The ERE Recruiting conference took place in sunny San Diego April 22-24, and in between playing recruiter bingo and enjoying a smoothie bar, recruiters were treated to all sorts of valuable hiring knowledge and insights. Here were some of our favorite sessions at #ERERC.
Sarah Cooper wrote “100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings” and she was a former Google design manager. She brought her wisdom and humor to San Diego in an opening session that got the conference started off perfectly. Her insights went from dating in the workplace (“If you meet someone at work, at least you know he has a job”) to the subject material of her book, looking smart in meetings:
Sarah also talked about recruiting cliches that are getting a bit stale, like company cultures that all sound the same, interview questions that don’t accomplish anything, and bizarre hoops candidates have to go through.
Data and AI are some of the most promising tools for recruiters, but these tools are evolving so rapidly that it’s hard to keep up. Heather Bussing, an employment attorney, writer, and analyst, talked about the ethics of these tools and the legal risks associated with them. These risks include discrimination issues if your AI isn’t programmed right, security breaches if it’s not secure, and privacy rights associated with big data. She talked about these issues and how to balance them with the strength of data, making it clear that data and AI are to be taken seriously.
Diversity and Inclusion programs are highly important for the workforce, yet these programs can’t be just a few boxes to check. True D&I programs should have good intentions, be planned thoroughly, and they should continue long after the hiring process. Julie Fletcher, Chief Talent Officer at AMN Healthcare talked about she and how her company’s recognized for their D&I strategy, which includes a constant dedication to equality before and after hiring, actively eliminating unconscious bias, and implementing strategies for recruiting, hiring and promoting diverse employees.
DigitalOcean went from 200 to 400 employees in a year alone, and they maintained a 92 percent approval rating from candidates on their interview experience. How? By using a balance of AI and candidate experience that the other AI speaker, Heather Bussing, would approve of. Olivia Melman, the manager of Recruiting Operations at DigitalOcean, talked about how her company preps candidates for screening interviews by providing resources, uses technology to streamline candidate travel for in-person interviews, and tracks promising applicants who didn’t get offers so they can nurture those candidates for future positions.
So many conference sessions focus on effective job postings, interesting interview questions, and efficient applicant tracking systems. We very rarely talk about body language, yet a recruiter can throw off the whole hiring process if they show they’re not interested by keeping their arms crossed or they can’t tell a candidate is nervous because they can’t make strong eye contact. Jeff Baird, a certified body language trainer and career coach, talked about how recruiters can improve their relationships with their candidates by controlling their own body language and recognizing their candidates’ body language.
Speaking of top talent, check out our Quality of Hire Resource Center.
What were your favorite sessions at #ERERC?
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