5 employees are committed to staying at their current job

Job boards, recruiters, and social networks are popular job search resources

56% of Jobseekers Prefer Email Communication

Two Thirds of Jobseekers Are Checking on Your Reputation

Jobseekers Crave Skills Growth and Opportunity

Follow Up Within One Week or Risk Losing Top Candidates

Flex Time and Healthcare Benefits Are Equally Important

Counteroffers Rarely Work

Brightwing Talent Insights 2019

The Advantage of Recruiting Chatbots

Drivers of the Candidate Experience

Recruiting Chatbots and the Candidate Experience

For a deeper dive into chatbots and AI in the hiring process, grab your copy of our latest eBook: AI in Hiring: The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread? Or Is It Toast?

But can you really trust AI-powered recruiting chatbots?

How a Great Company Culture Attracts Candidates

What Makes a Great Culture?

How to Spread the Word

The Power of Company Culture in Your Talent Acquisition Strategy