Opportunities for professional growth in a slowing economy, I'm looking inward...

I'm not exactly a newbie to RecruitingBlogs, rather I've been a passive “lurker” for some time. Thanks to some of the more regular contributors on the site and their almost startling openness, something has awoken in me that wants to get more involved, to let my voice be heard. I don't imagine I'm the only one who has wondered just how to go about "putting themselves out there" and what it truly means to do so. I’m very glad to have a forum such as this to learn so much from.

So in the spirit of transparency, I thought I would expand upon some of my more anonymous “wordpress” blog rants on to RBC.

Right now I’m focusing heavily on talent development and improvement of the candidate experience in my recruiting. I’ve found that right now, while hiring is slow, is the perfect time to be creating a stronger value proposition and focus on the way that my company goes about recruiting and on boarding new employees (oh yeah, and don’t forget building upon my own personal brand!). One of the things that I love about the Corporate Recruiting hat after having worn the agency hat is the ability to have an impact more directly on the way candidates view this process, nothing floats my boat like a new hire raving about how great the interview and hiring experience was for them. I’ve even been lucky enough to get rave reviews from people who didn’t get the job – that’s enough to make you blush!

I suppose I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve in regards to candidate experience, and I’ll be discussing them here on my blog in my upcoming posts, but am far from an expert in the area. I would love to hear if anyone would like to share what they are doing that is simply mindblowing or maybe just mindblowingly simple to create an outstanding candidate experience.

~Becky

I’m a “blue” personality - so leave me a comment so that I feel like someone is listening! ;)

Next Post >

Comment by Jerry Albright on November 26, 2008 at 11:46am: This is a really nice post Becky. More and more people are starting to chime in a bit more and I personally think its fantastic!

Comment by Becky Metcalf on November 26, 2008 at 11:49am: Thanks Jerry, this community sure makes it easier to have a voice!

Comment by Kristin on November 26, 2008 at 1:23pm: Hello Becky,

I think this discussion is really hitting the mark when it comes to what candidates are looking for in an organizations interview process. I recently attended a session regarding the topic of how a company treats prospective candidates in the interview process. If a candidate has a poor experience in the hiring process, they will be unlikely to reapply or want to work with this corporation in the future. Additionally, they will discourage people they know from applying. Since this is the first true interaction prospective candidates have with potential employers, first impressions are KEY!

Kristin Bolinske
Bolinske Consulting & Recruiting
http:www.bolinskeconsulting.com

Comment by Steve on November 26, 2008 at 3:56pm: Well I know we are already connected, but as you said before we are in the same boat, so there is much I can share!

Comment by Dan Nuroo on November 26, 2008 at 4:58pm: Hey Becky, good to read your post... it really is a great forum, not too many get defensive or aggressive, and most people are willing to help or at least listen. I agree with your post. It was a challenge convincing my Executive at the time that Brand awareness from a candidates perspective is important. One of the simpliest ways I've noticed is to simply just do what you say... pretty simple, but a lot of people aren't used to that from someone in the Recruiting field.

PS thanks for the comment on my poorly discussed discussion "Dealing with Agencies" your $0.2 is worth heaps in Australian currency right now :)

Comment by Vikki Hawkins on December 3, 2008 at 4:00pm: Great post Becky! Glad to see you let your inner "ORANGE" get out there a little. However I do sooooo love the BLUE in you!

Comment by Andrew Hermiston on October 20, 2009 at 1:32pm: Hey Becky
I'm a lurker too :-).
Trying to figure out the whole social media thing, build our brand, raise 4 kids, etc etc etc. Who's got time to blog??
I've been reading some great posts and really liked yours. We too are all about improving internal process during this down time and hoping to capitalize on the rebound. It's nice to hear the internal Corporate folks like yourself are thinking the same way. I'm hoping this will lead to an elimination of a lot of things that drive candidates crazy and tends to paint our shared overall industry in an unkind light.