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Tag Archives: HR

Apple’s Big Day Shows How To Live Forever

Tuesday was a big day for Apple CEO Tim Cook and the company as a whole. Cook finally stepped out of Steve Jobs’ looming shadow, as he unveiled the iPhone 6, new payment systems and the new and improved Apple Watch at an Apple event Tuesday at California’s Flint Center for the Performing Arts. Although Cook has done a solid job since taking over as CEO in 2011, this was his coming-out party, where he showed off some news-making innovations. So we hate to do this to Cook, on his big day, because he is a great leader who deserves all kinds of credit. But really, Cook’s …Read more »

The Real Reason Companies Are Taking So Long To Hire

There was an interesting fact this week in the Wall Street Journal: it is taking companies 25 days to fill vacant positions, a 13-year high. This is shocking, considering the unemployment rate is still over 6 percent, and there are many more people underemployed. With so many people looking for jobs, why is it taking so long to fill one? The Wall Street Journal listed off its theories, including more intense screening processes, the advent of LinkedIn and increased expectations. But really, those are all symptoms of a core problem ERE.net has been detailing for some time: the “Perfect Fit Syndrome.” …Read more »

Is The American Worker Getting Shortchanged?

Each month, when the new jobs report is released, we are bombarded with news about the unemployment rate. And lately, the news has been mostly optimistic, with the unemployment rate slowly decreasing since its high of 10 percent in October of 2009. But what’s not being talked about is what these new jobs are. Specifically, higher-paying jobs are being replaced with lower-paying jobs, and while American workers continue to be more and more productive, wages are lagging far behind. Meanwhile, corporations – facing increased pressure by Wall Street to meet short-term expectations – have increased their profits by 84 percent …Read more »

Why Pay-For-Performance Plans Don’t Work

Doesn’t pay-for-performance just seem like a great idea? It is simple, basic behavioral psychology, right? A dog does what you want, you give them a bone. A person does what you want, you give them $100. Or some recognition, like Employee of the Month. But, believe it or not, there have been dozens of scientific studies and several case studies that show that pay for performance doesn’t work. And it makes sense, when you really think about it. Because what the real-life examples and the science reveals is that when someone does a task for a reward, it no longer …Read more »

Why It’s Time To Stop Underrating HR

Every organization in America, no matter how big or how small, is only as strong as the people who work there. In fact, in a recent survey by Inc Magazine, most CEOs agreed that recruiting and retaining top talent is the top challenge facing their business. And yet, the part of businesses that focuses on getting those people and keeping them motivated has consistently been undervalued, seen by some as a necessary evil. But the truth is the exact opposite, as a strong HR team is critical to success. For years, HR has pushed for “a seat at the table,” …Read more »

The Secret To Hiring Great People Is…

What’s the most critical aspect of consistently hiring great people? It happens before the offer. Before the interview. Before the job posting. Even before the job description. The most critical aspect to hiring well is building a profile of the exact type of person you are looking for before ever beginning the hiring process. If you and your team do that before every hire, you’ll hire great people time and time again. What’s the key to building that profile? The process is two-fold: understanding your company and understanding the need facing your company. Understanding Your Company The first step to …Read more »

The Economic Benefits of Treating Job Applicants Like Humans

Today, if we are being honest, many companies aren’t treating most job applicants like humans. And it isn’t the fault of the companies. With the Internet connecting everyone, HR teams are receiving more resumes than ever before per job, and yet they remain understaffed. Quite simply, they are overwhelmed. With little other choice, HR teams either use resume scanners or a recruiter will spend a few seconds reviewing a resume, with the top few people getting interviews and the rest wondering what happened. The problem is this is both an ineffective way to screen candidates and it is hurting brands. …Read more »

Great Hiring Quotes From The World’s Greatest CEOs

When I was 9 years old and hoping to become the next great Mets pitcher, my father’s advice was pretty simple: watch Rich Wlodarczyk. Rich, who was 11, was the best pitcher on my little league team. So I watched him, did what he did and, largely through osmosis, became a pretty good pitcher myself (cough cough three-time MVP, but who’s counting). Anyway, I think my father taught me a pretty good lesson: learn from the best. And I think that applies to hiring as well. So, without further ado, he’s some great quotes from some of the world’s greatest …Read more »

Five of the Worst Hires of the 21st Century

We’ve written a lot about great hires who turned fledgling organizations around with their talent and will. Our point was to show the impact a single hire can make, as one visionary can transform a company on the verge of bankruptcy into a massive success. However, there is also the other side of the coin: the impact one bad hire can have on an organization. One person, given enough power, can take a successful organization and both ruin and embarrass it. The following five people are good examples of that. While there might be worse hires, all five of these …Read more »

Death To The Resume Scanner!

Companies have a problem today, particularly well-known ones: because the Internet keeps everyone connected and a lot of people want to work at these prestigious organizations, their HR teams are being overloaded with job applications. So, many large corporations today rely on resume scanners (most of which come as part of Applicant Tracking Systems, or ATSs), which scan resumes for certain keywords and then ranks candidates based off the results. Which works really well unless…. The person has their resume in PDF form. Or they put their work dates in the wrong place. Or they call their experience anything other …Read more »

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