I frequently get asked the question “What is the one thing that recruiting functions should be systematically doing, but for some unexplained reason, it doesn’t do it?” Well, one quick answer to that question is “to project the career trajectory of potential hires.” Which simply means to assess whether a …

The recruiting function is unique among business functions because almost no one in recruiting can actually name even a handful of the different strategies that are available to the chief recruiting leader. But this article is not about the complete list of recruiting strategies, but instead, it is about which …

Top candidates demand quality co-workers … so show them profiles of team members Imagine this recruiting scenario. During a final interview, one of your top tech candidates clearly appears to be wavering about whether she is willing to leave her current “pretty good job” and accept a possible new opportunity …

The most costly recruiting error in recent history was revealed last week. On Wednesday, Facebook announced its nearly $19 billion purchase of the instant-messaging firm WhatsApp. But the real news about the acquisition relates to the colossal recruiting failure that occurred a handful of years earlier (as reported byForbes) when both …

Everyone knows that the average hiring process is less than perfect. In fact, most selection processes have high failure rates (i.e. even after months or even years of “assessment,” nearly 60 percent of the marriages in California end in divorce). So it shouldn’t be a surprise that as many as …

Innovation = Ideas + Collaboration + Execution As a result of the dramatic business successes of firms like Google, Apple, and Facebook, almost everyone has become aware of the tremendous economic value that comes from continuous corporate innovation. But unfortunately executives at most firms have failed to realize that they …

Presentation Date:  May 9, 2013 Description: Almost everyone agrees that employee referral programs routinely produce high quality hires with longer retention rates. Unfortunately, the typical corporate referral program produces less than half of its potential hires. The reasons for this underperformance can usually be traced to elements in the referral …

Top performers have an incredibly high ROI Articles from academics don’t always provide practical lessons, but there have been two recent ones that everyone in talent management should pay attention to. The results of the first one focus on the output differential produced by top performers. This study published in February …

I nominate the calculating of “cost per hire” as the single most pointless and damaging exercise in recruiting. Even though the cost per hire metric is widely used, that certainly doesn’t mean that it adds value, and it may in fact actually hurt the recruiting function. Years ago when I …

By Dr. John Sullivan, who is renowned around the world as a strategist in the field of human resources and talent management 99% of job seekers are outsiders, because they have never been a corporate recruiter. As an outsider, you’re automatically disadvantaged because you can’t know the recruiting secrets that …