Now, more than ever, it is important for organizations to understand that the face of today’s active job seeker has changed. Most notably, as unemployment continues to decline, reaching an all-time low at 4.4% in Ohio, the number of active job seekers has also decreased. This requires companies to take a more proactive and creative look at how to attract top talent.

You’re filling out a job application and just as you’re about to hit “submit”, you see the dreaded “Please provide the salary for your current position” question. Plus, it has a little red asterisk next to it, so you know you are going to have to answer it to even be considered. Well in recent years a combination of case law and statewide and local statutes are beginning to change that practice, or at least removing that pesky red asterisk.

Recruiting and retaining people in stigmatized occupations can be difficult for many organizations. Stigmatized occupations are jobs that may be seen by society as being physically or socially tainted.¹

Recruiting and hiring the right people for the right position is an essential piece of an organization's success. Employee selection is much more complex than an impressive resume and a feeling that they're a cultural fit. When your employee selection is approached incorrectly, it may result in high turnover, low morale, increased stress, and decreased productivity.

The concept of Inbound Recruiting is driven by the fact that 73% of candidates begin their job search with a Google search. Organizations looking to attract and retain top talent are reacting to this digital landscape transformation in the same way as Marketers. Human resources and recruiting functions have increasingly become the “marketers” of their organization as a workplace, and Inbound Recruiting is a reflection of that.

Often HR processes become stagnant and untouched due to the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mindset. Sometimes that works out perfectly fine, and well, sometimes it doesn’t. Dust off the old untouched processes and implement something new and refreshing. Your new hires and current employees will appreciate it.

As an employer, it is your job to choose the top candidates for open positions within your organization. Part of this process is attracting the best possible applicant pool for the position. Although a favorable applicant pool could take some time to curate, you may find a way to expedite the process for the future in an unlikely place—your rejected candidates. Giving rejected candidates feedback (when they request it) after their interview process may be advantageous to your organization (and other organizations in their path) for multiple reasons.

Two-thirds of organizations participating in this year’s ERC/NOCHE Intern & Recent Graduate Pay Rates & Practices Survey have a structured/formal internship program in place. Internships can come in all shapes and sizes depending on the specific industry, the needs of the employer, and the skill set of the students applying for the program.

The 2015 ERC Hiring Trends & Practices Survey, which assesses the responses of 102 Northeast Ohio organizations, shows that well over a half (66%) of local employers are currently not using a formal applicant tracking system in their recruitment and hiring efforts. The most common reason, as cited by 45% of employers, is that their existing internal process is sufficient. In addition, nearly one-fourth of participating organizations also acknowledge a lack of resources as a reason for not implementing a formal applicant tracking system.

It’s no secret that the landscape for recruiting has changed dramatically with the rise of social media. In the early stages, recruiters felt they were ‘recruiting’ on social media by simply posting a status update that they were hiring. Then, many social media platforms began selling job postings and targeted display ads. LinkedIn has always sold expanded access to members and their profiles. To further complicate matters, some social sites are now aggregating job listings (similar to Indeed’s model).