It’s been another busy week, from hiring projections to layoffs, the news of a recession and a weakened economy continues.  Bloomberg recently ran a story showing U.S. employers cut the highest number of workers since 2003 bringing the unemployment to 5.1%.

If you have ever considered – or have implemented a pay-per-click campaign for your jobs, here are some things to consider.

And great news for progressive organizations using Facebook communities for branding or recruiting – instant messaging is on the way.

The CUhire blog post every Wednesday is about delivering recruiting news and hot topics from other sites, newsletters and blogs.  Some great information caught my attention recently!

First, for Recruiting, Research and Sourcing professionals (if you’re not you can still learn something too) I came across a post this morning that has some valuable search techniques – from a site called GoogleGuide.

And, with all of the talk about social media and networking be sure to check out "Social Recruiting:  Corporate Adoption of Social Media for Recruiting and Retention".

If you consider competitive intelligence important in researching organizations and passive candidates, LinkedIn released some new features on their site that have a tremendous amount of value for a variety of users.  Check out the video for an overview.  Of course, if you haven’t had the chance to join the CUhire Credit Union professionals group on LinkedIn, check it out and join.

There is a lot of conversation about the competitive labor market, and the importance of creating an engaging experience for candidates.  As noted in a recent CUhire Press Release, one quick, easy and FREE way to do this is through the partnership CUhire created with Standout Jobs.

With the Reception service from Standout Jobs, you are able to give candidates the information and interactivity they have come to expect.  Key benefits to the Reception service include:

• Creating a career site to showcase your culture and team
• Managing the hiring process more efficiently
• Marketing and tracking jobs
• Building on-going relationships and finding great talent

To showcase the Reception product, CUhire created the following Credit Union Jobs page to reinforce the overall ease of use and effectiveness.  Besides the fact the product is FREE through the partnership, you do not need to have IT expertise to get your own site up and running…  Ours took about 20 minutes, take a look here:

We’d like to challenge you to create a more engaging and interactive career site for your candidates! The first Credit Union to create their site through Standout Jobs will receive a free "platinum" job posting on CUhire’s Credit Union job board.  Just post a comment on this blog post once it is completed.

A FREE job site, FREE job posting, and a more engaging experience for your candidates.  There is no catch, it’s a win-win.

• Be proactive, seek out your employees and ask them to think about the best people they have worked with.  Depending on the role you are trying to fill, ask questions like “Who was the best manager?” or “Who provided the best customer service?”.
• As part of your orientation process, ask new hires for names or at a minimum, talk about the importance of referrals to your Credit Union.
• Network, or better yet, blog with other Credit Unions and employers to see what is working for them.  Brainstorm, and share best practices.
• Provide an inexpensive gift like a gift card or movie tickets.
• Provide recognition.  Be creative – use what works best in your Credit Union.  A newsletter, staff meeting, etc.
• Brand your referral program.  Create a slogan, remind people the reason behind their referral.
• Set goals.  Motivate, and raise awareness.  Make a chart or graph touting results.
• Give a rotating plaque, put their picture in it, put it in the lobby.
• Lunch with an Executive.  Either one on one, or ask your CEO to hold a quarterly luncheon – include those who have referred candidates and those that have been hired through referrals.
• Say thank you! Remember to stop by to say thanks, or pick up the phone if you’re in a different location.
• Hold a drawing for those employees that have referred candidates.  Give a free vacation day, talk about a motivator!