For those of you new to recruiting (or who’ve been trying to cut the mustard as a recruiter), a pipeline is your go-to, steady stream of viable candidates. It’s made up of people you’ve met who made you pause and think, “Wow. This person would be great at my organization someday, somehow. I have to stay in touch with them.”

Your pipeline could be made up of rising star college students you’ll want to hire after graduation or IT pros who need just the right opportunity to relocate from the West Coast. A pipeline often includes people you’ve sourced and contacted. They aren’t quite ready to make that next step, but are open to keeping in touch.

In sales-speak, think of them as prospects.

But building a pipeline isn’t just about gathering lists of names and email addresses. It’s how you nurture those relationships over time, because you never know when the right opportunity will come along. Here’s how to do just that:

1. Ask to stay in touch

Assume nothing when it comes to recruiting. Pipelining is no exception. Once you have someone engaged in a conversation and before you hang up the phone, ask if it’s OK to stay in touch. Then do so.

2. Connect via online networks

It’s so easy to connect through LinkedIn with most professionals you meet. More recruiters are using Facebook to connect, too. So take the first step and send a request that includes a personalized note. Then periodically comment and like information they share.

3. Join your talent community

If your organization has a talent community, encourage your pipeline peeps to join it. Oftentimes, doing so will mean receiving monthly newsletters or other company news. If you don’t have a formal, opt-in community but have a Facebook page or LinkedIn group, offer that as a way to get the inside scoop.

4. Grab coffee together

If you recruit nationally or globally, grabbing coffee at a local java joint is probably not likely. But if you’re in the same town or plan to attend the same upcoming conference, pick a time to meet up.

Put a face to the name and email address. Use the 50 percent rule during your meeting to develop rapport. Take your relationship to the next level.

5. Pick up the phone

As long as you’re not stalking your pipeline, picking up the phone to check in is a good idea. Quarterly? Biannually? It’s up to you. Use your best judgment. Though as soon as you have a new job req that could be of interest to someone … boom, give them a call.

6. Make people feel wanted

People want to feel wanted. Recruiting top talent is no exception. (Click here to tweet this thought.) Think of other ways you can nurture your pipeline.

At my organization, we have a library of e-cards our recruiters can send to people they’ve met. There’s even a birthday card for when Facebook tells us it’s someone’s special day.

Shannon Smedstad is a recruiting leader with a love of employment branding, social media and coffee. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, Google+ or Twitter.

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The post Recruit the Best Candidates by Nurturing Your Talent Pipeline appeared first on Brazen Life.

Just after the first candidate left the interview, one of the VPs called. Apparently, she didn’t approve of my work. And she made sure I knew it. Her phone call was the first time I experienced incivility and heard someone drop an F-bomb at work. It was the first time I felt completely rejected at my job.

It took everything I had to not lose it over phone. As soon as the heated call ended, I closed my office door and sobbed. But I had learned an important lesson, which is why I’m sharing this story.

Rejection is part of the recruiting game

Recruiting is filled with highs and lows. Every interaction you have can go well or not-so-well. Like sales, it’s the constant possibility of rejection or reward that motivates or breaks you. So much of a recruiter’s job hangs on the decisions of others—clients, hiring managers and candidates.

You advertise jobs, network, source, interview…and then you think you’ve finally done it! You found the “purple squirrel” and extend an offer, only to be thrown a curveball and have it declined.

Or the candidate no-shows for an interview. Or someone fails a drug screen. Or the hiring manager’s a jerk. Or the salary isn’t high enough. Or this or that or the other.

And there you are, right back where you started. But, every time you start over, you learn something new. If this sounds like you, use these five simple tips to learn to deal with rejection:

1. Give up some control

Over the years, I’ve learned that you can’t control other people. You can do your best to influence them, but you can’t control them. As cliche as it sounds, sometimes things happen for a reason and you just have to move on.

2. Grow a thick skin

Chances are you will be tested. Hiring managers will disagree with your recommendations. Candidates will upset you, try your patience, lie to your face and disappoint you.

Then one day, you’ll realize that people say and do crazy things, and you’ll stop being surprised by this and be able to do your job well in spite of it.

3. Manage your emotions

“You can’t always get what you want.” I’ve been known to sing that to my five-year-old when she’s upset that I’ve said “no.” Keeping your cool in the moment of rejection takes experience and some getting used to, but being rejected builds character.

4. Stop taking it personally

If you’re doing your job, acting appropriately and are otherwise a professional, kick a** recruiter, then it’s not you, it’s them. (Now, if you’re not working hard or doing your job with integrity, you should probably take a look in the mirror.)

5. Keep at it

The worst thing you can do is let rejection get the best of you and give up. If you want to build a career in recruiting, you have to learn from your mistakes, work on your pitch and practice, practice, practice.

Shannon Smedstad spends her days leading the employment brand and HR social media strategy for a major U.S. auto insurer and has more than 14 years of industry experience. You can connect with her on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. Views and opinions are her own.

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The post There’s No Crying in Recruiting: 5 Tips to Handle Rejection appeared first on Brazen Life.

True or false? While attending candidate-focused events, good recruiters chat only with coworkers and passively watch as candidates stroll by.

True or false? Top-performing recruiters only work active applications in their company’s applicant tracking systems.

Answers: False. False. And false!

Yet, at countless job fairs, within global companies and on HR teams across the country, poorly trained, unapproachable and lackluster recruiters are tasked with finding their companies’ next top talent. Don’t let yourself be one of them!

If you really want to succeed in the recruiting industry, focus on developing these traits:

1. Great product knowledge

If you want to be successful in this job, you have to know your product. In recruiting, this means knowing the job and requirements, the benefits and career path, the hiring manager and corporate culture.

“On top of that, you have to know how each job req that you are looking to fill affects the company’s bottom line,” advises Matt Duren, technical recruiter at Tenable Network Security.

2. Power to influence

Recruiters are the public relations/salespeople for their companies. To be successful, you have to sell candidates on why your opportunity is better than their current situation or other offers, and many times you have to persuade hiring managers on why they should consider your candidates or sweeten employment offers.

3. Good at building relationships

Great recruiters don’t just remember names and faces from yesterday; they remember people from years ago. And they still stay in touch.

“It is not just about talking to candidates for the role that is on the table—some of the best hires come from months and months of communication,” said Lauren Hiegel, a member of Groupon’s corporate recruiting team.

4. Approachable and nice

If you don’t like handshakes, people, small talk, networking or schmoozing, you’re in the wrong profession. Recruiters are in the business of meeting candidates and clients and figuring out if there is a fit. No one wants to work with (or pay contingency fees to) a jerk.

5. Well-connected

Whether it’s on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Ning, during tweetups, meetups, webinars or conferences, online and off, recruiters know people. They hang out in many circles and are well-connected. They are even connected to people they don’t know they are connected to.

6. Have a lot of hustle

Other words that come to mind are “motivated,” “driven” and “aggressive.” Top recruiters don’t rest on their laurels, they don’t clock in and out, they don’t lollygag or pull a standard 9-to-5. They are always thinking, doing, sourcing, networking, researching and connecting.

Some great recruiters are born, but others can be made—and we all have opportunities for improvement. If you focus on these six skills, you’ll continue to move up in your recruiting career.

Shannon Smedstad spends her days as the employment brand and HR social media manager for a major U.S. auto insurer and has more than 12 years of recruiting industry experience. You can connect with her on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

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College recruiting season will soon be in full effect. In fact, companies are gearing up right now to scour universities across the country for talent. As a college senior hungry for your dream job, or an alum who’s realized the difficulty of landing any job, you should start updating your resume and shopping for a suit today, as you will certainly come face-to-face with corporate recruiters doling out swag at some point this fall.

While attending a career fair can be a smart way to get your resume out there, it can also be daunting. If you’re not ready for it, you may quickly find yourself becoming intimidated, overwhelmed and just plain exhausted. That’s why having a strategy is so important.

Preparation is key to maximizing your efforts and making the most of your career fair experience. So, here are a few tips to help you do that, whether you’re a career fair novice or seasoned job seeker.

Make your A & B lists

Most colleges post a list of all attending companies to the Career Services section of their website or in the school newspaper. A few days prior to the career fair, review the list and jot down your top 10-15 dream organizations. Then research each of these companies.

Check out their corporate and career sites, do a Google search and take a look at Indeed.com or Glassdoor.com to read what others are saying about the company. Most importantly, know the positions that they’re hiring for and tailor your resume to each of these companies.

On the day of the career fair, while you’re still fresh and energized, start with your A list. You’ll want to approach these companies and demonstrate that you’ve done your research. (This will make you stand out from about 95 percent of all other job seekers.)

Introduce yourself and say something like, “Hi, my name is So-and-So, and I’m majoring in Such-and-Such. I knew that ABC Company was recruiting today, and I’ve visited your career site. I’m very interested in your Analyst position and understand you’re looking for candidates with D, E and F, which I have. Can we talk more about this opportunity?” [Now hand the corporate rep your tailored resume.] Wow! That person will be impressed.

After you spend time talking with your A list, be sure to ask for business cards so you can follow up later.

Now, you need to be realistic with your A-list companies. Maybe you’ve always wanted to work for ABC, but when you finally get the chance to learn more, you realize they don’t have any jobs in the city where you want to live. Or you don’t have the appropriate GPA for the type of program you really want. Or the corporate rep was a real dolt and made you realize you’d never want to work there. Use your time wisely, sell yourself to them, but also gather as much information as you can about the company.

Once you’ve visited your A list, you’ll want to start checking out your B-list companies. These are organizations you’ve heard of before, ones that seem interesting but that you want to learn more about so you can decide whether or not to fully pursue them. Make sure you have a resume to offer the recruiter so you can have a conversation about your experience, and then ask questions to see if they’re looking for someone like you. Try to do some research on your B-list companies so you don’t seem completely oblivious, and ask for a business card for following up after the fair.

Think outside your lists

Even though you’ve planned your work and worked your plan, you should still give yourself plenty of time to peruse other companies at the fair.

At first thought, some companies or industries may seem less sexy than others. Maybe you’ve never considered working in insurance, with rental cars or in retail, but there are fantastic training programs and career opportunities within all sorts of industries! Have an open mind. It doesn’t hurt to talk to recruiters, establish connections and keep all of your options on the table.

The work ain’t over when the fair shuts down

Hopefully, you took notes during the career fair and gathered a slew of business cards, because that information will help with your follow up. Check out a free business app for job seekers called CardMunch by LinkedIn, which allows you to take pictures of business cards and then save the contacts directly to your iPhone. Once the cards are uploaded, you can also request to connect via LinkedIn. (Of course, you need a LinkedIn account for this to work, but you probably already have one anyway.)

Once your contacts are in order, review your notes and the brochures you picked up. Go back through your A list and decide which companies to apply to. Most will require you apply online. There’s no real way around that, so carve out enough time to thoughtfully and thoroughly complete the required applications.

A quick little reality check: some companies might require that you apply closer to the time you’re actually able to start a job. If that’s the case, set calendar reminders and file that information away for another day. If you land something sooner, oh well—their loss.

If you’re genuinely interested in a company, social media is the way to stay connected and learn more about them. So, “like” their corporate and career pages on Facebook and “@ message” companies and individual recruiters on Twitter. Watch videos on YouTube or participate in discussions on LinkedIn. If you’re truly a viable candidate, recruiters will want to stay in touch. So use these sites to ask questions, prepare for interviews, get an inside view of the corporate culture and maintain open connections with decision makers.

Do you have any tips to add for getting results from in-person career fairs?

Shannon Smedstad spends her days as the employment brand and social media manager for a major U.S. auto insurer and has more than 12 years of HR experience. You can connect with her on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

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The post Map Out a Strategy to Make the Most of Your Next Career Fair appeared first on Brazen Life.

As a freshman in college, I didn’t think much about how it would affect my chances of becoming employed; I just knew that I didn’t want my new tattoo to be on display all the time. My second tattoo, however, is visible – a dragonfly on my left ankle that shows when wearing a skirt or capris. And, I am jonesing for a third.

But when do tattoos become an obstacle to gainful employment?

A recent cover story from  my local Sunday paper, The Morning Call, illustrates how tattoos and stable employment don’t always mix. The article features a college student with several tattoos on her back and at the nape of her neck, along with a number of facial piercings. She’s quoted saying that she “felt discriminated against” because she did not get hired by a local amusement park, specifically because of her visible tattoos. What she’s calling discrimination, the park is calling their policy. And, the reality is that employers can have a policy regarding body art – tattoos, as well as piercings; it’s typically found within the dress code policy.

So what should you do if you’re all inked up?

If you are interviewing with an organization and you’re unsure of their policy on visible tattoos or piercings, from one tattooed professional to you, err on the side of being conservative. Wear long sleeves or a jacket to cover up arm tattoos, and pants to cover leg or ankle tattoos.

If you have a tattoo on the back of your neck and have long hair, wear your hair down. As far as facial piercings go (lip, nose, cheek, chin, eyebrow), consider removing them before your big interview day.

If you receive an offer and are concerned about your tattoos in the workplace, call your recruiter and ask about the company’s policy on body art. Talk about your tattoos and discuss your options. It may be that your tattoos are a welcome display of personal expression. Or maybe the company doesn’t care much about your tats, but they’ll request that you  cover them up while you’re on the clock. If you can’t cover your tattoos and the company has a policy against visible ones, there are two options that I can think of: tattoo removal or trying to find a different employer.

Shannon Smedstad spends her days working in employment branding and social media for a major U.S. auto insurer, and has more than 12 years of HR and recruiting experience. She’s a work@home mom raising two awesome girls who also enjoys reading, yoga, traveling and her morning coffee. You can connect with her on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. (Views and opinions are her own, and not those of her company.)

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The post Is Your Tattoo Ink Killing Your Job Search? appeared first on Brazen Life.

So, your mom and dad have been super involved in your life, pretty much since inception. Now, you’re off to enter the “real world” and they still want to tag along. Having parental support — during the daunting task of job searching — is highly encouraged and usually just fine. However, when mom, dad or both want to be players on the field, versus coaching from the sidelines, things can get hairy.

Certainly there are ways they can assist you — here are an acceptable few:

• Give you guidance (and their opinions) on career paths, jobs and industries
• Conduct online job searches and forward interesting positions to you to consider
• Proofread your resume and cover letter (not write it for you, just proofread it)
• Take you shopping — and possibly pay — for a suit to wear to your interviews
• Act as an interviewer, ask typical interview questions and provide feedback on your answers
• Help you understand company benefits and job offers
• Be there to share in your excitement
• Support you during times of disappointment

But — and it’s a big but — there are some things your parents just shouldn’t do when it comes to YOUR job search. Doing any of these will not help your job situation. With many years in the recruiting biz, I’m speaking from experience here. By all means, do not let your folks commit these acts of helicopter-parenting:

• Attend job fairs on your behalf and hand out your resume to prospective companies (you need to be there, in the flesh, networking, learning and asking questions)
• Sit in the waiting room, chatting it up with the receptionist, whilst you interview with company executives
• Be present in the interviewing room with you while you talk with the hiring manager
• Post messages on company’s Facebook pages asking for more information for you
• Follow up with HR representatives on the status of your application
• Email the recruiter a nasty-gram asking why you were not selected for the position

Your parents should be a sounding board, resource and advocate for you — but ask them to keep it off line and in the family. Tell them that you respect their experience and want their input, but that when it comes to actually communicating with companies, you’re in charge!

Mom and dad are just trying to help. Their intentions are probably genuine. But, allowing them to have a leading role in your job search sends the wrong message to companies. HR could start to wonder if you’re really interested in the job. And that would not benefit you in any way. Companies want to hire you — not your parents, unless of course, mom or dad is looking for a job and happens to be qualified for another position within the company.

Shannon is currently the human resources social media lead for a major U.S. auto insurer, and has more than 12 years of HR, recruiting and college relations experience. Outside of work, she’s a busy mom raising two awesome girls. She enjoys reading, yoga, traveling and her morning coffee. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter. Special thanks to Jill Stover for her guidance and input on this article. 

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The post Prevent Your Parents From Playing a Shocking & Embarrassing Role in Your Job Search appeared first on Brazen Life.