A Reality Show that Shows Reality
For the last four years, I have been part of an extraordinary project, a reality show called Top Recruiter. You might say that it is not that extraordinary- reality shows are part of today's entertainment. But for my industry? It is quite unusual. The curious nature of promoting a business or exposing a brand has rapidly changed over the last ten years as social media birthed magical new genres of entertainment, marketing, and business communications. And yes, even job search and recruiting.
Hiring Today is Big Business
CEOs consistently declare that hiring and retaining quality talent are their most important concerns. It makes sense that job search and hiring practices would come under scrutiny - they should come under heavy scrutiny. We have a deficit in employment across the globe. There seems to be not enough work and too much technology or too many people unemployed and not enough people caring. Whatever your view, you cannot deny that job search has changed.
Job Seekers Move in a Fast-Paced Online World Now.
Gone are the days of the walk-in apply process or a slow cruise through the newspaper want ads on a Sunday afternoon. Job search today includes interactive job boards, online research, an updated professional social profile, web-based and face-to-face networking, as well as a still-favored standard - referrals from friends and family. Not everyone is up to the task - not everyone has mastered social professionalism and sadly, there are few resources which truly benefit the wanting job seeker.
The Latest...
The latest stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released September 5, puts the number of unemployed at 9.6 million - but is this a true statistic? How many people have given up? How many are underemployed or working a couple jobs to get by? With 47 million people receiving government assistance, something continues to be wrong with this picture.
A few years ago, Chris LaVoie of LaVoie Entertainment saw an opportunity to educate both sides of the fence - the job seeker and the recruiter/hiring manager. What if he used the internet, as well as his incredible talent for producing quality video content, his love of the recruiting industry, and his passion for entertainment? What if he crossed these four streams to create a web-based reality series to educate the job seeking public about hiring today and also shine the spotlight on top recruiters, some of the most successful in the biz?
And thus Top Recruiter, the Competition was born. Top Recruiter recently launched Season 3 to much acclaim with Episode 1 introducing this season's players - the competitors. With new episodes released every other week, LaVoie has discovered how to use video sharing platforms Vimeo and YouTube, along with his well-oiled social media machine to share job search insight to hungry job seekers and also incite thought and necessary change in how companies market and hire with his work - work which he has rightfully declared #TheMovement. Movement meaning change and innovation - something which I like to call flex-agility. Flex-agility is the ability to be flexible and contort while still moving forward, making shift happen.
The Inside Scoop
Providing information to job seekers about how recruiters think and revealing oft-clouded insight into the recruitment process gives jobseekers a chance - a chance for clarity, to understand that job search is just as hard on the hiring company as it is on the job seeker. And guess what? Job seekers have rights. They have a right to know recruiter lingo and to gain an understanding of hiring processes. They have the right to be told they didn't get the job instead of being hung out to dry. They also have the right to do their own research about the hiring company and interview them right back.
Too much is not understood by the masses - by the unemployed. And far too much is accepted of the recruiter. Accountability resides on both sides of this fence. An informed job seeker cannot only take responsibility, but also hold a recruiter accountable.
Knowledge is power.