Research on the Engineering Talent Shortage Says We Should Start Worrying

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Research on the Engineering Talent Shortage Says We Should Start Worrying (1)
Did you check out our recent 2019 Hiring Insights in Engineering yet? We’ve got the research to prepare for your 2019 hiring initiatives. Go check it out, then meet us back here.

 

The talent shortage.

 

A long-time buzzword in the engineering and manufacturing sectors – one you’d be tempted to tune out by now. Except it hits too close to home to ignore; your productivity, growth, customer service, and innovation are just a handful of areas that vacancies will negatively impact – and the talent shortage ensures that those vacancies will take at least three months to fill, according to surveyed manufacturers.

 

By 2028, a continued shortage will translate to a potential loss of $454 billion in economic output – a massive 17% of the forecasted manufacturing GDP in the US.

 

For many companies, it’s tempting to throw money at the problem and forget about it – offer higher salary packages to attract the right talent or invest in automation technology to relieve the demand for transactional labor. But it’s not enough.

 

Take a look at this graphic from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute. Can money really fill the gap of 2.4 million manufacturing vacancies by 2028?

 

 

The engineering and manufacturing talent shortage isn’t just a buzzword. Its impact is both global and local. The need to tackle this challenge is not dependent upon revenue size, organizational demographics, or reach. It’s a commitment needed by every company.

 

We dig into more detail below. Grab a cup of coffee and read on.

 

Why Is There an Engineering and Manufacturing Talent Shortage?

The engineering and manufacturing industries are contending with historically-low unemployment rates in combination with the industry’s significant contribution to economic expansion. The result is the tightest labor market in recent history. But the root causes of this talent shortage go deeper.

 

Shrinking Immigration

The STEM workforce in the US has long been home to a significant portion of talented foreign-born workers – about 20-25% according to the American Immigration Council. However, the number of international students has declined a massive 17% in recent years – primarily due to changes in visa regulation. Furthermore, while large organizations in the manufacturing/engineering fields have historically been the biggest sponsors of H-1B visas for foreign workers, that number has similarly decreased.

 

Companies are left to turn to domestic talent, which is a far smaller pool of professionals.

 

Aging Workforce

A SHRM report suggests that almost 27% of workers in the manufacturing sector will retire within the next decade. Baby Boomers – and even some older members of Generation X – are out the door, taking their knowledge and skills with them. Not only are many companies lacking sufficient succession planning and knowledge transfer strategies, but there simply isn’t enough talent to fill the gap.

 

Decline in STEM Interest

Last year, the number of teenage boys interested in a STEM career dropped from 36% to 24% while the number of teenage girls is stagnant at just 11%. Only 3 in 10 parents consider advising their child to go into manufacturing. Some claim that an unfavorable perception of the industry is the root cause of this disinterest.

 

Consider the automotive industry, one expert points out; the emotional response tied to the Big Three automotive brands is nowhere near as exciting as that tied with Tesla, known for its innovation. But Tesla is not what people initially think of when considering a career in manufacturing. In fact, less than half of surveyed Americans believe that manufacturing jobs are “interesting, rewarding, clean, safe, stable, and secure.” With such a dismal view of the industry, it’s little wonder why enrollment in these fields is stagnant or, worse, declining.

 

Lack of Women in Engineering and Manufacturing

As mentioned, only 11% of teenage girls are interested in STEM careers. The number of female engineering graduates is higher – at 24% – but that’s still drastically uneven, despite the fact that women outnumber men in overall graduate school enrollment. Studies show that the US manufacturing workforce consists of just 29% of women workers. This lack of women in engineering and manufacturing is certainly perpetuating the talent shortage.

 

Overcoming the Engineering and Manufacturing Talent Shortage

Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to address the talent shortage in the engineering and manufacturing fields.

 

The right solution depends upon a number of factors, including regional differences in skills demand and current STEM offerings, to name a couple. That said, we’ve seen companies find success in some of the following solutions. 

 

Investing in STEM Development

Getting involved at the college and high-school levels to promote STEM careers is one of the most proactive approaches to solving the talent shortage. Not only are you able to build your long-term talent pipeline, you’re also building employer brand awareness, which is highly valuable in attracting greater numbers of candidates.

 

For example, global manufacturer Cummins, Inc. created its own initiative to address the skills gap, called the Technical Education for Communities program (TEC). It’s a program that works with schools to identify and supplement gaps, helping them standardize teacher training, market-relevant curriculum, classroom tools and systems, and career guidance. It’s an extensive investment, but one that pays off by improving overall STEM education and sparking greater career interest.

 

Hand-in-hand with STEM education investment is the opportunity to get more girls interested in careers in fields like engineering and manufacturing. A Microsoft general manager Shelley McKinley points to studies that show girls need more role models: “Where are the women STEM teachers? Girls are more interested in hands-on experience; they want to see the life applications of what they are learning.” Companies can take a proactive approach in getting the right role models in front of this young audience to boost their interest in STEM.

 

Creative Compensation Packages

Many organizations hear the phrase talent shortage and act in a reactive manner, throwing money at the problem to gain the talent they need. Higher wages and sign-on bonuses are common strategies – and Deloitte reports a 68% positive impact from companies who go this route. It seems like a viable solution – for now.

 

But it’s a short-term fix. It doesn’t guarantee that the people lured in by the money will stay for the long haul or that the future talent pool will miraculously grow as a result. Plus, it’s expensive. The average US engineer wage sits at $91,010, reaching even higher depending on experience level and regional bias. How long will this strategy remain valuable?

 

Flexible Skills Requirements

Sometimes, the talent pool only seems limited because a company’s long list of requirements is so stringent.

 

Finding the perfect candidate in the current market is going to prove highly difficult. However, a more flexible approach to requirements will result in a wider range of available candidates. We’ve seen the success of this strategy first-hand. An automotive client spent six months trying to find a highly technical engineer with extensive experience in a long list of very specific skills. We helped them pare that list down and expanded the search from local to national (introducing a relocation package), resulting in a wider array of highly qualified people who fit the job.

 

Training Junior Professionals

Not only will getting more flexible on requirements help, but intentionally hiring more junior people can also open up the talent pool.

 

This strategy goes hand-in-hand with valuable training programs as well as knowledge transfer initiatives – especially as your oldest generation of workers gets ready for retirement. To aid in this effort, some manufacturers have already implemented short-term project opportunities for retiring individuals, allowing them to work in a smaller capacity in order to increase (or maintain) headcount while enabling greater knowledge transfer to junior employees.

 

Implementing Automation

Automation does not solve the engineering and manufacturing talent shortage, but it does help address the challenge in the meantime.

 

The World Economic Forum suggests that by 2022 42% of total task hours will be managed by machines and algorithms. As such, one in three manufacturers are already using these tools and technologies to supplement low-skilled jobs in order to focus their recruiting efforts on higher-skilled roles. As a result, 64% of executives have found that automation helps them overcome the challenges of the talent shortage.

 

* * *

 

At the end of the day, it’s clear that leaders in the engineering and manufacturing fields cannot remain silent about the talent shortage. Industry growth and demand are opening up more and more employment opportunities – and the only way to fill those positions is to be proactive about filling your talent pipeline.

 

For more research, check out the Brightwing 2019 Hiring Insights in Engineering Guide today.

2019 IT Salaries: Do Your Competitors Have Deeper Pockets?

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Did you check out our recent 2019 Hiring Insights in IT yet? We’ve got the research you need to prepare for your 2019 hiring initiatives. Go ahead and take a look – we’ll be right here waiting when you get back.

 

Surveys tell us that less than half of all tech professionals are satisfied with their current salary. And they don’t have far to look for something better. The competitive state of the IT job market looks more and more attractive every day.

 

While money isn’t the only way to recruit and retain talent (more on this later), you can’t deny that it’s a massive motivator. Thus, staying up to date with IT market rates is essential.

 

An Employer’s Quick Guide to 2019 IT Salaries

The IT pros we know love a good challenge, want to work for great companies, and embrace flexibility. But they still have bills to pay. That’s why comparing your current IT compensation package with market rates is critical to stay competitive.

 

10 years ago, the average IT salary sat at $78,845. But a decade is a lifetime in the tech industry. Today’s average IT professional is making $93,244, a significant increase over time. What era are your salaries in? Below we break down 2019 IT salaries by function, technologies, experience level, and employment type.

 

2019 IT Salaries by Function

Bear in mind, these numbers aren’t set in stone. They are highly dependent on experience level, region, industry, company size, and other elements like bonuses and perks. But the following numbers from Dice.com provide a solid baseline. Check them out.

 

 

2019 IT Salaries by Technology

Programming, big data, and cloud technologies are among the highest paying skills in the tech world. They’re also the areas that companies need talent for the most. If your 2019 IT initiatives cover these trends, you need to budget accordingly. Are you looking for talent with the following skills? If so, adjust your baseline to reflect these Dice.com salaries.

 

 

2019 IT Salaries by Experience

In this current war for tech talent, many companies are choosing to compromise. Rather than following a strict list of technical requirements and experience that severally narrows the talent pool, many employers are beginning to see the perks of hiring junior talent whom they can train and develop. In this scenario, the focus of their hiring profile is on soft skills; quality candidates must have the ability and drive to learn, adapt, and collaborate.

 

What impact does this decision make on your budget? Data from Dice.com breaks average tech salaries down by the following experience levels.

 

 

2019 IT Salaries by Employment Type

One major factor in what you pay your tech talent will of course be whether you hire them on as full-time permanent employees or as contractors. IT pros who choose to work on a contract basis do so for the higher pay, greater flexibility, and broader range of experience and opportunities it offers them. For companies whose hiring initiatives require highly specialized talent for niche projects, contract-based employees are the obvious choice. It’s a win-win situation that is becoming increasingly popular among both professionals and companies.

 

That said, it does throw a bit of a wrench in your compensation calculations. Hiring a contractor relieves the burden of taxes and benefits, but you will end up paying higher rates as a result. Choosing to partner with a staffing firm will give you even greater security and ease, not to mention a deeper talent pool, but again, this will be reflected in the salary rates.

 

Dice.com provides the following averages for IT salaries by employment type.

 

 

But It’s Going to Take More Than Money

At the end of the day, whether you’re focused on recruiting or retaining (or both), the big picture is made of more than dollar signs. Finding and keeping the best people comes down to experience, to relationships, and to intuition. At Brightwing, our motto is “Recruiting, Reimagined” – which means getting out of the transactional mindset of hiring and managing, and, instead, really getting to know the people behind the resumes and paychecks.

 

Yes, people want higher salaries – they do, after all, have mortgages, childcare, groceries, and vacations to pay for – but they also want better working conditions, more responsibilities, greater flexibility, and meaningful career development options. Did you know that 35% of IT professionals say they are very burnt out? Can you commit to being an employer that flips that statistic on its head?

 

We’d love to find out more about what you’re doing to attract top tech talent. We’re all ears. Got five minutes to chat?

 

Get the latest research in our 2019 Hiring Insights in IT Guide

Brightwing 2019 Hiring Insights in Marketing

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Did you know that an overwhelming 97% of marketers are reportedly open to new opportunities? Most of them aren’t actively looking, but that number is still a massive cause for concern. Employers are already battling with a marketing talent shortage in order to fill new positions, let alone backfill roles that people leave.

 

This supply-demand dilemma is the underlying theme for many of the recruiting and hiring trends that are top of mind this year in the marketing sector. Our aim is to provide you with a comprehensive guide to the labor market to prepare your staffing and recruiting practices for the year ahead.

 

Contents

  • A Quick Glance at the 2019 Labor Market
  • A New Focus for the Future of Hiring
  • Hiring Insights in Marketing
  • 2019 from the Perspective of Key Leaders

A Glance at the 2019 Labor Market

[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”center” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

The national unemployment rate is at a record low since 1969 and is even lower in many industry sectors and regional markets. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

This is a typical increase in wages, only 0.1% higher than 2018, which implies stagnant wage growth.

However, job switchers in marketing can expect a 9.1% wage increase – a highly attractive reason to seek something new. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text][vc_empty_space]

25.7% of employees are actively seeking new job opportunities.

And 55.5% are passively open to new job opportunities. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column]

 

 

 

 

Best cities for jobs

Glassdoor ranks these cities based on hiring opportunity, cost of living, and overall job satisfaction:

  1. Pittsburgh, PA
  2. St. Louis, MO
  3. Indianapolis, IN
  4. Cincinnati, OH
  5. Hartford, CT
  6. Boston, MA
  7. Memphis, TN
  8. Raleigh, NC
  9. Cleveland, OH
  10. Detroit, MI

 

Top Perks Employers are Highlighting

  • Casual dress codes
  • Employee discounts
  • Remote work opportunities
  • Extra paid time off
  • Signing bonuses
  • Free lunches
  • Gym memberships
  • Work from home Fridays
  • Daycare

A New Focus for the Future of Hiring

 

In 2018, AI-powered recruitment technologies took off across every industry. Seeking to automate the application, screening, and interviewing processes, these tools unburden the hands, and minds, of recruiters and corporate talent acquisition professionals everywhere.

 

However, our stance on this trend has been, and always will be, that humans are greater than machines – most especially in recruiting for highly skilled Technology, Finance, Engineering and Marketing professionals.

 

Even with a quarter of employees looking for a new job, and over half passively interested should the opportunity present itself, employers cannot rely on the programming of their recruitment technology to make the right matches and entice the best-fit talent. This is the year that employers must focus on the human side of recruitment, specifically, the candidate experience.

 

Here are a few numbers proving why the candidate experience is critical this year:

 

[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”center” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

68% of employees believe the candidate experience is a reflection of the employee experience [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

51% of people continue to look for jobs even after they’ve accepted an offer[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

31% of candidates expect a customized message when a company reaches out with a new opportunity [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

55% of applicants give up if they haven’t heard back from a company within two weeks [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

 

 

In short, the role of the candidate experience in your recruitment process cannot be overlooked. One in seven new hires accept a job offer only to walk away at the last minute. Do not let this become your story.

 

Quick steps to an awesome candidate experience

  1. A fast and easy (and mobile-responsive) application process
  2. Quick feedback and responses to every candidate
  3. A compelling employer brand that reflects your company culture
  4. Personalized emails, phone calls, and messages throughout the process
  5. A short, but thorough, interview process
  6. A clear understanding of the benefits and perks you offer
  7. An efficient and valuable onboarding process

Hiring Insights in Marketing

 

The digital marketing industry, valued at the beginning of 2018 at $192 billion, is expected to grow to $306 billion by 2020. That’s massive, exponential growth, putting the demand for marketers at an all-time high. In fact, marketing manager is the 3rd best job according to Glassdoor, a ranking based on number of job openings, salary, and overall job satisfaction.

 

That said, marketing is yet another field feeling the pain of a skills gap. CMOs agree that finding marketing talent is one of their biggest challenges in today’s market.

 

The cherry on top of this talent shortage is that a reported 97% of marketers are open to new opportunities – usually to gain a better salary or career advancement. Although only 19% are actively searching for a new job, this is still massive cause for concern.

 

Top digital marketing trends

  1. Interactive chatbots
  2. Voice search
  3. AI and blockchain
  4. Influencer marketing
  5. Security and data privacy
  6. Personalized messaging
  7. Data analytics

 

Most valuable skills when hiring marketing talent

  • Creativity
  • Natural leadership abilities
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Curiosity
  • Marketing platform experience
  • Data science background

2019 from the Perspective of Key Leaders

 

“Low unemployment and increasing skills gaps continue to plague employers who are struggling to fill roles at all levels within their organizations,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “Fifty percent of U.S. employers reported that it is taking them longer to fill jobs today compared to any other period of time — a trend that is ultimately giving job seekers more leverage.”

How Are You Overcoming the Marketing Talent Shortage?

 

You’re probably gearing up for 2019 hiring, but some of these statistics might be concerning.

 

For us, these statistics are eye-opening. We’re always looking for new ways to partner with companies to overcome these challenges. Our talent acquisition solutions are one-part relationships, one-part insight, and one-part results. It’s a recipe that works every time, and we’d love to introduce you.

 

We want to partner with you. Let’s chat.

Brightwing 2019 Hiring Insights in Finance & Accounting

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You don’t have to be an accountant to do the math: The BLS reports that 5.5 million jobs in America are currently unfilled due to lack of talent. Meanwhile, they project a 10% increase in the number of finance and accounting occupations by 2026. It’s no surprise, then, that employers can expect 2019 to be another year spent struggling to recruit the best people.

 

This ongoing talent shortage is the underlying theme for many of the recruiting and hiring trends that are top of mind this year. Our aim is to provide you with a comprehensive guide to the finance and accounting labor market to prepare your staffing and recruiting practices for the year ahead.

 

Contents

  • A Quick Glance at the 2019 Labor Market
  • A New Focus for the Future of Hiring
  • Hiring Insights in Finance & Accounting
  • 2019 from the Perspective of Key Leaders

A Glance at the 2019 Labor Market

[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”center” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

The national unemployment rate is at a record low since 1969 and is even lower in many industry sectors and regional markets. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

This is a typical increase in wages, only 0.1% higher than 2018, which implies stagnant wage growth.

However, job switchers in finance can expect a 9.4% wage increase – a highly attractive reason to seek something new. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text][vc_empty_space]

25.7% of employees are actively seeking new job opportunities.

And 55.5% are passively open to new job opportunities. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column]

 

 

 

 

Best cities for jobs

Glassdoor ranks these cities based on hiring opportunity, cost of living, and overall job satisfaction:

  1. Pittsburgh, PA
  2. St. Louis, MO
  3. Indianapolis, IN
  4. Cincinnati, OH
  5. Hartford, CT
  6. Boston, MA
  7. Memphis, TN
  8. Raleigh, NC
  9. Cleveland, OH
  10. Detroit, MI

 

Top Perks Employers are Highlighting

  • Casual dress codes
  • Employee discounts
  • Remote work opportunities
  • Extra paid time off
  • Signing bonuses
  • Free lunches
  • Gym memberships
  • Work from home Fridays
  • Daycare

A New Focus for the Future of Hiring

 

In 2018, AI-powered recruitment technologies took off across every industry. Seeking to automate the application, screening, and interviewing processes, these tools unburden the hands, and minds, of recruiters and corporate talent acquisition professionals everywhere.

 

However, our stance on this trend has been, and always will be, that humans are greater than machines – most especially in recruiting for highly skilled Technology, Finance, Engineering and Marketing professionals.

 

Even with a quarter of employees looking for a new job, and over half passively interested should the opportunity present itself, employers cannot rely on the programming of their recruitment technology to make the right matches and entice the best-fit talent. This is the year that employers must focus on the human side of recruitment, specifically, the candidate experience.

 

Here are a few numbers proving why the candidate experience is critical this year:

[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”center” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

68% of employees believe the candidate experience is a reflection of the employee experience [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

51% of people continue to look for jobs even after they’ve accepted an offer[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

31% of candidates expect a customized message when a company reaches out with a new opportunity [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

55% of applicants give up if they haven’t heard back from a company within two weeks [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

 

 

In short, the role of the candidate experience in your recruitment process cannot be overlooked. One in seven new hires accept a job offer only to walk away at the last minute. Do not let this become your story.

 

Quick steps to an awesome candidate experience

  1. A fast and easy (and mobile-responsive) application process
  2. Quick feedback and responses to every candidate
  3. A compelling employer brand that reflects your company culture
  4. Personalized emails, phone calls, and messages throughout the process
  5. A short, but thorough, interview process
  6. A clear understanding of the benefits and perks you offer
  7. An efficient and valuable onboarding process

Hiring Insights in Accounting & Finance

 

The finance field is undergoing a transformation due to trends such as:

  1. FinTech
  2. Cryptocurrency
  3. Blockchain
  4. Robotic process automation (RPA)
  5. Cloud
  6. Artificial Intelligence
  7. Cybersecurity
  8. Regulatory changes

 

But finding the talent to tackle these trends presents a major challenge.

 

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47% of CFOs believe their teams are too shorthanded to meet future industry demands. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

57% say that skills in predictive and prescriptive analytics are crucial for finance and accounting functions of the future. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column]

 

 

773,800 new jobs will be added to the finance and accounting marketplace by 2026.

 

 

 

2019 from the Perspective of Key Leaders

 

“Low unemployment and increasing skills gaps continue to plague employers who are struggling to fill roles at all levels within their organizations,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “Fifty percent of U.S. employers reported that it is taking them longer to fill jobs today compared to any other period of time — a trend that is ultimately giving job seekers more leverage.”

How Are You Overcoming the Finance & Accounting Talent Shortage?

 

You’re probably gearing up for 2019 hiring, but some of these statistics might be concerning.

 

For us, these statistics are eye-opening. We’re always looking for new ways to partner with companies to overcome these challenges. Our talent acquisition solutions are one-part relationships, one-part insight, and one-part results. It’s a recipe that works every time, and we’d love to introduce you.

 

We want to partner with you. Let’s chat.

Brightwing 2019 Hiring Insights in Engineering

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The engineering sector is experiencing a brain drain dilemma. Many baby boomer engineers are retiring at greater rates than graduates are entering the workforce. This isn’t a new phenomenon, but it will play a significant role in how organizations strategize for their 2019 hiring.

 

This skills gap is the underlying theme for many of the recruiting and hiring trends that are top of mind this year. Our aim is to provide you with a comprehensive guide to the labor market to prepare your staffing and recruiting practices for the year ahead.

 

Contents

  • A Quick Glance at the 2019 Labor Market
  • A New Focus for the Future of Hiring
  • Hiring Insights in Engineering
  • 2019 from the Perspective of Key Leaders

A Glance at the 2019 Labor Market

[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”center” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

The national unemployment rate is at a record low since 1969 and is even lower in many industry sectors and regional markets. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

This is a typical increase in wages, only 0.1% higher than 2018, which implies stagnant wage growth.

However, job switchers in engineering can expect a 4.9% wage increase – a highly attractive reason to seek something new. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text][vc_empty_space]

25.7% of employees are actively seeking new job opportunities.

And 55.5% are passively open to new job opportunities. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column]

 

 

 

 

Best cities for jobs

Glassdoor ranks these cities based on hiring opportunity, cost of living, and overall job satisfaction:

  1. Pittsburgh, PA
  2. St. Louis, MO
  3. Indianapolis, IN
  4. Cincinnati, OH
  5. Hartford, CT
  6. Boston, MA
  7. Memphis, TN
  8. Raleigh, NC
  9. Cleveland, OH
  10. Detroit, MI

 

Top Perks Employers are Highlighting

  • Casual dress codes
  • Employee discounts
  • Remote work opportunities
  • Extra paid time off
  • Signing bonuses
  • Free lunches
  • Gym memberships
  • Work from home Fridays
  • Daycare

 

A New Focus for the Future of Hiring

 

In 2018, AI-powered recruitment technologies took off across every industry. Seeking to automate the application, screening, and interviewing processes, these tools unburden the hands and minds of recruiters and corporate talent acquisition professionals everywhere.

 

However, our stance on this trend has been, and always will be, that humans are greater than machines – most especially in recruiting for highly skilled Technology, Finance, Engineering and Marketing professionals.

 

Even with a quarter of employees looking for a new job, and over half passively interested should the opportunity present itself, employers cannot rely on the programming of their recruitment technology to make the right matches and entice the best-fit talent. This is the year that employers must focus on the human side of recruitment, specifically, the candidate experience.

 

Here are a few numbers proving why the candidate experience is critical this year:

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68% of employees believe the candidate experience is a reflection of the employee experience [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

51% of people continue to look for jobs even after they’ve accepted an offer[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

31% of candidates expect a customized message when a company reaches out with a new opportunity [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

55% of applicants give up if they haven’t heard back from a company within two weeks [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

 

 

In short, the role of the candidate experience in your recruitment process cannot be overlooked. One in seven new hires accept a job offer only to walk away at the last minute. Do not let this become your story.

 

Quick steps to an awesome candidate experience

  1. A fast and easy (and mobile-responsive) application process
  2. Quick feedback and responses to every candidate
  3. A compelling employer brand that reflects your company culture
  4. Personalized emails, phone calls, and messages throughout the process
  5. A short, but thorough, interview process
  6. A clear understanding of the benefits and perks you offer
  7. An efficient and valuable onboarding process

Hiring Insights in Engineering

 

Engineering employment has seen sustained growth over the last few years, up 2.27% in the last year alone. A majority of companies, 69%, anticipate hiring more engineers over the next 5-10 years.

 

The Growing Engineering Talent Shortage

The demand is strong, but the level of engineering talent can’t keep pace. This is partly due to too few engineering graduates, as well as an increasing number of retirees. It’s a major concern; 98% of companies are all too aware of how their business can suffer if they can’t fill open engineering positions.

 

Here are the top 5 biggest concerns with the engineering shortage:

  • Loss of competitiveness
  • Inability to innovate
  • Higher product development costs
  • Lost revenue opportunities
  • Poor design efficiency

 

Not only are there too few engineering graduates, it also appears that even those who do graduate with an engineering degree aren’t fully prepared for their career ahead. Here are some skills they’re missing out on:

  • Product cost management
  • Manufacturability
  • Industry knowledge
  • Project management
  • PDM
  • CAM
  • PLM
  • CAE
  • Problem solving
  • Systems engineering
  • Ideation
  • CAD
  • Technical problem solving
  • Integrating software and electronics

2019 from the Perspective of Key Leaders

 

“Low unemployment and increasing skills gaps continue to plague employers who are struggling to fill roles at all levels within their organizations,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “Fifty percent of U.S. employers reported that it is taking them longer to fill jobs today compared to any other period of time — a trend that is ultimately giving job seekers more leverage.”

How Are You Overcoming the Engineering Talent Shortage?

 

You’re probably gearing up for 2019 hiring, but some of these statistics might be concerning.

 

For us, these statistics are eye-opening. We’re always looking for new ways to partner with companies to overcome these challenges. Our talent acquisition solutions are one-part relationships, one-part insight, and one-part results. It’s a recipe that works every time, and we’d love to introduce you.

 

We want to partner with you. Let’s chat.

Brightwing 2019 Hiring Insights in IT

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This year feels a little bit reminiscent of the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. We’re seeing the same forecasts that have been the reality for months: demand for tech talent massively exceeds the supply. In fact, this will be a repeating scenario for the next decade, with a debilitating talent shortage to the tune of 4.3 million tech workers on a global scale by 2030. It’s a gap that is detrimental to business growth, costing companies trillions of dollars collectively and opening up the door to serious cyber risk.

 

This supply-demand tug of war is the underlying theme for many of the recruiting and hiring trends that are top of mind this year. Our aim is to provide you with a comprehensive guide to the IT labor market to prepare your staffing and recruiting practices for the year ahead.

 

Contents

  • A Quick Glance at the 2019 Labor Market
  • A New Focus for the Future of Hiring
  • Hiring Insights in Information Technology
  • 2019 from the Perspective of Key Leaders

A Glance at the 2019 Labor Market

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The national unemployment rate is at a record low since 1969 and is even lower in many industry sectors and regional markets. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

This is a typical increase in wages, only 0.1% higher than 2018, which implies stagnant wage growth.

However, job switchers in tech can expect a 9.1% wage increase – a highly attractive reason to seek something new. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text][vc_empty_space]

25.7% of employees are actively seeking new job opportunities.

And 55.5% are passively open to new job opportunities. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column]

 

 

 

 

Best cities for jobs

Glassdoor ranks these cities based on hiring opportunity, cost of living, and overall job satisfaction:

  1. Pittsburgh, PA
  2. St. Louis, MO
  3. Indianapolis, IN
  4. Cincinnati, OH
  5. Hartford, CT
  6. Boston, MA
  7. Memphis, TN
  8. Raleigh, NC
  9. Cleveland, OH
  10. Detroit, MI

 

Top Perks Employers are Highlighting

  • Casual dress codes
  • Employee discounts
  • Remote work opportunities
  • Extra paid time off
  • Signing bonuses
  • Free lunches
  • Gym memberships
  • Work from home Fridays
  • Daycare

 

A New Focus for the Future of Hiring

 

In 2018, AI-powered recruitment technologies took off across every industry. Seeking to automate the application, screening, and interviewing processes, these tools unburden the hands and minds of recruiters and corporate talent acquisition professionals everywhere.

 

However, our stance on this trend has been, and always will be, that humans are greater than machines – most especially in recruiting for highly skilled Technology, Finance, Engineering and Marketing professionals.

 

Even with a quarter of employees looking for a new job, and over half passively interested should the opportunity present itself, employers cannot rely on the programming of their recruitment technology to make the right matches and entice the best-fit talent. This is the year that employers must focus on the human side of recruitment, specifically, the candidate experience.

 

Here are a few numbers proving why the candidate experience is critical this year:

[vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”center” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css_animation=””][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

68% of employees believe the candidate experience is a reflection of the employee experience [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

51% of people continue to look for jobs even after they’ve accepted an offer[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

31% of candidates expect a customized message when a company reaches out with a new opportunity [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

55% of applicants give up if they haven’t heard back from a company within two weeks [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

 

 

In short, the role of the candidate experience in your recruitment process cannot be overlooked. One in seven new hires accept a job offer only to walk away at the last minute. Do not let this become your story.

 

Quick steps to an awesome candidate experience

  1. A fast and easy (and mobile-responsive) application process
  2. Quick feedback and responses to every candidate
  3. A compelling employer brand that reflects your company culture
  4. Personalized emails, phone calls, and messages throughout the process
  5. A short, but thorough, interview process
  6. A clear understanding of the benefits and perks you offer
  7. An efficient and valuable onboarding process

 

Hiring Insights in Information Technology

 

There is no surprise that the IT field continues to be one of the most competitive to recruit in. Unemployment remained under 2% for most of 2018, and 33% of organizations plan on increasing their IT staff in 2019. That is the recipe for a high-demand, low-supply IT marketplace.

 

 

 

 

One in four IT professionals plans to look for a new job in 2019:

 

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62% are seeking a better salary [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

52% are seeking IT skill advancement [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

36% are seeking better work-life balance [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

35% are seeking more prioritization of IT [/vc_column_text][/vc_column]

 

2019 from the Perspective of Key Leaders

 

“Low unemployment and increasing skills gaps continue to plague employers who are struggling to fill roles at all levels within their organizations,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “Fifty percent of U.S. employers reported that it is taking them longer to fill jobs today compared to any other period of time — a trend that is ultimately giving job seekers more leverage.”

How Are You Overcoming the Tech Talent Shortage?

 

You’re probably gearing up for 2019 hiring, but some of these statistics might be concerning.

 

For us, these statistics are eye-opening. We’re always looking for new ways to partner with companies to overcome these challenges. Our talent acquisition solutions are one-part relationships, one-part insight, and one-part results. It’s a recipe that works every time, and we’d love to introduce you.

 

We want to partner with you. Let’s chat.

How Do Recruiting Chatbots Impact the Candidate Experience?

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How Do Recruiting Chatbots Impact the Candidate Experience

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

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

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

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:

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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.

How I Recruit the Best .NET Developers

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How I Recruit the Best .NET DevelopersWhere in the world are the best .NET developers?

 

Honestly, I can’t give you exact coordinates, but I have figured out what it takes to recruit the best of the best.

 

It’s been 16 years since the .NET framework was first launched into the world, but the need for skilled professionals has only continued to increase. To this day, Microsoft invests heavily in the framework, and the popularity of related languages like C# add to the demand. This places pressure on “.NET” shops and their internal recruiting teams to find top quality .NET developers.

 

It’s not that these professionals don’t exist in large numbers. But with unemployment rates at historic lows combined with all-time highs in terms of demand, the vast majority of these developers are gainfully employed. Recruiting them from the competition is a major challenge. Attracting that talent requires a unique approach.

 

How Can I Be Heard Above the Noise?

I recently placed a .NET developer who wasn’t looking for a new job at all. He was happy with his previous employer and mostly tuned out all the LinkedIn messages he received from recruiters on a regular basis. But something in what I wrote to him was heard above the noise. First, it was clear I understood his unique skillset – from the .NET framework to OOP, MVC, and specific coding languages, I knew how these technologies fit into our client’s project. I also took the time to connect on his other interests – his LinkedIn profile mentioned he loved soccer, for example. Mine was the only LinkedIn message this candidate ever responded to, and I was able to match him with a new job that he loves.

 

Every recruiter on the planet uses LinkedIn to seek out top talent. But most don’t take the time to craft personal, authentic messages that show they’ve taken the time to understand what each candidate is really about. IT professionals – especially those in high demand like .NET developers – get pretty good at tuning out the astronomical number of LinkedIn messages that fill up their inboxes.

 

Successfully building relationships with .NET talent requires a real understanding of the technology – what other skills go hand-in-hand with it and what a client’s development project might look like. But it also requires some serious authenticity. I’m not just another recruiter trying to make a buck; I’m actively trying to help people find their dream jobs, and that takes a human, non-transactional approach. I listen to them, I learn about their lives and careers, and present them with opportunities that make sense.

 

Why Does the Perfect Candidate Want to Work for You?

When I start working with a client to help fill their positions, one of my first questions used to be, “tell me about your perfect candidate.” In the current market, especially for in-demand roles like .NET developers, it’s not enough to advertise your requirements and wait for people to show up. Instead, we’ve turned that question on its head and ask, “why would the perfect candidate want to work for your company?”

 

We need to determine what makes your work environment, company culture, and current projects unique. And how that meshes with candidates’ career goals and experiences is critically important in today’s hiring environment.

 

The information we share with candidates isn’t their only source of insight. Companies should be aware that most candidates will use every resource available to gather intel on a potential employer. That includes Glassdoor reviews, LinkedIn company pages, and employer branding pages (i.e., your careers webpage and job portal), as well as simple word of mouth from previous and current employees.

 

I’ve also found that the perspective of your company culture needs to be aligned among your own employees. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. I once worked closely with an IT Director who told me about the company’s collaborative work environment and overall great company culture. But when my candidate interviewed with the Development Manager, he was essentially told that he’d be on an island, with little additional training or team collaboration. Clearly, there was a disconnect between the director and hiring manager, and what seemed on the surface like the perfect opportunity was not the right fit for this candidate.

 

It Takes Process, Experience, and Commitment

The way I recruit the best .NET developers sounds simple enough, but it does take real commitment. I know many of these professionals are stuck dealing with staffing firms that simply don’t understand that. Fortunately, I also have major support through the Brightview Process – learn more about that here.

 

Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re seeking top .NET talent. I’d love to share my insight and help you out. Just pick up the phone or shoot us an email.

Brightwing Excited to Be a Crain’s 2018 Cool Places to Work Winner

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Brightwing Crain's Cool Places to WorkBrightwing, a nationwide recruiting and staffing company headquartered in Troy, MI, is happy to announce that they have been named to Crain’s 2018 Cool Places to Work in Michigan list. This is the third consecutive year that Brightwing has won this award.

 

The Coolest Places award program was created to recognize companies that go above and beyond to create and nurture a great company culture. The list of winners consists of 100 companies in three size categories, ranging from small, medium, and large. Companies nominated for Cool Places to Work in Michigan went through a two-part process. The first was a survey to evaluate each company’s benefits, policies, best practices, and demographics. This was followed by an employee survey to gauge their engagement and satisfaction. A third-party group managed and evaluated the data to determine the final awards rankings.

 

“We’re honored to be continually recognized as one of the coolest places to work in Michigan,” comments Aaron Chernow, CEO of Brightwing. “Our core mission is to champion human potential, and we’ve worked hard to create an environment that empowers our team to grow and achieve great things.”

 

In this year’s Cool Places to Work in Michigan, Brightwing was recognized for their customized training and leadership development program, as well as other perks, like half days before holiday weekends and games during lunch breaks.

 

 “Brightwing has an incredible culture,” said Adam Stern, Lead Recruiter at Brightwing. “It’s really the reason I come to work every day. They’re like my extended family. Brightwing is incredibly supportive; they support me every day, making sure that I’m the best that I can be.”

 

Beyond its collaborative, innovative culture and great benefits, employees are also able to enjoy the perks of an on-site fitness room, weekly yoga classes, team lunches, and more.

 

“At Brightwing, our motto is ‘Recruiting, Reimagined,’ which describes our commitment to relationships and genuine partnership with our clients and candidates. But we know that these values start within our own walls,” adds Chernow. “The business landscape, particularly in staffing, has become overly transactional, which is anything but ‘cool.’ This award is proof that we’re trying to change that.”

 

About Brightwing

Founded in 1973, Brightwing is a recruiting and staffing agency dedicated to championing human potential. Brightwing serves engineering/design, information technology, finance/accounting, and human resource positions. Brightwing is headquartered in Troy, MI with offices in Plano, TX; Davie, FL; and Pittsburgh, PA.

Real Stories from Real Recruiters: Going Above and Beyond

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Real Stories from Real Recruiters: Going Above and Beyond

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.

 

Related Articles

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

5 Strategies for Assessing the Strength of Your Hiring Process

The Power of Company Culture in Your Talent Acquisition Process

Real Stories from Real Recruiters: The Power of Candidate Referrals

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Real Stories from Real Recruiters: The Power of Candidate Referrals

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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Real Stories from Real Recruiters: Getting Real About Requirements

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This article is Part 4 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. (Click here to read Parts 1, 2, and 3.) This story is from Brightwinger Steve Ermak, Business Development Manager.

 

Does Your Job Description Reflect the Realities of the Marketplace?

 

I was working with a client in the automotive space who was traditionally really great to partner with. They came to us with a difficult, highly technical software engineering role which had been open for six months. They’d already tried to fill the position twice, but neither candidate had worked out.

 

We looked at the resumes of the candidates they’d tried to hire and right away realized that the company was desperate to fill this position. They had taken on people who were not the best fit, making desperate hiring decisions after failing to find candidates who matched their stringent technical requirements. I wasn’t very surprised those candidates didn’t work out.

 

We met with the hiring manager to go through each and every required skill set and responsibility on the job description, asking if and why it was truly required. Their original requirements narrowed the national talent pool to an extremely limited selection, which is why they had struggled to find someone locally. With a more realistic and pared-down list of skill sets and responsibilities in hand, we researched the marketplace to help the client understand the availability of qualified talent. It was this research that indicated our search should be on a national level, rather than just local. This meant putting together an attractive relocation package. Before we started searching, we also made it clear to our client that a speedy hiring process was paramount in successfully recruiting someone for this role.

 

With this solid foundation set, we got to work searching for technical talent. Fairly quickly, we found several people who looked great on paper. However, the client provided us with a handful of technical “knock out” questions to help nail down candidates who really knew what they were talking about. We quickly ruled out those first few candidates. Our next find, though, seemed perfect. Though he was from an aerospace background rather than automotive – and he lived four states away – it was clear that he was the “purple squirrel” our client had been looking for.

 

A successful phone interview quickly led to flying this candidate out for a face-to-face meeting with our client. True to their commitment, the hiring process was efficient, and they soon made an attractive offer – complete with a competitive relocation package – to this candidate. He started the job just a few weeks later, and we’ve received excellent feedback from both him and our client.

 

We’re here to be advisors for our clients. We know the challenges of the market, and we’re not afraid to speak up when we don’t see realistic expectations reflected in a job description. We work hard to build a level of trust with the people we work with so that we can overcome those hurdles and get to work on making the perfect match.

 

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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Real Stories from Real Recruiters: An Automotive Software Engineering Tale

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This article is Part 3 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 Mike Gourley, Senior Engineering Recruiter.

 

Recruiting the Purple Squirrel of Automotive Software Engineering

 

One of the biggest changes I’ve seen in recent years is in my car. How does this relate to hiring, you ask? Well, today’s cars are no longer mechanical at their core. It’s all electrical, with each system communicating to each other through the car’s computer. This fundamental shift means that the automobile industry is hiring software engineers more often than mechanical engineers.

 

But the right software engineer talent is as hard to find as a needle in a haystack and as rare as a purple squirrel. For every one candidate that exists, there are as many as fifteen jobs available within a 30-mile radius. That means every candidate is being inundated with calls from recruiters at their house, at their office, and even to their mothers! They see countless emails and LinkedIn messages on a daily basis.

 

So when I was tasked with recruiting a Senior Embedded Software Engineer for my client, I knew it’d be a difficult hunt. It was an extremely hard-to-find skillset, but incredibly I came across the perfect candidate almost immediately. He had broad experience and deep expertise that would enable the client to move fast on their project.

 

He was such a good candidate that I wondered why he was even still available at all. How had he been overlooked by other recruiters?

 

The more I talked to him, the more I came to understand that he had grown a mistrust of recruiters. His previous experiences with recruiters had not been positive, and he felt that he’d been treated as a commodity instead of a human being. Those experiences made him stand-offish and hard to open up.

 

I wasn’t fazed by his quietness and mistrust. Something told me to keep learning about this candidate and seek to understand what motivated him. I kept asking questions and listened to his responses.  As I started to understand his career goals, strengths, and needs, I was able to present him an opportunity that I felt matched all three areas. He was just who our client needed, and when I finally presented the offer of employment to him, he was so thankful and even gifted me a box of chocolates! It was truly rewarding.

 

More than just rewarding, this experience was real insight into the value of relationship-building. Taking the time to really understand a candidate’s motivations and aspirations is so important in making the right match.

 

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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Real Stories from Real Recruiters: Moving Fast on Engineers

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Real Stories from Real Recruiters Steve ErmakThis article is Part 2 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. (Click here to read Part 1.) This story is from Brightwinger Steve Ermak, Business Development Manager.

 

Moving Fast on the Best Candidates

 

A client came to me with an urgent need for a Functional Safety Manager. They had been looking for months but had yet to find the perfect candidate. I wasn’t surprised – the engineering market is faced with massive demand and low supply, making it incredibly difficult to find the right talent.

 

After some searching and thorough vetting, including several face-to-face interviews, I came across a great candidate. Incredibly, he was actively searching for a new job (most “perfect” candidates are passive, making them even more difficult to find).

 

Knowing that great active candidates never stay on the market long, I immediately presented him to our client. It was at this point where the lack of agility and speed in the client’s hiring process became apparent. While the company had this role open for several months, they still spent six weeks in the hiring process before making a final decision. Yes, it takes time to ensure you have the right candidate, and every company should reduce the risk of a bad hire through their talent acquisition process, but losing track of what the competition is doing for highly sought after talent is fatal.

 

In this case, my candidate received two other offers before our client even had a chance to extend their own. He accepted one of those offers from a competing company that had moved faster in their hiring process.

 

It was a difficult situation to watch play out, and definitely a lesson learned. In today’s frenzied, fast-moving market, I urge companies to ensure that their talent acquisition process is thorough and competitive.

 

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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AI in Hiring: Is it Good, Bad, or Ugly?

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Is AI in Hiring the Best Thing Since Sliced Bread?

For anyone faced with hiring in today’s intensely competitive candidate market, the promises of Artificial Intelligence are attractive. The primary goal of AI in hiring is to automate hundreds of time-consuming recruiting tasks while simultaneously helping a company make smarter hiring decisions. It’s like having a highly efficient and intelligent assistant that can handle repetitive tasks, analyze vast amounts of data, and identify the best-fit candidates.

Doesn’t that sound like the best thing since sliced bread?

Well, perhaps to an extent, yes. But it can just as easily end up as toast.

It’s crucial to approach AI implementation with caution, careful consideration, and hyperawareness of its pros and cons. Despite all their benefits, AI aren’t magical solutions to common hiring problems. They’re tools, and tools can be used for good or ill.

On the positive side, AI can significantly streamline the hiring process by automating administrative tasks like resume screening, candidate sourcing, and interview scheduling. This frees up valuable time for recruiters and hiring managers, allowing you to focus on more strategic and human-centric aspects of the hiring process.

However, every recruiter worth their salt knows that there’s an element of human judgment that’s critical for effective hiring. AI shouldn’t replace or overrule that judgement. Rather, you should deploy AI solutions strategically so that it augments and enhances human capabilities rather than replace them.

By leveraging the benefits of AI while maintaining a human-centric approach, organizations can optimize their hiring process and make well-informed decisions that lead to long-term success. Here’s an eBook where we walk through our thought process on AI in recruiting and how we see this new technology adding value in the future.

Grab your copy of our latest eBook to find out how AI can both help and hurt you in the hiring process.

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

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What to look for in a staffing partner

 

 

No two staffing firms are alike. Even among lists of the most highly rated firms, their services, processes, and philosophies are as unique as your own, and picking one at random is unlikely to result in long-term success. So what should you look for in a staffing and recruiting firm that can best serve your company?

 

 

Culture and Values

First and foremost, recognize the importance of choosing a partner whose values and culture align with your own. Without that foundation, it’s unlikely the relationship will hold any longevity. Even if they find you a handful of quality candidates, differences in priorities or processes may risk a successful placement. For instance, if your company values work-life balance for your employees, but your staffing and recruiting firm prioritizes quotas over their people, the mis-match will manifest itself in the very people you end up hiring.

 

Quality Relationships

Quotas aren’t inherently a bad thing, but for staffing firms that live and die by them, it’s likely their relationships will suffer. Filling your inbox full of resumes to see what sticks is not a long-term strategy. Neither is an unhealthy focus on staffing technology that automates most of the processes. Instead, look for a staffing firm that prioritizes the human element of the recruitment process. Technology and process are key ingredients to successful staffing and recruiting, but relationships are the glue that sticks it all together.

 

Measured Success

A staffing firm may have all the best intentions to serve their clients well, but if they don’t measure what they’re doing, success will be harder to achieve. And to be clear, it’s not just ratios of interviews to placements or consultant retention statistics that you’ll want to find out about. Look for a staffing and recruiting partner that also measures the experience of their clients and candidates. They might do this internally, or they might measure experience through a third party like Great Recruiters, a platform for collecting candidate feedback, and through a partner that measures their Net Promoter Score. When a staffing firm takes the initiative to discover the perspective of their clients and candidates, you know they’re a genuine partner.

 

Market Expertise

We’re all familiar with the age-old adage that a Jack of All Trades is Master of None. As cliché as it sounds, it’s no less true when it comes to choosing a staffing and recruiting partner. A successful partnership is founded on the firm’s thorough understanding of your industry and the associated challenges you have in finding quality candidates. Find out about their history as a company, as well as the experience and tenure of the specific recruiters you’re working with. A staffing firm’s market expertise will also help ensure that their network of talent is uniquely focused on the specific skillsets you’re looking for.

 

Staff Tenure

It’s no secret that turnover in the staffing industry is often sky-high. Too often, companies are only focused on the bottom line and care little for their employees. When you find a company that cares, their employees stick around, and it’s those employees with the expertise, passion, and engagement that will lead to staffing success.

 

What to Look for in a Staffing and Recruiting Firm

You’ve likely worked with a handful of staffing companies to help you fill positions in the past. But that experience doesn’t make choosing a new staffing partner any easier. Make sure your decision covers all the bases so that you can build a long-term relationship that will continue to deliver quality candidates again and again.

 

Curious what Brightwing can bring to the table? Discover the Brightwing difference today.

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The Power of Company Culture in Your Talent Acquisition Strategy

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The Power of Company Culture in Your Talent Acquisition Strategy

 

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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Get Competitive with a Candidate-Driven Talent Acquisition Process

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Get Competitive with a Candidate-Driven Talent Acquisition Process

 

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!

 

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5 Strategies for Assessing the Strength of Your Hiring Process

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5 Strategies for Assessing the Strength of Your Hiring Process

 

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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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.

12 Employment Statistics to Know for 2018 Infographic

Employee Engagement: Win the War for Talent

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The War for Talent

 

 

Employee engagement can help win the war for talent and increase profitability up to 21%.

It’s a candidate-driven market, and the competition for great talent is fierce. To win the war for talent, organizations need to go beyond the resume to identify great people who align with culture and core values. In our whitepaper The War for Talent, Brightwing President George Opitz explains how organizations can make more reliable hiring decisions by providing a high-quality candidate experience, implementing a flexible talent acquisition strategy, and driving employee engagement.

 

Employee engagement has a substantial impact on an organization’s ability to retain great people and succeed in the marketplace. In fact, studies show that organizations with highly engaged employees are 21% more profitable than those with disengaged employees. What about great employees who are disengaged? According to a 2016 study by Gallup, 67% of American employees are disengaged and either actively seeking for new opportunities or simply not performing to their highest potential.

 

 

Go beyond the resume to find great candidates.

The War for Talent Whitepaper

Though education, experience, and hard skills are undeniably important, to make reliable hiring decisions, organizations need to go beyond the resume to the candidates’ core values. Do they align with the organization’s core values? How about those of your top performers?

 

In our whitepaper The War for Talent, Opitz shares valuable information and strategies for attracting and retaining great people. For example:

– Why it’s important to hire talent that aligns with company culture

– Insight on what candidates want in a potential employee

– Steps to improve your employee engagement and retention

 

Ultimately, the real secret to success is surrounding yourself with great people – and money generally isn’t their main motivator. Instead, they are looking for a healthy work environment, aligned corporate culture, social awareness, and brand presence in the market. Organizations that drive employee engagement and take hiring and retaining talent seriously will reap exponential rewards.

 

War for Talent PDF button

 

 

 

6 Recruitment Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

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6 Mistakes to Avoid When Recruiting

Recruiting is not merely a function of HR, it’s essential to the success of your organization. Without a well-defined strategy for recruiting talent, you run the risk of making inefficient and costly hiring decisions—up to $17,000 in lost productivity, compromised work quality, and turnover.

To ensure better hires, you need a targeted recruiting strategy that will help identify high-quality candidates who align with the requirements of the position and the corporate culture. Avoiding these six recruitment mistakes can help streamline your hiring process so you can make more reliable hiring decisions that will elevate and enhance company performance.

1. Hiring in desperation mode

When you’re desperate, you can often make hasty decisions that can have long-term (often negative) consequences for your organization. This is as true in hiring as anywhere else.

That’s why it’s essential to approach the recruitment process proactively, not reactively. Building and maintaining a pipeline of potential candidates, even when you’re not actively hiring, ensures that you always have a pool of pre-vetted, talented individuals to choose from.

This will reduce time pressure and help improve the quality of your hires.

Here are some steps you can take to build a talent pipeline:

  • Regularly attend networking events
  • Engage with potential candidates on social media and other digital platforms
  • Partner with a professional hiring agency that already has a pipeline in place

2. Failing to validate traits

Resumés can be misleading. Everyone naturally puts their best foot forward and, as a result, often overstates their previous experience and success. In fact, Forbes published a startling report last year, claiming that 70% of workers lie on their resumés.

As a result, validating each candidate’s values, aptitudes, passion, behaviors, and skills is absolutely critical. You can do this through a series of screening activities, including tailored assessments, reference checking, and more.

The more you validate candidates early in the hiring process, the less turnover you’ll have.

3. Not tapping into your personal network

Referral hires are 40% more likely to remain with an employer after the first year than non-referral hires. So if you aren’t leveraging your personal network in the recruitment process, you’re missing out on high-value opportunities.

4. Skipping the pre-screening phone call

You don’t want to waste time on a candidate that will never be a good fit for the role. Pre-screening phone calls, then, are an essential time management tool for your recruiting team. During these calls, you can quickly get a sense of the candidate’s:

  • Communication skills
  • Professionalism
  • Genuine interest in the position
  • Knowledge of the industry and their own trade

By screening out obvious bad fits, you can ensure your recruiters (internal or external) are only spending time with candidates you might actually hire.

5. Hiring based on instinct

Sure, intuition plays a role in the hiring process. But relying on your gut too much can lead to biased and inconsistent decisions. Instead, it’s important to have some kind of standard hiring process to enable evidence-based hiring decisions.

Brightwing has a time-tested process that involves multiple stages of assessment and strategic planning to ensure we’re finding the best candidates for your needs.

6. Speaking before listening

To the best of your ability, you should avoid telling applicants what the ideal candidate looks like before you find out who they are and what they can do.

By opening the conversation to explore their intrinsic motivations, problem-solving skills, and perspectives, you gain insights that would otherwise go unnoticed. This approach not only respects the individuality of applicants but also enriches your understanding of how they might contribute uniquely to the team.

Avoid these recruitment mistakes with a dedicated talent partner

It can take a great deal of time and energy to avoid these recruitment mistakes. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a talent partner in your corner that can take the reins of the hiring process. Learn more about Brightwing’s tested process here.

5 Tips for Purpose-Driven Recruiting

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5 Tips for Purpose-Driven Recruiting

 

The art and science of recruiting with purpose goes beyond matching a skill set to a job requirement. It’s about understanding the position and its impact on the organization and industry—and finding the ideal candidate who aligns with the organization’s core values and the other employees.

 

 

Brightwing’s 5 Tips for Purpose-Driven Recruiting will help you make more reliable, high-quality hiring decisions.

 

1. Know the Position—Intimately

Candidates will perform their due diligence researching your company, checking out social media channels, browsing through the website, and gathering competitive salary information long before sitting down for the interview.

 

Therefore, use the time to share information the candidate doesn’t know. Explain how the position impacts the organization, and describe recent critical projects that were completed. Discuss the candidate’s short- and long-term career goals and explain how the job will help achieve those goals. Bonus Tip: Identify specific training and programs that are in place to support and encourage employees’ professional growth.

 

2. Define the Ideal Candidate

This exercise will help you define characteristics of the actual human being who will be most successful in the role. This goes beyond skills, education, and even experience. Once a candidate aligns with the organization’s core values, identify characteristics that will ensure long-term success within the company as well as the department.

 

Consider two employees: one working in accounting the other in marketing. Even though their core values may be equally aligned with the organization’s, the characteristics that define the ideal candidate for their respective roles will likely look very different.

 

3. Answer the Question: Why?

Why should a highly qualified, perfectly aligned candidate sign an employee agreement with your organization? Every organization promotes work-life balance, culture, and people. Dig deeper. Give them more. Take time to consider the type of role you are hiring for and what you would expect the ideal candidate to want from the role. Talk about a cross-departmental innovation team that meets quarterly, and specific projects that are in process and on the horizon. Share an employee success story and tell an anecdote about a company party or event. This is a great way to say you have a great company culture without actually saying it.

 

4. Let Employees Tell your Story

Don’t limit testimonials to customers! Let your current employees be your greatest supporters. Give them the opportunity to share comments on the company website via short quotes or even short videos. Develop a variety of examples, including project diversity, holiday parties, on- and off-site events, etc. Be as transparent as possible. Remember, you want to attract and hire employees who will thrive in the organization and hopefully share their own testimonial one day.

 

5. Promote, promote, promote!

This is a recruiting step that takes planning and strategy. Get involved in events, forums, conferences, and meet–ups where you can connect with the right people. Invest in a strong social media presence to continuously engage directly and indirectly with your audience. Most importantly, push for referrals, as the best hires are often found in your employees’ network.