Jennifer McClure`

Equipping people leaders to navigate change — and design the future — with boldness and purpose.

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In Search Of: The Best Human Resources and Recruiting Blogs of 2014

UT Top 25 HR & Recruiting Blogs

Today, I face something that I haven’t faced in over six years. And I’m doing it intentionally, because it’s time for growth and change. It’s time to discover something new.

This morning, I deleted all of my blog subscription feeds (I use Feedly as my RSS Reader) for Human Resources, Recruiting and Talent Management blogs.

And I feel empty.

Back in early 2008, I discovered blogs. The HR Capitalist (Kris Dunn) was my first.

You never forget your first.

As I read more, followed links to other blogs and subscribed to more, I subscribed to hundreds of blogs. I learned. I built relationships with some bloggers. Many became friends, mentors and business partners.

I’ll always be grateful for the knowledge that they so freely shared and how they helped me to grow as I stepped out of the corporate human resources world into executive recruiting and then into building my own business.

At one point, I subscribed to over 300 blog feeds. Not all of them were HR, recruiting and talent management-related, but many in those categories were definitely in my “must read” folder.

However, over the last couple of years, I’ve been slowly unsubscribing to various blogs and now my “must read” list is down to just three. Which makes me kinda sad.

Why the reduction in force?

I’m tired of reading about the same topics (engagement, performance management, culture, sourcing, onboarding, etc.) without any new perspectives. I’m tired of content marketing. I’m tired of posts that are posted just because it’s Monday (or Tuesday, or any other day of the week).

So, I’m starting over. I want your help. And I’ll share what I learn.

The 31-Day to the Best HR and Recruiting Blogs List Plan:

Here’s the Plan: Leave a comment with 1 – 3 blogs that you love and/or learn from in the comments section. (Heck, you can even nominate your own!)

I’ll subscribe to all of the HR/Recruiting-related blogs mentioned during the period of July 1st – July 31st, and I’ll read (okay at least seriously skim) every post. I’ll share posts that I think are great with my social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, Twitter and Facebook) to spread the word and share the goodness. I’ll also keep track of how many posts I share from each blog over the course of the month.

In August, I’ll share on this blog my Top 25 Human Resources & Recruiting Blogs of 2014 list, which will be compiled primarily based upon my shares, but also a little bit of magic pixie dust (i.e. personal opinion).

Want to help me out?

Please nominate 1 – 3 of your favorite Human Resources or Recruiting blogs in the Comments below to get them in my Feedly Reader for the month of July 2014 for evaluation.

With your help, I’d love to find some new voices, recognize some old ones and also help you connect to some great resources in this process!

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Driving Success with LinkedIn as a Small or Mid-Sized Company | Talent Connect Vegas 2013 [video]

Recently, I had the honor of moderating a panel discussion at LinkedIn’s Talent Connect Vegas 2013 Conference on the topic of “Driving Success with LinkedIn as a Small or Mid-Sized Company”.

The esteemed panelists I had the pleasure of working with included:

Angie McDonald – Vice President of Human Resources, Realogy Holdings Group

M.T. Ray – Senior Director of Global Recruiting, ExactTarget

Arnaud Kermouche – Manager of Talent Acquisition, Uni-Select, Inc.

The following video is from our session (some subscribers may need to click here to view) and I’ve also summarized some key points from the session below the video and the time increments for each question/response.

Whether you’re using LinkedIn for recruiting, employer branding or employee engagement via a free account or using paid LinkedIn Talent Solutions, I promise you’ll find the experiences, tips and suggestions shared by these successful Talent Acquisition leaders helpful!

00:00 – 07:00 Introductions

07:01 – 13:40 Describe the evolution of LinkedIn’s role in your Talent Strategy and how it’s grown over time.

ExactTarget – Today, 95% of ET employees are on LinkedIn and over 50% of openings are filled by employee referrals.

Uni-Select – LinkedIn is now a cornerstone in the employer brand strategy and is used to increase visibility.

Realogy – Started small and had to demonstrate ROI to be able to invest more in LinkedIn. Now use LinkedIn to find candidates and fill jobs domestically and internationally.

13:41 – 22:04 How did you get your leadership to buy-in and invest in LinkedIn?

Uni-Select – Worked with LinkedIn to understand candidates, to listen to them and improve communications.

Realogy – Filled key positions in the UK and Hong Kong that would have previously been filled by outside agencies.

ExactTarget – Showed significant dollar savings in agency fees and was able to invest more in an internal sourcing team.

22:05 – 29:43 How has using LinkedIn impacted your talent acquisition efforts?

Uni-Select – Able to attract and hire for C-level and VP positions directly.

ExactTarget – Have basically stopped using agencies domestically and have had success with some international hires.

Realogy – Use LinkedIn as a strategic tool to make business proposals and present data to inform hiring managers.

29:44 – 33:22 How much of a component is LinkedIn in your Talent Acquisition strategy?

ExactTarget – At least 50%. Able to target passive talent, get employee referrals and use it for employer branding.

Realogy – LinkedIn is part of a diverse talent acquisition strategy.

Uni-Select – LinkedIn is third highest source of applicants.

33:23 – 37:13 What does the future hold for your Talent Acquisition efforts?

Realogy – Understand how to utilize mobile and also how to work more closely with hiring managers.

ExactTarget – Social recruiting in general – not just LinkedIn, but also Twitter, Instagram and other social sites.

Uni-Select – A recruiting video and communicating more effectively with employees so they can be Ambassadors for the company on LinkedIn.

37:14 – 41:30 How are you engaging your employees to recruit the talent you need?

Uni-Select – Uses lunch and learn sessions.

ExactTarget – Partnering with hiring managers and teaching them how to use LinkedIn to share jobs.

Realogy – Provides tips on how employees can improve their Profile and how franchisors can improve their Pages to get more followers and attract people to the company.

42:00 – 53:00 Audience Q&A

More great tips and info from the panelists and audience members on getting the most out of LinkedIn, getting started with a LinkedIn strategy, proving ROI and dealing with push-back from Marketing or other departments who aren’t supportive of developing an employer brand.

53:01 – 53:16 Thanks and goodbye!

Thanks to LinkedIn for once again providing a great learning and connecting experience at their annual conference!

It’s never too early to register for Talent Connect 2014 in San Francisco October 20 – 22, 2014!

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Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of leadership development, executive communication skills and talent strategy. Jennifer McClure offers keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services.

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How Does Human Resources Use Social Media? [Infographic]

Recently, BLR’s HR Daily Advisor published the results of their HR Trends survey – sponsored by SuccessFactors.

Although the size was relatively small (300 HR Practitioners), the survey results offer some interesting and specific insights about how HR professionals are utilizing social media in the workplace. Top areas identified for social media integration included:

  1. Recruiting
  2. Employee Communications
  3. Training
  4. Onboarding
  5. Teambuilding

Check out some of the specific responses related to How HR Uses Social Media in the infographic below and download a free copy of the full HR Trends survey results, which includes additional information and insights regarding current practices for retention and engagement, formal programs for tracking and development and key HR metrics.

BLR's 2013 Social Media Infographic

BLR’s 2013 Social Media Infographic: By HR.BLR.com

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Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of leadership development, executive communication skills and talent strategy. Jennifer McClure offers keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services.

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Using Social Media In HR & Recruiting [SLIDESHARE]

Since signing up for a LinkedIn account in early 2006 (member #5,852,039 here), I’ve considered myself a “Social Media Anthropologist”, because I love to study how social media affects the entire employment process – from personal branding, job search, employment branding, recruiting, human resources and employee development.

During that time, I’ve sought out and followed many of the pioneers in our industry who are leading the way and companies who are implementing “best practices” – and I’ve utilized social media to expand my network, attract and recruit talent, communicate with employees and build my personal/business brand.

In the last 8 years, I’ve had the opportunity to share what I’ve learned (and what I’m learning) with business leaders at a variety of industry and corporate events, and I often share those presentations privately with my clients via my Slideshare.net account.

Recently, I opened up several of my previous presentations for public access on Slideshare and I’d like to share one of my Using Social Media In HR & Recruiting presentations from 2012 with you here.

Since the world of social media is constantly changing, this presentation is constantly evolving and regularly updated. The latest version will be the basis for my upcoming pre-conference workshop at the 2013 Louisiana SHRM Conference in Baton Rouge on April 7, 2013. In this workshop, we’ll be digging deeper into developing a social media strategy, choosing tools, managing time and content, as well as “social” recruiting.

I’m looking forward to learning more and sharing more about how social media impacts the employment process in 2013!

Share Your Feedback:

I’d love to hear from you on the challenges you face with implementing a social media strategy in your organization. What do you want to learn more about? What’s new and exciting to you? Share with me in the comments and help me to make 2013’s presentations even better!

 

Unbridled Talent LLC is a consulting and advisory firm providing services to clients in the areas of recruiting & human resources strategy, employment branding and leadership/career development. We offer keynotes, workshops and training that inspire and teach business leaders to be more effective in their careers and as leaders of their organization’s most valuable resource – people. Contact us to schedule an event or to discuss our strategic consulting and advisory services. 

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LinkedIn Is King In Social Recruiting, But Facebook & Twitter Also Important

The folks at Bullhorn Reach recently took the time to summarize the social media actual activity of recruiters and job seekers in the Bullhorn Reach user network in 2011 (over 35,000 recruiters) across the “big 3” social recruiting platforms – LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter. The results, while not surprising, are certainly interesting.

A few interesting findings included in the report include:

  • Recruiters are connected to all three social networks, but are using LinkedIn and Twitter much more than Facebook to recruit talent.
  • LinkedIn is driving the most views and applications per job posted on the three networks.
  • Twitter followers are much more likely to apply for a job than connections on LinkedIn or friends on Facebook.
  • 21% of recruiters are connected to all 3 of the “big 3” social networks, but 48% use LinkedIn exclusively.
  • Agency and corporate recruiters exhibit slightly different connecting and social recruiting strategies across the networks.
2012 Social Recruiting Activity Report
View more documents from Bullhorn Reach
I’d recommend taking a few minutes to review the entire report, but for those of you with a short attention span (like me), Bullhorn summarized some of the results in a handy Infographic as well.

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