The Future of Employer Branding [STUDY]

The Future of Employer Branding [STUDY] What does the future hold for employer branding? Our friends at Universum recently gathered its resources to survey over 2,000 HR professionals and CEOs around the globe to get their take on talent recruitment and employer branding. In this study on the employer perspective of talent acquisition, Universum delves into the world of employer preferences on talent attributes, the state of employer branding to the development of brand activation… and looks at the trends five years ahead. Who is in charge? Who owns employer branding? CEOs  seem to think they are accountable, whereas HR say they are in charge. There is clearly more collaboration needed within organisations, ranging from HR to employer branding managers to marketing and ultimately the CEO. Unsurprisingly, everyone apart from the CEO thinks there is a need for closer cooperation. What will change over five years? The biggest changes for the next five years appear to be a greater focus on long-term thinking and a greater interest in building an employer brand on a global level. There is however, no clear consensus on what matters the most, although employee retention seems to be less interesting for the respondents. EVPS are still not pervasive Most (61%) companies have an Employer Value Proposition (EVP) but it doesnt seem to be well circulated within organisations and CEOs barely even know it exists. What gets measured? The top three KPIs in use today are all inward-facing and include average retention rate, new hire quality and employee engagement level. External indicators such as rankings and brand perceptions were not prominent in this survey results. Social media is the #1  digital channel Social media appears to be the most important employer branding channel, tightly followed by career websites and then job boards, employer ads, career guidance websites and targeted messaging. If we look into the next five years, social media is poised to grow even further with 70% of respondents indicating a bigger focus on it. This is in spite of the fact that only half of the respondents are actually measuring the success of social activity. RELATED:  How Employers Use Social Media for Talent Attraction in 2015 Will consumer and employer brands merge? It appears that most respondents see their employer and consumer brands being more tightly connected over the next five years. This will require much closer cooperation among stakeholders in particular, inviting marketing to be more influential  player in brand strategy.

A Tale of High Achieving Career Ladies

A Tale of High Achieving Career Ladies If any of you are like me, you worked your butt off in college to get decent grades and graduate with a major that seemed valuable in the real world. The cycle started at the ripe age of 18 when you started down the long road of your chosen career path. For some of us, we felt the need to prove our worth by choosing majors that seemed to be the most respected, male dominated, difficult or those that typically result in the highest paying careers. Most often I’m talking about those in finance, accounting, pre-law, pre-med or engineering. Some of these female “high achieving career ladies” may go to class and start joking with friends and family about being one of the few ladies in the classroom who is cute, well dressed and social. These comments come from the completely inaccurate stereotypes of what society has portrayed certain professions to act or dress like. When you are home for the holidays, you love bragging to your relatives or people you run into at the local mall about your internship offers and other career endeavors. The praise you feel from their reactions and those around you temporarily boosts your ego. As you get over the odd pleasure of being “different” from others in your career or maybe even the feeling of being “superior” to those in less respected majors, you may start noticing a pattern of losing interest in the material you are forced to study. Or, maybe you frequently call your Mom from the lobby of the library in tears to: a) put off studying for another 15 minutes and/or b) “It’s just so hard Mom!” Then you get back to your cube at the library and start wishing you were watching Grey’s Anatomy with your roommates only to face that you are stuck at the library, again… At that moment, the very tiny nagging feeling in your stomach starts. You wonder if you even like anything about your major… but before you can blink, you landed a career with that big corporation which gives you another temporary ego boost, followed by a job offer at “Big Company USA” downtown Chicago. Before you know it you are stuck living the same day over and over in “cubicle land” wondering how in the hell you got there. And that’s where this blog begins. If you’re feeling a bit lost, you’ve come to the right place. Ms. Career Girl is a forum where ambitious young women come together to face the ups and downs of life after college. Get ready to face the truth about your career, to find your passion, and learn how to deal with all of the awkward new situations that come along with being an “adult.”

Tips for Relocating for a Job

Tips for Relocating for a Job This post is written by Erica Moss. Erica is the social media outreach coordinator for the Masters in Nursing degree program at Georgetown University, which has one of the nation’s leading nurse midwife programs. Erica knows firsthand what it’s like to relocate as she recently moved across country for a new job. Relocating for a job is one of the most disruptive experiences you can face. It means saying goodbye to your friends, your home, and favorite restaurants. Some people enjoy the adventure of exploring a new place, while others dread the idea of starting over in unfamiliar surroundings.   Here are some ways to prepare for relocation and adjusting after arriving. Before Leaving Home It sounds obvious, but the first order of business is to figure out how to get to your new location and the best way to transport your possessions. For shorter distances, consider renting a moving truck or van and moving yourself rather than hiring a moving company. If you are moving across the country, decide whether it would make more sense for you  to drive or fly  and then consider options for transporting your stuff. Create a detailed budget for the move so you’re prepared for all of the costs associated with relocating. When packing for a move, consider it an opportunity to go through your possessions and donate or toss out clothing and other items you no longer need. Not only will this make it easier to pack, but donating clothes to the Salvation Army, Goodwill,  or other charities helps people in need and may be tax deductible. Don’t forget that job search and relocation expenses are also tax deductible. Make sure to label boxes carefully and keep a separate inventory sheet with you as you travel.   Pack a couple of boxes of essentials for setting up your new home (kitchen items, towels â€" the basics you’ll need right away.)   Research your new city; realtor sites and the Chamber of Commerce can be helpful in advance. Check social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn to see if you know anyone in your new neighborhood; ask for advice about what to expect.   Even strangers will be happy to help with advice; find a local group and identify yourself as their newest neighbor.   If you have friends there, ask them to recommend areas of town to live in or real estate brokers to work with in finding a new apartment or house. Consider renting a place for the short term while you get a feel for the new city and decide which neighborhood you want to live in. Arriving and Adjusting to a New Place Once you have found housing, take time to familiarize yourself with the area. While it may be tempting (or necessary) to jump straight into your new job duties, the adjustment to the new job will be smoother if you unpack your new home, meet your neighbors and explore first. Ask your neighbors for their recommendations about the area. Find the closest grocery store, dry cleaner and a couple of good restaurants. Locating the essentials will make you feel more at home and make daily life less stressful.       After taking some time to unpack and get acquainted, you can settle into your new routine. Start establishing your network by consulting Facebook and LinkedIn to find old friends, colleagues and classmates who live there. Consider joining an interest group or find a local Meetup through http://www.meetup.com/that gathers people with common interests.       Be patient.   Understand that it will take time for this new place to feel like home.   Meanwhile, enjoy making new friends and focusing on your new job. It may help to remember that, whatever you’re feeling, while new to you, it’s not really new.   In 400 BC, Greek philosopher Aristophanes wrote:  â€œA mans homeland is wherever he prospers.” Go ahead and prosper in yours.

Promoting Equality And Diversity In The Workplace

Promoting Equality And Diversity In The Workplace Equality and diversity are ongoing issues in today’s workplace. Yes, vast progress has been made in both the business environment as well in society at large â€" you are much more likely to stand an equal chance at a job role than ever in the past, but there are still hurdles for many. Female, LGBT and non-white workers still face discrimination on a daily basis. Causes for a gap in equality and diversity There are a mix of reasons for a lack of diversity in the workplace. These can be divided into two areas â€" a bias in selection by employers, and a lack of available candidates. It is fair to say that for some groups, access to quality education is a problem, which makes it less likely that they will enroll in university courses that are demanding. Societal roles also play a part â€" women are still less likely to study certain subjects than men are, and this means fewer female candidates are available for employment in certain sectors. However, this is a much less relevant issue than it used to be. Cultural issues within the workplace are an important contributing factor and often lead hiring managers to knowingly or unknowingly prefer certain candidates above others. It is not just in getting hired where you might find barriers, it is very common for people to feel passed over on the promotions ladder too. Often an existing gender bias in the workplace is perpetuated simply because it is already in place. Who is currently tackling these issues You will be happy to hear that workplace diversity and equality is being tackled from all corners. Employers ranging from state and federal through to businesses large and small are working to improve, in part because they recognize that diversity and equality is good for the workplace, but also due to outside organizations exerting pressure. Organizations from the large and well known ACLU through to smaller outfits such as the Donald Burns Foundation are working to help individuals from all groups, including LGBT workers who are often silently suffering from discrimination at work as they are not necessarily represented by other equality advocates. Improving diversity in the workplace There is plenty that you can do to make your own workplace more diverse. If you oversee hiring and recruiting, think about setting up seminars for your colleagues to help them understand the issues around diversity and equality. Specific hiring policies can also help â€" focusing on recruiting from under represented communities can vastly improve the mix of people you employ, while removing names from the recruitment process at the initial stage can help prevent unintentional bias. In cases where the pipeline of available candidates is not sufficient, think about directly sponsoring students in minority groups to enter their career of choice. You could go further and arrange seminars and programs at schools to help young people understand that the career of their choice is accessible. Just because the pipeline is empty does not mean your organization is unable to do anything to improve the future flow of candidates. Images via pixabay.