iCIMS Hire Expectations™

As we reflect back at last year’s hiring data, iCIMS wanted to provide a glimpse at where our clients were finding their most qualified applicants across the different sourcing tools available today. In order to provide the most current and comprehensive data, we analyzed our 1,500+ clients’ source effectiveness reports. These reports assess recruitment advertising sources and the volume of candidates coming from each. Additionally, the report highlights the quality of such sources by displaying where candidates were in the recruitment process by source (ie: Did a lot of candidates come from a given source, but all were automatically disqualified?). On the flip side, the reports show if certain sources produce candidates who move farther along in the hiring process. We took the calendar year of 2012, and compared that to our previous study done in of 2011.  The results were accurately tracked by leveraging the automated source tracking feature of the iCIMS Talent Platform. This feature takes away the risk of candidates falsely identifying their source by automatically locking in the true origin of a candidate to ensure accurate reporting. The organization’s that benefit from the iCIMS platform range in size from companies of 10 employees, to global corporations well over 100,000; ensuring our report was applicable for a full range of organizations. In total, the data provided insight from over 1.5 million job postings, 30 million applicants, and 400,000 hires.

Of the 400,000 hires, 25% came from external sources (highlighted in the graph below) ; the other 75% came from referrals, internal hires, company career sites, and undefined sources. This data is very similar to the data collected last year (29% and 71% respectively), and confirms that iCIMS clients are better leveraging the tools at their disposal to make jobs visible via their corporate and in-house portals, as well as through employee referrals to bring in qualified applicants.

Though we are thrilled to see a high number of new hires coming in from these types of sources, the data also reveals the impact of external sources in the hiring process. Of the identified external sources of hire, Indeed.com, CareerBuilder, Monster, Craigslist, Linkedin, and Simply Hired, emerged as the top branded external sources of hire with sources such 3rd party recruiting agencies,  job fairs, and campus recruiting also making the list. Indeed alone accounted for more hires than all other branded sources combined and stood far out from the pack, delivering 27% of all external hires. Career Fairs also saw substantial uptick from last year leading us to believe that the economic climate is beginning to look up, and more recent graduates are finding jobs from these sources.

As we look back at where new hires came from in 2012, a few things are clear. The first is that our clients have continued to utilize the tools that are available through the iCIMS Talent Platform to effectively source out and recruit the best candidates. The second is that the external sources that were being used last year are still being used today, but in higher volumes, and lastly the sources may be the same, but the number of new hires has increased by over 25% leading us to even further suspect that many companies are starting to expand their recruitment strategies.

The intent of the HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) initiative is to provide a standardized survey instrument and data collection methodology for measuring patients' perspectives on hospital care. This initiative in healthcare recruiting has become an essential part of our hiring practice. If ever there was a time to hardwire a culture of excellent patient care—to ensure that your organization is meeting its mission, protecting its bottom line, and enhancing its reputation—that time has clearly arrived.

Identifying the right skill set is not always the most important factor in hiring the right candidate. What is important is asking if this candidate will fit into one’s culture. Will they change the way a patient receives care?  Identifying the right behaviors that attribute to higher HCAHPS scores become the challenge today. Competences like ‘compassion, adaptability, multi-tasking, and flexibility’ are important behaviors to evaluate for HCAHPS, especially when it comes to nursing candidates.

The Studer Group released an article on “Four Reasons Why Those 27 Survey Questions Will Change Healthcare Forever.”

• HCAHPS provides accurate “apples to apples” metrics.

• Results are tied to quality and clinical outcomes.

• It gives consumers an easy way to compare hospitals.

• HCAHPS pay-for-performance is coming

Identifying these competencies allow a recruiter to screen candidates in a way that hiring managers will understand the true value you deliver to them during an interview process. Hospitals need employees who understand the importance of patient centric care.

To be at your best as a top Healthcare recruiter, you must understand how to impact the HCAHPs scores indirectly. Here are a few bullets to help link these together.

•  Take the time to learn what is measured. 

•  Know your organizations scores and where you are falling short. 

•    During your candidate screening, ensure you are asking questions that revolve around specific survey questions. For example: How do you treat patients with courtesy and respect? Give me examples of how you’ve changed your communication style depending on the patient/situation? How do you explain medications and treatment to patients and their families?

•  Communicate your strategy to peers, hiring managers, and executives

•  Always share your success

The question now lies, how will HCAHPS scores transform the way you select top talent? 

Today's blog post comes to you from a Ready Prep Interview Representative!

When it comes down to it, the primary purpose of the interviewing process is to gain assurance that whoever you hire can do the job successfully.  A situational job interview consists of a series of questions focused on drawing out the actual experience a candidate has in demonstrating the specific qualities or skills that are required to do the job. The theory behind the situational job interview is that a candidate’s past performance is one of the best indicators of future performance.

While not rocket science, here are 3 tips that will help you conduct great situational interviews and as a result hire the best candidate for the position.

Ask the Right Questions
Create a list of the qualities and skills required to do the job you are looking to fill. One of the best places to start is the job description you have created for the position.  Verify your list with current employees who hold the same position or other employees who will work with the candidate you hire.

Once you have a good list of qualities and skills required to do the job, translate them into a list of interview questions that ask for situations where the candidate has demonstrated the skill or quality.  For example, if the candidate needs to be able to accept criticism on a regular basis, you might ask “Share a time when you have received criticism about your work. What was the situation and how did you handle it?”

One resource that will help you identify questions you should consider asking is Ready Prep Interview, a website that hosts thousands of job specific situational job interview questions. Once you find the position you are interviewing for, the questions are already sorted by the importance of the quality or skill being tested so you can simply start at the top and work your way down.

Require Detailed Responses
As you already know, some candidates are better at interviewing than others. One of the most common mistakes I see a candidate make is when a candidate just tells the interviewer what he or she wants to hear instead of a real situation.  For example, when asked to provide a situation when their ethics were tested, the candidate may respond by saying that honesty is an important value to them.  As an interviewer, this doesn’t tell you much. Anyone can say that. The candidate’s response won’t help you choose them over another candidate.  Especially if another candidate gives you a detailed situation of when their ethics were tested and how they overcame it.

Don’t let a candidate’s inexperience with interviewing get in the way of you hiring them. The key is to not let your candidates off the hook too easily. Push for specific examples. Feel free to ask for details. Give your candidates every chance to provide detailed examples of how they have demonstrated the skills and qualities you are looking for.

Be Consistent and Take Good Notes
While you may want to vary some of your questions based on a candidate’s level of experience, the bulk of the questions you ask should be used for all candidates applying to the same position. The consistency will help you objectively compare one candidate to another.  If you take good notes about each response a candidate gives, you will be able to refer back to your notes when making your decision. I have found that even brief notes will help me recall my impressions about the candidate. This is especially helpful if when I interview several candidates over a relatively long period of time.

The situational job interview is a great tool to help you hire the right candidate for the job.  Ask the right questions, force your candidates to give you details, and consistently ask the same questions to each of your candidates. Follow these tips and you will get the most out of your situational job interviews.

For my blog post this week, I interviewed two of iCIMS’ own Human Resources professionals.

Nicole Tucker, our Technical Recruiter, is responsible for identifying the talented technologists who drive the current and future success at iCIMS.  Jay Fendrick is iCIMS’ Talent Acquisition Coordinator and Onboarding Specialist.  Jay is responsible for managing the HR Information Systems, preparing and analyzing regular reports for the team, and coordinating the Onboarding process for new hires.

They both sat down eager to spill a little of their knowledge and experience with iCIMS for our readers!

Jenn Carpenter: Can you both tell me a little about your background and how you got involved with Human Resources?

Jay Fendrick:  Sure.  I graduated from Rutgers with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, and decided I didn’t want to go to law school, which was my original plan.  I immediately took a staff job for Whole Foods Market and after several promotions, was offered a role as the Payroll and Benefits Specialist for a new store opening in Middletown, NJ.  This was my introduction to the world of Human Resources.  After spending some time as HR executive team leader for Target, I eventually made the move out of the retail industry and started doing contract work as an HR Consultant. Shortly thereafter I was fortunate enough to be offered a permanent position as Talent Acquisition Coordinator Team Leader and Onboarding Specialist here at iCIMS.

Nicole Tucker: I majored in History and Communication at Rutgers University.  During my senior year of college I had the opportunity to graduate a semester early, which allowed me to complete a full year internship with Virgin Mobile USA in their Corporate Communications Department during their IPO process.  The company did not have the budget to take me on full-time and understood my pursuit for other opportunities.  I came across a posting for a company in NYC looking for a Jr. Recruiter.  I had no idea what the job of recruiter truly entailed, but the position sounded interesting, so I applied.  The company was a boutique agency-side recruiting firm specializing in retained and contingent searches for the start-up technology arena and the financial industry, specifically quantitative finance.  I joined the firm just before the markets truly went south.  It was definitely a learning experience as companies decided to retract and slowdown on the hiring front.  After almost four years, I realized technology was the place to be and after a short job search I found iCIMS, which has turned out to be amazing.

JC: Nicole, can you talk about the differences you experienced between recruiting for a staffing agency and recruiting in-house for a company like iCIMS?

NT:  Working for an agency recruitment firm is very mercenary.  As a company we managed dozens of clients, which has its pros and cons. It’s very entrepreneurial, but also cut-throat and competitive.  Moving into an in-house recruiter role has been even more interesting and challenging, in a great way.  I can actually see the teams I am helping grow, which is definitely more gratifying.  I get the experience of seeing the impact I have on a company, and now know firsthand how HR interacts and partners with the company as a whole – shaping the culture and making it so that people want to be here. It’s truly exciting because iCIMS is at the crucial point where we’re just starting to really take off and grow.  If I had stayed on the agency side, I would have never seen the full scope of what a Human Resources professional really does.    I would only have that one side of the fence, and I would only be seeing that one side through a peep-hole.

JC:  Jay, this question is specifically for you.  Since starting with iCIMS as an Onboarding Specialist, how has your approach to Onboarding changed?

JF:  The first question I asked when I first became the Onboarding Specialist was “How can I improve Onboarding?”  And that’s something that we still ask every group at the end of our program – what they liked, what they didn’t like, and what can be improved.  At this point, the process is solid and systematic in terms of the structure and organization, but we still have space allotted to grow and adapt as we see fit.  For example, we moved our Breakfast with the C’s from the week of Onboarding to the week after to give new employees more time to let information sink in, and we’ve seen them ask more specific questions instead of very generic ones.  We’re always trying to find more ways to improve and get more people involved by adding classes and seminars, and nothing is ever set in stone.  Even small changes can make a huge difference in delivering our iCIMS brand experience to our new employees.

JC: What iCIMS features do you use the most, and what benefits do you see during your daily tasks?

NT: What I find really great is that everything is trackable and documented.  That’s especially helpful when I have 15 different things on my mind – I can check within the system if I have or haven’t done something already. Also, obviously, the search capacity within the system is great, and I’m a fan of how our system allows you to see how the candidate heard about iCIMS, whether it was a referral or a social media site, etc.   Being able to have everything in front of you and reference actions and emails is incredibly helpful during conversations.

JF:  I absolutely love our Communication Center.  For onboarding purposes, I use it to send multiple communications to new hires before their first day. Communications I send range from their initial Welcome or Congratulations e-mail to providing them with login information for our New Hire Onboarding Portal, where they can fill out paperwork in advance and learn more about the company.  It’s really a great tool, and since all messages can be saved as templates and shared, everyone with access to the system can use it!

JC: Great insight!  My last question is – what has been the strangest thing that’s ever happened to you with a candidate?  Any funny stories?

NT: Oh, I have so many funny stories.  I actually know of a client that emailed iCIMS and said that there was a bug in our software because a candidate profile in their system and the form the candidate filled out didn’t match.  So R&D went back and found out that that particular candidate had previously submitted a Background Check Release iForm, but had gone back later, changed their social security number and their name on their profile.  Once you submit that iForm, that information cannot be changed.  The sleuths here at iCIMS were able to go back and tell that client that this particular candidate was a liar.  And it turns out that that person had used their sister’s name and social security number to apply because they had a warrant out for their arrest!

JF:  At one of my previous companies, we were interviewing someone to be an overnight cleaning crew employee.  The Social Security verification process was manual at that time, so I had to call the Social Security Administration hotline and provide the information.  This particular candidate’s information did not agree and I had to inform him that he needed to contact the SSA and correct the situation before we could extend the employment offer.  When I explained the situation to the candidate, he responded by pulling out a stack of roughly 20 social security cards from his pocket,  tried to hand me a few, and said “Here, try these!”  Obviously, I did not, and told him we could not offer him employment.

Thank you, Jay and Nicole, for being open and candid about your approach to Human Resources, experiences throughout your career, and best practices regarding some of your tasks using an Applicant Tracking System. 

I wouldn't consider myself an interviewing expert by any means. I've had my fair share of interview bloopers in my past- who doesn't? What I do know is that after countless hours reading through resumes, interviewing potential candidates and juggling the multitude of applicants for each position, I have come to the conclusion that I am a firm believer in making a lasting first impression.

It wasn't until I started at iCIMS as their Corporate Recruiter that I began to take notice of certain pet-peeves in the application & interviewing process. My intention in writing this blog post is not to vent or nit-pick about my experiences (good & bad) with less-than-experienced interviewees. However, my goal is to educate those on what goes through the mind of a recruiter when reviewing resumes & interviewing for the job.

The Resume:
Take everything you've done through the course of your career. Take all of your accomplishments, all your awards, all your successes and put them into words in 12-point Times New Roman font and make sure that it fits on one page. Tough feat, I know!

• First and foremost, forget the one-page rule. For entry-level grads coming out of college, sticking to one page is the rule of thumb. But this is your chance to get in front of the recruiter; this is your chance to light up their eyes! If that means spilling your experience onto two pages, by all means, go right ahead. Years ago, when the hiring was good, getting by with the basic job description on a resume would do. However, as applicants are hitting the 'Apply' button more than ever, you want to make sure your resume highlights all those keywords recruiters are plugging into an applicant tracking system search. I'm not asking you to lie on your resume; I’m just asking you to leave nothing to the recruiter’s imagination.
• Please, (please, please) proofread. Send out your resume to family, friends, and neighbors; anyone who will be able to look at it from a view other than your own. You’ll be amazed at things you’ve managed to overlook.
• Talk about your successes. Stop copying and pasting the company job description that was given to you 5 years ago and call them your "responsibilities". You and I know that there was a lot more you were held accountable for. Make sure that you detail your success; what value did YOU bring to the organization?

The Interview:
There are plenty of articles out there that cite "Best Interview Practices , and they all have a common theme: "Make a Lasting First Impression". What never ceases to amaze me is that there are still a handful of people that chose to disregard these articles and pave their own way.

• BE. ON. TIME. I don't care what you have to do to get to your interview on time. There are very few excuses for being late. As lame as it sounds, take a test drive the day before so you know exactly where the building is! On the same note, please don't show up 45 minutes early. Relax in your car, read over your notes, call friends for advice, but please try to arrive no earlier than 15-20 minutes.
• DO YOUR RESEARCH! - This here, my friends, is my BIGGEST pet-peeve. The internet is a lovely thing. And fortunately, most companies have a lot of press about them these days! It’s a smack in the face when I ask candidates what they know about our organization and the reply I get is "not too much." I am most impressed when people show they took time to read up on our organization, checked us out on on Twitter, went to our Facebook page, etc. It shows a certain level of interest and commitment to their job search.
• TAKE NOTES. ASK QUESTIONS. So you've made it through the interview, then the interviewer asks "Do you have any questions for me?". Don't ever respond with "Well, no, I think you covered everything." Go into your interview with at least 5 questions prepared in advance (be careful not to ask a question if it has already been answered in the interview). By asking good, detailed questions, it shows a level of interest in the opportunity you're applying for.

I guess my take away from this blog post is that Preparation and First Impressions truly do go a long way. Take your job search seriously; it can be considered a full-time job in itself! With that being said, make sure that with each opportunity you get to present yourself to a potential employer, you make a full-time commitment to make sure it’s a lasting one.

For other interview advice follow:  @InterviewCoach
About the author: Lewis Lin is a Seattle-based interview coach who prepares clients for the difficult questions that will come their way during a job search.
Why you should follow him: Lin Tweets his own interview tips, as well as other experts' advice and news articles

...that 33.3% of verifiable information on resumes is lies?  That fun little fact I learned in my HR class is something I’ll remember for a while.  I’m sure if you’re a recruiter or hiring manager reading this, you may not be as surprised as I was upon learning this.  But it does make you think – how much experience do candidates actually have?

In this economic climate, obviously times are tough.  The job market is looking pretty brutal and I, for one, am scared out of my mind since I’m still an undergrad.  (Hence, why I am here gaining experience at iCIMS as an intern!)  I read in a recent article that “job losses in the current recession have been more severe than expected as employers hold off on hiring and federal stimulus spending takes months to work its way through the economy.”  With that being said, it’s no surprise that people are starting to pad up their resumes in hopes of finding some kind of job.  I’ve even read about people putting blocks of keywords in white font on resumes so that applicant tracking systems rate them higher.  In my opinion, that just bumps the percentage of lies up quite a bit.  By padding your resume, you’re putting false hope in the employer that you’re a qualified candidate.  It only sets you up for one thing – failure.  Of course there is always more to a recruiting and hiring process than reviewing the resume, but that is almost always one of the first steps.  How good do you look in person compared to how good you look on paper?

For the economic time being, recruiters and hiring managers have their work cut out for them.  With more and more job-seekers and fewer positions, the competition is greater and the pool of applicants is ever growing.  So, for all those recruiters and hiring managers out there – be extra weary of falsehoods on those resumes.  Your job may have just gotten harder.

It's the middle of summer in iCIMS-land and most of us are longing for the beach: sitting under the cloudless sky, reading trashy novels and watching seagulls steal our sandwiches. Don’t be fooled though, there’s always staffing work to be done, and summer is a fantastic opportunity for any business seeking seasonal employees. Whether it's a law firm looking for summer interns, a tax preparation company getting income tax specialists during April, or a retailer looking for help on the floor during the holiday season, there’s always a need for seasonal hires. In fact, according to a CareerBuilder study, 34% of retail employees during the summer are seasonal hires.

While it’s always tempting just to get out of the office, there may not be enough time to sort through all of your incoming applications, emails, and paperwork as it is. But let’s step back: if you’ve done the right work, started your game early and have staffing plans in place, you deserve that cool drink by the shore. Now, while we’re not ashamed to toot our own horn here at iCIMS and say we’ve got a pretty comprehensive solution for seasonal and mass hiring needs, there are a couple of tricks that might even go beyond software.

For example, this AllBusiness article has some pretty good ideas for getting young talent. Since many college and high-school students have time-off during the summer, they’re usually a good start. Think of a plan to raid the local schools and universities, and do it early. While there are plenty of students willing to put in summer work, you need to give yourself enough time to evaluate your need across these applicants. Checking Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace is also a good idea to find driven workers. You might also find plenty of retirees looking for work as well, so be sure you tap into these circles, as well.

Another valuable pieces of advice is to encourage referrals. If you have happy, dedicated employees already, why not let them help source your candidates? Referral programs are typically cheaper and more efficient than other means of sourcing, and they can boost morale across your organization. Many employees wouldn’t mind working along a friend or two, and if these are quality employees they’ll likely supply quality referrals. After all, your workers certainly want to look good within your company - and make a little bit of the referral bonus you’re offering. (You are offering one, aren’t you?)

Remember, your organization’s success depends on how it responds to industry trends and demands. And if you prepare with the right mix of workers at the right time, you can stand on solid footing as a recruiter, even wearing sandals and a pair of sunglasses. But don’t get too comfortable – the holiday shopping season is only 4 months away!