Even the most scientific methodology, a long drawn out search for the best talent or a huge pile of resumes, wouldn’t ensure the right hiring decision. Recruiters juggle between editing job descriptions, posting jobs, scheduling interviews, and a lot more. It, therefore, becomes a challenge to focus on hiring the right talent in the long run.

Following are few points that can be focused upon while hiring, in order to simplify the whole process and getting the best talent on board:

1. Top desirable skills in a candidate. When a job description is drafted, focusing on the top 3 critical areas is advisable rather than concentrating on all of them. This will help narrow down on a few number of candidates, those who deserve to get shortlisted.

2. Top reasons why someone would want to be hired to the position. The motivation that lasts more is position specific rather than company specific. As a result, before advertising the company, it is important to advertise the nature of job opening being offered and accordingly shortlist candidates who are fine with the profile.

3. Top reasons why someone would want to join the organization. The only way to have an employer brand is indeed by being a great place to work! Some companies need not look beyond their logo. Google is one such company and this happens because Google has been one of the top innovators and also one of the key trendsetters, enhancing their brand, visibility and demand among candidates. No wonder they get the best talent from all over the world.

Focusing on these three areas when making any decisions involving talent acquisition will result in improvements in the quality of shortlisted resumes. Go ahead and make a wiser decision!

Given a choice, which one would you select? EQ or IQ?

For several years (and probably more to come), Intelligence quotient or IQ, which is a measure of one’s mental abilities, has been almost the sole determiner of one’s output at school, college and especially workplace.

Having said that, this is what most of the job posts on any job portals nowadays demand:

That’s right. All of the aforementioned skills that have been highlighted are some emotional skills that recruiters would typically want from any candidate.

Does that mean IQ is not important?

Research suggests that once a person reaches his/her normal IQ threshold, it only remains 4 to 25% important in determining success in one’s career, while EQ takes over as the main factor.

Emotional intelligence quotient, better known as EQ, can be defined as the ability of a person to understand others’ and one’s own emotions and respond to it with validity and reliability. For example, we can imagine those people at workplace, who are simply used to working under a lot of stress and a different segment of people out there who succumb to even under low stress levels  altogether.

The difference lies in the emotional intelligence of people. All individuals have separate levels of threshold, and their behavior depends a lot on their emotional intelligence. Probably it will be safe to comment that in any companies, people who possess the talked about attribute are preferred compared to others who do not.

Doubtful? We have results to back ourselves up.

Evidently, a combination of average intelligence is still preferred over Superior intelligence with low people skills.

Therefore, being a candidate, how can you enhance your people skills?

Let’s make it brief and simple:-

1. Interact with coworkers and build relationships with them
2. Try having a positive attitude at work
3. Think over any problem that seems to bother you. It’s perhaps amazing how you can easily detach yourself from an issue that has been bothering your work life, just by taking some time off and pondering over it.
4. Have an internal focus of control and try finding out your shortcomings instead of blaming the rest for mistakes.
5. Going to a trip alone helps!

Last but not the least; did you know that happy workers are productive workers?

The journey from college to office environment is not easy for fresh graduates. Every year Indian colleges and universities churns out millions of graduates who joins the job market. To stand out from the crowd as a potential employee, it is desirable to pep up your skills, aptitudes and attributes in the right way to land your dream job. Here are a few tips that can help you to get job ready:

Develop soft skills

When employers are looking to add freshers in their organizations they generally prefer candidates with better soft skills. Because they know technical skills can be taught and excelled through experience but soft skills on the contrary are tied to an individual’s personality which takes longer time to learn and inculcate. Now you must be wondering what exactly are soft skills? Soft skills are more of personal attributes that describes a person’s ability to interact with people, communicate thoughts & ideas clearly, people skills, ability to stay calm and positive even in difficult situations. Evaluate yourself in the soft skills area by putting yourself in situations where you need to communicate and interact with others effectively on important topics or any project related task, to get things done or put a message across well.

Be present at different popular platforms

Social media channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, among others are great way to find a suitable job. But there are other platforms and events such as job boards, career fairs, your professional and personal networks which can be utilized to land a job.

Apply for jobs you would love

When you choose to apply for a job always pick a field or domain which you are truly interested in. Often interviewers are turned off by lack of seriousness on the part of the candidates about the job profile or company. When you are passionate about something it shows in the interview and companies are looking for people who are passionate and willing to go that extra mile, to add more value to the role.

Think out of the box

If given a choice, companies generally choose candidates who think outside the box to solve problems or tasks at hand. Job seekers with entrepreneurial skills, excellent interpersonal skills and great problem-solving qualities weigh higher in comparison to other candidates in an interview.

Highlight your internship experience

Even though you are new to the job market do your best to highlight your bits of experience as an intern at different organizations. And if you don’t have any internship under your name then showcase your unique abilities e.g. grasping new concepts quickly, technology savvy, promoting a cause at social media channels etc. can help you get noticed by employers and increase your chances of hiring immensely.

Prepare for your interview

Attending an interview doesn’t guarantee you a job. It is important that you prepare well ahead of the interview to be able to hold intelligent discussions with the interviewer. Do your homework by visiting the company website, learning about its products/services and its involvement in social causes to know about the company.

An interview can be your game-changing opportunity where you can sell yourself effectively to hiring managers and land your dream job. But interviews are nerve-racking experiences even for experienced candidates. And if you are on your way looking out for a new position, it’s important that you avoid common interview mistakes that job seekers often commit:

Inappropriate attire

Your dressing sense says a lot about your personality. And when you go for an interview, it is imperative that you look polished and professional. Formal attire suits best for an occasion like interview – it gives you a cool and collected look.

Not doing research on the company

When you go for an interview without doing proper research on the company, you lose the chance to have a well-informed discussion with the interviewer. Knowing your potential employer’s domain, products and services, will help you to get better understanding of the company and the job role.

Unprepared answers & questions

No two job interviews are the same but you must prepare yourself for few most frequently asked questions like ‘Tell me something about yourself?’ ‘What are your strengths and weakness?’, ‘Why should we hire you?’ and more. Often candidates babble while answering these common questions. Answering to the interviewer’s questions is not enough, you should also ask few important questions about the company e.g. market position, company culture and management style. This shows your level of interest in the company.

Lying

Hiring managers are experts in understanding human behaviors and they are most likely to catch you, if you are lying about something. In an interview, if you happen to drift to a topic which you are clueless about, it’s always better to acknowledge your lack of knowledge rather than babbling something incorrect. Remember, covering anything with lie will not help you in the long run.

Saying too much/little

Saying too much or too little can have negative impact on your interview. If you give too many details, the interviewer may lose the string of discussion and interest. On the other hand, if you give brief information, he may become suspicious that you are hiding something.

Asking about wages too early

Well, wages is one of the few important factors that led job seekers search for a new position. However, it doesn’t mean that you should be asking about salary when the time isn’t right. Bring up your salary concerns only when the interviewer asks you about your expected wages.

Failing to listen to the interviewer

Succeeding in an interview depends a lot on your ability to listen, understand and respond appropriately to what the interviewer is saying. If you are too busy forming your responses then you may miss out critical information given by the interviewer, regarding the opening or company.

Landing to the next role is not always easy. Follow the above tips and practice your interview in advance, you will definitely increase your chances of landing your next job sooner than you thought of.

Sometimes writing one’s own resume can be tedious and frustrating. Oftentimes, to create professional resume job seekers follow common formats & styles and end up with a boring resume. Undoubtedly, your resume plays a critical role in grabbing potential employers’ attention. Employers on an average get 72 resumes for a single job post and spend approximately 6 seconds on each resume. Your task is to make your profile interesting enough to hold employers’ attention. Here are few tips that can help you stand out above the rest by creating an interesting resume:

Ditch your outdated career objective

Your career objective is one of the most important information in your resume that can make right impressions on potential employers. To enhance your chances as a potential candidate, avoid committing common mistake like using adjectives such as ‘dynamic’, ’unique’, ‘passionate’ and ‘innovative’. Rather your objective should be more aligned with the job opening’s skill requirements, the organization’s overall goals and reason why you consider yourself a perfect match for the role.

Show rather than telling your professional story

Instead of giving detailed career information like what were your job descriptions, what you did on a daily basis, in your resume. It’s better to show potential employers what challenges you faced at work and how you tackled them? Giving real work situations and specifically how you had resolved work-related issues, give employers the ability to gauge how efficient you are at dealing and solving critical problems at work.

Don’t miss out on important keywords

Including right keywords is the key to be considered for a job opening by potential employers. Use relevant domain and profile related keywords and get noticed by prospective employers quickly.

Your resume is the first gateway through which you can stand out from the crowd. Ensure to make your resume interesting, to get an edge over other applicants and attract employers’ attention successfully.

Going for an interview is like going for a first date. You want to look and behave your best at your first date/interview, to grab your potential date/employer’s attention. Like in a date so in an interview, you get only one chance to create an impeccable first impression, to prove why you are the perfect match for the job. Interestingly, tips that work successfully in the dating world can be applied in an interview, to get great results.Here are few tips from the dating world which can improve your chances of qualifying for the next round of interview and hopefully help you land your dream job:

Do research – Show interest in your date

Be prepared before you land up for the interview like you would do before going out on a date. Learn about the company, industry it deals in, products or services, missions, goals and competitors, to show you are interested in working with them. When you show interest in the company’s values, missions, and goals genuinely, your chances of being considered as a potential candidate become higher.

Pay attention to your personal grooming

You definitely would like to look great on your first date, without trying to look too flashy. Same for an interview, you need to take care of your personal hygiene to look well-groomed and decent. Wear formal clothing and accessories, which are appropriate for work environment.

Be on time – Respect your date’s time

As on a first date, reaching on time is important while attending an interview as well. An interview is your first opportunity, to make a good impression before  your potential employer. So better be on time. If necessary, plan well ahead to reach on time and if you need to cancel or reschedule an interview, inform the employer at least a day in advance.

Think positive and be confident – Impress your date

Like your date, a company too loves a person with positive attitude and great confidence. The key to winning your potential employer’s attention is through your confidence and can-do positive attitude.

Avoid saying anything negative about your Ex

When asked about your past experiences in previous company, you may be tempted to criticize your ex-employer or colleagues. But it’s always better to refrain from saying anything unimpressive about your former employer or others. If you vent out negative comments about your previous employer, the interviewer may view you as unfit for the job.

Don’t pressurize yourself – This is not the end of the world

Even if you like the job profile or think the company is amazing, don’t pressurize yourself too much. As it can make you more nervous and affect your performance at the interview. Remember, this is not your only or last chance to land a job; there are hundreds of companies and job openings out there.

Like in dating, when you are serious about your date and willing to take the relationship forward, you want to show your best self. Similarly, if you are serious about landing your dream job, you need to create an impressive first impression of yourself before the potential employer, to go to the next round of interview.

World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated worldwide on 5^th of June every year. Run by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the celebration raises awareness on the importance of taking positive environmental measures to save our ‘Mother Earth’. The United Nations General Assembly has declared the theme of WED 2014 as the International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), raising awareness of their unique development challenges and successes. We believe in doing our bit and contributing positively towards the common cause of saving the environment.

Saves Trees – Reduce Paper Waste

Hiring in the traditional method involves a lot of paper work such as printing question papers, resume, HR form and others. Pinhopes’ online recruitment process hardly requires candidates to print a call letter, his/her resume, fill long forms and others, thus saving trees by reducing paper waste.

Green Approach – Reduces Carbon Footprint

Generally interviews require shortlisted candidates or employers and sometimes both to travel increasing carbon footprint. With Pinhopes, employers can screen a candidate’s 1-min USP video profile online and conduct a video interview to judge his/her suitability for a job anytime, without travelling anywhere. This helps save time, travel expenses and reduce harmful carbon emissions.

Lower Logistics Requirements

Organizing an interview requires employers to take care of the candidates’ stay and transport facilities, booking a conference room in advance, scheduling an interview with hiring manager and senior management, depending on the role. With Pinhopes’ video based online hiring process, companies can screen candidates online, request a video interview, check skills and personality match for a job and almost meet the candidate in person virtually. This gives employers all the benefits of traditional hiring method along with the additional advantage of minimizing logistics costs.

With Pinhopes whether you look for a job or for the right talent, you can always contribute towards saving the environment with our go green approach.

A cover letter gives you a chance to make a case for yourself, and cover everything you cannot express in your resume. It affords you an opportunity to come across as real people and explain your suitability for the desired position, to potential employers. Companies often look for thoughtfully written cover letters, as a method of screening applicants who lack the necessary skills or interest for the said position. Cover letter can thus form into a marketing vehicle for any prospective job seeker.

A modern day equivalent of a covering letter is the Video Application like the one found on Pinhopes! As a job seeker, you can highlight your strengths, make a case for yourself, and introduce yourself in person (almost). With a bit of thought, the video application could turn into a key differentiator, and draw the attention of the interviewer/hiring manager to your profile among the sea of resumes. Video Application could be one of the most beneficial features for a fresher who has no previous job experience to showcase their suitability for a job.

With the advent of new media technology, the traditional cover letter is losing some of its sheen. Employers are now looking for interactive and effective medium like video, to hire the best talent in reduced time, cost and effort. If you are ready to land your dream job, switch to video application and stand greater chances of getting noticed by potential employers.

Video interviews are becoming immensely popular in today’s workplace. Today, companies are increasingly catering to global clients with diverse resource requirements, therefore hiring via video interview online, is the need of the hour. Video interview expedites the online hiring process, saves time, reduces cost and enables meeting potential job seekers virtually. It also helps employers screen more candidates and zero-in on the best matched profiles faster from any location. Check how our new video questionnaire feature helps employers recruit the smarter way:

Consistency: Using video technology for interviewing candidates assists employers to set customized interview questions for specific job roles and levels within a time frame. A set of pre-determined script and format can get employers a great deal of consistency, as job seekers are asked the same set of questions.

Flexible & Saves Time: Video interviews give employers the flexibility to review, share and rate a candidate’s profile in real-time easily. It also helps them to interview a host of applicants online at a time, reducing time to meet each one of them in person.

Reduce Recruitment Cost: Time is money for HR departments. Through video interviews, employers can screen a pool of candidates within a short span of time. This new media recruitment technology is very useful, when the resource is staying in a different location. It can help employers reduce hiring cost by up to 50%.

Select Right Talents Faster: Video interview allows employers to gauge soft skills and personality of a candidate. It also helps employers pick the best suited candidates for an opening quickly.

Pinhopes believes in making online hiring process effective, economical, time-saving and result oriented. Our one-way video interview feature helps employers hire top talents online in a simple and swift manner.

Traditional job search method is tedious, time-consuming and obsolete, often delivering insignificant results. Existing online job portals requires you to fill long forms, search for suitable job postings in an irrelevant database, offers limited option to stand out, low privacy and lacks multiple job application option. Now with Pinhopes, you can search for jobs seamlessly on a simpler, swifter and secure online recruitment portal.

Register within 30 Seconds – No More Long Forms to Fill:

Get registered within 30 seconds and minimize your efforts with our simplified registration process. Register with a resume in few simple steps, and you are ready to apply for jobs.

Relevant Job Search Results – Say Goodbye to Irrelevant Database:

Now you don’t have to spend inordinate amount of time searching for suitable jobs in an irrelevant database getting few relevant results. With our advanced filters and built-in search intelligence, you get only relevant to exact job search results. Thus, getting exactly what you have been looking for in less time and effort.

1-Min USP Video + LinkedIn Profile – Stop Counting on CV to Stand Out:

With increasing use of new media in recruitment, you need more than a resume to showcase your personal brand and stand out from your competitors. Regular CVs alone are not enough to convince potential employers why you should be chosen for a job. Let your 1-min unique self-promoting video and LinkedIn profile do the personal branding for you and help you get noticed by employers.

Apply Multiple Jobs at Once – Why Waste Time?:

Existing online hiring portals make applying multiple jobs a chore. With Pinhopes, you can favorite any number of jobs and apply together, saving time and efforts.

Secure and Complete Privacy:

Often online recruitment portals compromise candidates’ privacy by selling their details to third parties. Also candidate’s job search activities are not kept private from their current employer. At Pinhopes, we take privacy very seriously. We don’t share or sell your profile details to any third-party. With us your profile is completely secure and kept private from employers to whom you have not applied for a job.

Pinhopes has simplified job search efforts for candidates with innovative features, helping them to land their dream job faster.