Does it feel like tenures are getting shorter? The data says they are. Both over the long term and the last year.    And that matches a lot of the conversations we’ve had with companies. It sure feels like more people are leaving roles in their first year. But why is that? Despite everyone’s best intentions to fix up their onboarding and employee engagement during “The Great Resignation” era, it doesn’t look like it stuck. Jeff Smith and James Hornick discuss how we still have some work to do in episode 86 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "We Never Fixed The Retention Problem"

Social networks come and go. That includes LinkedIn.   There’s an argument to be made that LinkedIn is more than that. It’s a user generated, worldwide corporate directory that serves as the source of truth for who’s who in business. More tactically, It’s the lifeblood of the sales and recruiting industries.   But what happens if people simply stop updating their profiles? Maybe they’re covering gaps. Maybe they’ve been ‘green banner’ shamed. What purpose does LinkedIn really serve then? It’s a real phenomenon that Jeff Smith and James Hornick are seeing. They’ll discuss where LinkedIn is headed in episode 85 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "Will LinkedIn Be Dead In 10 Years?"

In this episode of Talent Insights, Hirewell CEO, Matt Massucci discusses “The Future of Work” with experts Jon Milonas, SVP at CBRE, Dan Michelson, CEO and founder of UnCommon, and Mark Slocum, Tech Practice Lead at Hirewell.    They delve into the evolving workplace landscape, focusing on shifts to flexible, remote, and hybrid models. The conversation covers challenges like office space use, employee engagement, and creating a culture that supports diverse work preferences while maintaining productivity. They highlight trust, opportunity, relationships, and experiences as key elements for organizational growth and retention. The discussion also includes talent acquisition and retention strategies, especially in remote work contexts and changes in professional services. Insights on leadership, strategy, and data-driven approaches for navigating the future work environment are shared, along with the role of technology in building connected communities and fostering engagement.

The hiring market is improving, slowly but surely. It’s not going to the moon like Bitcoin, but it’ll get there.   Hiring needs create urgency. Urgency creates shortcuts. And shortcuts create every bad stereotype people have about recruiting. What happens when scaling up becomes a hair-on-fire drill? And you didn’t spend your down time fine tuning your strategy and processes? Jeff Smith and James Hornick covered it in episode 83 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "Dumb Hiring Ideas Are Back, Baby!"

Remote on-the-job learning is hard. College loans are astronomically expensive. And no one knows what skills AI will make irrelevant (if any.)   Change is constant. But a lot of it at once is a lot to take in. Especially those just beginning their careers. Jeff Smith and James Hornick aren’t going to play generational favorites but they are going to point out the obvious in episode 82 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "The Unique Sh*tstorm For Young Professionals"

The tech layoffs aren’t over. Marketing budgets haven’t recovered. DEI programs are slashed.    Might explain why we don’t hear anyone talk about employer brand anymore. It’s probably for the better: workers are skeptical. A lot of people got burned in the last 18 months and no one believes the old corporate jargon when they’re looking for their next role.   Hiring isn’t dead, but the talent attraction playbook needs a reboot. Jeff Smith and James Hornick discuss what resonates with job seekers and what falls flat in episode 81 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "Remember Employer Brand? It's Dead."

New year. New hiring market. Hopefully.   2023 was a year a lot of recruiters are happy to turn the page on. But it wasn’t all bad. Hirewell did see some growth areas and a consistently strong demand for interim talent.    Matt Massucci and James Hornick break down the previous quarter and look what what’s happening to start 2024 with “Hirewell Data Insights: Hiring Trends Q4 2023"   Replays will be available on Hirewell’s Youtube channel. Audio-only version will be available on the Talent Insights podcast on Apple, Google, Amazon and Spotify.   Subscribe to those channels here: https://linktr.ee/jameshornick

It’s January. Which means we’re in the lame duck period for year end bonuses. Earned but not yet paid.   With that comes complications. Some companies are bracing for post-bonus churn. Others are offering sign-on bonuses to jump the line and get the talent they need now.   And of course, some companies were beat up so bad in 2023 that bonuses went out the window. There’s the Haves and the Have-Nots.   Meanwhile, the real question: how effective is the yearly bonus model for retention anyway? Jeff Smith and James Hornick kick off the new year with episode 80 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "Do Bonuses Buy Loyalty?"

For most of Hirewell’s existence, internal recruiter positions were the #2 most commonly filled roles on a yearly basis. Right after software engineers.   In 2023? Not even on the heat map. Almost no demand. And lots of A+ recruiters have struggled to find work.   Why? Rising interest rates.  Jeff Smith and James Hornick put on their nerd hats and explain how the macroeconomic environment affects hiring in a very real way in episode 79 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "How High Interest Rates Tanked Recruiting"

Ever not get hired and wonder where you fell short in the interview? But your contact at the company left you hanging? Or maybe you were on the other side. Looking to pay it forward, but were shot down by legal. Behind every job seeker who didn’t get feedback, there’s a recruiter who got their hand slapped for giving it previously. Welcome to the exciting world of hiring litigation. Jeff Smith and James Hornick unpack what both job seekers and companies have lost in the modern say-nothing feedback world in episode 78 of The 10 Minute Talent Rant, "Interview Feedback Is Dead"

The hiring world is obsessed with candidate pipeline building. Sure, the top of the funnel is important. But success in hiring has always been about conversion. Getting the right candidates to say ‘yes.’   And nothing converts offers to acceptances like an A+ interview experience.   Problem is: it’s really hard for your company to set itself apart when you’re doing 3 Zooms and an assessment like every other company.   Regardless of your office vs remote policy, onsite interviews offer so much more opportunity for curated, impactful interview experiences. Jeff Smith and James Hornick discussed how dramatic of a difference this can make in the next The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 77 "Onsite Interviews Are Better"

Hiring leaders want the best. People with strong skills who fit very specific skill needs. No one ever says they’ll hire someone who is “pretty good at a bunch of stuff.”   Yet come layoff time, that’s who they prioritize retaining. Those who can take on the most workload. The old “do more with less.”   High for specialization. Retain for breadth.    Why is that? And can layoff decision-making teach us how we should change our hiring process? Jeff Smith and James Hornick discuss in the next The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 76 "The Disconnect Between Hiring and Retention"

It’s no secret that the recruiting industry doesn’t have the best collective reputation. There’s a lot of fingers to point. Executives think hiring is easy. HR is resistant to change. Job seekers have unrealistic expectations.   But perhaps we should point the finger at ourselves. If “hiring is broken,” why haven’t we fixed it? Sure, everyone complains about recruiting. But are we even listening?   Jeff Smith and James Hornick discuss accountability while dunking on themselves in the next The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 75 "Recruiters Are Terrible Listeners"

Miss us? We took Q3 quarter off for our mental health. The hiring market did so we did too…   But Q3 ended with some hiring bright spots in the technology and finance & accounting fields. Not to mention some (potential) leading indicators of good news on the horizon with interim talent.   Matt Massucci and James Hornick return with a numbers-driven look on what recruiting looks like going into the end of the year with “Hirewell Data Insights: Hiring Trends Q4 2023"

Real talk: back in the 9-5 in office days, there’s nothing I wanted to do less than spending my evening (read: me time) at a networking event. I’m a recruiter. I just spent the entire day networking.    Now? I miss people. (Well, sometimes anyway.) And it appears everyone feels the same way.    Industry happy hours. Onsite hiring events. Internal team events. Coffee with an old contact. The vibe shifted. It sure feels like people are into it now.   Whether it’s hiring, sales or a bit of both, Jeff Smith and James Hornick discuss how event planning is suddenly a core competency in The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 74 "Event Planning. So Hot Right Now."

What’s the most played-out online debate of this decade?   That’s easy. “Are workers more efficient remote or in the office?” Everyone has their opinion and on one is changing their mind. It’s tribal.   But there’s one point that most of us agree on: remote learning sucks. It doesn’t matter if it’s in school or in the office.   When companies are expected to train new grads and skill develop experienced employees, it seems like kind of a big issue, doesn’t it? If we’re not getting smarter, are we getting dumber?   Jeff Smith and James Hornick discuss whether or not the episode's title is clickbait in the next The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 73 "Is Remote Work Making Us Dumber?"

No one enjoys giving bad news. And that’s a problem.   One of the biggest complaints job seekers have about the interview process (besides not getting the job) is not finding out why. It’s often something they don’t want to hear.   Every recruiter has a horror story about someone who blew up on them because of it. And that causes a lot of recruiters to avoid it whenever they.   But running away from your problems never solved anything. Jeff Smith and James Hornick talk about how to deliver bad new without becoming collateral damage in The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 72 "Giving Job Seekers Bad News Sucks"

The current hiring environment confounded a lot of recruiters. Stock market is up, unemployment is low, inflation is going down…but hiring in tech-forward companies is still way down.   Internal recruiting teams are smaller. Agencies are struggling. “Getting by” is the norm.   What’s the secret to survival? In the words of Ross Geller: “Pivot!”   Jeff Smith and James Hornick will discuss what Hirewell’s done and what our contacts are focused on in 2023 in The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 71 "Surviving A Turbulent Recruiting Market"

They say the best things in life are free. But don’t they also say you get what you pay for?   When the job market gets tough, job seekers are thirsty for whatever edge will help them land their next gig. The free advice from life coaches (and frankly anyone who’s ever looked for a job before) comes out of the woodwork.   But let’s call a spade a spade: some of the most common tips are objectively bad. They’ve just been repeated over and over again until they sound plausible.   Not on our watch. Jeff Smith and James Hornick call out some of the most common tips absolutely no one should listen to in The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 70 "Bad Job Seeking Advice, Exposed"

When the job market is hot, interview processes are their most efficient. Companies go the extra mile to get people interested and on board. Job seekers are energized and excited to hear what great career opportunities await.   When things slow down, the wind gets sucked out of the room. Companies waffle and find reasons not to hire people. Job seekers get jaded and their frustration spills over.   But why should companies do anything different in down times? Why make an interview process longer or change requirements mid-stream?   Jeff Smith and James Hornick address the root causes of the downward candidate experience spiral in The 10 Minute Talent Rant, Episode 69 "Hiring Shouldn't Be An Experiment"