by admin | Aug 29, 2022 | Ace the Interview, RPO
RPO could be a functional model where an organization delegates the management of the recruitment operations (in whole or partially) to a third party expert to drive cost, quality, efficiency, service, and scalability benefits.
An RPO provider acts as an in-house recruiter for a business, providing efficiency and suppleness within the recruitment process. It relieves HR professionals and employers of administrative burdens and delivers a consistent, involving personal attention experience for job candidates. Here are a few frequently asked questions about RPO companies.
How does RPO work?
Strategic workforce Planning
RPO companies use talent analytics to determine the talent supply and demand in the same way as market compensation by department, role, and geography. RPO companies collaborate with your organization to develop a workforce plan and strategy to foresee future manpower or workforce trends, if required.
Sourcing
Deep sourcing expertise becomes an important component of your recruitment strategy since most of the recent jobs are found through networking. RPO providers develop targeted sourcing strategies to handle the needs of specific industries or functions, including recruitment marketing, talent pooling, screening/assessment, predictive analytics, and talent advisory solutions like employer branding, talent analytics, and recruitment messaging.
Screening
Thorough screening, including skill assessments, behavioral and personality evaluations, and interviews, creates a pool of candidates that may be an honest fit both for the position and for your company. Screening for cultural fit is additionally a very important part of this process, ensuring that clients receive only candidates who will fit well within the company’s culture.
Recruiting & Offer Management
RPO firms have expertise in recruiting both passive and active candidates to seek out the most effective person for the task. The provider acts as your brand ambassador, promoting a uniform brand message, scheduling interviews, handling salary negotiations, and maintaining tight internal control.
Reporting
The company remains responsible to the client and provides regular analysis of recruiting metrics like cost per hire, time to fill, retention rates, productivity, recruiting process conversion rates, and more.
Is RPO suitable for both seasonal and temporary recruiting assistance?
Yes, RPO provides help with seasonal or temporary recruitment requirements. This situation is more frequently faced by organizations, and RPOs have an approach that centralizes all the hiring, whether it’s for permanent or temporary employees.
RPO provides the flexibility of no headcount commitments and it is one of the many benefits they offer.
RPOs allow companies and businesses of all categories and sizes to have the benefit of expertise and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) without the limitations on distinct time or resources, which is suitable for short term requirements and helps you to achieve your recruitment goals comfortably.
Is RPO suitable for small companies?
Yes, recruiting process outsourcing is suitable for small and Medium Business. The major hiring challenge for smaller businesses is often their employment brand’s ability to draw in good candidates.
Bigger organizations generally have a marketing potential that advances and markets their consumer and employment brand. Smaller businesses have the drawback of not being acknowledged within the marketplace or “not being distinguished as an employer of choice.” Their brand will be clear internally, but they may have trouble communicating it externally.
A RPO partner can help them identify what their brand is and communicate that brand within the job marketplace. Let’s admit the fact that recruiting today could be a selling function.
Furthermore, unlike staffing agencies, RPOs market through the brands of their customers to build awareness, increase employment, and increase market presence. Small businesses are also inclined to have less process diligence and consistency in recruiting.
A good RPO partner will bring the diversified employment brand strategy that smaller businesses generally don’t have.
Is RPO cost effective and time saving?
Since RPO providers concentrate on HR, they’re constantly up to date with the changes in strategies, policies, and technologies that help in boosting the HR departments of various industries. This specialization makes outsourcing a cost-efficient strategy.
Another contributing factor to why you need to opt to outsource your recruitment process is the amount of money you’ll save on salaries. Partnering with an RPO to handle your HR paperwork and administrative duties. gets the duty done even as well for fewer than half the value the companies usually spend on their recruitment.
Recruitment, training, and advertising costs are also a number of the expenses involved when hiring. These require those that are visiting to perform specific functions, and their salaries need to be paid. But unnecessary expenses like employing excess staff within the HR team may be avoided by partnering with an RPO provider.
The cost of software will be high, and administrative duties like paying benefits and distributing payrolls are time-consuming. But by outsourcing these functions and responsibilities, you save an abundant amount of time and money.
The longer an organization may suffer a loss, the longer a job position remains vacant. The company’s performance is put in danger. According to Glassdoor Economic Research, on an average, the hiring process within the USA takes 23 days. Some organizations tend to have extended processes and take longer time. It was reported that 54% of companies have not acquired a certified candidate because their hiring process took too long.
Time saved may be accustomed to improving the standard of products and services your company provides, which successively can cause greater customer satisfaction. It can cause an issue and end in higher revenue.
What are the benefits of outsourcing your recruitment?
Streamlined Recruitment Efforts
An RPO provider allows organizations to reduce their recruitment efforts and makes the process easier. RPO firms provide a regular methodology for recruiting. a feature that’s applied uniformly across the organization, a feature that’s especially important for businesses with multiple locations or entities.
A streamlined approach to recruiting also eliminates confusion by keeping candidates, hiring managers, and executives well informed throughout the whole hiring process.
A Broader & more practical Talent Search
An RPO provider has access to a vast network of applicants and recruiters across multiple industries and regions. What’s more, they even have the tools to research candidates beyond just their resumes and analyze and assess personalities, skill sets, and other qualities. When narrowing down the pool of applicants, RPO solutions provide hiring managers with a more complete candidate profile.
Companies can change or expand their recruitment services at any time when outsourcing recruitment efforts. This could be largely important for businesses that require them to outstretch or build up their recruitment efforts during a certain time of season or year (like during the winter break or over the summer season). Recruitment process outsourcing provides the type of flexibility these employers have to scale their recruiting efforts to keep pace with their demand.
Reduced Recruiting Costs
Outsourcing recruitment also has the obvious benefit of reducing costs, just like outsourcing other business processes. Executing an RPO solution significantly lowers a business’s cost-per-hire. The time and money that companies want to spend on recruiting (conducting background checks and other pre-employment screenings, including attending job fairs, advertising open positions, and other recruiting trends) can alternatively be redirected to other revenue-generating activities.
For over a decade, Pragna has been an industry leader in RPO while engaging its stakeholders, customers, and employees with paramount integrity, efficiency, and passion about offering compliant and elite talent solutions. We have been pioneers in offering best in class solutions to businesses across the world.
Pragna offers recruiting and prospecting from small, medium, and large firms serving many of the world’s leading companies. Discover advanced, innovative talent strategies and processes that allow you to stay focused on your core business.
We are competitively agile and highly adaptive to fulfill our consumer demands. Our professional team is innovative, goal-centric, and steadfast in carving a distinct segment within the sales and marketing management services.
by admin | Aug 18, 2022 | Ace the Interview
An organization’s hiring process involves identifying, selecting, and hiring new employees.
Since the method requires strategic and sensible thinking while remaining compassionate, there are certain steps to follow to make it successful.
The time it takes for a company to recruit for an open position will be anywhere from one week to many months. The sort of role, sourcing strategy, and company deadlines can determine the length of the hiring process.
Some jobs may only require one to two interviews, while others could require more than four, all depending on the nature of the job. Candidates can communicate during the interview process to get an estimated timeline for hiring.
Difference between Conventional and modern hiring methods
Conventional hiring methods are still being utilized by employers across the world. Using these methods is very simple and familiar, like job postings, which are paper based, internal hiring; hiring through referrals; and word of mouth, which are the reasons they are popular options amongst an abundance of recruiters today.
Although these techniques in recruitment are just not adequate in this immensely technological period, a more updated and modern approach means hiring teams can make the hiring decisions efficiently and simply with the help of technology.
This reduces the dependency on manpower and human input to make better hiring decisions and recruit better. Here are five trending technologies that can make the hiring process better
1) Virtual reality to communicate with the candidates
Virtual reality communications are another emerging recruitment technology that hiring managers can use to help them create immersive interview experiences.
Virtual reality headsets simulate another reality by providing an immersive, interactive experience. Wearing a VR headset can put you in an exceedingly virtual world, a shared experience with others wearing a VR headset.
Companies are exploring ways to use VR in their day to day operations. Here are some samples of how computer games are employed by companies during recruitment.
Virtual reality can be used to give candidates an insight into the role.
Use VR computer games to give candidates an insight into the role. Another railway company in Germany is employing the utilization of video games in recruitment.
Because they typically receive little to no interest from younger generations when hiring for positions like train conductors, the company decided to use computer games to grant This would give the younger group a more full understanding of the role and what their responsibilities would entail.
The result was an enormous increase in applicants with improved skills sets and ones that were genuinely excited about being considered for the role.
Virtual Reality can be used to show the workplace environment to candidates.
A few American companies use VR technology in their recruiting process to make it interesting, fun, and more skills based.
Companies are utilizing computer games in recruitment by giving potential candidates a chance to witness the company’s culture, office space, and even get a taste of the business’s celebrations.
This offers candidates an insight into the potential workplace they will be working at before deciding if the environment suits them or not.
2) Applicant tracking systems (ATS)
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are programs used by recruiters to manage their hiring processes. Conventionally, these systems help them:
Recruiters can simplify their hiring processes by being able to sort through candidate credentials and data. Depending on your needs, you might research different applicant tracking system technologies and their features.
Tracking and managing documents for candidates is centralized.
ATS can be very effective in storing the whole history of the candidates, like their contact details, job application history in the company, reporting chain, etc., all together in a single place.
Even the documents for legal, company policy, and onboarding details can be centralized on a safe platform.
Therefore, the time that is exhausted in searching for basic information makes the onboarding and hiring process much easier, reducing the effort of unnecessary paperwork and increasing security too.
It makes it easier to find the right candidates and removes those that aren’t right for the role.
The number of applications for an open role is always more than the HR team can handle. There should be a thorough screening yet quick so that you don’t lose the candidates to your competitors. During the hiring process, a good ATS can be very productive.
A good applicant tracking system enables you to set custom criteria that automatically reject resumes—this will be the placement of the candidate, age, visa requirements, years of experience, etc.
Resumes and CVs that don’t match the standards are automatically rejected for the role and are added to the talent pool so the HR team gets the correct resumes.
3) Artificial intelligence systems
You may consider artificial intelligence (AI) systems for your recruitment processes because they will enable you to assess candidates and identify potential adjustments to your job descriptions.
Like applicant tracking systems, AI can assist you in filtering the duty applications you receive. However, unlike applicant tracking systems, AI also eases the scanning of your job descriptions and posts to help make sure you optimize your language.
Reduce the human bias and improve the effectiveness of the candidate during recruiting
The AI recruiting tools help to eliminate any chance that an appropriate and qualified candidate will be neglected thanks to their age, gender, or age. This may be a step towards equality that has been awaited within the recruitment industry for an extended time.
Once you have rid yourself of the shackles of human bias, you’ll begin to boost your candidate assessment process. Using AI, you will be able to identify aspects of a resume that put you off and aspects that you simply don’t like.
The patterns can be identified for more personal results.
If AI recruitment tools are providing you with profiles that, while good, don’t quite fit the bill of what you’re trying to search out, then simply click to obviate them and so the AI technology will learn what you’re not like.
Equally, after you choose profiles that you simply just do like, the machine will learn and provide you with profiles that are more closely aligned to previously selected profiles.
With AI, you can spice up your talent acquisition process and accurately measure the results and effectiveness of any changes you make along the way.
4) Social media will impact the recruiting
Millennials and GenZ are able to use social media to apply for brand new jobs. It is easier for brands to hire employees when they have a good online presence.
Additionally, social media helps spread the word about job openings and provides a glimpse into the company culture. Employer branding is a must in today’s market.
The fact is that candidates nowadays are looking beyond salary, and a strong brand will be able to attract good candidates. Research companies with a foul reputation need to pay a minimum of 10 you additional to draw in talent. Social media pages now are the face of the corporate world.
Workonic’s job search stats reveal that 73% of job seekers say the method of trying to find employment was one of the most stressful events in their lives. The utilization of technology is the best way to cut back on this pain, both for candidates and HR.
As the hiring process is a first impression, technology will increase the probabilities of job acceptance. A candidate will be able to see things other than salary if he/she gets to know that the candidate’s experience is good in the company.
5) Chatbots will reduce the hiring time
Recruiters lose 14 hours per week on manual tasks. Answering the essential queries of candidates is one such task.
On top of that, half the candidates hand over if they do not hear back from the respective company within the period of applying.
Recruiters’ hands are nearly always full, and conversational AI chatbots are helpful in this case. Chatbots, with machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP), save the time of both HR and candidates by addressing all the essential questions like humans.
It also enhances the candidate experience by reducing turnaround. According to a report published by Salesforce, 23% of companies are already using chatbots, and therefore the count will only increase in 2022.
Conclusion
Your entire business benefits from a well-resourced HR department. From recruitment to retention efforts, the proper technology can significantly lighten the workload of this critical department.
In order to implement positive changes, we should encourage positive technological developments. Pragna has been leading the technology evolution into the hiring process and it has become mandatory with the onset of the pandemic. If the new technology is used by Pragna’s team successfully, it will redefine candidates’ staffing experiences and improve organizational productivity.
No matter what industry your business is in, there’s a way you’ll be able to use new technologies to boost and streamline your hiring processes.
by Raghu Nandhan | Feb 4, 2022 | Ace the Interview, Company Insights, Virtual recruiter
With the outbreak of COVID-19 globally, companies have started focusing on remote working rather than conducting traditional business operations. Why? Because health is as important as work is. If the employees feel sick, then there’s no chance of succeeding. Hence, the most feasible decision today is to prioritize providing homework to your clients.
Many businesses have already provided their employees with permanent work from home like it’s their responsibility to focus on public health in such tough times. However, as COVID-19 has hit the world suddenly, it was not easy to switch to remote working. Several factors need to be considered and in such a short period, everyone was in a fix to understand how remote working can be done. Of course, there are many challenges, but then there was no other chance.
Many companies rendered their employees redundant and with this many people have gone unemployed.
Well, now that the situation is under control, companies have started calling their employees to the office. But most of the employees are still demanding work from home as they neither want to risk their life nor their family’s health. Now that they have become familiar with work from the scenario, they are demanding remote work flexibility from their employers.
Are they demanding right?
Today, in this blog we will be guiding you about it in detail.
Why Say ‘A Yes’ to wfh flexible
There are many reasons why work from home proves to be more beneficial than traditional office jobs. Let’s glance at some of the benefits of working from home below:
- Helps to maintain work-life balance
It is very much true. In-office job, you travel long distances and don’t get any time left for the family. Work from home is flexible and helps you to maintain a balance between your personal life and professional life. Travel time is set to ‘nil’ and that is the time you can enjoy with your family and relish every moment, every day.
Also, one main advantage of remote working is that you get flexible schedules. No boss is standing on your head for work with a controlling attitude and hence you can easily work at your time frame.
Suppose you have an average commute time of around 1.5-2 hours daily which will be entirely laid off when you are working from home. This time can be utilized to do other productive things like reading books, cooking, spending time with family, and so on.
Do you know that more than 30-40 minutes of daily commuting can lead you to stress? Well, it is true and hence working from home will keep this in check.
People who are working remotely are not just saving their money but also their energy. Money is saved in many ways like commute fares, parking expenses, petrol or diesel expenses, and lunches bought, etc.
Many companies have allowed their employees to work from home and they are doing it for the good of them and their company’s success too. This way, they are going to save too much money for the long term.
- Peaceful working environment
Do you also feel stuck and blank in between work if a noisy environment comes around you in the office? Well, in work from home, you will not lose momentum and rhythm while working. A good and peaceful environment at the workplace helps you to maintain your workflow and this way you will be much more productive than you are in your office.
Adapting to the “New Normal”
Our lives have completely turned upside down with the advent of COVID-19. Work from home has become our new friend and at the same time, this trend seems irreversible. Working from home provides you more flexibility and reduces your everyday struggle to a great extent. If you haven’t experienced work from home, you are now going to do it. Trust us, you will love it. Although you are going to miss your colleagues, those lunch breaks, and chit-chats in between the work change is the rule of life and hence you must always be ready to experience life changes.
Work from home will not be so strict to you. You can work easily at your time frames from your home and rest you can enjoy with your family. It’s more like freelancing.
Always keep in mind to set a clear boundary between your work-life when you are working virtually. Don’t let your work suffer because it can danger your job thereafter. Just keep doing your work and find some suitable place in your home, away from distractions.
But yes, whenever you are having breaks, make the most out of them. Enjoy it with your family, play with your kids or even spend it with yourself.
Ideally, the “new normal” is here to stay with us for the latest one or two years in our life so instead of feeling sad, try to make things interesting. This way you will be more pro-activated towards your work-life.
Work from home: Good for employers too!
Pandemic has made businesses experience how working from home looks like. For many, it is like the toughest thing but for some, it went smoothly.
Work from home has brought some advantages for employers too. Want to know what they are? Scroll down!
Along with staff being benefited from work from home, employers are also witnessing the same. No rent, building maintenance, equipment, furniture, tea, or coffee costs have to be paid and hence these are their savings too.
For instance, if the weather is a bit unfavorable, then the employees often take work from home or remain on-off. But this is not the case in permanent work from home.
A new way forward!
Although work from home has been a catalyst for many employees out there, people are demanding permanent work from home from their employees. But is it right to ask for it as it has been a long time now since everyone is working virtually? Hence to stay active, fit, and maintain a social life, it is essential to switch to a traditional office job now.
However, seeing the situation is under control these days, companies can give alternate day solutions to their employees. That means one day work from home and one day work from the office. This will be an ideal solution going forward.
Persisting work from home culture
After the COVID-19 went crazy across the globe, companies had offered work from home to their employees, but now as the situation is normalizing, they are focusing on coming back to the office and resuming the work from there. Well, the percentage of employees who want to work from the office again is much lower than the ones who want to work from the office. It is almost 30% of employees who seriously want to resume work from the office.
The Bottom Line
In a nutshell, the situation in 2021 is not as worse as it was in 2020. However, we also can’t say that it is back to normal. The correct thing which can be said here is that the situation is getting better day by day. So, it’s a 50-50 say. If the company’s work is getting hampered, then there’s no harm in switching back to work from the office. However, if you as a company can easily work from home, you can stay home with your remote team, safe.
Pragna Solutions has been an active recruiter over the past many years. There has been increased remote job posting since 2019. Not only the employees but the employers are welcoming remote work culture as well.
by Raghu Nandhan | Dec 6, 2021 | Ace the Interview
Sourcing the top-tier talents require a perfect strategy. The trickiest part is that there is no specific formula that will aid sourcing in every business. Strategic sourcing is always specific to the industry and must be tailor-made as per business needs. The talent market is dynamic and thus maximizing the results of sourcing is only possible with the perfect blend of market trends and best practices.
The winning sourcing strategy can be designed by gaining a deeper understanding of what top talents are demanding and what your competitors are offering. Diversifying a sourcing strategy based on these analytics can help your business gain a competitive edge.
Evolution of Sourcing in 2021 and beyond
After the outbreak of Covid 19, the recruitment cycle has transformed. More and more organizations are adopting technology, focusing on branding, engagement, onboarding to attract the top talents in the market. Sourcing is intertwined with every stage of the recruitment cycle. If the candidate experience is hampered in any of these stages, the purpose of sourcing is defeated.
The most striking evolution of work culture has been the drastic shift from work-from-office to work-from-home. Sourcing is now a complete virtual setup. There are no geographical boundaries as work arrangements are primarily virtual. Along with the remote work culture, flexibility has become one of the expectations that most candidates are prioritizing. Therefore, the recruiter must reevaluate the expectations of the candidates to source the right fit for their jobs.
While most people were afraid of losing jobs in 2021, the job market reports indicate the opposite in 2021. A major fraction of employees is seeking new opportunities that have led to the Great Resignation phenomenon. This landscape can be attributed to being historical. It surely indicates that most people have become risk-averse and are prioritizing their needs over companies’ demands.
Developing a sourcing strategy under the current circumstances requires empathy in its true meaning. Most companies had enlisted empathy in their core value without practicing them. Today, leveling up the sourcing game won’t be easy if recruiters fail to determine what actually moves and motivates candidates. It invokes meaningful conversation with the candidates unlike the routine questions and known answers.
Sourcing has evolved and it’s time for recruiters to make effort to win talents. It requires a deeper understanding of the candidate’s aspirations and priorities and the key to such engagement is starting a meaningful conversation.
Untapped Passive Talent Market
Talent marketing is one of the best practices that your sourcing strategy must include to grab the attention of talents in the market even though they are not actively looking to join your organization. It is a long-term strategy and requires consistency to bear the sweet fruits. Talent marketing serves as a great move to create employer brand image in public as well as build relationships with candidates.
Candidates may not be actively looking for a job change right now but may think of making a move after a few years. If the organization has been active through talent marketing, candidates will have a higher chance of joining it when they start looking for new opportunities.
Talent marketing is also a necessary sourcing strategy for new businesses that are trying to invade the market against big competitors. It not only attracts the eyes of the top-tier talent but also imparts education about the brand values and work environment.
Another strategy that can turn the tables for your sourcing game is encouraging the active participation of employees in meaningful discussions. It presents the organization as the field where every idea is welcomed. Moreover, employees active on a professional social media platform like LinkedIn or Glassdoor provide prospective candidates with honest reasons to join your organization.
Right Sourcing Tools
In 2021, the scenario has changed for recruitment. Sourcing is not just about publishing the job vacancy in the newspaper or other print media. The top four tools that help to source top-tier talents for organizations are referrals, opting for niche-specific job boards, LinkedIn job postings, and outsourcing sourcing activities to agencies.
- Referrals: Most companies are sourcing the right candidates from their own community. Referrals are being preferred from existing employees to source the right candidates for job roles. Also, it is one of the most cost-effective methods that makes sourcing the most eligible candidate easier and faster. It also reduces the hiring costs.
- Niche-Specific job boards: There are multiple job boards and some of them have niched down to specific departments. Posting jobs on niche-specific job boards attract applications from that niche, thereby eliminating the hassle of unnecessary applications.
- LinkedIn job posting: LinkedIn has become a professional social media platform for professionals from every field. Most reputed companies are harnessing the power of this professional network to reach out or attract the best candidates in the market. However, it is important to focus on employer branding if new or relatively unpopular businesses try to source candidates from LinkedIn.
- Agencies: Outsourcing the sourcing activities to reliable agencies can help companies source high-performing candidates without much effort. It eliminates the time and effort so that companies can focus on their core business operations. Appointing a third-party agency for sourcing enables the companies to enhance the chances of finding suitable candidates in a shorter period than in-house sourcing as most agencies tailor specific jobs for specific candidates. This ensures that expectations of the company as well as the candidates are aligned.
Making Your Sourcing Strategy Better
Strengthening your sourcing strategy not only depends on the hiring tactics but also on evaluating existing strategies based on data. The best way of developing the most appropriate sourcing strategy is to experiment and make decisions based on data inputs.
For instance, a company using niche-based job boards, referrals, and agencies at the same time has a greater chance of sourcing the best fit candidates at a lower cost than a company relying on referrals only. After deciding on the percentage of expected sourcing from each of the sources, it is essential to look through the source of hire data from each source. If one of the sources, say referrals, has shown better results, it’s best to double the investment of sourcing on that source.
Analytics of sourcing provides the company a clear idea to monitor the ROI as well as time spent on each source. Therefore, experimentation followed by robust reporting and quick decisions based on data is what strengthens your sourcing strategies.
The Bottom Line
Sourcing is considered to be the biggest challenge in recruitment. Sourcers do not have a hard-and-fast rule that will work every time. It is essential to evolve your sourcing strategy with time. In order to develop a sourcing strategy that works best for a company, the sourcer must experiment, evaluate, and adapt the hiring practices that are exhibiting the best results for the company.
Developing sourcing strategies and their implementation can become a headache for most companies. Pragna Solutions offers a quick and simple solution to ease that headache. We provide talent sourcing solutions adapting to the fast changing business needs. With Pragna Solution, your organization can hand over any recruitment responsibility and focus on your core business.
by Raghu Nandhan | Feb 11, 2021 | Ace the Interview
There is no doubt that it can be intimidating to re-enter the workforce, for those who have taken a break in their career whether to start a family, travel around the world, care for an ailing parent, or anything in between like simply enjoy a break to rediscover yourself.You may you feel a little anxious about starting a new job or you may worry that your skills are a little tarnished because a lot has changed since you’ve been away from the workplace. But now is not the time to panic, this is the time to prepare yourself for the job search some time away.It matters less about having a career gap, and more about showcasing your potential employer how the experience you gained before and during your break can make you an asset to their team.If you feel you’re in this situation, here are five effective tips to help increase your chances of getting hired following a career break. Take one step at a time, and you’ll be chit chatting at the water-cooler in no time.#1 Analyze your current situation to gain clear understanding of your intentions:
Many people tend to make the mistake of jumping straight back into the first job they can find. But before applying for a position or even updating your resume, it’s important that you sit aside and spend some time thinking about what’s important to you in your new career. Consider the 4 P’s to make your analysis little easier: Position, Pay, Place and Path. - Position: What kind of role you want to pursue in your next endeavor? Something similar to your previous skills and experience, or you wish to make the move you always dreamt of and try something completely different and new? Remember if you secure a job that isn’t suitable, you will find yourself job hopping frequently until you find the right one. What was right for you before your career break may not be the best for you now.
- Pay Scale: What’s your desired salary range? Will you be flexible on that number if there are great benefits or perks, like great health insurance? Having an idea of what matters the most will help you evaluate total compensation more holistically.
- Place: Find out time to really think about where you want to work. Would you want your potential employer to offer flexible working conditions or you would prefer lot of opportunity to socialize with colleagues? Consider what work environment will motivate you to do your best work.
- Path: What career path are you hoping to follow once you return to work? Are you looking for something temporary or do you wish to rise through the ranks in your new role?
#2 Explore your strengths:
It’s quite common for you to believe that a career gap on your CV has lessened your chances of getting a job. However, instead of seeing it as a stumbling block, see it as something beneficial that can differentiate you from other candidates.You should have a good idea of your strengths and weaknesses, and according to these you can match your skill set to a career opportunity that you’re interested to pursue. Remember all the new skills you have practiced and developed the entire time away from the workforce like transferable skills such as communication, organization or project management.#3 Revamp your resume:
Once you’ve figured out the type of roles you’d like to apply for, and the kind of company you’d prefer to work for, it’s time to clean up your résumé. If you’re finding it hard to describe your time away from the workforce, don’t overthink it.List all the new skills you may have developed during your break, and explain how these can correspond to the job you’re applying for. For example, did you take a diploma or certification course specializing in new technology? Did you do some volunteer work in your free time or develop your leadership skills, which will help you to lead a team more effectively? Or perhaps travelling the world helped to boost your confidence?#4 Reconnect with your network:
LinkedIn is known to be recruiter’s playground, so being active and visible there will get you noticed by the right people and opportunities. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, now is the time to set one up. Spend some time to reach out to your previous colleagues, clients, friends and family.Let them know that you’re seeking a new role. They might have the perfect job opportunity for you or be able to show you the right direction. This is also a good time to prepare any potential references that could support your job search.#5 Practice your pitch:
After you’ve done all the preparation, and now it’s time for you to nail your pitch until you’re comfortable and confident. Read up on few tips for nailing an interview which will help you confidently answer questions about your past experiences, your desires for the future, and your career gap. Remember honesty is the key. Make it clear what you did during your break and why you considered it as the right thing for you to do. Also, don’t forget to identify and practice your unique value proposition.Conclusion: Everyone has their own career path
Taking a career break is more common than you may think, despite the stigma that the potential candidates will fill that void. Don’t forget everyone has different career ladders and they climb at their own pace depending on their personal and professional goals in life. You can also look for companies that have set-up return-ship programs that will offer you extra support while you find your feet in the workplace.Returning to work should be an exciting time, not a nerve-rackingone. So if you’re feeling apprehensive about beginning your journey back into workforce after a career break, keep these tips handy to put you on the right path with renewed confidence.Do visit Pragna Technologies website for more blogs.
by Raghu Nandhan | Jul 22, 2020 | Ace the Interview
Whether you are just out of college and looking forward to start your career or an experienced professional with many years in the industry, your resume is the passport to your new career journey and exciting fields of endeavour. Thus never underestimate the powers a resume possesses.
So here are expert tips to draft a brand-new resume or turn your old dusty retro resume into a high-powered personal marketing tool for winning interviews in today’s competitive job market.
1. Keep Your Resume Updated
Regardless of the time you may have spent being in your present job position, you constantly gain new skills and experience. Waiting for too long between updates could result in forgetting to add these experiences to your next renewal. Also, with the unpredictably of the job market, you never know when you might need your resume. Hurrying around to add new content because you are suddenly out of work typically leads to a mediocre document which certainly won’t help you land a job. By keeping it current, you will be less rushed should the unexpected happen or an intriguing opportunity to advance your career presents itself.
2. Make Sure Your Resume Speaks To The Intended Audience
For those who have many years of work experience, it is likely that not all experience will be apropos to positions that interest you. A ‘one size fits all’ approach rarely works well if this describes you. While some experience will certainly cross over, such as a marketing professional looking to move into a consulting domain, your ‘great closing percentage’ will be of little help to the company needing a new admissions officer.
3. Seek Professional Advice
No one knows your career better than you do. This may seem like a no-brainer to some, but believe it or not, there are still those who prefer on going alone when it comes to this vital piece of career strategy. However, binding that information together to create a perfect resume that will blow away your competition may require some tailoring by an expert who knows how to strategically balance content based on your professional goals. At the very least, if you are committed to write it on your own, you should research professional resume writing books to guide you in current resume development methods.
4. Don’t Add On To An Existing Document
Have you ever seen an old worn out car with a brand-new bumper? The new addition to the old car typically only makes the rest of it look even worse. The same is true for a resume with addition of some new content here and there. Spend some time to rebuild your resume completely when there is the need to add in new experience. Keep in mind that the new information should be integrated well and become a part of the bigger and better picture – not an afterthought.
5. Don’t Embellish Your Expertise
Try to be as honest as possible while drafting your resume. Don’t try to overcome certain shortcomings of your career by over-highlighting your abilities. This will only lead to disappointment for all involved. Remember, no matter what your potential employer have advertised as a requirement for the position, these requirements are just a wish list in most cases. Your skill set might not line up perfectly, but it should be closer enough than anyone else who has applied. Be brave to take a chance. It is always better to lose honestly than to win dishonestly.
6. Don’t Over think About The Length
Too often professionals are overly sensitive about the length of their resume. The number of pages usually has no impact on employers looking to fill a position. The key to stand out is in making sure the information is clear, concise, and lines up with the needs of the employer.
Think about any book you read recently. If the story was captivating from start to finish, did you concern yourself with the number of pages it took to tell the story? Of course not. Your resume is no different. No HR professional will ever turn away a job seeker just because the resume is too lengthy, especially if it proves to be the best-qualified candidate for the job.
Conclusion
Your resume is usually the first a potential employer will see of you. A great resume ultimately means a very good first impression and often the difference between an interview and the waste can. Your aim is to design an impressive document that displays your experience, accomplishments and skills that make you the perfect candidate for the job.
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