Employer Branding – Alice’s view in the Reverse Looking Glass

So you are a smart recruiter or Human Resources person, right? You have all the tools and tricks to recruit and check out candidates on Linked In, Twitter, MySpace, and the social networking site de jour. You have a candidate fully vetted prior to picking up the phone for the first screen. Perhaps, you have already done confidential reference from a shared connection. BUT … Have you looked to see what candidates are seeing about you as an employer? What have your staffing decisions done to your employee brand? How will they affect your company's ability to hire quality talent? What if they did a reference on you with your former employees that held the same position?

My past experience in both social technology and recruiting leaves some very interesting stories at my door often. I am going to share one I learned about this week in my travels. I sat next to this woman on the train named Alice. We had a quick chat about the new movie "Alice in Wonderland" that I had seen and loved! In the hour long trip, we covered a variety of topics but after hearing about my professional background she shared the following story….

Alice had received an email from a stranger asking about their experience working a past company. This stranger had been contacted by a recruiter looking for him to explore leaving a solid job at solid company to seek out greener pastures. This candidate did his homework and found Alice on LinkedIn. The opportunity sounded exciting. Prior to risking his current job, he wanted inside information no recruiter or hiring manager was going to share. In the stranger's research, it was discovered a ton of people had worked in the same capacity as he was being asked to interview. All of the people had short tenures (averaging 6 months to two years). Bravely, this stranger started reaching out to these former employees to discover inquiry why? Alice was one of the individuals the stranger reached out to contact.

Alice told me about her mixed feelings about telling this stranger the truth. On the one hand, she had enjoyed working for the company. She had friends that still worked there. However, she wished she had been smart enough to push this fact herself. She had seen it prior to accepting the position. Alice had accepted their story and didn't double check the facts. The company in question had a history of hiring a new VP and people to do this task only to lay them all off within six months to year. Then in about another 6 months go through the hiring process and pay recruiters to do it all over again. This stranger deserved the benefit of the doubt she felt. Alice shared the following dialog with me:

Alice: I also looked at your LinkedIn profile. Are you still working at Company X?

Stranger: Yes, I am still employed there.

Alice: Are you happy?

Stranger: Yes, the only reason he was interested was the new skill set and potential larger to make an impact on this new company.

Alice:
(hmmm sounds familiar she said to herself) Is there any pressing reason you need to make a change? More potential earnings for College tuition, moving closer to family, a burning desire to live where the company was etc.

Stranger: No

Alice: Then why on God's green Earth are you even entertaining this interview given the information you believe to have uncovered? You know the phrase "Where there is smoke there is fire" Honestly, I would tell anyone regardless of the company this if they had asked me. In this economy, why would you ever risk the happiness you told me about? Want a new adventure….try rock climbing! Listen to your gut, man!

The Stranger thanked her for opening his eyes and confirming without bashing the company his suspicions. He would be canceling the interview.

Alice told me had some of the answers been different about his employment status or happiness or compensation she may have encouraged him to take the interview. Alice just couldn't let someone else make the same error in judgment that had left her in a financial crisis. The lay-off had forced her to have to give up her independence. at close to 30 years old, Alice had to move back in with her parents for six month while she found another job and got back on her feet. It had not only impacted her career, her independence but had done a number on her relationship with her family not to mention her self-esteem and finances. Why people open up to me about these things? I have no clue. I guess I have a trusting face.

Here is the morale for employers… Remember, your previous actions on hiring, lay-offs, and serial turnover will have a huge impact on your ability to hire the best talent out there given the ease of connection with social networking and search. What will they see when they load in "YOUR COMPANY NAME" "KEYWORD = POSITION TITLE" and select past employees in LinkedIn. Will they see a pattern of serial turnover? Remember, your brand isn't only the company's product or service. It is your people and the people that have worked for you. They also continue to be a conduit of your brand. What will candidates discover by referencing you? Every employer that has been around a while has previous employees with an axe to grind. I am not talking about this one off wild chance. It is the patterns you need to be aware of creating and the poor messaging you create with potential hires. I have seen this myself with companies I recruited for in the temporary staffing market.

Here is a possible solution… Create your own reference list. Have past employees your candidates can speak with that will provide a good reference. It won't prevent them from doing what this savvy stranger did but it may help.

Happy Recruiting Everyone!