Using Technology for Corporate Recruiting

By Kim Tarasiewicz

How many of you were recruited for a job right out of college? Did you attend the sessions where you “dressed for success,” met with corporate representatives, and then typed out or, heaven forbid, hand-wrote a thank you letter? As my son begins life on campus as a freshman at Temple University, I am amazed at how much technology has changed the face of college life and also job recruiting.

This generation of college students is the most tech-savvy group by far; a Mashable infographic shows that 73 percent of students say they cannot study without the use of technology. As the class of 2019 makes its way through college, technology will impact the process of gaining employment even more, and those organizations that want to hire the best of the bunch will have to keep up with those advances, as well.

Just networking and putting out an advertisement on LinkedIn might not be enough for companies to connect with the right hire. Technology companies are launching new applications to help college students find the right job, and you better believe this technology-driven group will know how to use those apps.

Companies like Symplicity have partnered with college career centers to give businesses that are hiring access to highly qualified job candidates. Job seekers can download an app and keep all of their resources and searches stored in one place - yet another reason that any company developing a new website needs to have a mobile site as well if they want to remain competitive.

College students today are aware of how competitive the job market is. To remain competitive as that market evolves, they must partner with their career center early on to match skills with opportunities. As is the case at Temple, on-campus interviews are still important, but much of the process and tracking is done online with your student account.

For talent managers, keeping up with the technology college students are using can be tough, but recruiters should be aware of how potential hires are using QR codes to upload resumes, using calendars to schedule interviews, and checking websites such as Glassdoor to rate interviews and compare corporate hiring processes. Recruiters themselves can access apps to evaluate candidates, keep track of job fairs, and access a database of job seekers.

So to those hiring students fresh out of college, start updating your corporate technology now to keep abreast of the latest resources and hire the best. And to the class of 2019, good luck in your college endeavors and here’s hoping that each of you can connect on the right job with the right company four years from now.

Throwback Weekend and the Future of The Internet

No Google maps, no GPS, no weather app - a weekend at a ski cabin demonstrated just how much the author depends on her smartphone to navigate the modern world.

By Kim Tarasiewicz

I recently spent a weekend in a ski cabin that had no Internet, cable TV or cell service, which I thought I would enjoy. I do love unplugging every once in a while, and I loved the idea that the kids had to find my kind of “old fashioned” fun, like jumping into 5-foot snowdrifts. But there was a snowstorm coming and I realized that I needed a weather report so we knew when to pack up and leave before it hit.

So my challenges?

• No GPS or Google Maps to use on my phone – I had to use a paper map.
• No weather app or weather channel for the storm – I panicked and called my cousin (on a landline, to my horror) to check her TV weather station.
• I needed more food (I had nine teen boys with me) and couldn’t Google a grocery store location – I asked one of the reps at the ski resort for directions to one close by.

Of course, I use technology daily; most people do in today’s world. And while there is always much debate on how this generation of young people uses technology, I thought about how integrated into my life it has also become over the past 15 years.

Then I drove home to watch the Advertising bowl (I mean the Superbowl) and I saw the BMW i3 Electric Car commercial with a throwback clip from the Today Show where they talk about “What the Internet is” from 20 years ago. I began to wonder what the Internet would be like 20 years from now.

Everyone has a prediction on how technology will evolve and where it will help or hurt humanity. Technology will certainly continue to change the labor industry, with changes in manufacturing and production lessening the need for human jobs. On the other hand, it may increase positions in new areas such as robotics and Internet security; either way, it will result in a shift in the workforce for the next generation.

We already have online classes for colleges and some charter schools, but there may be virtual learning opportunities for students with the possibility of staying home and taking classes while recovering from a contagious disease such as the flu, making schools safer and healthier.

Our technology will certainly change in size, which we can see happening already with the Apple iWatch coming and phones becoming lighter and more manageable. We now have smartphones that react to speech, but will we be speaking to our computers? Chances are the answer is yes, and they will be smarter, too, saving our preferences and using this to make our lives easier. Marketers are already using this - if you have ever clicked on an ad while on a website, notice every time you open a tab on the Internet, you are “fed” a similar advertisement.

So will the future be like living in a Star Trek movie? Maybe, maybe not, but I do have faith that society will learn to adapt to any new technologies, just as we have done in the past 20 years.

Technology & Maturity – Closer than you think!

By: Kim Tarasiewicz

When anyone mentions the technology generation, our minds go right to teens and twentysomethings. But don’t rule out the older generation when using technology to market your product or service. 

With their kids grown and out of the house, today’s Baby Boomers are living longer and are willing to spend on luxuries. More and more, this group is becoming Web-savvy and technology driven, either from remaining in the workforce longer and keeping up with technologies or sometimes out of necessity to keep in touch with family and friends.

While in their late 60s, my parents decided to purchase smartphones so they could keep in touch with their grandchildren. They now check email on their phones, download apps and use tablets while traveling. This trend is quickly becoming the norm; according to Pew Research, 50 percent of seniors are using social media. Sure, there are seniors that don’t know how to log onto a computer – but do you want to miss marketing to those who do?

Email use by Americans 65 and older is at a whopping 88 percent and this group may very well have more time to read your message. Social media also has captured the attention of seniors as almost half of those using the Internet are on Facebook. These numbers most likely will increase as this population ages and continues to use more technology. The trick is identifying the right mix of marketing for this group while keeping the other target clients in focus as well.

Review your marketing plan to see what age groups currently receive your messaging. Younger audiences use mobile apps and social media regularly, so those tactics should be included in your plan if targeting that segment of the population. The mid-age range group is using a variety of technologies while the eldest group is on email, at the very least. If your budget allows, choose a mix of several methods to reach your audience such as text messages, advertisements in demographically chosen publications and newsletters. Supplement these items using social media, but be sure to target the messaging - tweet to the younger audience, which spends a lot of time on Twitter, but post a message on Facebook if trying to appeal to the older age group.

If your company has an electronic newsletter, consider creating several versions, which is an inexpensive way to appeal to your different audiences. Your website should hold Frequently Asked Questions that relate to all age groups and it should be kept current to engage clients. Post relevant videos on YouTube and add them to your website. Another way to reach different age groups is to use technology that identifies very specific audiences such as Pandora which can identify the exact age of its users and send specific messages aimed at that group.  

The key is to be sure your message reflects the values of the company and how you will meet the needs of your clients. Your clients may be aging, but they still see themselves as young, and with technology, they can keep up with current trends and feel young. Keep up with them as they grow old and you will keep them as clients. Who knows? They may even “share” your information with their grandchildren while on Facebook.