My occupation is fantastic. I converse with talent acquisition executives most of the day, and then I collaborate with the Ongig team to develop software to (ideally) address those challenges!
About a year ago, I initiated a spreadsheet of the issues TA executives discussed with me. I chose to now share them with you — perhaps they’ll assist you with your TA approaches.
Disclaimer: Since Ongig is a job description platform, a greater-than average number of individuals raise job description-related issues with me.
Ranking #1 is the domain of job descriptions overall. TA executives reach out to me to discuss X sub-topics about JDs:
Job Descriptions Appear Too “Bland/Static”
Many TA executives feel exasperated by how static their JDs look. They’re not always certain exactly what they desire but refuse to accept the status quo of just text.
Job Descriptions Should Be Composed More Like Advertisements
Numerous TA executives take no pride in the content of their job descriptions. They are concerned that their JDs are:
- Written with “internal jargon” — E.g. They utilize terminology that their internal team comprehends but candidates might find confusing.
- Not convincing — E.g. The text fails to provide a compelling reason for the candidate to consider the opportunity.
- Excessively lengthy
Job Descriptions Fail to Attract Millennials & Gen-Z
Almost all TA executives strive to differentiate themselves and engage the latest generation(s) of workers. They fear that their existing JDs are crafted solely for more seasoned professionals instead of young individuals recently graduated.
Some TA executives are keen on incorporating video into their JDs. They’d like to showcase a corporate “commercial”-style video or footage of hiring managers and team leads.
The second most prevalent source of discomfort among TA executives is employer branding. TA professionals wish to:
- Communicate their story more effectively
- Create new videos and other media
- Demonstrate their distinctiveness
- Be more active on social platforms
- Share their mission or values
- Enhance their ratings on Glassdoor and other review and rating websites
In summary, they desire their employment brand to stand out amidst all the noise.
Many talent acquisition executives express that their marketing departments have deprioritized TA.
The most proactive TA executives acknowledge they require more pipeline for at least a segment of their business.
Illustrations:
- Consulting firms seek more candidates proficient in the Cloud
- Large tech companies require additional A.I. developers
- New enterprises with a hot product need more sales representatives to promote it!
- SaaS/Cloud firms that sell effectively require more Customer Success managers (a super-hot market right now)
- Construction firms need more Project Managers (since they can’t launch their latest $20 million project without them!)
- Government contractors need more cybersecurity developers with clearance
- Call center companies need more, well, call center representatives (a notoriously high turnover position)
- The “Gig Economy” companies (consider Uber, Lyft, Postmates, etc.) are in need of more drivers
I rarely encounter a TA professional who does not have diversity on their to-do list.
They typically require more women and underrepresented ethnic groups. They may also have a government quota to meet regarding the hiring of more veterans.
Note: Register for our next webinar on Aug. 2 at 1PM ESTDiversity Recruiting: Why Words Matter
Most TA professionals recognize that their candidate experience can be significantly improved.
Many of my discussions revolve around a TA executive contemplating a redesign of their career site. They seek features such as:
- Job Search — They are dissatisfied with their ATS job search
- Microsite Pages — They would like to personalize pages for Diversity, Veterans, Internships, or another area of focus
- Mobile-optimized pages
- “45% of job seekers search for jobs daily on their mobile device” –Undercover Recruiter
- “89% of job seekers believe mobile devices play a crucial role in the job hunting process” –Undercover Recruiter
- Shorter Application Process — Many TA executives become frustrated by the lengthy application process that certain ATSs necessitate.
They also care about what a candidate observes when they visit job boards like Indeed, Glassdoor, or LinkedIn.
And candidate experience is not limited to external applicants. The best TA executives are discussing with me about mobility/internal candidate experience.
What complicates candidate experience for TA is that they often do not receive the marketing and development (CSS, HTML, etc.) resources required.
TA executives are perpetually seeking to automate anything that assists recruiters in recruiting more efficiently.
They want to “buy time” for recruiters and liberate them to engage in high-touch tasks such as personalized outreach to candidates.
TA executives want to minimize any interval they can between when a job requisition is discussed and when the position is occupied.
They aim for less friction in their “workflow”.
For example, quite a few TA executives inquire about the best measures to implement for improved job description management workflow.
TA executives sometimes face compliance challenges that include:
- Complying with new pay equity regulations
- Ensuring proper EEO/OFCCP compliance and tracking which JDs lack them
- GDPR compliance (every overseas employer I engage with asks me about this)
- Posting positions on diversity-focused job boards
- Selecting an ATS that excels in compliance
Recruitment SEO remains a trending topic for many of my TA acquaintances.
They inquire about:
They are rightly concerned. I’ve observed a boost in my client’s quality applications by over 2% when they effectively utilize their SEO strategies.
One Fortune 100 organization informed me they are concentrated on completely eliminating reliance on an executive search firm.
Another TA executive from a consulting firm mentioned that sales sometimes advance so swiftly on new projects that she gets unexpectedly caught up on hiring the IT personnel required to implement. In those instances, she is compelled to use contractors/agencies to fill the IT roles.
Agencies frequently charge TA teams a commission of 10% to 30% on the first year’s salary.
That’s a substantial expense that leadership would be keen to eradicate.
I penned this article to assist other TA leaders I haven’t engaged with in reflecting on their strategy.
I believe that an efficient job description platform like Ongig aids in advancing improvements in all 10 of these challenges outlined above.
[starbox]