How Hybrid Work Has Changed Talent Acquisition

Have you noticed that many job listings now have the word “hybrid” in the job description? Hybrid work refers to a working model where employees work partly at the office and partly from home. This arrangement gained momentum during the pandemic, and it is increasingly prevalent in the modern workplace. Many companies have realized the benefits of continuing operations remotely, at least part-time. 

According to Gallup, 52% of workers are hybrid or remote, and a majority of the workforce prefers remote or hybrid work. This desire for flexibility is now affecting hiring processes. 

Hybrid Work Creates New Considerations for Job Descriptions and Skill Requirements

Collaboration among team members can be challenging when some are on-site and others are remote. We can find an example of this interdisciplinary collaboration in Go-To-Market (GTM) teams. GTM teams are already complex, usually consisting of product marketers, sales, customer support, and product development staff. When you add remote and hybrid schedules to the mix, maximizing productivity can be especially difficult. How can employers strike a balance between what workers want, and what’s best for the team?

Establish Clear Expectations in Job Ads

With a variety of working arrangements available, job descriptions must be specific. Will the position be remote, on-site, or hybrid? For hybrid or remote jobs, it’s particularly important to describe the essential functions, roles, and responsibilities, along with the specific skills required to work from home. 

Not all jobs can be done remotely, and some others may have restrictions. For example, if the job requires handling confidential information, the employee may need to connect only from a home office and not from a public WiFi connection. If a job must be done on-site, that should be made plain in your job description. 

Shop for the Right Skills

When a position is remote, tech skills—especially proficiency in virtual communication tools—are some of the capabilities you should list in the job description. Abilities like using digital tools, having good writing and communication skills, being a self-starter, and being able to collaborate with others are critical current job requirements. 

Virtual Recruitment and Onboarding Processes Have Become Standard Practice 

Due to the pandemic, many companies had to adjust to hybrid and virtual recruitment and staff management to continue operations. 

Many components of the virtual recruitment process may be automated or supported by digital tools, resulting in greater efficiency. Tools like video interviewing, screening chatbots, and text recruiting are some methods organizations are using to hire faster, improve the candidate experience, and reduce sourcing costs. 

Perfect Your Remote Interviewing Techniques

Remote interviews and virtual recruiting have been around since the early 2000s, but they gained momentum out of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, virtual recruiting has become standard for part or even most of the recruitment process. 

If you’re not sure where to start improving your skills, here are some top video-interviewing tips: 

• Do a tech check: You don’t want your interview to be disturbed by a bad internet connection. Prepare for the interview by checking your webcam and audio. Make sure your devices are charged, and practice the interview with a colleague to ensure features like screen sharing are working properly.
• Provide clear instructions: Keep in mind that the candidate may not be familiar with the platform you choose for the interview. Make sure you send them clear instructions on how to join and use the platform with enough time for them to prepare before the interview. The instructions should include any passwords needed to access the platform.
• Focus on presentation and representation: Remember that the candidate is assessing you as well, so set a professional tone with your attire and body language. Virtual interviews can be just as stressful as in-person ones, so give your candidate time to feel at ease. Being friendly and maintaining appropriate eye contact can help the interview proceed more naturally. Allow the candidate to talk about their experience, and don’t rush through the conversation.
• Control the environment: A noisy environment can disrupt the flow of even the best interview. When conducting virtual interviews, find a quiet space with an uncluttered background to demonstrate professionalism and help you focus on the conversation. If there are unavoidable noises during the interview, such as construction nearby, let the candidate know beforehand.
• Inform the candidate about next steps: One of the most common mistakes when conducting remote interviews is being vague about the next steps in the process. Following up with an email letting the candidate know when they can expect to hear from you can improve their experience. Contact the candidate regardless of their success in the interview.

Establish Effective Virtual Onboarding Strategies

Remote onboarding is becoming a priority for HR managers. According to market forecasts, the value of the onboarding software market may reach $1.35 billion by 2025. 

An effective onboarding process is critical for the success of employees and the organization. 

The Evaluation and Selection of Remote Candidates Has Changed 

Screening and assessing remote workers can be tricky. Managers must evaluate whether candidates have the necessary skills—and also whether they can work effectively on their own. 

Assessing Remote Work Skills and Self-Management

Working remotely, even part-time, is not for everyone. A remote employee needs to manage their time efficiently and prioritize work. They need to be focused and organized. How can you assess those work-from-home skills before hiring?

A work-from-home skills assessment can determine if a job candidate has the required skills to excel in remote work. Some of the skills you may look for are self-discipline, communication, and the ability to focus. Besides reviewing their resume for remote work experience, you can give them a test task to evaluate some of these abilities. 

Ensuring the Remote Employee Integrates Into Your Culture and Team 

Assessing how well an employee fits into your company culture is relatively easy when you can see them in action. Building a strong company culture is essential for remote teams that may otherwise feel disconnected from the organization. However, achieving a cultural fit for remote employees can be challenging.

Apply these strategies for integrating remote team members: 

• Hire deliberately. Take advantage of the interview to evaluate how well the candidate may fit into your company’s culture. Ask behavioral questions that can help provide insights into their values and temperament.
• Apply team-building techniques. During onboarding, seek to build connections and relationships between team members. For instance, schedule virtual coffee breaks or regular team meetings. Although it’s not always possible to connect everyone at once if you have members in different time zones, it’s worth the effort to build trust and improve collaboration.

What’s Next for Talent Acquisition In the Era of Hybrid Work? 

As the hybrid workplace continues to evolve and become more prevalent, hiring the right candidates for it becomes ever more important. Human resources professionals need to adapt their hiring and onboarding practices to leverage the benefits of hybrid work arrangements. Using virtual recruitment tools and remote work assessments can simplify the hiring process and ensure you find the right person for the job.

Hiring? Connect with us on your ideal candidate profile.


If you are looking for job opportunities in tech, click here.

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The State of GTM Compensation: H2 2023 Report

If you want to attract and hire top GTM talent, you have to stay competitive. But with the tech industry constantly evolving and expanding, it can be difficult to stay ahead of the curve.

Our H2 2023 State of GTM Compensation report leverages real-world survey and search data made by CloserIQ to provide unparalleled insights into the hiring and compensation strategies of the fastest-growing tech startups in the US.

See our H2 2023 State of GTM Compensation Report here.

Here are 5 top GTM hiring and compensation trends you need to know:

1. Total compensation is tapering off.

After 6 consecutive quarters of tech industry layoffs, we’re seeing compensation plateau and even decrease in some instances across GTM roles.

2. Reduced quota attainment decreased total earnings.

Reported quota attainment for revenue roles has fallen in the last year, which has significantly decreased On-Target Earnings (OTE). Base salaries have become more of a priority for GTM professionals which has increased relative to OTE for certain roles.

3. It’s an employer’s market for the foreseeable future.

Talent pools are saturated with candidates from BigTech layoffs, allowing hiring managers to be more selective and spearfish critical hires using more in-depth interview processes. Durable startups are picking up incredible talent.

4. Remote hiring is reverting to hybrid and in-office.

While many employers are still committed to offering the flexibility of hybrid work, earlier stage companies are reverting to in-person for key hires. Companies are focused on creating hubs and prioritizing candidates in the same time zone.

5. GTM organizations are flattening.

As growth slowed, many GTM organizations collapsed middle management and replaced their executive leaders (ex. CRO) with front-line leaders (ex. Head of Sales) and individual contributors.

Read our entire report for data and insights on:

• – Current compensation benchmarks for U.S.-based GTM individual contributor and leadership roles
• – Top hiring sectors and trends in GTM recruiting
• – New survey data results on GTM leadership trends by company funding size

Hiring? Connect with us on your ideal candidate profile.


If you are looking for job opportunities in tech, click here.

The post The State of GTM Compensation: H2 2023 Report appeared first on CloserIQ.

How to Close Enterprise Account Executives

Hiring the right candidates can be a daunting task. Especially for competitive, high-impact positions like Enterprise Account Executives. More senior candidates have different needs and expectations within the interview process than entry-level hires. So, how can you ensure that you’re making the right impression and closing the best talent?

If you’re asking yourself this question, you are not alone. There are many resources available to help coach candidates through the interview process. But for hiring managers, it can be difficult to know how to best prepare for these conversations.

One way to set yourself up for success is to demonstrate your understanding of their unique needs by answering their questions effectively. That means being ready to respond thoughtfully and thoroughly on topics including:

• Company Vision and Competitive Landscape
• Sales Strategy and Methodology
• Performance Expectations
• Training and Resources

To help you prepare, we’ve created a comprehensive checklist that covers the most important questions for EAEs during the interview process.

By answering these questions effectively, you can inspire confidence and close top EAE talent for your organization.

Download the full Checklist for Interviewing EAEs here.

Hiring? Connect with us on your ideal candidate profile.


If you are looking for job opportunities in tech, click here.

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The State of Tech Hiring & Compensation: H1 2023 Report

If you want to attract and hire top technical and sales talent, you have to stay competitive. But with the tech industry constantly evolving and expanding, it can be difficult to stay ahead of the curve.

Our H1 2023 State of Tech report leverages real-world data from successful placements made by CloserIQ to provide you with unparalleled insights into the hiring and compensation strategies of the fastest-growing tech startups in the US.

See our H1 2023 State of Tech Hiring & Compensation Report here.

Here are 3 top hiring and compensation trends you need to know:

1. Hiring remains mission-critical.

As the market began to cool in the second half of 2022, hiring managers swiftly shifted their focus to high-quality, high-impact candidates. On average, hiring processes took 22% longer in H2 2022 than they did in H1 2022. Many companies added steps to their interview process in order to better assess candidates before making an offer.

2. Remote work is still widely preferred to in-office.

Employers may be turning up the pressure to return to the office, but tech workers aren’t on board just yet. 75% of job posts in H2 2022 still supported fully-remote work. This is especially relevant to senior talent, who have more leverage to continue working remotely.

3. Recession fears and cost-of-living increases led to higher base salaries.

As U.S.-based employees experienced a higher cost of living, they prioritized financial security over equity and high OTE options. Average base salaries increased for both technical and GTM talent as companies worked to attract top talent while countering inflation concerns.

• Experienced software engineers saw a 5% average salary increase
• Post-sales roles saw a 13% average increase in base salary
• Sales leadership roles saw a 20% average increase in base salary

Read our entire report for data and insights on:

• Current compensation benchmarks for U.S.-based software engineers and sales roles
• Top hiring sectors and trends in technical and GTM recruiting
• Interviewing and hiring timelines for venture-backed startups

Hiring? Connect with us on your ideal candidate profile.


If you are looking for job opportunities in tech, click here.

The post The State of Tech Hiring & Compensation: H1 2023 Report appeared first on CloserIQ.

5 Ways TikTok Can Enhance Your Recruitment Strategy

At first glance, TikTok may appear to be a platform for aimless scrolling and sharing funny clips. But a closer look at the platform reveals a type of creativity that you rarely see on other social media.

In fact, a TikTok video can tell you more about an employee than any LinkedIn resume. And vice-versa, your company’s profile can showcase more information than any conventional hiring ad or social media post. That’s why so many companies have jumped on the TikTok bandwagon.

In this article, we’ll explain why you should incorporate TikTok into your recruitment strategy. We’ll also discuss five ways this platform can enhance your recruiting efforts, providing real-world examples and actionable lessons you can use.

Why Use TikTok for Your Recruitment Strategy?

TikTok statistics prove that most of your employees are probably already consuming content on the app. The average monthly time spent on TikTok worldwide is 19.6 hours, and they have a user base of over 136 million users in the US alone.

While the app’s audience trends on the younger side, 67.8% of TikTok users are 18-34. This age bracket makes up the largest percentage of people looking for jobs. To back this up, Google Trends shows that TikTok engagement for job-related content and queries are on the rise. For example, TikTok queries for “HR professionals” has increased by 400%.

TikTok has also proven to have specific marketing and employer branding benefits like increased visibility and engagement, user-generated content, and the ability to authentically convey brand values.

Those benefits are essential for your recruiting strategy. Building employer-brand awareness and outlining your work culture allows you to:

• Differentiate yourself from the competition
• Get more high-quality employees that fit your work environment in the long-term
• Get more attention on your job posts

5 Ways to Leverage TikTok for Recruiting New Employees

Now that we’ve gone through why you should be incorporating TikTok in your recruitment strategy, let’s look at how you can actually implement this tactic:

1. Tap into Hashtags

One way TikTok can help you in your recruiting strategy is through hashtags. Using hashtags allows you to:

• Organize your search efforts
• Find the best candidates
• Share the right hiring posts

Here’s one example: Virgin Atlantic was hiring new cabin crew members and decided to make a TikTok about it.

The first thing you notice is the fun dance and laid-back atmosphere created by the cabin crew members. That’s a nod to the company culture – but we’ll discuss that tactic later.

For now, look at the hashtags:

@virginatlantic

Looking for your next adventure? We have some exciting news #virginatlantic #cabincrew #hiring #travel

♬ Side To Side – BARBIE

When someone is interested in a job as a cabin crew member, they will almost certainly look for the hashtags #cabincrew and #hiring. If they’re also hunting for a job at Virgin Atlantic, they will also search by the #virginatlantic hashtag.

So, they made it as easy as possible for their target audience to find this video.

Here’s a neat catch, though:

The hashtag #travel isn’t there randomly. This generic hashtag increases the video’s visibility. As more and more TikTok users view the clip, it has a better chance of reaching the FYP (For You Page). Therefore:

• More people will view their hiring post
• More people will share, like, and comment
• The large public will be more aware of the company culture and thus more likely to fly with this airline

Main Takeaways:

1. Use specific and intuitive hashtags for your hiring ad. These may include #hiring, #careeropportunities, #jobsearch, and your company’s hashtag.
2. Use at least one generic hashtag to increase awareness and your chances of reaching the FYP. This could include your niche (e.g., #nursesofTikTok if you’re a clinic or #teachersofTikTok if you’re a school) and #FYP.

2. Leverage Your Recruiters

One of the unique pulls of TikTok is that the content is more relatable and less curated than other platforms. Having your HR and talent team create content is a longer-term and more time-consuming strategy, but it does pay off.

They can speak to topics such as:

• Work environment
• Brand values
• Office structure
• Work culture
• Expectations
• General HR tips

This strategy has two major benefits:

1. Great content with little effort: Compared to content that requires a lot of editing or production like podcasts or YouTube videos, TikTok clips can be made by anyone. Features like auto-captioning make it easy to turn around quality posts quickly.
2. Positive brand associate: Reaching a wider audience means more people will learn about your product, company culture, and future job openings.

Here’s a great example: Attention Seeker is a personal branding agency in New Zealand that used TikTok to promote its hiring needs.

@theattnseeker

Replying to @with_navya stitch/duet/come to the office and beg on your hands and knees. whatever you feel like. The Attention Seeker is hiring #jobad #officetok #officehumor #personalbrandingagency

♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

This clip breaks all boundaries of traditional hiring promotions.

• It’s built as a reply: This video is a stitch/ duet with @with_navya, thus raising more awareness and views.
• It’s funny: The TikTok clip is an informal hiring ad for a part-time video editor, outlining the company culture and enticing more applications.
• It snowballs awareness: People sending their applications must stitch/duet this video, thus creating more views and TikTok content. The result is more people view the original TikTok because the platform’s algorithms will deem it relevant, thus pushing it higher on people’s feeds.

Main Takeaways:

1. Get your HR and talent teams involved in your long-term recruitment strategy. On top of being subject-matter experts, they know who your ideal candidates are.
2. Alternatively, partner with a firm that has already built a reputation on TikTok. There are many creative agencies that now specialize in helping brands cultivate a presence on TikTok.

3. Use TikTok Influencers

Before you skip this section (we’re looking at you, B2B folks!), know that influencer marketing looks much different on TikTok than it does on other social platforms. When it comes to brand marketing, an influencer might look like:

• An expert in your industry who can vouch for your company or product: Best for partnering on brand awareness
• An HR or talent influencer: Best for partnering on your recruiting process
• An employee: Best for creating trustworthy hiring posts and cultivating a positive association for company culture

TikTok influencers primarily work in two ways:

1. Long-term: You can partner with creators to increase your brand awareness and drive engagement. This will help to grow your audience and expose your brand to potential employees and customers.
2. Short-term: If you’re looking to have an immediate impact, you can partner with creators on a specific video or campaign. For example, working with them to create and promote one hiring video or one product tutorial.

It’s essential to pick the right people, though.

• Larger influencers have more followers and can disseminate your hiring message faster, which means your brand will get more exposure, more views, and more engagement. However, more views don’t necessarily equal better results. It’s important to do an analysis of the influencer’s followers to ensure they are your target audience.
• Micro- and nano-influencers have fewer followers. They are often more engaged with their audience because they can get to know these people personally. As a result, they’re more convincing and can have actual discussions on your brand or job post with interested people.

You can choose different influencers to partner with according to your marketing goals and current recruiting needs. Most of them provide a contact email in their profile for brands to easily get in touch. Don’t forget to use a DMARC record generator to check whether your messages are authenticated and can avoid phishing.

Side note: Use a fake follower checker to ensure the creators you’re shortlisting are legit and a TikTok engagement rate calculator to ensure their audience listens to them.

Veronica from @peopleculturecollective is a great example of this. She is an HR expert that uses her platform to share a slew of helpful and hilarious content and has collaborated with other creators in the HR space like the People Problems podcast.

@peopleculturecollective

#TechRecruiting is not for the fainthearted @hiredinc #HR #HRtiktok #TechCareer #CareerTikTok #WomenInTech #Recruitersoftiktok #Recruiter #PaidPartnership

♬ original sound – ulikpinkman

In this post, Veronica partnered with hired.com on a Tech Recruiting campaign. People following her profile are more likely to apply or look into companies that she partners with because she’s established a strong level of trust and expertise.

Main Takeaways:

1. Working with a trustworthy influencer can increase the visibility of your recruitment posts and help you reach a larger candidate pool.
2. Think outside the box of traditional hiring ads. Influencers can help you create engaging and creative content that appeals to your target demographic and resonates with your brand values.
3. End with a strong CTA so interested people will know how to send their applications.

4. Showcase Your Company Culture

Another way TikTok can enhance your recruitment strategy is by helping you showcase your company culture. This is a crucial aspect of attracting top talent, as great company culture can differentiate your brand from the competition.

Unreserved is a real estate company with a funny and relatable description on TikTok, “My boss told me to make this page go viral.”

Their posts certainly fit this narrative.

Here is an example showcasing a manager at Unreserved fooling around in the office:

@gounreserved

Time to bring out the big guns #managergoals #meetmyboss #officehumor #attheoffice #officevibes

♬ sonido original –  Antonio Vzz Vèu

This post shows future potential employees that they’ll be working in a laid-back environment where they won’t be afraid to bring up issues with leadership.

It resulted in an array of funny comments that kept the momentum and popularity going.

Notice the effective hashtags used for this post: #managergoals #meetmyboss #officehumor #attheoffice #officevibes.

You can also present your whole team like Handcrew is doing, instead of zooming in on one team member.

@handcrewgear

Meet the Handcrew team! #officetok #officehumor #funny #officelife #socialmedia #coworkers #corperatetiktok #fyp

♬ original sound – fishwad

This clip associates each Handcrew team employee with a funny archetype, like The Fashionista or The Snacker. Therefore, potential employees get a sense of office culture.

Again, notice the array of hashtags used in this video:

• Keywords such as #officetok and #corperatetiktok define the niche.
• #funny and #officehumor define the genre for this TikTok video.
• #fyp aims to build awareness and send this post to the For You Page.

Main Takeaways:

• Using TikTok to showcase your office culture can help attract potential candidates and build a positive brand association.
• Featuring real employees creates a sense of authenticity and engagement.

5. Consider Advertising on TikTok

TikTok is starting to rival Facebook and Instagram as the most popular social media platform to spend advertising dollars. It cost more, but advertising your hiring needs on TikTok will bring increased awareness and help you reach more qualified candidates.

There are different ad formats to choose from depending on your hiring strategy, audience, and budget:

• In-feed ads: Best for mobile and engaged TikTok audiences
• Top-view ads: Best for brand exposure and catching people’s attention because they fill the entire screen
• Video ads: Best for storytelling
• Spark ads: Best for organic engagement and building authenticity because they boost your existing TikTok posts
• Carousel ads: Best for capturing attention and eliciting action because they’re interactive

Many companies are taking advantage of this feature, but one example is this ad created by Spin Brands:

@spinbrands

*SPIN IS HIRING!!* We are looking for an incredibly creative Content Creator to join our production team at Spin Brands Head to our website to apply! #fyp #spinbrands #jobad #jobtok

♬ original sound – Spin Brands

The ad starts with an enticing and catchy question: “Are you looking for your dream job as a content creator?”

• It features real sequences from real people’s work lives
• Presents the benefits of working for this company
• Includes a brief list of job responsibilities
• Ends with a CTA with clear directions on where to send their job-winning resumes.

Main Takeaways:

• Catchy ads on TikTok can help you increase the visibility and candidate pool for your open positions, as long as you choose the right format for your audience.
• Keep it short. Present the most important benefits of getting a job at your company and the major responsibilities.
• End with a clear CTA so there is no question as to how/where they can apply.

Start Your TikTok Recruitment Strategy

When used thoughtfully, TikTok is an excellent channel to incorporate into your long-term and short-term recruiting strategies. It can help grow your audience and candidate pool, build positive brand recognition, and increase the visibility of your job posts. Remember to do your research, use the right spokespeople, and harness the power of hashtags.

Hiring? Connect with us on your ideal candidate profile.


If you are looking for job opportunities in tech, click here.

The post 5 Ways TikTok Can Enhance Your Recruitment Strategy appeared first on CloserIQ.

How to Be Compliant During the Hiring Process

When designing a great hiring experience, interview timelines and candidate flow are often top-of-mind. But the hiring process itself is full of potential compliance risks – from collecting and storing applicant data to monitoring the hiring process itself.

With data breaches becoming increasingly prevalent, even in popular third-party HR platforms, it’s more important than ever for organizations to put preventative measures in place. By understanding the risks, developing policies and procedures to mitigate them, and training HR staff on how to identify and address them, you can ensure a compliant hiring process.

1. Understand the hiring process and which compliance risks are associated with it

The hiring process can be complex. In addition to ensuring that your candidates have a smooth and positive experience, it’s also important to understand the compliance risks. Several potential risks can arise during the hiring process. For example discrimination, failure to follow proper procedures or even bribery. The first step to preventing these risks is to simply be aware of them.

Discrimination is perhaps the most common compliance risk associated with the hiring process. Discrimination claims can occur when an employer improperly considers an applicant’s race, religion, gender, age, or other protected characteristic when making hiring decisions. It can also occur if an employer uses pre-employment tests or screening devices that have a disparate impact on certain groups of people.

Another common compliance risk is failure to follow proper procedures. This can happen when an employer doesn’t follow the required steps in the hiring process. For example, neglecting to conduct background checks or verify references. It can also occur if an employer doesn’t keep accurate records of the hiring process or fails to provide adequate notice of job openings.

Bribery is another potential compliance risk that can arise during the hiring process. This occurs when an employer offers a potential employee something of value in exchange for accepting a job offer. Bribery is illegal in many jurisdictions and can lead to serious consequences for the employer and employee involved.

These are not the only compliance risks associated with hiring but are the most common. By understanding how these situations occur and taking steps to avoid them, you can help ensure a compliant and positive hiring process for your organization.

2. Develop policies and procedures to mitigate compliance risks

The hiring process is full of data collection. From initial applications to candidate screenings, a lot of confidential information is shared between parties.

If your organization has adopted any HR platforms, it’s important to note that these tools often come with their own associated risks. They can be incredibly helpful for streamlining hiring procedures and even mitigating some of the risks we’ve discussed. However, they aren’t immune to data breaches.

When developing policies and procedures to mitigate compliance risks, you should:

• Only collect information that is relevant to the job. Avoid discrimination when collecting applicant data by collecting the data necessary to evaluate the candidate’s qualifications for the job, not the data based on any protected characteristics. For example, an employer shouldn’t collect information about an applicant’s race or gender unless it’s relevant to the job listing.
• Follow data protection legislation. All personal data collected from job applicants must be processed according to data protection legislation. This includes ensuring that applicants are aware of their rights concerning their data and that only the minimum amount of data necessary is collected. It also includes implementing proper data archiving practices.
• Keep applicant data secure. Collected data should be protected from unauthorized access, disclosure, or use. An employer needs to ensure that this information is only accessible to those authorized to access it. Processes should be in place to prevent data from being disclosed or stolen.

3. Train HR staff on compliance risks

New legislation and regulations are constantly being introduced. HR staff should be provided with updated training and professional development around data privacy, employment law, and financial regulations on an ongoing basis. This will help to keep your organization compliant and informed.

In addition to internal processes, compliance training should also cover these components:

• Employment law basics to ensure that job advertisements do not discriminate against any protected characteristics and that hiring selection processes are fair and transparent.
• Financial regulations training to ensure that any financial incentives offered as part of the recruitment process comply with financial regulations.
• Industry and state-specific laws that workers must comply with.

4. Continuously monitor the hiring process

Compliance isn’t a one-time checklist, especially with the evolving threat of cyber-attacks. Organizations should be monitoring their hiring process on an ongoing basis to ensure compliance with policies and procedures.

There are several ways in which organizations can monitor the hiring process:

• Carry out regular audits of HR staff
• Conduct regular reviews of job advertisements
• Implement a system to track changes to applicant data
• Ensure that all staff involved in the hiring process are aware of their responsibilities regarding compliance
• Provide regular training to HR staff on compliance risks associated with applicant data

5. Take corrective action when necessary

Disciplinary measures can be an uncomfortable subject to address. However, it’s important to have a corrective action plan in place if an issue ever arises. If a team member were to breach a compliance policy, it may be a sign that more frequent training or review intervals need to be implemented.

A corrective action plan typically includes the following sections:

1. Identify the problem. What should be fixed? Gather any data, reports, or related documents associated with the problem.
2. Evaluate the extent of severity of the issue. Was it a one-time event that can be easily corrected? Does it point to a larger systematic or tool-related problem?
3. Analyze the root cause. Why did this happen? Was it human error, a lapse in training, or an ineffective process?
4. Develop an action plan. What is the proposed solution? Include a step-by-step plan that details each action item.
5. Implementation of the plan. Each team member should know what the objectives of the corrective action plan are and who is responsible for each piece.
6. Monitor and follow up on the results. Track the progress made and note any necessary adjustments. Create a report that shows how the problem was addressed and any areas of improvement.

Wrapping up

A great hiring process is a staple for attracting qualified candidates. Along with crafting a smooth and positive interview experience from application to job acceptance, it’s important to keep compliance risks top of mind. You can avoid these pitfalls by keeping up-to-date on compliance laws and best practices, and continuously monitoring your hiring processes.

How to Design a Strategic Interview Process for Software Engineers

As a founder, recruiting the right technical talent is vital to building a world-class engineering team. A great software engineer will help scale your product and ensure the growth of your company. Unfortunately, few founders have the expertise to build the perfect hiring process or time to interview hundreds of candidates.

Leaning on the expertise of an agency is a great option. But if your organization isn’t ready for that, we’re breaking down tactical recruiting steps that you can easily follow. This series covers how to scope a role, where to find the best candidates, how to outreach to them, and tips for designing a strategic interview process for software engineers.

Creating a Strategic Interview Process for Software Engineers

Before you begin conducting interviews, make sure that your current process is effective for the role you are filling. We’ll take a look at the best strategies for the first interview call, selecting and administering assessments and closing candidates.

Here are key points to remember when interviewing software engineers:

• Your interview process should be quick but efficient
• Everyone involved in hiring should be on the same page
• There is no downside to providing a great interview experience

Check out The Complete Guide for Interviewing Software Engineers for more in-depth interview tips.

First Call: How to attract and pull in candidates

As an early-stage startup, you might need to do a bit more selling to convince great talent to join your team. The first call is an opportunity for you to begin assessing if they are a good fit, while also building excitement for the role.

• Know what you are going to ask. What information is the highest priority for you to collect at this step?
• Review what you already know. Tailor your conversation around this and save time by not asking for basic information.
• Pause after questions. Strategic pauses allow the candidate time to consider their answer and respond thoughtfully.
• Set clear expectations for the interview timeline. Remember, speed is one of your advantages over larger tech companies.

Assessments

Assessments are standard practice in the interview process for software engineers. The option that you choose should showcase the candidate’s competencies and skills, allowing you to evaluate if they are a good fit for the position.

• Select the right assessment. List out the skills needed for the role and design a set of assessments that test for those specific skills.
• Keep seniority in mind. General coding tests or interviews may be a great choice to test foundational knowledge for early career engineers. With senior engineers, an assessment that tests for domain knowledge or their ability to lead projects might be a better fit.
• Determine how your assessments will be administered. Live assessments can be time-consuming, but they also give you the best data points. Take-home options are more efficient to administer but put more burden on the candidate.
• Test for technical aptitude throughout the interview process. Start by including some quick, technical questions as early as the first call. Save larger assessments for mid to late-stage interview rounds.

Whichever assessment you decide on, make sure to include real problems that someone in this role might face. This will give the candidate better insight into what they’ll be working on in the future. It will also allow you to test their ability to solve problems and tasks relevant to the role.

Tip: Skip expensive assessment tools. Instead, share the exercise via Google Docs and/or a public GitHub repository.

Closing Candidates

Closing candidates is the final step in the hiring process, and it can be a challenge. Here are some tips to help you get software engineers to accept your job offer:

• Be honest and transparent. Make sure to provide realistic expectations about the role, team, and company.
• Highlight the unique aspects of your company. What sets your company apart from the competition? Make sure to emphasize those points.
• Focus on the candidate’s growth. What opportunities are available for the candidate to learn and develop professionally?
• Be flexible with the offer. Offering a competitive salary is important, but so is being flexible with things like vacation time, remote work and other benefits.
• Make the decision process as easy as possible. Provide the candidate with clear next steps and a timeline for making a final decision.
• Be prompt in your response. If a candidate is interested, make sure to follow up as soon as possible.

Check out How to Close Top Engineering Talent for 4 steps that you can take to facilitate a smooth offer process and avoid common pitfalls.

Conclusion

Designing a strategic interview process for software engineers is essential for building high-performing engineering teams. It is important to have a well-defined process that is tailored to the needs of the job and to use assessment techniques that provide direct insight into each candidate’s technical skillset. Consistent process improvement is possible through thoughtful changes based on regularly collected feedback from both candidates and interviewers. Following these steps will help ensure that you are hiring the right candidates who have the necessary skills and cultural fit to be successful at the company.

The post How to Design a Strategic Interview Process for Software Engineers appeared first on CloserIQ.

Great Recruitment Strategies That Attract Top Talent

Attracting and retaining top talent is a challenge many businesses face today. If you want your brand to grow and succeed, you need to hire top talent. Your company’s strategies will depend on your size, location, industry, etc. However, certain elements, such as employer branding and making data-driven decisions, are core parts of any great recruitment strategy. 

Here are some of the best recruitment strategies that you can implement to attract top employees. 

1. Work on your branding

According to LinkedIn, about 75% of candidates consider an employer’s brand before they apply for a job. So, creating a vision and mission for your brand that is relatable can go a long way in attracting prospective candidates. Start by identifying what makes your business or product different and what values underpin what you do. 

By promoting your brand’s values and culture, you can attract candidates who are the best fit. The way that you advocate for current employees and celebrate achievements and projects online can give prospective employees some insight into what it’s like to work for your company. 

Top candidates often look for companies that:

• Offer good income and benefits.
• Encourage a supportive and collaborative work environment. 
• Emphasize a work/life balance and personal well-being. 
• Give opportunities for growth.

2. Develop a candidate persona

Defining your ideal candidate persona for a particular role can help your recruitment efforts be more focused and efficient. Consider the educational background, skills, professional qualifications, work experience, and personal characteristics that your ideal candidate would have. 

If you know exactly what you’re looking for, you can:

• Target your advertising: Use the profile you’ve built to identify where your target audience is. Post your job listing and use any advertising spend in these locations.
• Use marketing that attracts the right candidates: Ensure that your messaging appeals to your targeted talent pool.
• Write clear job descriptions: Your job descriptions can precisely describe the type of candidate you want so fewer unqualified candidates will apply.

To develop your candidate persona, you can evaluate the career profiles of your current top performers. Interview them to find out more about why they are so valuable in their roles. Looking at job boards can help you to identify what type of qualities other employers look for in similar roles. 

3. Create an employee referral program

An employee referral program is a structured program where employees recommend suitable candidates from their networks for specific roles. When you ask your employees to refer candidates, you can benefit in many ways. 

• It’s a cost-effective way to source candidates.
• Employees usually refer candidates they believe will be a good fit, so retention is likely to be higher.
• It reduces the time it takes you to hire. 
• It can help the candidate flow with positions that are harder to fill. 

Your referral policy should include your hiring expectations and the incentives you offer. Consider if you will provide successful referrals with an incentive. Clearly communicate when, how, and why employees should refer a potential candidate. 

4. Use digital recruitment methods

Recruiters and candidates primarily connect and interact online. If you want to attract and retain top talent, using digital hiring strategies and social media is a must. Creating content for your website and various channels is a great way to show prospective candidates what your company is all about. 

A digital recruiting strategy includes:

• Employee onboarding 
• Social media promotions
• Online PR
• Digital branding
• Virtual events
• Use of online job boards
• Skills testing

Digital recruitment methods offer you greater exposure and access to a larger talent pool, leading to higher-quality candidates and maximizing your ROI. 

5. Diversify your outreach strategies

Different skill sets require different outreach methods. The best programmers are probably not frequenting the same places as skilled marketers. You need to identify where your candidates are. This may be at professional events, conferences, on LinkedIn, or on role-specific job boards.

Using social media channels enables you to:

• Share customer testimonials and case studies. 
• Share news and opinion pieces that establish you as an industry leader.
• Engage with potential future hires and start interacting with them. 
• Promote open job vacancies and use ads as needed to target specific candidates. 

6. Make data-driven decisions

You can’t manage what you don’t measure. There are certain metrics you need to track if you want to measure the success of your strategies over time. 

Some of the most important metrics you should track include:

• Number of applicants
• Cost of hire
• The time it takes to hire
• Candidate response rate
• Application completion rate

Once you’ve started to keep track of your efforts, you’ll be able to identify what’s going well and what might need to be changed. 

For example: 

→ If you have too many applicants for a position, your job description or qualifications may be too vague. 

→ If you get 50 applicants from a paid job board, where only three are qualified, but you get 10 candidates from social media advertising and six are qualified, social media advertising is clearly more effective. You should re-evaluate your job board strategy and focus on the channel that is working.

→ If you have many candidates starting the application process but failing to complete it, there could be a potential issue. Your process could be too lengthy, complex, or have a technical error.

7. Take advantage of recruitment automation

New technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analytics have made recruitment automation possible. Using these tools can reduce the costs of hiring and the time it takes to find candidates. Your recruiters can stay organized and keep candidates informed, which leads to an improved experience for both parties. 

The areas in which automation can help include:

• Advertising on job boards: Job board software enables you to post to a variety of job sites simultaneously.
• Scheduling interviews: Candidates can view open interview time slots through calendar and scheduling software. It’s easy for them to reserve a time without having to make a call or email.
• Pre-screening candidates: Pre-screening tools such as resume scanners allow you to quickly identify suitable candidates.
• Tracking applicants: With an applicant tracking system, it is easy to organize and sort candidates and monitor the stage they are in.

Conclusion

Recruiting top talent and attracting the best employees is essential if you want your business to grow and prosper. In a competitive job market, you have to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Your recruitment strategies should showcase your business as a place where potential candidates would love to work. 

Hiring? Connect with us on your ideal candidate profile.


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4 Best Practices for Contacting Engineering Candidates

As a founder, recruiting and onboarding top technical talent to your team is vital. A great software engineer will help scale your product and ensure the growth of your company. But, you probably don’t have a ton of time and energy to build the perfect hiring process and interview hundreds of engineering candidates.

Contacting Prospective Engineering Candidates

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How To Find Qualified Engineering Candidates

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