Finance Recruiters Archives

Hire for Passion or Experience? Why You Need to Look at the Candidate Experience from the Other Side of the Table

It’s a candidate-driven market, which means more emphasis is being placed on the experience of the job candidate during the hiring process. A CareerBuilder survey revealed that “82 percent of employers believe there is little or no negative impact to a company when a candidate has a bad experience during the hiring process.” But this is not the case. Employees who have had a negative experience will quickly move onto a competitor and they may not ever consider your company again. Since job candidates have most of the leverage in today’s job search process, a bad experience in the hiring process will eliminate your company from consideration of the top talent you want to add to your organization.

One way to evaluate the experience of candidates is by going into their shoes and looking at it from a different angle. How can your company accomplish this?

From time to time, put yourself through the candidate application process. Does it seem complicated or too time consuming to fill out the application? Did you get an acknowledgment that you applied? How long until you actually get asked for an interview? These are all aspects that need to be evaluated on a regular basis if you want to focus on a positive candidate experience.

It’s easy to think your process works when you don’t have to go through it every day. If you don’t want to audit the process on your own and want to get a fresh perspective, ask someone in your organization who doesn’t directly work with the job candidate experience. You also could ask trusted colleagues, friends or other connections for their honest feedback.

Evaluate whether your company has had better success with hiring for passion vs. experience. In the past, there have been hires that have done outstanding based on either factor. Now is the time to see how they are doing. Are the people who were hired for passion still as enthusiastic about their jobs? Did the people who brought a lot of industry knowledge to the workplace stick around? Consider the time you or your company had to invest in getting the passionate new hires up to speed to complete the job responsibilities. With the experienced job candidates, did they meet the cultural fit of your organization or did a resume-based hire fall flat?

Interviews can be a valuable source of information too. They are often the first contact that candidates have with your company. In today’s climate, candidates are very eager to share their experience on company review websites like Glassdoor, or even on Google or Facebook. How are candidates rating their experience with interviews? Are they being challenged by the interview process or is it too predictable? Do they get an accurate image of the organization to help them make the best decision possible if they receive a job offer from your company? Or are they still confused about the job duties, culture and other factors?

From the side of the table that candidates sit behind, they are evaluating your company every step of the way. Be sure that your hiring practices meet their expectations and approval by putting yourself in their shoes once in a while.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, leaders in financial staffing in Chicago, will recruit and provide the accounting and finance staff your company needs. Contact our award-winning team of recruiters today to get started on finding the top talent your organization wants to add.

Is a New Graduate the Right Option for Your Job Opening?

Another crop of new college graduates will be wrapping up celebrations and entering the job market in the coming months with high hopes of landing great careers in the Chicago region. Is your company in the right position to offer a new graduate their first full-time job after college? How can you know that hiring a brand new college graduate vs. a seasoned professional is the right thing to do? If you do hire a new grad, what can you expect?

A survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), revealed that employers are planning to hire almost 10 percent more college grads this year than last year. Recruitment and hiring of new college grads is up for a number of reasons, including:

College graduates have learned the most recent skills in technology and business advancement
New college graduates are eager to prove themselves to employers, especially millennials and Generation Z
Today’s college graduates are better prepared for the workforce due to post-recession changes in the educational system

Hiring college graduates adds an influx of energy and excitement to your workforce. They are excited to start their first “real” job and get their career going in the right direction. Having a balance of college graduates with your seasoned employees can help your business grow.

The traits you should be looking for when offering employment opportunities to new college graduates are:

Strong interpersonal communication skills using multiple mediums and technology. College students have grown up with electronic communication. It’s important to evaluate their written and verbal communication since not everything can be done through email (or text messaging!)
The ability to work well with other generations in the workforce, especially older employees. Younger employees may think they possess all the answers, but developing a balance of respect for each generation can result in great gains for the company.
Above-average work ethic and dedication to long-term success in the company. A lot of employers believe they can teach a number of skills but don’t want to develop a new employee’s work ethic. Getting a long-term commitment would be the best of both worlds, but it’s difficult to expect younger employees to pledge the first 10, 20 or 30 years of their career to the first job.

While new grads will be limited in their work experience, they will be able to show a progression of these traits through their college projects and any practicum. Behavioral interview questions can still be beneficial despite their lack of career experience. The teamwork concepts developed in college provide ample opportunity for experience in a number of situations that can be transferred to the professional sector.

To partner with a three-time recipient of Inavero’s Best of Staffing® awards, contact Casey Accounting & Finance Resources today and find out how a top staffing agency in Chicago can help with all of your accounting and financial employment needs.

Employee Retention: Best Practices to Keep Your Employees Engaged

Employee retention is a big talking point at companies in every industry, with HR managers and other department heads trying to find new ways to keep employees – especially their most talented ones – from jumping ship. Part of employee retention is keeping employees engaged in what they are doing. If you are perplexed by poor employee retention and grumbling unhappy workers, your organization could be in trouble without prompt action.

Here, we will discuss the best practices to keep your employees engaged so they stick with your company and stay productive.

Commit to Open Communication

Let employees know what their jobs require and why their jobs are important to the success of the company. Make sure employees know that collaboration is welcome, especially when it comes to completing projects. Your company’s leaders must also encourage employee feedback and listen to it. Treat your temporary employees the same way and respect their ideas and contribution to the company goals.

Take Advantage of Social Media

Your company can create a safe place for employees to discuss issues within the industry with their co-workers by taking part in debates and other discussions. You could also create a Facebook page for new additions to your company where they can interact with each other prior to their first day on the job. They can also use the group to discuss how their first couple of months have gone at the company.

Create a Culture That’s Intentional

Creating an intentional culture is actually a good way to make sure that employees know how they are expected to act at the office and how the company wants them to fit in with others when it comes to their values. There is no reason to hide the corporate culture from employees. Hang posters, send newsletters, discuss it in meetings and write emails that explain the culture and the company’s values.

Support Employee Career Development

Employees want to know that they can climb the corporate ladder without having to switch employers multiple times. They do not want to get stuck in a dead-end job. If you want to keep your employees engaged, and in-house, make sure they have a defined career development path. Create learning opportunities and have a mentoring system in place for skills transfer.

Take one or two of the tips outlined above and put them to work for your company so you can keep employees engaged. The effort will be well worth it because of higher productivity and employees who will be more loyal to your company.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources is a trusted staffing firm that provides innovative and creative solutions. Contact us today and see how we will exceed your expectations as one of the top finance recruiters in Chicago.

Prevent Hiring Mistakes by Recognizing these Resume Red Flags

The resume is the first thing you will see when a candidate submits a job application to your company. Because of this, you can use the resume as a way to determine if the candidate should even be contacted for an interview. Some glaring problems on any resume can jump right off the page. On the other hand, some mistakes might not be as obvious, leading you to look a little harder to uncover them.

Here, we will discuss five red flags to look for, in order to prevent hiring mistakes.

Large Gaps in Employment

A large gap in employment is any period beyond two years. Candidates try to hide this by listing jobs using just years – rather than months and years – hoping they will get the resume in front of the recruiters and hiring managers. There could be a reasonable explanation for the large gaps. Take a deeper look at the candidate if the rest of the resume is impressive.

Using an Unprofessional Email

Email addresses are more important than people realize, because they say a lot about the person using them. Unprofessional email addresses might get a resume tossed in the trash before it is even read in full by the hiring manager. Unprofessional email addresses, such as ones that mention nicknames or sports teams, destroy the candidate’s credibility as a legitimate option for the company.

Resume Does Not Match the Job

Hiring managers do not have time to interpret what is written in a candidate’s resume. They also do not have time to figure out if the candidate meant to write one thing, but wrote another instead. Because of this, any resume that does not match the job for which it was submitted, will be put to the side. This means that the candidate does not have experience matching the job or did not take the time to tailor the resume to that specific job.

Failure to Use Keywords

Keywords help a resume stand out for any specific job, and also show hiring managers the skills required to work the job. When keywords are missing from a resume, hiring managers can deduce that the candidate did not take the time to properly write the resume. Often resumes are electronically searched based on keywords for the position.

Spelling Errors and Other Typos

Since avoiding spelling errors and other typos seem like they are common sense, we can’t totally ignore them. A resume with even the slightest mistake has grounds for being eliminated for consideration. It gives the impression that the candidate could not take the time to proofread their document before hitting the send button.
As a hiring manager or recruiter, it can be difficult to whittle down a pile of resumes. Do so by looking for the mistakes outlined above. Work with a recruiter at Casey Accounting and Finance Resources to provide you with pre-screened resumes that weed out problematic candidates before you invest time in interviewing.

What Does It Mean When They Say “We’ll Keep Your Resume on File?”

When an employer says they will “keep your resume on file,” what does this mean to you as a candidate? This is a common recruitment practice that can leave job seekers feeling dismissed and rejected. Understand what this means and that it’s not necessarily a bad thing as we will explain.

First off, it’s generally understood that hiring managers are bombarded with hundreds of resumes from candidates who vary from not qualified to overqualified. They must review all these resumes, and then choose a small handful of candidates who meet the job criteria, and then decide how to proceed from there. It doesn’t matter if your resume was the first or the last to be received, all candidates must be treated equally. However, if you have sent your resume once they have stopped accepting resumes for the position, it may not even be considered since the top candidates may have already been selected.

At this point, you may have received a letter or email thanking you for applying, but announcing that they have decided to move forward with other candidates at this time. Your resume will be securely stored in a file with the other candidates, and will be grouped by area of skills for future consideration. Very often, hiring managers will refer back to these resumes as new positions are opened, so you could get called back in a few weeks or months.

If you are one of the lucky few who are called for an initial phone or in-person interview, congratulations – you have made the first big cut! This means you have met the general requirements of the job you have applied for on the company’s website or online. Your resume and qualifications are likely to have been reviewed more closely and even by a few people on the hiring team. Your resume is now in a much smaller group of candidates, and you are being considered for the job.

Once you have a phone interview, or have been asked to come in for an interview, you are in an even better position. This is your chance to impress the hiring manager and convince the company how your contribution can help their company succeed. If you have this interview and you then get a rejection letter, your resume will end up being stored with the job type and skills, and may even be passed around the company (in a secure file) to see if any other managers or teams may be interested in you. Sometimes, the candidate they did offer the job to initially is unable to accept the position, and the interview process starts all over from the beginning.

Remember, getting told that your resume will be kept on file is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a required human resource practice to hold the resumes and applications of qualified candidates on file for at least six months for EEOC guidelines (equal opportunity). Feel free to reapply for work as you see positions come open you are qualified for, and send in your resume at least once every six months, or as asked.

As a nationally accredited, best-in-class recruitment firm, our staff is well networked in the accounting and finance community, tenured and industry certified. Contact Casey Accounting & Finance Resources today, and we will help you find finance careers in Chicago!

How to Get Your Accounting and Finance Credentials Noticed on LinkedIn

It’s true that working in the financial industry takes a lot of hard work, a strong education, and outstanding finance credentials. But all of this doesn’t matter if your LinkedIn profile is not getting noticed by the right recruiters. Why? Because 90 percent of all hiring companies are checking out finance and accounting candidates on LinkedIn and other social media platforms before calling them in for interviews.

As a serious contender, you might have an excellent LinkedIn profile that may be updated all the time, but it could still be hard to get it noticed. Here, we will discuss how to get your finance credentials noticed on LinkedIn so you can secure a solid job within the industry.

Tell Recruiters Who You Are

Right off the bat, make sure you tell recruiters who you are so they do not have to guess what you do for a living. Use keywords related to your financial profession in your headline so it is picked up by search engines. The headline is the first part of your LinkedIn profile that recruiters notice, so make sure it counts. Make sure you include your e-maill address, so it is easy for recruiters to reach out to you.

Validate All Claims Made on LinkedIn

If you make any claims about your financial background on your LinkedIn profile, be sure to validate all of them with strong recommendations. The recommendations should come from trusted sources, such as former employers, mentors, professors and co-workers who know you well and know your body of work. If you work independently in finance, you can acquire recommendations from clients.

Use LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform

LinkedIn offers a publishing platform that you should take advantage of if you want recruiters to notice your financial credentials. By writing articles and publishing them through LinkedIn’s publishing platform, you will be able to develop thought leadership within your industry. Make sure you write articles about your profession so recruiters who are looking for financial candidates can find your expertise on LinkedIn and then browse your profile.

Write a Top-Notch Summary

As with your headline, your summary on LinkedIn must include keywords related to the financial industry. If possible, write the summary in first person because it comes across better to recruiters. The summary should be no shorter, and no longer, than two sentences. After the two sentences, make sure the summary has a “proficient in” list that talks about your strongest skills.

Provide Examples

When writing a financial LinkedIn profile, make sure you provide examples of all claims made on your profile. For example, if you said you helped an employer save money, make sure the amount is mentioned in your profile. This helps recruiters understand what it is you accomplished at your job and how it helped the company. Also, write down how you saved the money in as descriptive a way as possible.

It is imperative that your LinkedIn profile is as strong as possible when searching for a financial job because it will help in the long run. Recruiters use LinkedIn more and more these days to find the best candidates, so be sure you follow the tips above to get noticed and invited to an interview.

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources, a winner of Inavero’s Best of Staffing® Client Award for the second consecutive year, can help your company meet all of its financial staffing needs. Contact our award-winning team today to get started!