Union Square Ventures recently posted an opening for an investment analyst.

Instead of asking for résumés, the New York venture-capital firm—which has invested in Twitter, Foursquare, Zynga and other technology companies—asked applicants to send links representing their “Web presence,” such as a Twitter account or Tumblr blog. Applicants also had to submit short videos demonstrating their interest in the position.

Union Square says its process nets better-quality candidates —especially for a venture-capital operation that invests heavily in the Internet and social-media—and the firm plans to use it going forward to fill analyst positions and other jobs.

Companies are increasingly relying on social networks such as LinkedIn, video profiles and online quizzes to gauge candidates’ suitability for a job. While most still request a résumé as part of the application package, some are bypassing the staid requirement altogether.

A résumé doesn’t provide much depth about a candidate, says Christina Cacioppo, an associate at Union Square Ventures who blogs about the hiring process on the company’s website and was herself hired after she compiled a profile comprising her personal blog, Twitter feed, LinkedIn profile, and links to social-media sites Delicious and Dopplr, which showed places where she had traveled.

“We are most interested in what people are like, what they are like to work with, how they think,” she says.

John Fischer, founder and owner of StickerGiant.com, a Hygiene, Colo., company that makes bumper and marketing stickers, says a résumé isn’t the best way to determine whether a potential employee will be a good social fit for the company. Instead, his firm uses an online survey to help screen applicants.

Questions are tailored to the position. A current opening for an Adobe Illustrator expert asks applicants about their skills, but also asks questions such as “What is your ideal dream job?” and “What is the best job you’ve ever had?” Applicants have the option to attach a résumé, but it isn’t required. Mr. Fischer says he started using online questionnaires several years ago, after receiving too many résumés from candidates who had no qualifications or interest. Having applicants fill out surveys is a “self-filter,” he says.

A previous posting for an Internet marketing position had applicants rate their marketing and social-media skills on a scale of one to 10 and select from a list of words how friends or co-workers would describe them. Options included: high energy, type-A, laid back, perfect, creative or fun.

In times of high unemployment, bypassing résumés can also help companies winnow out candidates from a broader labor pool.

IGN Entertainment Inc., a gaming and media firm, launched a program dubbed Code Foo, in which it taught programming skills to passionate gamers with little experience, paying participants while they learned. Instead of asking for résumés, the firm posted a series of challenges on its website aimed at gauging candidates’ thought processes. (One challenge: Estimate how many pennies lined side by side would span the Golden Gate Bridge.)

It also asked candidates to submit a video demonstrating their love of gaming and the firm’s products.

IGN is a unit of News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal.

Nearly 30 people out of about 100 applicants were picked for the six-week Code Foo program, and six were eventually hired full-time. Several of the hires were nontraditional applicants who didn’t attend college or who had thin work experience.

“If we had just looked at their résumés at the moment we wouldn’t have hired them,” says Greg Silva, IGN’s vice president of people and places. The company does require résumés for its regular job openings.

At most companies, résumés are still the first step of the recruiting process, even at supposedly nontraditional places like Google Inc., which hired about 7,000 people in 2011, after receiving some two million résumés. Google has an army of “hundreds” of recruiters who actually read every one, says Todd Carlisle, the technology firm’s director of staffing.

But Dr. Carlisle says he reads résumés in an unusual way: from the bottom up.

Candidates’ early work experience, hobbies, extracurricular activities or nonprofit involvement—such as painting houses to pay for college or touring with a punk rock band through Europe—often provide insight into how well an applicant would fit into the company culture, Dr. Carlisle says.

Plus, “It’s the first sample of work we have of yours,” he says.

Write to Rachel Emma Silverman at rachel.silverman@wsj.com

Woody Allen, in one of his early movies when confronted by the news that an attractive woman was interested in him, once said, (paraphrased), “If she wants to go out with me there must be something wrong with her. I’m not sure I want to go out with her after all”

I have had several clients over the years express the same sentiment about great candidates they have interviewed. “Well if he is such a great candidate, why does he want to work for us? There must be something wrong with him.” The point having been proved with such clarity, we could only silently agree that they did not deserve a candidate of such high caliber.

Sometimes, after searching months to finally find a single candidate who meets all of a client’s criteria and who also is interested in the position, the client will acknowledge us by agreeing that the candidate is fully qualified, they really like him or her, they appear to be perfect for the position and they would like us to find 3 or 4 more just like him or her so that they can do a comparison.

More frequently than necessary, candidates whose email cover stresses in large bold print that they are absolutely perfect for a position and. we would be idiots not to immediately acknowledge this. When we open the email, we notice that the greeting is addressed to another individual at different company.

HR Story Casting Call

Have a recruitment story to tell?
Anything from awkward interviews to really bad job descriptions, you are welcome to send them to marketing@goldbeck.com. The best ones will get posted on our HRBlog.

Image Source: theprisma.co.uk

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@goldbeck_bc- For employers, essential recruitment tips that will guide you throughout your entire hiring process

The smaller your business, the more crucial it is to get every new hire right. If you find someone with these 7 traits, make an offer — quick.

While every hiring decision is important, the smaller your business the more important it is you hire the right people. When employee No. 300 turns out to be a disaster, the impact on the business is relatively small and often confined to a small group of staff.

When employee No. 3 turns out to be a disaster, everyone—and everything—suffers.

That’s why attitude is everything. You can teach skills, but it’s nearly impossible to teach and instill enthusiasm, teamwork and independence (great employees have both), and motivation.

And that’s why great small business employees:

Can come across a little different. People who are quirky, sometimes irreverent, and happy to be different may seem a little out there, but in a really good way. An employee who isn’t afraid to stand out or stretch boundaries often comes up with the best ideas—and helps you think in different ways, too.

May lack polish but overflow with personality. Think about your favorite customers, vendors, or suppliers. What typically comes to mind first? Those people are personable, friendly, outgoing, and make your day a little more fun. Look for the same qualities in the people you hire. Customers buy more and build longer-term relationships from people they like.

Think, “I’ll do whatever you need. It’s all 8 hours to me.” I first heard that expression when I asked an employee to help me clean up after a backed-up sewer line spread (incredibly unpleasant) fluid across the warehouse floor. He smiled and said, “Sure. It’s all 8 hours to me.”

He felt he was paid to work for 8 hours, so the tasks he performed during that time period didn’t matter (in a good way). Great employees are willing to do whatever it takes. Great employees are more concerned with overall objectives and goals than their individual duties.

Possess one outstanding skill. Small businesses have a variety of specific needs: Running the website, processing orders, generating leads, etc. Many roles can be outsourced. If you have the choice, only bring roles in-house because the candidate is truly outstanding.

Aren’t concerned with job descriptions or organizational structures. To a business owner a prospective employee who asks to see a detailed job description is waving a giant red flag. Employees are paid to work, not hold a position. (If you don’t feel there’s a difference you haven’t run a small business.)

Want to learn and take over. You’re often overwhelmed, so having the luxury to delegate and forget is extremely valuable. While employees with an independent streak can be more difficult to manage the payoff is definitely worth it.

Asked you for a job. Say you sell products online. One day a college senior walks in and says, “I checked out your website. I don’t mean to be rude, but it could be a lot better. I graduate soon and would love to work for you. Here’s a list of the changes I would make in the first three months, and here’s a breakdown of how those changes will improve SEO results and conversion rates. She’s targeted her approach, she’s done her homework, and she’s displayed a level of initiative every business owner hopes to find. While a prospective employee will rarely knock on your door, when one does, give her serious consideration.

That’s my list. What qualities would you add?

Source: INC. By Jeff Haden |  @jeff_haden

Program Summary:

So often in organizations, individuals are expected to take on the role of coach because they work in the Human Resources department and it is assumed they have the skills to coach by virtue of their chosen profession. Just as often the HR professional shies away from this role as they are afraid they will not know what to say. What would you say if we told you the secret to being a good coach actually has very little to do with knowing what to say? The secret to being a good coach is actually in knowing what to ask!

You Will Learn:

•To apply a coaching model in the workplace

•To use coaching to support co-workers, employees and leaders

•To identify and act on coachable moments

•To move forward when you don’t know what to say

 Presenters:

Corinne Maedel, CHRP, PCC, CEC, has diverse professional experience in Human Resources (HR) that has benefitted many business owners with consistency, strategy and development. She takes the often overwhelming subject of HR and delivers practical and realistic tools for the business owner to implement from legal compliance, to recruiting and retention, to development and training. Throughout her career Cori has been able to assist employees, colleagues and senior executives alike to reach their individual and corporate goals and greatest potential. As a Certified Executive Coach, Cori has a gift of seeing what is hidden below the surface, teamed with an ability to bring that which is hidden into view. Cori’s career has come full circle as the founder of the Jouta Performance Group. To learn more please visit www.jouta.com

Who Should Attend:

Mid-level practitioners and above. Human resources professionals with the need or desire to assume the role of coach within their organizations.

Presented By: BC Human Resources Management Association

Registration Info

Register By: Tuesday January 24, 2012

Registration Contact:

BC Human Resources Management Association

Phone: (800) 665-1961

Email: registration@bchrma.org

Download Registration Form Additional Information

Additional Info: http://www.bchrma.org/content/events/ls/details.cfm?EventID=035-311

Cancellation Policy:

A full refund, less a $25 processing fee, will be issued for cancellations submitted at least one week prior to an event or workshop. Attendee substitutions are permitted; however, member/non-member rate differences will apply. Please submit cancellation or substitution requests by
fax (604-684-3225) or e-mail (registration@bchrma.org). Please note that this policy does not apply to conferences, exams or no-charge registrations.

CHRP exam fees are non-refundable if registration is canceled after the registration deadline.
Please note our deferral policy.

The Professional Practice Conference (PPC) is our annual conference held in Toronto.

PPC is:

• The largest pharmacy conference in Canada
• Informing, educating and motivating
• Promotes life-long learning skills through active participation in problem-base workshops

Upcoming Professional Practice Conferences (PPC)

February 4 – February 8, 2012
Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
Toronto, Ontario

Call For Abstracts for PPC 2012

Thank you for your poster abstract submission,
the call is now closed. Please look for the next call in the PPC 2012 final program.

Registration Information

•PPC Registration Information

•Online Registration

Keynote Motivational Speaker

Dr. Roberta Bondar

“Roberta Bondar is Canada’s first female astronaut and is avid nature photographer.”

Dr Roberta Bondar is an advocate for our unique planet after the rare opportunity to view Earth from space. As science and photography have always been linked in Dr. Bondar’s life, it was natural that one of Bondar’s assignments aboard the space shuttle Discovery in January 1992 was to take photographs of Earth.

For more information on Dr. Roberta Bondar please visit

http://nsb.com/speakers/view/roberta-bondar.

Educational Program

•Pharmacy Issues and Controversies Forum

•Concurrent Sessions

•Workshops

•PSN Sessions

•Facilitated Poster Sessions

•Oral Presentations

Awards Ceremony – Essex Ballroom

•Sunday February 5, 2012

Satellite Symposiums

•Satellite Reservation Form

•Breakfast, luncheon, and dinner availability

•Reserve your spot early

Exhibit Program – Sheraton Hall

•Two day exhibit program

•Monday, February 6, 2012

•Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Information for Exhibitors

•Exhibitor Prospectus

•Exhibitor Application Form

•Exhibitor Manual

•Name Badge Request Form

•Door Prize Form

Career Opportunities Evening – Sheraton Hall

•Sunday February 5, 2012

•Poster for Career Opportunities Evening

•Guidelines, Registration Form and Shipping Information for Exhibitors at Career Opportunities Evening

R&E Silent Auction – Sheraton Hall

This year’s Research & Education Foundation Fundraiser at PPC 2012 will once again be the popular silent auction.

•Call for Donations Information Poster

•Bidding takes place Sunday, February 5 and Monday February 6.

•Bidding closes Tuesday February 7 at which time successful winners will be announced!

Conference Discounts

Hotel PPC 2012 at
Sheraton Centre Toronto

http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/CSHP12

123 Queen Street West Toronto, Ontario

Car Rental

Hertz Rental
special rate for PPC

For more information, contact Desarae Davidson, ddavidson@cshp.ca.

The most common and costly mistake when sourcing for candidates is relying on job ads to produce quality resumes.  We come across this quite often. Frustrated clients spent thousands on job ads for a few months and expected to hire.  Only to result in a few B quality resumes.

Did you know that ads only attract 15% of the actual talent pool? And within that, imagine how many comes close to meeting your requirements? The more specific your requirements get, the harder it will be to source candidates.

Here are the most common job boards our clients post on.

Monster, Workopolis

The biggest job boards in Canada are Monster, Indeed and Workopolis. These boards bring in millions of traffic to their website. The cost of one ad will start from $350 a month.

As a recruitment firm we have tried all of the major boards and then some. Here is the truth, all of the largest general job boards get the same traffic. We compared the resumes from one database to another and they are the same applicants. If you were a candidate, and you heard of Monster you would have most likely heard of Workopolis and Indeed.

From experience, a good result on Monster has an average 10% conversion rate. Meaning, 10% of the visitors who saw your ad applied. Depending on the type of job this may increase. Monster’s audience is geared towards junior sales and marketing positions.

True ROI of Indeed

Our jobs are indexed on Indeed for free.  Indeed searches our website for new jobs and link it to their website. If you don’t have the volume of jobs or the turnover of new jobs, Indeed will make you pay. From our experience, the cost per resume is a lot cheaper when compared to Monster but, the quality of resume is subpar.  Not just by a margin either, you will start to receive resumes worldwide with no relation to your job.

According to our web analysis of Indeed ads, 68%+ are bounces, visitors who clicked on the ad but, do not apply. Here is the problem with Indeed, because they are an indexing website they take small snippets of the job description, which at most times, fails to correctly describe the job. The only information that would be correct is the job title.

Remember, you are still paying for the clicks even though they are not applying.  In the end you are $350 short and have no candidates. I would rather pay $50 for 1 quality resume that gives me value, than to pay $5 for 100 resumes that I will never use.

Executive Job Boards

We tried executive job boards. They were one of the most expensive boards and sometimes even require a paid membership from their applicants.  Unless miraculously, executive job boards turn into THE source where C ‘Execs receive news on new jobs, I would stay away.

Most if not all, executive recruitment agencies require clients to pay a retainer fee, because it requires so much time and effort to connect with the key people.  If you are not in their network already, it is probably one of the hardest networks to penetrate.

Association Job Postings

It is recommended, especially when the position requires special certifications or designations. The quality of resumes is better but, the volume will be lower. Generally association websites have lower traffic volume when compared to general job boards. You may be a member but, when was the last time you went through their website? On average, we pay $300+ per posting on association career pages.

The key with associations is their members. Members receive their association news via email or social media. Delivering your ad through those channels and contacting key people within the organization will be far more effective than any of the other alternatives listed above.

Post Secondary University Postings

Great if we were looking for students but, not for alumni’s. What benefited us were the post secondary programs. Students are usually experienced industry professionals.  Grads receive information via email. Occasionally, I will receive job postings from the programs I completed.  There is no way around networking, get to know the program advisors and faculty.  You cannot pay for that kind of help.

In the end, we still depend on our networks and the relations we built to help us.

To find more useful job posting tactics download our free eBook

Complimentary eBook Invitation

Job advertisements typically start from $350 and it could run into thousands. This guide will instruct you how to avoid those costly mistakes and to best advertise for your job.

This eBook will cover the following essential steps:

1. REAL ROI of top job boards
2. What to look for in a job board and who to contact
3. Best advertising avenues to market your position
4. There are many examples and tools featured in the handbook that will help you successfully hire.

Get your eBook now

cindy_lou

We recently sent out a Holiday eCard to all our clients and candidates who have supported us throughout the year. Everyone here truly does wish everyone (for the most part) a fabulous holiday and hope to keep in touch with you in the new year.

The responses were mostly warm and friendly. However, there were a few that donned on the Grinch’s costume and felt they had the need to lash out.

Some we thought were hilarious in particular an email that told me to “sit on a stick and called me a useless piece of chair mold”

To all the “well wishers” this Holiday season, I would like to personally wish you a Cindy Lou Who this Christmas and hope your holiday is filled with laughter, warmth and compassion.

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. “

Sources: How The Grinch Stole Christmas