NZ Recruiter

Getting ready for the talent wars in 2008

The demand for IT talent has made employers up the ante in recruiting and especially retaining the exceptionally talented, creative and productive. ITworld.com lists 8 new weapons to fight the talent wars in '08. Here's a quick recap of their big 8 recruiting tools and strategies in getting the best and brightest:

1. Using social networks.
2. Using wikis, blogs, and forums.
3. Trying before buying, ie. right-to-hire agreements, contractors, temps
4. Global thinking - outsourcing abroad, specifically India, Russia, China
5. The anywhere workplace - providing for telecommuting and flexible work hours
6. Business vision - hiring more for than just strong technical skills; looking for people who are business savvy and have strong people skills to complement their technical strengths, no matter how hot the skill is (such as .net, PHP, J2EE expertise)
7. Pumped up paychecks (no explanation or comment required here!)
8. Imagination and creativity in compensation and perks - see examples of Great Work Perks, like on-site amenities, exotic research trips, gourmet cafes, countless bonus vacation time/sabbaticals, etc.

Now while these tactics are for employers and recruiters to use, potential candidates out there - take note of these "new weapons" and use some of them to your advantage in finding the best opportunity for you.

First in the list is social networks. If you've been keeping current with your online life (as you should be), you'd be strategic (and professional) in all your profiles and links with network sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Xing. According to surveys, more recruiters are using these online networks to filter in quality candidates because they can interact and get to know possible candidates better. Make sure you're easy to find and by the right people.

Second is Wikis, Blogs and Forums. The trend is for companies to "brand" themselves online through company blogs or employee blogs to attract potential talent. As such, online activity and your online personal '"branding" is important too. Work on your personal branding through your own blog and your contributions to forums. Again, elevate your profile for the right things (like expertise) and the right people.

Trying before Buying. If you're thinking of making a move to a new company or industry, it's probably a good idea for you to try it out as well. Consider a temporary assignment or contracting, although - contracting may be harder since the experience required for those roles are at the level where you can just hit the ground running with your expertise in that technical area and industry.

Business Vision. Work on your business and communication skills while you can in your current job and company. Get on projects where you're facing customers or clients or where you're playing a role in business strategy or managing relationships with other internal business units. Raise your profile in business relations and communication within your current role.

For everything else listed, it's important that you know exactly what your priorities are. What are the things that you'd forgo in order to have? Flexibility over cash? Vacation time over gym membership? Vice-versa? It's important that you know exactly what you want and can present yourself/negotiate when the time comes.

NZ Government Spends $1.15 million on Job Board For 2 Jobs

Link: New Zealand Herald.

Yet another fantastic effort from the govt. in wasting money on a project that really shouldn't be spent on. Have a look and see for yourself at NetworkZonline.govt.nz. Hmm. $1.15 million. Notice the very first line where they misspell their own name "NeworkZ Online". This is followed by two type-o's in the second line (there are only 2 lines of text.) Aside from the fact that there are only 5 current job vacancies listed (3 up since the Herald article!), it really isn't very attractive to jobseekers who are browsing. No job descriptions or any details provided, unless you register. Nor would it be attractive to employers to post their openings - if no one else is on there - there most likely aren't any jobseekers utilising it. And come to think of it, why aren't all government jobs listed in the job board?

Now I'm not putting in a plug for Seek or Trademe or Search4jobs, but hey - these are real online job boards that work. Why "compete" against them - NZ enterprises that employee hundreds or thousands of Kiwis? If the ultimate goal is to attract and recruit skilled migrants - I'm sure the fastest way to put them off NZ is with an interactive jobsite that has 3 jobs and doesn't work. Makes NZ look even smaller!

Recruiting and marketing is all business - and should be run like a business - not like a government expenditure. Business problems should be addressed with business solutions - not just technology solutions, like an online jobsite. Positive and effective policy and procedure changes in Immigration for working visas and family visas as well as changes in taxation or any kind of perks would probably do a lot more to attract skilled migrants than a rate-payer funded job board.

Online Job Ads Exceed Newspapers

Apparently last month was the first time that online recruitment advertising exceeded newspaper advertising in New Zealand. I would have  thought that happened long ago. Certainly it's more bad news for the newspapers, but it encourages employers to use more internet recruiting. Often in recruiting circles there are heated arguments over the comparative effectiveness of advertising online or in print. My personal opinion is neither is better than the other and it's beside the point anyway. The only true measure of effectiveness is whether or not the media attracts good candidates. And the reality is that online and newspapers have been getting less and less effective over time, not more effective. Although  at least with online advertising there is strong competition that allows pricing to be competitive. Something the NZ market has seen with the arrival of Trademe Jobs and now MyJobSpace.co.nz.