Hire Through the Generation Gap

Throughout my life I've noticed a generational trend: each successive generation thinks the new one has it too easy. “Back in my day…” is handed down from one era to the next.  I was born six months before the cutoff for Generation X.  While technically a Baby Boomer, my formative years certainly were more Gen X.

I was born to college-educated parents and grew up in a comfortable middle class neighborhood with good schools, cable TV, and a microwave oven. I didn't have a phone in my pocket or highly sophisticated video games, and I certainly didn't have the social and informational connectivity of the internet growing up. But then again, my parents didn't have a television until they were in their teens, and they had to worry about polio vaccinations and the Russians nuking them into oblivion. In retrospect, I had it pretty easy.

The Millennial Generation gets a bad rap from the Boomer & Buster generations. They’re accused of having a mentality of entitlement mentality without a sense of loyalty. They’re looking for instant gratification and are only in it for themselves. The list could go on but why bother – it’s simply not true. The truth is, Millennials are every bit as hard working and loyal as any other generation, they just have a different set of life experiences that shape how they operate.

As a Gen X-Boomer it’s hard to say I know what makes Millennials tick, but as a person who recruits a good many of them, I have a pretty good idea of what they value in an employer & what you need to do to attract them to your company.

1.       They care about what they’re doing so they expect YOU to care about them. Seems simple, but it’s not. Your management team can’t just care about getting the product out the door. Millennials are not typical 9-5 Monday through Friday thinkers. They’re connected 24x7 so they tend to get very wrapped up in their work and passionate about their job. If the leaders in the firm don’t visibly share that passion they will find someone who will.

2.       Millennials ARE ambitious. If you don’t provide a path someone else will. If each step moving up the ladder at your firm takes a couple of years you’ll want to consider putting in some intermediate steps. Millennials either move up or they move out.

3.       Millennials are highly relationship-driven and the most connected generation ever.  They’re talking about everything and everyone on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, GitHub, Instagram, Flickr, SnapChat, YouTube, Foursquare, Google+, etc.... They’re also checking out what people are saying about you on Glassdoor. Ignoring their connectivity and their ability will come at your own costs.

If you want to win the "war" for Millennial talent keep the following in mind:

Is your career site a reflection of your customer site? 
Organizations spend thousands of dollars in multimedia marketing to make the customer side of their site attractive and interactive. Yet when you click on the “Careers” link it takes you to a text heavy, bureaucratically-laden process to go through layers of data just to view a job.

Millennials are market-savvy, they’re looking for a company that reflects that image. 
Do your job descriptions list “must be able to lift 50 lbs” or “ability to safely enter and exit a vehicle” or any other OSHA gems? Don’t laugh - I’ve seen that in job specs before. Most Millennials will roll their eyes at that type of attempt to attract them to your company. They aren’t attracted to bureaucracy & those “requirements” simply make your company seem foolish.

What kind of “brand experience” are you giving your job seekers? 
You’re the one that posted the job, so what are you doing to respect the time they took to respond? If you’ve brought someone in for an interview, what are you doing to provide communication and closure?  Potential employees are also potential customers so treat them as such.

What’s your company’s culture? 

Do you have Ping Pong tables, beer taps, and casual Fridays? A lot of companies use this to attract Generation X and Millennial candidates, but unlimited vacation time and a free coffee bar is a perk – it’s not a culture. Culture is what your company values. Zappos has defined their culture in the 10 Core Values they seek and develop in each employee. You need to define, implement, and live your culture as far as work is concerned. Don’t just post core values on your website and continue business as usual.  This is more important to this generation.

Ignore Kevin Bacon, the 80's are over.  It’s 2014. Your strategy for attracting & retaining Millennial talent needs to change.

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Recruiter Do's and Dont's

As a technical recruiter / recruiting manager with over a decade of experience I know having a good recruiter in their corner is important for IT Professionals. The IT market is Red Hot right now which means weekly calls from recruiters. I've seen a lot of mistakes made by candidates over the years so I wanted to share my Do's and Dont's for building a good working relationship & optimizing the time you spend with an agency.

DO consider recruiters as a partner. They should be asking questions about your expectations beyond how the buzzwords on your resume align with their client's job spec. The more they get to know you; your goals, aspirations, interests, style, and "hot buttons," the better they will be able to serve you.

DON'T be afraid to engage with a recruiter, even if you're not actively looking. You never know when the next layoff is coming or your great boss is about to be replaced by the office politician. Having the relationship in place before you need their services will make the process a lot easier when you do.

DO ask about their client base. A recruiter needs to tell you about their clients. Knowing who the agency covers lets you determine what other agencies should be in your portfolio. If their clients aren't of interest to you, you're wasting your time. You can also strengthen the relationship by providing insight you might have about their clients.

DON'T work with every recruiter that says they have a job for you. Get to know 3-4 recruiters local to your targeted area and let them go to work for you. If you know their client base, have a great relationship, and have an open and regular line of communication you'll be able to cover all your targets without getting 10 agencies involved in your search. Good recruiters generally will shy away from candidates who aren't selective - they're usually either desperate or simply don't appreciate the value a recruiter brings to the table.

DO meet with recruiters. There's nothing that can replace the value of a face-to-face meeting to get a comfort level with one another. Recruiting is a numbers game, and some recruiters like to shortcut the relationship to get the numbers. There's recruiters out there just trying to serve their needs by hitting their daily quota rather than engage on a deep level to serve your needs. Agreeing to be represented after a 5 minute phone call increases the chances of things going south dramatically.

DON'T mislead a recruiter. There's nothing that will kill a relationship quicker than being dishonest. Good recruiters are your agent - they need to know the good, bad, and ugly in order to best serve you.

DO seek out recruiters that live and work in the area you're targeting. Local recruiters will be better connected and have a much better handle on the local job market. Agencies hit their numbers using regional recruiting call centers that "smile and dial" through resumes they find online and in their database. These recruiters generally have minimal experience and nearly no understanding of the local market. Some of the national agencies have outsourced these call centers to India.

DO disclose companies where you've applied and agencies that have already submitted you to their clients. Keeping this information to yourself makes both the agency and you look bad if your resume ends up on someone's desk from two sources. In some cases it will automatically disqualify you from consideration.

DO expect an ongoing line of communication. Good recruiters are proactive about keeping you in the loop on immediate and ongoing opportunities. You should expect to hear from them at least every week or two if there's a job cooking. If you have to initiate all the contact and they're slow to return calls (or completely unresponsive) find another agency that will interact with you without feeling like you're pulling teeth.

DON'T be afraid to say no to an opportunity. Recruiters wanting to hit their numbers might use strong arm tactics to get you to say yes - don't let them. Good recruiters understand if it's not right, it's not right. They'll reset and hopefully find something that will work for you.

With that said....

DON'T be afraid to explore something if you're on the fence. Agreeing to be represented or interview is simply one step in the process. If you're curious about something that may have potential but aren't certain it's okay to do some exploration. Just be sure to discuss your concerns with the recruiter before you agree to be submitted so they aren't blindsided if you say no.

DO fully understand all the aspects of their client's offer before saying yes. If you think your company might counter when you turn in notice talk to the recruiter about what they could do to keep you. If you still aren't sure about the offer clarify EVERYTHING before saying yes. One of the biggest things you can do to erode the trust of a recruiter is to say you're going to start with their client and then back out (especially if you back out the night before via email and yes, that has happened).

Working with an agency will uncover some great opportunities that might not have been available otherwise. It also gives you an advocate in the hiring process as well as during employment that can help you sort through critical decisions.

DON'T be afraid to engage with a good recruiter - they can be a great asset for your career.

Hot Verticals

An article in a recent edition of Staffing Industry Review listed some of the hot verticals for this year. They preface the list saying "there are still three years left on the current five year up-cycle" and based on what we've been seeing the author's predictions are spot-on.

Banking
Changes in legislation, consumer driven demand for more online / mobile services, and recent breaches of security are cited as reasons this industry hold great growth for IT professionals. Good news for Kansas City who is home to two large banks & a number of other regional players.

Healthcare
Cerner opened near the racetrack last year and announced big plans for the Bannister complex. Netsmart, a Cerner competitor in the EMR space, along with Perceptive Software are also driving plenty of demand in this vertical. We are also home to several large healthcare insurance companies that will continue to have project demands as healthcare grows and our lawmakers figure out exactly where the ACA is going to settle.

Oil & Gas
Kansas City is not much of a hub for the O&G world, but RiverPoint has a large client in Oklahoma in the business that has been going gangbusters. So this is especially good news for us.

Computer Systems
TMobile will let you trade in your phone every six months. Gearheads line up to get the latest iPad or xBox. Consumers want faster & better computer systems and that will drive demand for manufacturing. Garmin is a perfect example of a local company that will continue to benefit from this trend.

The article goes on to discuss the "Hot Segments" within the verticals. The "Big Three" in my mind are as follows:

Mobile Applications
This goes without saying - demand for mobile will continue to rise as more and more people move away from traditional PC systems to tablets and smartphones. Now might be a good time to sign up for KCITP's Mobile Midwest event. You could make a strong argument that mobile is number one.

Big Data
We live in a world where data is collected. HyVee is giving you a discount on gas in exchange for information on your buying habits. Facebook knows more about us than we know. Data is becoming a very hot commodity and people will be needed to organize, analyze, and (hopefully) protect it. Kansas City has a new Meet-Up Group dedicated to Big Data if you're interested. We've been seeing high demand for all sorts of data folks from analysts to ETL, Business Intelligence, and Hadoop.

Security
Security is my pick for the hottest segment. My parents Visa card was compromised by Target. My debit card was compromised by TJX. Because of it's overall importance to all the other categories on this list Information One only needs to look at the exponential growth of a company like Fishnet to know IS professionals will be in demand for years to come.

RiverPoint has delivered services to client in all these categories so we're very excited to see what 2014 brings.

Good start to 2014

The first part of the year is always busy here at RiverPoint. Each year the hiring frenzy begins as new budgets are released. As we look forward to 2014 here are some of the things we feel are cause for optimism for the KC Tech market.

Incubators

thinkBIG partnered with Microsoft Ventures. Microsoft has set up incubators in Tel Aviv, Bangladore, Bejing, Paris, Berlin, and now they've set up shop right here in Kansas City. It's a great opportunity if you have an idea, but aren't quite sure how to build it into a tech business.

TechStars (the #1 business Accelerator in the world) partnered with Sprint to give 10 companies seed money and support to develop Mobile Health solutions.

The KC Startup Village will also continue to provide opportunities for tech entrepreneurs in 2014. A list of other business incubators can be found here at the KCNext site.

Market News

Cerner opened their new 4,000 seat campus near the Kansas Speedway last year with bigger plans for the future. The Bannister Mall project expects to have the first employees on the campus by 2016. 

YRC has some room to breathe after the contract the Teamsters voted down in December was renegotiated & accepted. They aren't out of the woods yet, but this contract will give lenders confidence in restructuring YRC's debt and allowing them to continue operations. There's no doubt this is good news for the KC job market in general. 

FreightQuote announced they would hire 400 brokers today. More brokers means more business which will drive more job demand for this technology driven company.

All in all there's a lot to be excited about in 2014. 2013 was RiverPoint's 25th anniversary and we're excited for the first year of the next 25.

Quick Thoughts on 2014

December at RiverPoint is predictable only in its uncertainty. We’ve had years where clients take advantage of the holidays and snap up top talent before the holiday break and others where it seems like everyone leaves for vacation Dec 15^th.

While I’m not sure what’s going to happen over the next 29 days I am certain of one thing - come Thursday, January 2^nd hiring is going to kick into gear. Looking at trends in the marketplace, and information from the Department of Labor demand for software engineers, analysts, testers, systems administrators and most other technology related job categories will easily outstrip supply.

One thing that will be different from 2013 is the number of people making a change. According to a recent poll published in the LA Times 83% of the workers said they intended to “actively look for a new job” in 2014. How this impacts the KC market remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – a large majority of employees are missing something in their current role and will be looking to make a change in 2014.

We’re excited for the next year. We’ve added a number of new clients, and other key clients have experienced exponential growth providing some excellent opportunities for our associates. A number of our consultants were promoted into strategic leadership roles this year and that is a trend we expect to continue.

If you’d like to have a chat about how we can help you realize your goals are for 2014 drop me a line. The marketplace is as active as I’ve ever seen and 2014 certainly holds a lot of promise in getting people to the next level. I’d love to be a part of that for you.

I had a lot to be thankful for over the holiday, not the least of which is the support you’ve shown over the years. 

2014 & Beyond Economic Outlook

Last week I attended a technical staffing conference and one of the more interesting keynotes was from economist Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics. If you've heard an economist speak you know they like to use charts & graphs and usually leave you wondering if you should prepare your doomsday castle. The good news Alan had for us was technology is going to continue to be an industry with high growth and high demand for the foreseeable future. He pointed to several factors to remain optimistic about our economy overall:

• Leading indicators are pointing up.
• The government & Fed continues their stimulative monetary policy.
• Employment is rising (companies right‐sized).
• Banks are lending.
• Retail Sales are rising.
• Construction is improving.
• Deficit spending continues.

While you can argue continued deficit spending is just kicking the can down the road, it does provide reasons for short-term optimism. Other positive indicators in the marketplace included dropping delinquency on consumer debt, rising manufacturing, and an abundance of natural resources (especially natural gas) within our borders. However, as all economists tend to do, he gave us the good news first. He feels there is cause for concern in 2014 because of • Stagnant wage growth and ongoing high unemployment.

• Food, fuel and rent inflation.
• Higher payroll and Affordable Care Act taxes.
• An unclear deficit reduction plan.
• A looming bond and stock bubble.

The ACA is a hot button with a lot of people, and there's no doubt it's going to result in higher taxes, but when you look at the increase vs. the GDP there's been many other pieces of legislation with greater impact including the "Read my Lips, No New Taxes" Bush increase in 1990 and the Clinton increase in 1993. Even Reagan's increase in 1982 was a higher percentage of GDP than ACA.

The take-away was that 2014 is going to be a year where we'll see little growth, with the possibility that there will be a small set-back as people and companies adjust to the new healthcare law. Overall he was optimistic about things over the next 15 years. Which is good news for everyone.

Why are you Waiting to Network?

My dad has worked for the State of Iowa since 1960 (although he retired 8 years ago, he still contracts part time).  Can you imagine 54 years with the same employer?  

Dad started as a field child welfare worker and nine years later was the head of the Child Protective Services division of the Iowa Department of Human Services.  By the time he retired he was the #2 guy over Iowa's Department of Human Services, the largest state organization in Iowa.  He worked hard, sacrificed, and was rewarded with a fulfilling career spanning six decades.  

My how the world has changed.  Today your employer will not carry your career cradle to grave. Even government jobs - the last bastion of employer stability - no longer can guarantee you a life long career. Your career stability will come from you, not your employer. I’m not saying you won’t have a fulfilling career.  Because you can. I’m not saying you won’t have to work hard & sacrifice.  You will. 

What I am saying is you should always be looking for potential opportunities.  The average Gen X / Millennial will likely have a new employer every 4-5 years over the course of a career. There's no excuse for not wanting to expand your network.  We live in a hyper connected world where online and real time relationships can be discovered and nurtured with ease. Whether its a Google hang-out or Hack-a-thon, it's never been easier to network.

If you are not networking you are stunting your career growth.  The best time to plant a tree was 20 year ago. The second best time to plant one is right now. Don't wait any longer - make it a point to meet 3 new people this week. You never know where it will lead.

Side bar: CPS sent a case worker to our house when he was chief because of my 8 year old shenanigans.  “Say, aren't you my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss?”