The Ladders ad: Decent concept, terrible execution

Posted February 12th, 2011 in blog_news, For Employers, For Job Seekers

I first saw this a few weeks ago, and keep meaning to write about it:  The terrible new ad for The Ladders job board.  If you haven’t seen it, take a look:

Normally I’m a big fan of ‘irreverent’ ads like this, especially when they’re mostly designed for the internet.  With so many messages coming at all of us every minute of the day, sometimes you need something a little offbeat to cut through the clutter.

But this…no.

If I’m an ambitious 30-something who’s serious about my career, are badly-dressed, not-particularly-attractive people sliding around on boardroom tables really reflective of my aspirations?  More importantly, if I’m an employer with serious jobs to offer, are the candidates in this video the ones I’m going to find appealing?

Now, I have no problem with sexing up the whole job search process – after all, looking for a job is a lot like dating.  But The Ladders is supposed to be for the ‘elite’:  It positions itself as the place to go when you’re looking for a $100k+/year job.

(The #1 comment on this video is “That mature in the blue dress is hurtin for a squirtin.”)

5 ways to generate more enthusiasm for ‘older’ candidates

Posted December 10th, 2010 in blog_news, For Job Seekers

Though the recent recession obscured the problem somewhat, North America, the UK, and many parts of the EU are already facing talent shortages which will only get worse in the next few years: Lower birthrates mean that as baby-boomers retire out of the workforce, they aren’t being replaced by new workers entering it.

In some ways, this is good news for job-seekers, especially job-seekers in minority groups:  Employers who continue to discriminate against candidates based on race, religion, skin colour, gender, sexual orientation or anything else simply won’t be able to fill vacancies.  (The Conference Board of Canada, for example, predicts that by 2015, there will be 160,000 more jobs than workers to fill them in Alberta alone.  By 2020, the shortfall across Canada could be 800k+.  Similar studies in the US, the UK and the EU make similar predictions.)

However, while job-seekers from most minority groups are receiving a more enthusiastic welcome in the talent marketplace than they used to, one group continues to get a lukewarm  reception:  ’Older’ job-seekers.

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We made the Profit W100 – again!

Posted October 17th, 2010 in blog_news, For Employers

They say you shouldn’t toot your own horn, but it’s hard to resist…

Profit Magazine has announced the PROFIT W100 Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs 2010, and we’re very excited to announce that Virginia Poly has made the list for the second year in a row!

The W100 is an annual ranking of the top female entrepreneurs in Canada, based on company size, growth rate and profitability of the business(es) which they own or of which they are significant stakeholders, and in which they have or share chief decision-making responsibilities.

As President and Founder of Poly Placements, Virginia was recognized in the 2009 PROFIT W100 list.   And in 2009, Poly Placements was ranked #6 on the Profit Hot 50 Canada’s Emerging Growth Companies.  Launched in 2006 – out of a spare bedroom – Poly is now the fastest-growing recruiting company in Canada.

(We’re in pretty amazing company, too.  Check out the stories behind some of the other W100 women, like grandmother Gabrielle Chevalier, who heads North America’s largest video-game distributor, and Lise Watier, who heads the high-end cosmetics company of the same name.)

Thanks to all our clients, candidates, employees – and everyone else who’s been a Poly Placements supporter over the past 4 years.  We couldn’t have done this without you!

Never worked with a ‘headhunter’ before? Here’s what you need to know.

Posted August 13th, 2010 in blog_news, For Job Seekers

Confused about how ‘headhunters’ work?  Don’t worry – you’re not alone!

If you’re new to the job market, or haven’t worked with a ‘headhunter’ before, you probably have some questions about how the process works.  So here are answers to some of the most common questions we hear from job-seekers.  And don’t worry – you’re not the only one who doesn’t know this stuff!

What’s the difference between a ‘recruiter’ and a ‘headhunter’?

Not much.  ’Headhunters’ tend to refer to recruiters who work in recruiting agencies.  However, you’ll almost never hear a recruiter refer to themselves as a ‘headhunter’ (sort of how you’ll never hear a ‘real estate salesperson’ refer to themselves as a ‘real estate agent’) – it’s considered a little derogatory.

How do recruiting agencies work?

There are some variations to the following process, but generally speaking this is how it works.

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Today’s candidate is tomorrow’s client. So you might want to return their call.

Posted July 19th, 2010 in blog_news

Most of us tend to think that the ‘C’ in ‘CRM’ stands for ‘Client’. For those of us in recruiting and HR, however, C also stands for ‘Candidate’ – and we need to do a better job of remembering that.

It’s a good idea to treat candidates the same way you would clients (i.e. returning calls and emails promptly, being friendly, responsive and enthusiastic when speaking to them, making them feel like a valuable asset rather than a headache-inducing annoyance, etc.) because it delivers referrals, increased word-of-mouth, improved recruitment brand awareness – not to mention that having positive interactions with people all day makes working a lot more enjoyable for everyone.

However, if you find all that touchy-feely, brand-building, positive-interaction stuff a little flaky for your taste (and it’s true that it can be hard to measure), there is one real solid reason you should put the ‘Candidate’ in ‘Candidate Relationship Management’.

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