Archive for the 'Branding' Category

Your mama may not dance, and your daddy might not rock’n’roll…but that doesn’t mean they’re all that different from you – especially when it comes to evaluating prospective employers. 

Despite the supposed “generation gap” that exists in the workforce, Gallup research has found that certain factors – such as management quality, compensation, quality team dynamics and career development – are valued equally across generations when it comes to prospective employers. 

For those differences that still exist, however – both in what these groups want and in how they search for jobs – here’s a breakdown of what to keep in mind when branding yourself to these various age groups. Continue Reading…

• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on November 5, 2009
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• Categories: Branding, Building a Best Place to Work, Generational Hiring

Job boards are dying…at least if you believe some people.

The latest so-called evidence of this phenomenon is in this Wall Street Journal online article, which discusses how more companies today are enhancing their own Web sites in efforts to attract talent (a tactic I wholeheartedly agree with); but it also seems to imply that because of this, companies no longer have a need for job boards in their recruiting strategies.  That’s where I don’t so much agree, and here’s why… Continue Reading…

• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on August 10, 2009
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• Categories: Branding, Employee Attraction, Employer Advice, Job Postings, Products, Social Media

Care to help us out here? 

Last week, my colleague Anthony Balderrama, a writer for our job seeker-focused blog, The Work Buzz, told me: 

“We often hear from job seekers who wonder why, when they apply – or even interview – for a position, they never hear back from the employer at all.”

So why is this, exactly?  Anyone can understand – especially if you’re getting up to 75 resumes for a single position – that you can’t always get back to every single applicant…but to never so much as e-mail or call someone back after an interview? Now, that just seems cold (not to mention that it’s also potentially damaging to your employment brand). 

But like the understanding best friend in a classic romantic comedy, we know there are two sides to every story.  That said…would you mind, dear readers, indulging us?  Continue Reading…

• Posted by: Mary Lorenz on July 27, 2009
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• Categories: Branding, Employee Attraction, Interviewing

Facebook may seem like a great place to start connecting with job seekers. And yes, your company profile’s lurking around on the site. But beyond creating an account and waiting for candidates to come find you, you’re not sure quite what to do. You’re almost ready to pull a Heidi Montag and bail on the whole thing. How can you get creative in your social media efforts — and make stronger connections with candidates? Let’s take a look at some ways to start thinking outside of that (status) box.

Dunkin’ Donuts

Dunkin’ Donuts has made huge strides through their social media efforts, and their latest campaign ties their new product offering in with their Facebook fan page with their “Keep it Coolatta” sweepstakes. This new campaign allows users to turn their profile pics into prizes by taking pictures of themselves drinking the Dunkin’ Donuts beverage and showing how they are “keeping it Coolatta.”

While this campaign may target many customers, it is also getting Dunkin’ in touch with candidates who may not have known a lot about them before and who are curious to learn more about the company. Dunkin’ Donuts is smartly gaining a presence — and an interactive one at that — by tapping into potential employees’ social networks on sites like Facebook. Facebook, as is Twitter or YouTube, is a very viral platform in which to communicate an idea — and if it’s a good idea, it will travel fast and reach a lot of users. They’ll send it to their friends, and then they’ll send it to their friends… and — yeah, you get the idea.

Dunkin’ Donuts executive chairman Jon Luther recently got into a discussion with us here at CB about the company’s leadership philosophy (more to come on that soon). One comment that stood out to me was Luther’s assertion that “People are to us the most important part of the equation. I tell people we’re not cloning genes here, we’re building relationships and making sure they’re the most profitable they can be so we can be the best franchiser in the world.”

And sites heavy on user interaction, such as Facebook, allow companies to more easily build those relationships that are hard to come by through the traditional hiring process alone. They also enable employers to more seamlessly integrate their brand into the user experience. Take a look at what Sea World has done, for example.

Think like an employer

Creating a social media campaign is all well and good, but still, you must determine your goals in launching an interactive, viral campaign on a site like Facebook. What are you trying to do — and with whom are you trying to connect? If primarily candidates, take a look at other companies running successful campaigns, and decide how you can focus in on job seekers in particular. Pitching your product or creating a fun game is a good start — but take it up a level. How can you connect with people who may be interested in working for you (and who just may not know it yet)?

A recent BtoB Magazine article lists 5 ways to optimize your Facebook marketing. These ideas, although specific to Facebook, can be applied elsewhere, and they are good starting points in your planning process.

Here are a few (full list here):

• Posted by: Amy Chulik on June 15, 2009
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• Categories: Branding, Employee Attraction, Innovation, Social Media, Technology

Yep, it’s that time of year again: College Graduation. Parties, celebrations, awards, a sense of accomplishment — and, oh, figuring out a place to live! Many college graduates-to-be are considering relocation to new cities to find a fresh start, a fresh career, and a fresh place to mount their shiny new college diploma. Only this time, the game is a bit different, as more competition for jobs is coupled with an economy in the midst of a recession — and the stress of stretching those entry-level-job dollars is often immense. The cost of living is high, and upcoming grads need as many resources as they can get to help them decide where their dollars will be best spent in their initial months out of the dorms.

With this in mind, Apartments.com and CBcampus have provided results for the second annual Top Ten Best Cities for Recent College Graduates.

“Given the current economy, new grads looking to relocate are becoming increasingly concerned with the cost of living as they are faced with more competition for jobs than seen in previous years,” said Tammy Kotula, public relations and promotions manager at Apartments.com.

The results were based on three criteria:

1. Number of entry-level job openings
2. Cost of rent
3. Population of young adults

As it’s important for job seekers to understand their best living options, it is also important for employers to know where their city stacks up in the job atmosphere — and be aware of their competition in attracting top job seekers not only to their city, but to their company as well.

So… did your city make the list?

• Posted by: Amy Chulik on May 8, 2009
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• Categories: Branding, Building a Best Place to Work, Economy, Employee Attraction, Generational Hiring, Leadership Development, Survey Results

Candidate information — you can never get enough of it, can you? Resumes are a great source for a candidate’s work-related stats, but how do you get a more complete picture of that person you’re thinking of hiring onto your staff?   I recently wrote about CareerBuilder’s newly launched Applicant Explorer tool. If you haven’t been paying attention, this candidate snapshot tool is available to you for FREE if you have current Resume Database access.

Applicant Explorer enables you to immediately see the most useful and valuable information out there about that candidate, such as his or her Facebook or Brightfuse profile, dedication to an online engineering forum, food photography blog, or published article about business etiquette. Get access to the details a resume may not give you the opportunity to see — and get a more clear picture of candidates before you say “You’re hired.”

Continue Reading…

• Posted by: Amy Chulik on April 29, 2009
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• Categories: Branding, Employee Attraction, Free Tools You Can Use, Products, Social Media, Survey Results, Technology