Summer 2013 Edition

Calling all HR professionals!

Austin, Dallas, and Houston are seeking...

• Event volunteers,
• Meeting volunteers,
• Meeting leaders,
• Training leaders, 
• Social Media Managers,
• Marketing volunteers, and a
• Volunteership drive team.

Please contact the founder Eric Griesel and share how you would like to help.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR HOUSTON

Effective June 1, Eric Griesel's weekly Strategic Job Search Program moved from Second Baptist Church.  

The program has moved to a new location to be announced later on the LinkedIn Group by Eric Griesel.  Please join Texas HR Pros' Professionals In-Transition Group on LinkedIn to find out where the new location will be and for the new days/times. 
 
Many thanks to Second Baptist Church for hosting the program for 2.5 years!

Thank you for your patience.

MEET TEXAS HR PROS' DALLAS LEADER LIZ D'ALOIA 

            

Liz, an attorney and HR executive will be a moderator at this year's 26th Annual South Texas College of Law Employment Conference in Houston on July 25-26. 

Liz is also the founder of HR Virtuoso, a revolutionary product for HR departments and businesses. 

The conference fee is $300-$325 for HR professionals. 





HOW HR COOLS OFF AT THE BEACH...

 

Can you spot HR at the beach?  Our next mixer will be at Sam’s Boat on July 25, 2013. 

Special thanks to our dedicated sponsor Kathleen Ater Personnel.

Veteran Job Ministry Job Fair on Friday- Employers Free

Memorial Day Job Fair
Church Without Walls
5725 Queenston Blvd
Houston, TX 77084
 

The Church Without Walls Armed Forces Ministry is committed to addressing the needs of veterans and proud residents of the City of Houston who face the challenge of unemployment. You are invited to join our efforts by attending the Memorial Day Weekend Job Fair on Friday, May 24, 2013.

Our primary purpose is to assist veterans and provide encouragement and support in their effort to find employment and restart their lives. We are searching for companies that are willing to participate by interviewing for jobs and/or provide promotional items and/or refreshments. The theme for this day is "Honoring Our Heroes."

We invite you and your organization to participate in this momentous event for veterans and our community. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for your support.

 

10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Vendors Set Up @ 8:00 AM

Attendees: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Admission is FREE!

 

Vendors interested in participating can register online .

 

You may also contact Michael Criddell at armedforcesministry@churchwithoutwalls.org or by calling 281-649-6791.

 

If you are a Veteran seeking employment, please bring a copy of your DD214 to help facilitate your employment process. Likewise, if you are a non-Veteran seeking employment, please bring a resume.

Hire Better Talent Infographic

Meet Search4UInc at this Evening's Mixer

Foster in center

Come meet Foster Williams, a Texas HR Pros' leader, this evening at The Ranch at Las Colinas for our networking mixer!   No RSVP required--  http://texashrprosdallas2013-eorg.eventbrite.com/#

Foster offers many complimentary services to HR professionals and companies including free job postings.  http://search4uinc.com/post-a-job/

Foster also posts HR positions and knows many HR executives in Dallas Fort Worth because he has  25+ years experience in corporate recruitment, including more than 15 years in strategic recruitment management. Foster has served as Director of Recruitment for The Associates/Citigroup and GTE/Verizon Communications as well serving in consulting roles for large banking conglomerates, semiconductor manufacturing, and aerospace/DOD companies. In addition, he was a recruitment outsourcing leader for Korn/Ferry-Futurestep.

Most recently Foster co-founded the popular Career Search Network (CSN) and founded http://www.search4uinc.com that powers the Career Search Network. He spends the lion share of his time traveling to job seeker groups in the state of Texas and serving as the Job Search Navigator. In that role, he helps people navigate all the information shared by groups in order to help them create customized search plans to find that next job God has for them.

Watch the video below to see Foster Williams advising Debbie Brackens through WFAA's Starting Over with Jane McGarry on Good Morning Texas.

Contact Foster at 214.728.6930.
 

Big HR Networking Event April 11 at The Ranch

LinkedIn Webinars for Recruiters

Upcoming Webcasts

Building Your Team of Internal Talent Scouts to Drive Proactive Sourcing

With Ed Nathanson

Learn how Ed Nathanson of Rapid7 built a team of skilled recruiters incentivized and motivated like sales professionals. He'll share lessons in proactive sourcing and engaging employees as recruiting partners.

Register nowThu, Mar 28, 201310:00AM PDT

Moneyball for Talent Acquisition

With Will Hamlin and James Raybould, LinkedIn

It's time for the world of talent to have its Moneyball moment! Learn how to use LinkedIn's data to gather talent pool insights, focus your team, build your brand and better manage your pipeline.

Register nowTue, Apr 02, 201310:00AM PDT

Recorded Webcasts

• 4 Essential Tips to Convert your Employees to Talent Brand Ambassadors

  With Ken Pfilger, TNS and Tabitha Eade, LinkedIn; Length 70 mins

  Watch now

• Passive Candidate Recruiting without the Big Employer Brand

  With Lou Adler and Beth Houpis; Length 60 mins

  Watch now

• Recruiting Fundamentals: Tips for Hiring the Best with LinkedIn

  With LinkedIn Team; Length 20 mins

  Watch now

• When Recruitment and Marketing Collide: The Power of Employer Branding (Talent Connect 2012)

  With Cameron Batten, Brent Amundson, Kara Yarnot and Steve Cadigan ; Length 50 mins

  Watch now

• Turning Your Entire Team into a Recruiting Machine

  With Steve Cadigan and Lou Adler; Length 80 mins

  Watch now

• The Employer Brand Playbook: 5 Steps to a Social Talent Brand

  With Brendan Browne and Dina Medeiros, LinkedIn; Length 60 mins

  Watch now

• Building Sourcing Capabilities In-House with LinkedIn (Talent Connect 2012)

  With Marcus Edeback Charles Hardy, LinkedIn; Length 50 mins

  Watch now

• Sourcing While You Sleep: How Sony Electronics Leveraged LinkedIn to Scale Recruiting Activities

  With Peter Moore, Sony Electronics; Length 50 mins

Burnett Staffing Is Texan Proud

Our premier sponsor for Houston's Networking Event on March 28, in Houston, is Burnett Staffing.  On their website, they are all about Texas which is obvious from their header on their home page.

They also proudly highlight their Texas awards on their Diversity web page in a section all its own...

Texas' 6th Top Woman-Owned Business
Texas' 6th Top Diversity Business
Texas Certified HUB (Historically Underutilized Business)
Texas Certified Small, Minority, Woman Business Enterprise

Other reasons why Texas HR Pros hearts Burnett Staffing...

1. They have a great LinkedIn company page.  http://www.linkedin.com/company/29104?trk=tyah
2. They have a  daily blog.  http://burnettstaffing.com/blog/
3. They are a Nationally Certified Woman-Owned Business and rank as follows--

            United States' 36th Top Woman-Owned Business
            United States' 23rd Top Small Business
            United States' 76th Top Diversity Business

     4.  They have won several diversity awards--

• 2011 - Breakthrough Woman- Women's Chamber of Commerce

• 2011 - Enterprising Woman of the Year Award- Enterprising Women Magazine

• 2010 - Inspiring Texas Woman Award- Sterling Bank - Women's Business Initiative

• 2010 - Enterprising Woman - NAWBO

• 2008 - One of Houston's 50 Most Influential Women- Houston Woman Magazine

• 2002 - Woman Business Entrepreneur of the Year - WBEA

• 2001 - Texas Women’s Hall of Fame Nominee- The Governor's Commission for Women

• 2000 - Woman of Excellence - Women's Enterprise

• 1997 - Outstanding Woman of Business - YWCA

• 1997 - Women on the Move - Houston Chronicle

• 1996 - Houston's Largest Woman-Owned Business- Houston Business Journal

• 1996 - Woman Business Owner of the Year - NAWBO

• 1995 - Houston's Top Woman-Owned Business- Houston Business Journal

 

 

TalentNet Brings HR to South by Southwest on March 8 #SXSW

SXSW Interactive attendees by Arthur Van Rooy

On Friday, March 8, TalentNet Live! returns for its third annual Austin conference, and, in the spirit of South by Southwest Interactive (which kicks off the same day), we’re changing the game with a new (and radically different) kind of recruiting conference.

TalentNet will examine the attraction strategy of 24 Hour Fitness, and learn from real practitioners in highly interactive, collaborative workshops. Some of the things we’ll be focusing on include:

• Building and Executing a Social Recruiting Campaign, Content Marketing, Social Platforms, Cool Tools, and more
• Developing and Marketing Employment Brands
• Social Media Policy Creation, Compliance & Employee Enablement
• Tracking, Analyzing and Reporting Results

More details at www.talentnetinteractive.com - Contact Craig@talentnetlive.com for group rates and sponsorship.

Click here for Registration.  Use 50% discount code for TalentNet Interactive Austin 3/8 Social Talent Conference.  Use the Starr Consiracy discount - starr - to register today for TalentNet Interactive Austin on 3/8 at #SXSW!

Join Craig Fisher, Lars Schmidt, Sarah White, Maren Hogan, James Mayes, Matt Charney, Dwane Lay, Crystal Miller, Carrie Corbin, Teela Jackson, and many more for strategy, learning, fajitas, margaritas, and fun!

Recruitment Webinar on Tuesday, March 5

Recruitment End-to-End
Facilitated by: Adam Bradshaw
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
1:00pm -2:00pm CT
Register https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/114912329

Do you ever take the time to examine your Recruitment process from end-to-end? This session will explore an organizing framework from leading experts within the recruitment literature to do just that – examine recruitment from end-to-end (e.g., recruitment sources, recruiters, realistic job previews).

We will provide an organizational schema for
a) Recruitment Objectives
b) Strategy Development
c) Recruitment Activities
d) Intervening Processes and
e) Recruitment Results.

Additionally, influential recruitment activities will be examined in an attempt to guide our understanding as to why certain sources work over others. Practical implications will be discussed to identify the most significant predictors of items key to recruitment success, such as job pursuit intentions and acceptance intentions. Lastly, practical implications will also explore what employers should do to maximize the effectiveness of their recruiting efforts with the fewest resources!

This program has been pre-approved for 1.0 GENERAL HRCI credits.

More complimentary webcasts here:  http://www.degarmogroup.com/index.php/webcasts
Join us on LinkedIn-  http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Talent-Management-Forum-4669484/about

Sincerely,

Adam

Adam Bradshaw
Business & Research Development Associate

The DeGarmo Group, Inc.
(866) 4-DEGARMO ext: 227
(866) 433-4276 ext: 227
Bradshaw@degarmogroup.com

Career Connections Job Fair on March 1

ABM Industries
Manpower
Achilles Group
Modern Woodmen of America
Aflac
Neighborhood Centers, Inc.
Alice Lam, DDS
Northwestern Mutual
Arrow Plumbing
Omni Hotels & Resorts
Barracuda International
Pella Windows & Doors
BBVA Compass
Plastipak Packaging
Chick-fil-A
ProStaff
Christian Brothers Automotive
Radiant Industrial Solutions
DeVry University
Raising Cane's
Employer Flexible
Randalls Food Markets
Enbridge
Randstad
First Call Personnel
Region 4 Education Service Center
Friedkin Companies
Riverway Business Services
Harris County Juvenile Probation
San Jacinto College
Home Team Pest Defense
Silverleaf Resorts
Houston Baptist University - Graduate School
Star of Hope Mission
HPM & Associates , LLC
The Art Institute of Houston
hrQ, Inc.
The Grocers Supply Co., Inc
IBC Bank
The Reynolds and Reynolds Company
Information Providers, Inc.
The WorkFaith Connection
Insperity
Towne Park
J. Hilburn Men's Clothiers
TPI Staffing, Inc.
JobSparx
Vitamin Shoppe
Kelly Services
Waste Management
Kroger Co.
Wise Men Consultants
Lone Star College System
Xerox Business Services
Lutheran Social Services of the South, Inc.

Here is a list of participating employers for the job fair this Friday. 

Don't forget, you can post your job listings for free on Career Connections.

Community Job Fair in NW Houston

Greetings Houston Employers!

 

The next Near Northwest Management District’s Job Opportunities Network will have its next

Community Job Fair

May 8, 2013

Advent Lutheran Church

5820 Pinemont Dr., Houston, TX 77091

10 AM to 1 PM

 

 

The slots are filling up very quickly for this one, since the summer will be starting and people will be looking to hire summer help. Please respond to this email with your desire to participate, and I will send you the Agreement Form to secure your space. This year, we are really pushing to get as many of our jobseekers hired as we can.

 

Much thanks to employers who hired some of our applicants in 2012. There are even more opportunities for employers to hire this time, and we plan to make it happen especially with our partner The Workfaith Connection.

 

Please contact me if you have any questions about participating in the job fair or to find out how you can sponsor the event. 

 

Hope to hear from you soon!

 

Ruby Glass

Near Northwest Management District

Office 713-895-8021

rglass@nearnorthwestdistrict.com

View our Job leads online @ www.nearnorthwestdistrict.com/Programs/JobFair.shtml

Reach 4,200+ HR Professionals When You Sponsor Texas HR Pros' Networking Events

LinkedIn Group Texas HR Pros

 

• Announcement from Founder
•  
• The Benefits of Sponsoring Networking Mixers

Our group should come close to reaching 5,000 members by year’s end and our mixers have seen more and more people attend each time. 

 

If you want to capitalize on that growth and start putting your name out there in front of the growing number of HR professionals in our group, reach out to Eric at texasatty@gmail.com about securing one or more of the mixers in Houston, Dallas, and/or Austin.

 

Here are the four remaining Houston mixers scheduled for 2013:

• Thursday, May 30

• Thursday, July 25

• Thursday, September 26

• Thursday, November 21

 

(Dates for Dallas and Austin mixers TBA) 

 

Our sponsors will receive--

1. Posting mentions on our LinkedIn Groups which are cross posted on other LinkedIn Groups,
2. An advertisement on the home page of our blog,
3. Thank you mentions on Twitter and Facebook,
4. A blog posting feature about your products and services, and 
5. A monthly feature and annual thank you with your company hyperlinked on the Sponsor page of our blog. 

Being featured on our LinkedIn Group reaches a target audience of 4,200 HR and recruitment professionals across Texas.  Our social media mentions on our blog, Twitter, and Facebook also increase your company's website's SEO.  If you have any ideas, promo requests, or questions, please contact me...we can get creative.

 

I would also like to take the time to thank the following sponsors again:

2013 Sponsors and Partners

• Southern Charm Photography
• Personalysis
• Burnett Staffing
• Reddy & Neumann, P.C. 
• Career Connections at Second Baptist Church
• Search4U, Inc.
• Fort Worth Career Search Network
• Several Job Ministries  

 

Thank you in advance for your support and for providing networking opportunities for HR and Recruitment to connect and form professional and community-centric relationships.

Please contact:

Eric Griesel

Founder of Texas HR Pros

texasatty@gmail.com

713.459.1045

 

Network with the Texas Recruiters Association in Austin

LinkedIn Groups

Group: Texas Recruiters Association Subject: Announcement from Texas Recruiters Association Join us at Texas Land & Cattle for great food, a great speaker and great people to network with. Date: February 19, 2013 Time: 11 AM – 1 PM Location: Texas Land & Cattle Address: 6007 N Interstate 35, Austin, TX 78723 Register at: http://texastra.jobing.com/ Don't forget your business cards to enter for the book drawing. The price of the luncheon is $25.00. Payments can be made the day of the event. We will accept cash or checks ONLY. Please make checks payable to "Texas Recruiters Association". See you there! Posted By C. Michele Robinson Gregory, SPHR

Free Job Fair for Employers March 1st in Houston

Second Baptist Church will host a free city-wide job fair from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM, on Friday, March 1, 2013. 

Please use this link to register now for your company as we’ll be considering the first 65 employers for participation. Pre-Registration: https://second.wufoo.com/forms/career-fair-2013-employer-registration-form/.  Participation is open to registered employers with current salaried positions available. Once your registration is received, it will be reviewed and you will receive a follow-up email indicating approval of participation.


Woodway Village Center
Second Baptist Church's School
6410 Woodway
Houston TX 77057


View Larger Map



Thank You!
Career Connections Team
Theresa Morgan  
713.722.1830
tmorgan@second.org
Second Baptist Church – Houston, TX
www.second.org

Add Your Company's Career Page to LinkedIn

Attract potential candidates who are connected to you on LinkedIn by leading them to your company's job posting page. Video by: Shelley Roth of Springboard Works

Texas HR Pros Is Now Syndicated on Strategic HR

Texas HR Pros Blog is now on Strategic HR, an incredible resource with a full-service parent company that caters to almost every HR need.

Service Overview
Strategic HR specializes in delivering high-performance cloud based tools and services to facilitate the connection between hiring manager and candidate. These are the very same award winning tools utilized by one of the most recognized global names in the Human Capital Management industry, Formare Technica, Ltd.

Strategic HR provides exceptional communication between recruiters and job seekers in three key areas: VMware, Oracle BI and PMO. Becoming a member makes available our award winning tools.

• Resume Concierge
• Job Analytics
• Recruiter Directory
• Vendor Managment

 

We give them an A+ on customer service and technical support.  Thank you Amy R. for featuring us! 

Here's the Next Texas HR Pros' Networking Event...1/31/13

Bring your HR coworkers, spouses, friends, and anyone else who wants to network...or just wants to have a good time.  Plus, meet some really terrific people, win drawing prizes, and

enjoy some delicious food at one of Houston's restaurant social landmarks!

 

Texas HR Pros' Networking Mixer

Thursday, January 31, 2013

5:00 p – 8:00 p
Sam's Boat

5720 Richmond Avenue • Houston, TX 77057
Phone: 713.781.2628 • Fax: 713.975.1653
Email: SamsRichmond@samsboat.com

OUR VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR EVENT SPONSOR: 

Reddy & Neumann, P.C.

11000 Richmond Ave., Ste. 300

Houston, TX  77042

Contact:  Emily Neumann

713-395-4374, or emily@rnlawgroup.com

 

“Our experience lets us handle any facet of business immigration, including specialty occupation workers, specialized knowledge workers, multinational executives and managers and NAFTA professionals, and other categories of complex immigration matters.  We also assist with compliance issues such as LCA Wage and Hour investigations and USCIS site visits.”
 

 

Partners and Sponsors

 

 

Sam's Boat
Happy Hour Menu 

(Enjoy these drink prices but please have a designated driver available):

$2.00 Well      $3.00 Call    $4.00 Premium    $5.00 Super Premium

$.50 Hot Boiled Shrimp & Oysters on the ½ Shell from 5:00 p – 7:00 p

Other great prices on sandwiches, Tex-Mex ,and other dinner menu items
 

We look forward to seeing you there!

Your Hosts:

Eric Griesel ~ Marvin Martin~ Reddy & Neumann, P.C.

PLEASE ADD THE NEXT EVENT TO YOUR CALENDAR, SO YOU WON’T MISS IT. 
WE’LL BE DOING IT AGAIN AT SAM’S BOAT ON THURSDAY, MARCH 28.

Job Search Team for HR Positions Begins on January 3

Dear HR Colleagues In-transition:

 

As you may have heard or read on LinkedIn, Texas HR Pros is launching an HR-specific job search team.  The main purpose is to help each other with the job search, including job leads and other networking resources, in order to help land your next HR opportunity. 

 

If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, and willing to commit to, please attend the initial informational meeting on:

 

Thursday, January 3

12:15 – 1:15 PM

Second Baptist Church

6400 Woodway Drive

Houston, TX 77057

Multi-Purpose Room

 

Please note that we may be adding more teams and will explain more details at the upcoming meeting.

 

The team will meet for a working lunch shortly after the weekly Professionals In-Transition Job Search Strategy Training session by Texas HR Pros.  The job search training sessions begin at 9:00 AM, every Thursday, in the Multi-Purpose Room, at Second Baptist Church. The training sessions are typically three hours.  All who are seeking jobs or candidates are encouraged to attend.
 

We hope you’ll opt to participate.  If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact founder Eric Griesel at texasatty@gmail.com. 

Second Baptist Church Job Fair - Employers Pre-register Now!

Dear HR Professionals and Recruiters:

We would like to extend an Early Bird Registration opportunity to you for our 2013 Job Fair being held on March 1st.

Participation is open to the first 65 registered employers with current salaried positions available. Once your registration is received, it will be reviewed and you will receive a follow-up email indicating approval of participation.

Please fill out the following information to submit your request.  Pre-Registration: https://second.wufoo.com/forms/career-fair-2013-employer-registration-form/

 

Thank You!
Career Connections Team
Second Baptist Church – Houston, TX
www.second.org

The Top 20 Reasons Why December Is a Powerful Time to Recruit

‘Tis the Season for Recruiting — 20 Reasons Why December Is a Powerful Recruiting Month

Article posted on LinkedIn by: Dr. John Sullivan

If you work in an office, you realize that many times the Christmas season can be a less hectic and even a slack period. In most cases, everyone, including recruiters, gear down and change their work patterns for the holidays. But if you’re a corporate recruiting leader, December should be viewed instead as a golden opportunity. It is a prime recruiting month (along with January and June) because many employed prospects have free time to consider a new job due to their own reduced workloads.

The end of the year is also a time where many individuals are reevaluating their current work and life situation and planning for the future. You may be skeptical, but in this article I provide more than 20 reasons why corporate recruiting leaders should actually ramp up recruiting during the holiday season.

The Top 20 Reasons Why December Is a Powerful Time to Recruit

This section contains a list of the top 20 most powerful reasons why December is strategically one of the most effective months to recruit.

1. What better gift to give … than a great job — because it is a season of giving, recruiters should realize that they are not intruding on prospects; they are providing individuals with exciting opportunities that will change their lives. This “gift of a new job” costs the individual nothing but they and their family will get a great long-term benefit from it.
2. Recruiting targets have ample free time– because many employees and even customers take time off during this month, many projects are essentially forced into suspended animation. With teammates taking time off for vacation or shopping, there is simply more slack time for individuals to look for a job and to respond to recruiter calls. There is more time for catching up on reading and learning, so top candidates may be seeing your employer branding materials for the first time during this period. Many take their unused vacation in December (because they may lose it at year’s end) and as a result, they are unusually available for calls and interviews. And finally, the week between Christmas and New Year’s (especially at firms that shut down during that week) is also typically a time when individuals reflect on their life and work and whether it’s time to make a change. When they are off work, prospects don’t need to lie to their boss in order to find time to go to an interview.
3. December is the #1 “easy-excuse month” for candidates– December is the #1 easiest month to find an acceptable use to leave the office. This is because so many employees routinely leave the office for a few hours using acceptable reasons like shopping, running errands, and Christmas parties. Because bosses are so accepting of excuses, it is relatively easy for candidates to make an excuse to get out of the office for either a long lunch or a formal interview.
4. There is little recruiting competition– because many corporate recruiting budgets run out in December, functions that plan poorly may literally have no money available, so they have no choice but to limit recruiting. The lull in the office and having many colleagues absent may also cause recruiters to also want to be less active. Unfortunately, many recruiting managers contribute to the “slack-off problem” by easily accepting the weak excuse that “I can’t recruit because no one’s in the office.” Taken together this means that if your own recruiters are highly active during December, they simply won’t encounter many of your competitor’s recruiters actively fighting with you over top candidates.
5. Smart recruiters will have more time to proactively recruit — on the positive side, the slack office atmosphere during December will give recruiters more time to catch up. Smart corporate leaders will realize that because hiring managers are not opening up new positions and there are almost no job fairs or college recruiting events scheduled during December, their recruiters will have extra time. A significant percentage of the less-desirable “active job seekers” are inactive during the holiday season, and as a result, they won’t flood organizations with their resumes, emails, and calls. Taken together, this reduced volume can free up your recruiters time to search for high-quality resumes that are already in their database and to proactively seek out others using direct sourcing.
6. Hiring managers are finally available– the same slack time and reduced workloads that impact employees also impact hiring managers. In most organizations during December, there are few scheduled meetings, off sites, or professional conferences to attend. And as a result, hiring managers are generally in town and in their office with few excuses to offer as to why they are not available to review candidate resumes and to interview.
7. It’s a great time for employee referrals– because your employees have extra time and they will likely be extremely active on social media during the holidays, it’s a great opportunity to encourage them to find top quality referrals. Because employees will be shopping and going to many holiday events and parties, they are also much more likely to physically meet and interact with top prospects. Employees should be encouraged to send holiday greetings to top prospects and to use the easy communications during the season to further strengthen recruiting relationships.
8. December is bonus payout time– once individuals receive their year-end bonus, they know that they can’t get another bonus for a full year. This payout reduces their incentive to stay at their current firm. Also if they are disappointed with their bonus amount, the percentage of next year’s salary increase, or if they feel that others who were less deserving got better pay, they now have new good reasons for beginning a job search.
9. Prospects will be highly active on social media– the holiday season is a prime time to be contacting friends, online shopping, and sending pictures and greetings. Taken together this means that prospects will be frequently be online and that will make it easier for recruiters to find and communicate with top prospects. The extra free time during December will also provide individuals with opportunities to update their social media content, their LinkedIn profiles, and their resumes, so that they are ready to begin a job search.
10. They will carry the mobile platform with them 24/7 — the mobile platform is always a powerful recruiting tool. However, it is even more so during the holiday season where people naturally answer calls and texts more often because they are expecting calls from family and friends. No one goes shopping without their mobile phone and many are much more likely to answer while they are traveling to the mall, when shopping, and when waiting in line. If prospects can’t view every aspect of your corporate job application site and apply directly from their mobile phone, you will be missing out on a great opportunity.
11. Back home travel provides a recruiting opportunity– the holiday season is a heavy travel season and many prospects will return home to visit their family. This visit may stir feelings about wanting to move home and to be closer to family. Smart recruiters will take this as an opportunity to recruit visitors while they’re in the area.
12. December is prime time for college recruiting– As a college professor, it is intriguing to me that few companies have realized that up to a third of college students graduate at the end of the fall semester. But few firms specifically target fall grads. In addition, during the winter break students have a great deal of free time and their minds are relatively unencumbered. As a result, college students are easy to contact and physically meet when they return home. Effective recruiting can also occur at popular college student gathering areas like ski resorts.
13. It’s a time that they are thinking about money– the holiday season means extensive shopping, travel, and Christmas party expenses. As a result, it is a time where many individuals think about money. If your organization pays significantly above the average, December and January provide you with an opportunity to attract those who are having money issues.
14. The holidays are ideal for employer brand building — many years ago, Cisco pioneered holiday employer brand building through gift-wrapping events staffed by its employees at the mall. The holiday season is obviously a great opportunity to show community involvement and that your employees care, while at the same time indirectly but powerfully building your employer brand image.
15. The economy will likely get a kick start with the fiscal cliff deal– the likely solving of the fiscal cliff budget problem will give a kick start to the economy in the U.S. Smart recruiting leaders will begin recruiting right before the deal is completed, in order to get the best talent before other firms begin to ramp up their recruiting and the competition.
16. December really is “the prime time” for recruiting retail and customer service– December is the very best month to recruit retail, customer-facing, and delivery employees. Since anyone who is any good in customer service is working during the December holiday period, there is literally no better time for recruiters and employees to identify the very best through their work. Provide employees with powerful referral cards to turn any positive interaction into a recruiting opportunity.
17. Not everyone celebrates the holiday– many countries don’t celebrate the same holidays. Even individuals from different religious groups within the U.S. don’t celebrate the same holidays. This means that in many situations, you should continue your normal recruiting approach and be aware of individual differences. Countries with warmer climates during December don’t always have the same intensity for this holiday.
18. New fiscal year budgets are coming open — because many business calendar years start January 1, managers will know their upcoming budget and headcount in early December. This provides an opportunity for recruiters to work with managers and to get a head start on soon to be open requisitions.
19. Blockers and screeners have let their guard down —although I’m not a supporter of cold calling, it’s easier to get through to key prospects during December when so many receptionist and “call-blocking” jobs are staffed with temporary fill-ins. In fact, the holiday spirit makes almost everyone more willing to accept calls that they wouldn’t even consider taking during normal frantic business periods.
20. An opportune time to plan and to improve the function — even if you decide not to ramp up your recruiting effort during December, the slack period is an ideal time to work on your strategic recruiting plan. It’s also a great time to review your year-end metrics and to implement process improvement efforts. In particular, you should focus your planning on taking advantage of the mobile platform, the LinkedIn platform, and developing predictive analytics that make it easier for recruiting to take identify and then take advantage of upcoming talent opportunities.

Final Thoughts

Most firms don’t recruit heavily during this period, so naturally it’s easy to for corporate leaders to follow the crowd and to also wind down their own recruiting efforts during December. Strategically, however, that would be a huge mistake and a missed opportunity.

The best time to recruit is when others are idle and when the candidates are most available and receptive, and December fits that description. Seize the opportunity and take advantage of the idleness of others by beginning your winter recruiting campaign today. Recruiting is a 12-month profession. And just think how many more of your recruiting goals that will be met if you have a full 12, rather than an 11 ½-month effort!

 

(Thank you Marvin for sharing this article...lots of good information!)