TalentEgg: Our Eggcelent Journey

Today we had some visitors in the Egg Carton: 2 students from Guelph-Humber came to interview Daniel and I about TalentEgg and the process of finding entry level jobs online.

It was pretty fun having the opportunity to speak directly to students about some of the fears they have in relation to leaving the comfort and safety of education for the wild world of work and careers.

It was also somewhat funny. For example, in one part of the interview I explained how students have to sell themselves when applying for jobs…. And then said “but not on the street”. I’m 25 and immediately felt like a middle-aged woman making an inappropriate joke.

Daniel and I also had (too much) fun doing our ‘walk down the hall’ shot.

Hopefully our new friends from Guelph-Humber will share the final product with us and you’ll all get to view these magic moments for yourselves.

A recent survey that was released recently entitled “From Learn to Work 2008” and done by DECODE uncovered some interesting information about Gen Y priorities when it comes to evaluating a potential job opportunity.  A commonly held perception right now is that most Gen Yers, especially those coming straight out of school, are willing to hop from job to job fairly quickly and don’t really get attached.  The survey pointed out, however, that a strikingly large proportion actually wanted stability and long term careers at the companies they applied to.  This certainly goes against the current mainstream thoughts about gen y preferences and brings to light some major inefficiencies in current recruiting strategies.  The study shows that students care about things like training, the opportunity to advance within the company, work/life balance and the type of people they would be working with. Sometimes these things are even more important than the actual position itself as Gen Yers typically expect to rise within the company fairly quickly.

You can find an article by Alison Martin here about the same study.

A message to HR staff:

If you want to attract the best, most ambitious young talent out there, you better find a way to communicate more than just a job description to your potential employees.  You must show what makes your company the kind of place where someone would want to build a career.  It is time to start answering the question “What is it like to be a part of your company?”, rather than “What will I be doing at your company”.

What do you guys think?  What is important to you when you are looking for a job?

Another post, another lame title. I’m going to have to get better at this.

We’ve recently had the pleasure of receiving some feedback from someone who found a fantastic entry level role through TalentEgg.ca.

Matt Faust recently started working at EF Tours and things seem to be going very well! It turns out that Matt went through a bit of soul searching before landing at EF Tours, and he very kindly agreed to write about his experience for our Learn section.

Here is a brief excerpt:

“I had graduated from Dalhousie University in 2006 with a degree in International Development Studies and as soon as I got home, I began looking for a job. I wanted a job that would draw on not only my academic accomplishments, but my extra curricular ones as well….When I returned from university, I started working at a restaurant.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

If you’d like to contribute a story to the Learn section, let us know!

On Monday, I participated in the Conference Board of Canada’s Annual Compensation Outlook. And by participated, I mean I spoke on the topic of Gen-Y recruitment/compensation in the current economy.

I was asked to speak at this conference after the organizer saw an article I’d written for the Canadian HR Reporter…in JUNE. So, needless to say, I left preparation a little late and was panicking this past weekend realizing that my audience would be WAY more experienced in this field than I was.

I decided that whatever I said, it would have to be bold. And it sure was. I spoke about the value of resumes, the practice of on-campus recruiting, and even pushed the value of Arts students/soft-skills in the workplace.

I explained that I was not an expert in years, but that I was in a somewhat unique position in the market and as such, could potentially offer a unique point of view:

• As founder of TalentEgg, I am business owner who employs Gen-Y talent
• As part of TalentEgg, I am constantly in contact with students and new-grads who share their experiences getting into/in the workplace with us
• As part of TalentEgg, I am constantly in contact with employers who share their experiences hiring/on-boarding new-grads and students with us
• Personally and professionally, I am a huge ambassador for the value of soft skills in the workplace, and have been published on the subject
• And of course, at 25 years old, I am a ‘member’ of Generation Y

My speech was very well received and the audience had many questions afterward, ranging from ‘How do you motivate Gen-Y in the workplace?’ to ‘Do you think, in today’s market, that employers almost need to be making resumes for students, instead of the other way around?’.

I was also stopped by a few people after the presentation who wanted to express that they agreed with my points, and (in many cases), that they had children who were Arts graduates, who were exceptionally smart and motivated, and who couldn’t get a job.

Overall, a fantastic experience. And like my Facebook status says, I think I might like this public speaking thing. Hopefully more to come!

Yes, this is quite possibly the corniest blog title…ever…But never mind that!

A few observations on the disconnect between employers and students in Canada:

In our day-to-day dealing with employers and students, we’ve had the opportunity to pick up on a lot of trends in the entry-level recruitment market.

One that particularly stands out, and that has been coming up a lot lately is the fact that many big-brand employers do their campus recruiting in September for new-grad roles.

I’ve come to understand the reasoning behind it: Whoever’s first to campus gets the best candidates. If you wait too long, all the ‘top’ people are already recruited.

The problem is, the majority of students spend September registering for classes, gathering books, settling into their homes and social lives, joining clubs, trying out for sports teams, etc. For most, September is not the time to think about careers. Actually, scratch that. Most ‘involved’, well-rounded students are not thinking about careers in September.

So this is my conclusion:

For employers searching for students with top grades, or students who put career ahead of all other on-campus events, or students in particular programs where professors and career advisors make sure to alert students to Employers’ September time lines (i.e. accounting programs), September is probably the best time to get on campus and collect those applications.

But if you’re an employer that wants to work with students on THEIR schedules, and perhaps an employer who values extra curriculars over grades, then it might make sense to have a more balanced, full-year plan.

On top of accommodating busy students with conflicting schedules, this method has a few extra benefits:

• It allows employers to take the time to consider additional aspects of a candidate’s potential fit,
• It allows for more time to brand your opportunities- stand out from the rest.

Most importantly: Because Oct-Dec and Feb-April are much quieter on campus, it means there’s a chance to find the ‘hidden’ talent and to speak with that talent without all the ‘noise’ that comes with the busy September and January recruiting season.