AE Recruiting Flash: Volume 6, Issue 1

Are You Hiding from Where Job Hunters Are Seeking?

The results of a January 2019 survey by business-to-business research firm Clutch suggest that AEC firms ignore online job boards to advertise open positions at their own peril. The poll of 507 people who started new jobs in the prior six months found that nearly half (41%) discovered their current positions through online job boards, making them the most common method for learning about job opportunities. A third of respondents (33%) used generic job boards such as Indeed, Glassdoor, or Monster, while 8% relied on industry-specific job boards. Monster reported that the architecture and engineering industry ranked sixth in hiring on its job board in 2018, ahead of industries such health care, consumer services, and tourism. The Clutch survey found that 88% of job board users subscribed to automatic job alerts, which means AEC firms should optimize postings with keywords that prospective employees are likely to use in their searches in order to increase the odds of their listings appearing in automated job alerts. Firms seeking to increase diversity should also take note that the survey found that women (44%) were more likely than men (33%) to have found their current employers through job boards. The other methods by which respondents found their jobs included networking (25%), social media (14%), and e-mail newsletters (5%), which suggests that AEC firms should employ a mix of traditional and digital resources when looking to fill positions.

Beware of the Ghost

The December 2018 edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book included the following odd note from the Chicago district: “A number of contacts said that they had been ‘ghosted,’ a situation in which a worker stops coming to work without notice and then is impossible to contact.” While the word “ghosting” first appeared in recent years to describe the modern dating phenomena of singles breaking up by suddenly ceasing all communication and becoming unreachable by text or phone, the Washington Post reports the practice has extended to the working world. According to the newspaper, ghosting arose in China during its decade-long explosive growth, and now the practice is spreading to both employees and job applicants in the United States thanks to the tight labor market. Global staffing firm Robert Half reports that it has seen a 10 to 20 percent increase in ghosting among job applicants over the past year with candidates failing to show for interviews and new hires turning into no-shows after accepting offers. Rather than having uncomfortable conversations, these job seekers are skipping them altogether. To ensure your prospective employees don’t vanish like phantoms, set your firm apart from the competition in the hiring process. Move quickly when you find a great candidate. Don’t wait to interview additional candidates based on the slim chance of finding an even better fit. In this tight job market, employers don’t have that luxury. Schedule interviews in the morning, when job seekers feel fresher, and don’t keep them waiting for responses. Maintain constant communication—especially after an offer has been accepted—to make sure there is no change of heart on the candidate’s end and heartbreak on yours.

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