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Of all the occupations in the United States, which has so few practitioners that if you got them all together — a possibility since there are only 310 of them — they’d comfortably fit in a middle-school auditorium? (Maybe not in those eighth grader-sized seats, but they could all be accommodated.)

Need a hint? They comprise one of the nine specialties recognized by the American Dental Association, specializing in the restoration of natural teeth or replacing missing teeth or oral structures with artificial devices, such as dentures. These would be prosthodontists.

This is one of the little tidbits the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tosses out every so often, just to make sure the world doesn’t think it’s only about the unemployment rate and how many jobs got added last month, which is how we mostly hear the Bureau’s name mentioned. keep reading…

If you aren’t already using video for interviewing, what are you waiting for?

More and more employers all the time are finding that conducting at least an initial, live interview can save them both money and time, and can give them a better sense of their candidates than even an in-depth phone screen.

The heaviest users of live video interviews are the biggest employers; 80% of those with more than 10,000 workers have used or use video interviews. But even employers as small as 100 workers are giving it a try.

A GreenJobInterview survey of corporate leaders, most of them in HR, found that nearly half of all employers with fewer than 100 workers have conducted a video interview. And almost six out of 10 employers with 1,000 to 5,000 employees use remote video interviews.

This isn’t one of those shiny new object trends. Unlike the video resume, the use of video interviews is steadily growing as the technology has become both more affordable and easier to use.

keep reading…

I have taken notice of something over the past year. I am struggling with communications and interactions with my HR vendor partners who supply my clients with services and products. This struggle, for me, is in how to deal with a full-court press with these vendors who are super-imposing themselves and their wares on me, and not in a helpful way. I will explain. keep reading…

Startups and new products handling employee referrals, screening, sourcing, background checking, healthcare recruiting, and resume-reading. All below. keep reading…

As an in-house recruiter or HR professional, have you ever been in a meeting with a recruitment supplier and been very impressed with their pitch and excited about the results that are going to follow, only to be completely let down by their performance? It won’t surprise you to read that you’re not the only one.

We all know that for every good recruiter who walks the earth, there are others who don’t quite make the grade. Many sell a value proposition that isn’t being followed up with action — recruiters who purport to headhunt and cold-call top people in the market, but actually only advertise their clients’ vacancies. As a client of these external recruiters you need to be in a position to make an accurate assessment of their worth — not just by what they tell you, but what they actually prove.

Many contingency-level recruitment firms haven’t evolved their value proposition as technology has evolved over the past 10 years. As in-house recruiters have been able to catch up with doing direct sourcing through job boards and social media, external suppliers should be getting more sophisticated in their approach to maintain a value proposition worthy of the fees that are charged — mapping out competitors, gathering referrals, building expertise and relationships in their chosen niche, for example. Too many contingency firms are still charging 15% to 25% for doing nothing more than advertising a poorly written or cut and pasted job spec, and it’s just not good enough.

So here are some questions to ask your suppliers next time you invite them in for an update or suppler appraisal. keep reading…

A few years ago, I might not have written this article. In fact, a few years ago, we were still debating whether “social” should be used for business at all. Now there are entire companies out there whose marketing and sales cycle depends heavily on social selling, social service, and social media marketing.

It’s fair to say that we’ve arrived. Now, before I get hammered in the comments, I do not believe that social media is the cure for all business ills, nor do I think that some business isn’t best conducted face-to-face or over the phone. However, as the owner of a company which not only takes advantage of social recruiting but also uses social advertising and selling to inform and educate customers, I’m ready to give some heads up about what not to do. keep reading…

I recently got one of those year-end surveys asking about the significant developments in recruitment in 2012 and trends and predictions for next year.

My inclination was to ignore it; I’ve got enough to do keeping track of today, let alone trying to figure out what next year will bring. As for 2012, without the perspective of time, it’s hard to tell tell what will turn out to be significant in the long run. A few developments, though, will undoubtedly make the survey.

Social media for recruitment will be there, as will the drive to mobile. My list includes growing buzz over “big data,” even though it’s nowhere near clear how it will eventually make a difference in hiring and workforce management.

Vendor consolidation also makes my list. So too does the changing composition of the traditional workforce composition. By that I mean specifically the use of temps and contractors as a strategic component of the workforce, coupled with the growing cadre of professionals who, having turned to contract work (consulting, to put it politely) out of necessity are finding it suits them and provides a work/life balance companies mostly just talk about.

However, after thinking about my list, I realized that it’s the mergers and acquisitions that will have the biggest impact and will come to be seen as one of the more significant industry developments since the recession forced all of us to completely rethink and restructure what we do.

Much of what went on in 2012 was evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. And this is certainly true of the consolidation of the talent acquisition and HR management system vendors. It has been going on for some time now, though the setting was on simmer. But then SAP’s acquisition of SuccessFactors, technically a late 2011 event, turned up the heat. In short order Kenexa and  Taleo got bought up. And later, Bullhorn picked up Sendouts and MaxHire. There were also smaller deals that kept the pot boiling throughout the year.

The significance here isn’t the transactions themselves; it’s what’s behind them and, even more so, what it means for the future. keep reading…

Here’s a quick look at some of the newer recruiting-technology companies you may not have heard of, from gamification to screening to a significant new “social resume” tool launching right now. keep reading…

HR technology is evolving rapidly, with huge advancements in social, cloud, and mobile solutions this year. We’re excited for what 2013 will bring and how the latest technology will transform the way hiring managers, recruiters, and candidates engage with each other in the hiring process. keep reading…

Social media, employment branding, an employee-assessment company, a new tool you need to know about for using applicant tracking systems, and a job site focusing on screening for fit.

It’s all below.

Let’s start with Reqcloud, which launched about six months ago. “Nobody really knows about us,” says founder Ivan Kedrin.

I’m thinking you should, as this one may be around a while.

keep reading…

At once swooping up two of its largest competitors, Bullhorn today became one of the largest, if not the largest, technology providers to staffing and independent recruiting firms in the world.

Describing it as “an incredible moment for Bullhorn customers,” company CEO Art Papas announced the acquisition of both MaxHire and Sendouts.

“We’re acquiring two extremely talented teams, both of whom have succeeded in delighting their large customer bases with a combination of product innovation and excellent service,” Papas said in a news release. “These acquisitions dramatically increase our ability to execute on our vision of helping recruiters be more successful, develop new products, and serve our exponentially expanding user base.”

Details of the sale weren’t disclosed, however both MaxHire and Sendouts will operate under the Bullhorn brand. MaxHire’s CEO Peter Blitz, who founded the company in 1995, will become Bullhorn’s product innovation officer. Sendouts’ CEO Brian Hopcroft will become general manager.

Customers of each company will continue to use the existing software and will be supported as they always have, assured Andrew Hally, Bullhorn’s vice president of product and marketing. “Both products (MaxHire and Sendouts) are staying… We are not shutting down the products,” Hally explained, though the individual companies will immediately be folded into Bullhorn. keep reading…

Here’s a taste of a few recent new companies and other moves, from assessments to job-posting technology to screening tools, to job sites for recruiting veterans, young adults, and more. keep reading…

It’s impossible to find an HR conference, a business magazine, or a recruiting site — especially this one — that isn’t talking about big data.

Just last month here on ERE Matthew Jeffery concluded his remarkable series on the future of recruiting — Recruitment 5.0 — saying “5.0 is all about… Personalization, self-sufficiency, predictability, big data, and back to basics.”

“Big Data,” he writes, “will become the central point of competition, driving productivity growth, innovation — and this applies to recruiting.”

Before big data can, as Kevin Wheeler put it a year ago, “change everything” about recruiting, recruiters will need to have access to it and know how to use it. Considering how few tap the full power of their own ATS, that’s a task on a par with getting PC users to see their first computer as more than just a word processor.

“Even if you have the tool,” says CareerBuilder’s Brent Rasmussen, “They don’t use it correctly; they don’t use it efficiently.”

Rasmussen wasn’t talking about anyone or group in particular; he was talking about the challenge of introducing a whole new way of dealing with information. In September, CareerBuilder bought employment and labor data and analytics firm EMSI (Economic Modeling Specialists International). It’s Rasmussen who has responsibility for integrating the EMSI data with CareerBuilder’s products, principally its Supply and Demand Portal. keep reading…

A new employee referral tool, a new way to source IT employees, a career site for developers and engineers, a young startup working on verifying resumes, and an applicant tracking system. It’s all below.

First, out of Bangalore comes WhistleTalk. The CEO tells me the company has closed a round of seed funding, and have seven full-time employees and a few freelancers.

In short, WhistleTalk’s a way for people to earn a bonus by sharing a job opening with their friends via social media. Here’s a short video about it. keep reading…

Asking that silly interview question about where you want to be in five years is so old school. It’s only value any more is as a knockout question. If your candidate fumbles it badly, what that tells you is they didn’t do any prep work. Shoot, there’s something close to half a million results in Google for that question alone.

What you should be asking — and I loved this one from BrazenCareerist – is “Tell me about where you’ve traveled.” People who travel without the safety net of tour leaders and have to rely on their wits to solve problems when they don’t speak the language, know much about the culture, or have much idea of where they are — these people, says the author, make the best employees. keep reading…

The recruiting technology startup Jibe was one of 30 companies selected to pitch to New York venture capitalists November 7-8.

There were more than 300 applicants in all kinds of industries. Those selected include a new doctor’s portal, an iPad magazine, and a manicurist company that works with HR departments to fancy up nails at people’s workplaces.

Jibe started a couple years ago as employee referrals and social media began to meld together. It then played up its mobile capabilities, particularly now as an antidote to poor smart-phone candidate experiences. Some experts, like David Martin, are quite bullish on Jibe as a tool to apply for jobs with a mobile phone.

AOL’s CEO Tim Armstrong, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, and Clear Channel’s CEO Bob Pittman will be at the New York event, which’ll include pitches and keynotes.

New job sites for techies, musicians, designers — and a new applicant tracking system. More below. keep reading…

Wowzer — So much new, so little time. You have updates to existing products, like LinkUp’s, and startups sprouting up left and right faster than you can say Vieple.

From video interviewing to “job matching” to social media-oriented job boards, recruiting technology continues to proliferate, including two or three companies you may not have you’ve heard of yet (below). Meanwhile, as I mentioned was coming, LinkedIn is out with those “big, not-yet-specified changes” to profiles. Here’s some of what’s new: keep reading…

It’s that time of year: the start of the fall holiday season. Halloween will be here soon. Soon there’ll be skeletons, ghosts, monsters, candy being handed out, and people in weird costumes. There’s a lot of similarities with the conferences that dominate the fall. Go to any and you’ll see vendors that are skeletons of what they used to be; ghosts of vendors that have been swallowed up by others; one Monster (never more), and, of course, candy being handed out and people in weird costumes. I saw people dressed up as cows, pirates, Romans, and angels, in the expo hall at some recent conferences. Maybe it’s the silly season — this is why elections are held in the fall.

Deja Vu All Over Again keep reading…

I’m here at the HR Technology Conference in sunny but chilly Chicago. One of the best reasons to come to the HR technology show (besides the great people here, the sessions, and parties) is to talk to people and vendors about the new technologies they are working on.

Like many of you, I love to focus on technology as part of my job. But, as I go through the floor here in Chicago, I’ve tried to pull out the recruiting vendors from the rest of the human capital space. As is typical, recruiting is often leading the pack in innovation and new products.

Here’s a brief rundown of the things I’ve seen (and haven’t seen) at the HR Technology show:

keep reading…