Case Study Why Good Candidates are Ignoring You

Case Study Why Good Candidates are Ignoring YouCase Study Why Good Candidates are Ignoring YouThe quality of a job posting can have a huge impact on the quality and quantity of job seekers who apply. But what constitutes a quality job posting? To better understand what makes a good job posting, we examine specific examples and their results.Job TitlesThree jobs were posted on simplyhired.com, from comparable locations, for mid- to senior-level software engineers. The best-performing posts, numbers 1 and 2 below, were viewed by nearly twice as many people as job post number 3. Here are the titles along with the factors that helped determine their appeal to job seekers1. Senior Software Engineer/Software Architect2. Senior Software Developer3. Software Developer/Senior Software DeveloperIf you are willing to bestow a senior-level title on the right candidate, lead with that information. The first two jobs put the senior title first, while the third buries it after a mora junior title. A job title like post 3 might make a mid-level candidate question whether he is senior enough to apply, while a senior candidate might feel overqualified and not bother clicking on the listing.Varied terminology can help job listings show up in more searches and clarify candidates impressions of the role. Job post 1, the best performing title, uses the words engineer and architect in the same title, while job post 3 repeats the word developer. Make sure you include the most relevant, descriptive keywords in the title itself to be considered by the largest number of qualified candidates.Job DescriptionsOnce you have job seekers looking at your posting, the job description should encourage the most qualified candidates to click through and begin the application process. The following two job posts both have the title Graphic konzepter, but the descriptions vary greatly. Job A received more than twice as many clicks from applicants as Job B. Lets take a look at the reasons why.Here are the introductions for the two jobsJob A IntroductionGraphic Designer produces visual solutions for Companys retail and web channels, including Interior and exterior store signage, campaign and event collateral, direct mail marketing, advertising media, and web imagery, which includes homepage and email announcements. The ideal candidate has imaginative flair, is aware of current visual trends for retailers in our industry, has extensive knowledge of the latest computer design software, and an understanding of material costs and time limits which can impact projects.Job B IntroductionWere looking for a Graphic Designer who thrives off using design to make a business more efficient and in collaboration to the businesses overall marketing strategy. Someone who thinks outside of the box, and can take their design concept across different medias such as Print, Web, Products, Advertising and Social Media. We hope to find someone that enjoys a high-energy environment, as much as we do, an d is motivated and enthusiastic.This person should have an interest in our industry and wants to work with a company that is at the top of their industry game. This position can offer you the chance to have your work seen anywhere, we need someone who is able to stay on task, by schauplatz priorities, and doesnt get sidetracked by the everyday duties such as phone calls and emails.Candidates should have a degree in design or similar field. If candidates do not have a degree in design or related field, they should have at least 2 years experience in the field.The introduction to Job A is short and to the point. It clearly calls out the major duties of the graphic designer and gives a brief list of important personal characteristics. Job Bs introduction is twice as long due to its use of clichs and catch phrases (e.g., think outside the box, top of their game).Job RequirementsEach of the two jobs detail the requirements for the job both in an easy-to-read bulleted format.Job A provid es a snapshot of what the designers day-to-day duties might look like under the essential job functions. The list starts with concrete actions and then progresses to softer skills (think creatively, work within deadlines). Job A then lists the knowledge and skill requirements needed for the job. Again Job As list starts with explicit concrete requirements (degree, software proficiency) and then moves to softer skills (motivated committed), and completes the list with nice to haves (Knowledge of Word, etc. a positiv).Job B jumps straight to the requirements section, but intersperses nice-to-have qualities with required skills.Job A RequirementsEssential Job FunctionsDesign collateral including all exterior/interior signage, event signage, product brochures, sale flyers and couponsDevelop original campaign graphics for special projects and major retail eventsDesign web graphics for homepage, web banners, email announcements, and social media contentManage printing production process with print vendorsThink creatively to produce new ideasWork well with tight deadline constraintsPerform other tasks and responsibilities not yet identified, deriving from the changing need of the businessJob RequirementsGraphics Design degree and 3-5 years of professional design work experienceStrong writing and communication skillsExpertise in desktop publishing tools such as InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and FlashAbility to develop strategies for layouts and artistic concepts and create visual images that engage, attract and sell conceptsHighly motivated committed to the development of high-quality work and personal productivityWorking knowledge of Word, Excel, Outlook Access a plus.Job B RequirementsAll candidates should meet the following additional requirementsProficient on Mac with knowledge of PCProficient in Microsoft Word with knowledge of PowerPoint and ExcelProficient in Adobe Creative Suite including Illustrator, InDesign and PhotoshopPhotoshop retouchi ng skills a plusBasic web knowledgeVideo, editing, or motion skills a plusStrong typography skills with an eye for cohesiveness and brandingStays current on our industrys trendsAbility to copy write and proof readHighly organized with attention to detailKnowledge of and experience with Social MediaAbility to work independently with little supervision, as well as, in a teamAbility to juggle multiple projects often under a tight deadlineComfortable with input, criticism and changesBoth jobs finish by listing company benefits and instructions on how to apply for the job. Although the two job postings are similar in length and look for similar candidates, Job A received more than twice as many clicks as Job B. By clearly and articulately laying out the functions and requirements of the job, candidates were able to quickly browse Job As description, decide if they were a fit for the job, and apply.Job seekers looking at Job Bs description were faced with the more daunting task of wading through the initial rhetoric to understand what the job required. They also needed to mentally reorder the skills list to determine which skills were required and which were merely nice-to-haves. Faced with this challenge, more than half of the qualified candidates who might have applied to Job B decided to keep looking and ultimately applied to other jobs.Read Related ArticlesYour Message or Theirs? Take Control of Your Employer Brand

Fight Climate Change, Build the Wall

Fight Climate Change, Build the Wall Fight Climate Change, Build the Wall Fight Climate Change, Build the WallSea levels could rise to catastrophic levels over the next century if global warming continues. One recent report says the oceans could increase by about four and a half feet by 2100, inundating the homes of some 150 million people.Michael Wolovick, a glaciologist and postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University, has an idea on how to stem the possible disaster. In a recent paperpublished in The Cryosphere, the journal of the European Geosciences Union, he outlines a large-scale, long-term plan to keep the seas down. In short, it would mean a massive global effort to dump aggregate on the sea floor around Antarctica and Greenland to keep glaciers in place.For You The Best Engineering Stories of 2018 Model output for an intervention that regrounded Thwaites glacier, where brown represents bedrock, pale blue for grounded ice, purple for the floating ice shelf, and gray for t he sill. Dashed lines represent the initial ice surface. Image M. J. Wolovick and J. C. MooreThe glaciers that are most likely to contribute to rising seas are susceptible to marine ice sheet instability. The phenomenomoccurs where there is a slope along the ocean floor toward the center of a glacier. Warmer waters that cross the hill at the beginning of this slope rush to the base of the glacier where it meets bedrock and melts the ice. The glacier could eventually separate from the bedrock.By sending heaps of aggregate to the ocean floor at these crucial spots, Wolovick thinks we can cut off the entry point for warm waters, slow the melt, and keep floating glaciers in place so that they reattach to the bedrock.The fundamental designis pretty simple its just a big pile of dirt, and humans are pretty good at making big piles of dirt, he said. Wolovicks models show that just two piles, or pinning points, could keep a glacier in place. Those piles could later be filled in to make a wa ll that would slow glacier detachment to a centuries long process.The aggregate to make those walls or pinning points could be shipped to Antarctica in barges, dredged from the actual continental shelf near the target glacier, or quarried from exposed rock there.Developing the technology to build something underneath an ice shelf is probably the biggest technological hurdle to actually building this, Wolovick said. Everything else is simply the application of existing technology, although I shouldnt downplay the difficulty of operating in the Antarctic environment.Though creating these glacier retaining fences would likely be one of the largest civil engineering projects the world has ever undertaken, there are smaller scale examples of building on the ocean floor. Dubais Palm Jumeriah and the Hong Kong airport were both created by piling sand and rock, albeit in shallower waters.But Wolovick is under no illusions that the nations of the world are about to join handsand fundsto star t such a prophylactic project. Thats why the plans in his paper have construction starting a hundred years from now.The unwritten assumption there is that society wont make the money available until West Antarctica starts collapsing in earnest, he said. The flip side of this scenario is that, in desperation, humanity might rush to implement a poorly thought-out plan due to the political pressure to do something. Thats why I think that it is important for the scientific community to have well-researched plans ready to go if and when humanity actually needs them.Needless to say, Wolovick is not suggesting we can stop worrying about climate change and bank on the effectiveness of building sea walls a century from now.Glacial geoengineering is not a substitute for emissions reductions, he said. There are many harmful effects of climate change in addition to rising sea levels, and a warmer climate makes glacial geoengineering less likely to succeed.Michael Abrams is an independent writer . Read mora 3D-printed Lithium-ion Battery Could Power Electric Vehicles, Drones The Future of Nuclear Fusion A Celebration of Innovation For Further Discussion The fundamental design is pretty simple its just a big pile of dirt, and humans are pretty good at making big piles of dirt.Michael Wolovick, Princeton University

Whats the Best Advice You Ever Got From Your Dad

Whats the Best Advice You Ever Got From Your DadWhats the Best Advice You Ever Got From Your DadHappy Fathers Day to all the dads out there Lets be honest, your pop probably wasnt one to hold back on doling out life tips. Patrick Jones (Patrick_E_Jones) went to Times Square to ask people the best advice they ever got from their dads. The answers were varied and at timesunpredictable.