Last Friday (8/26) I hosted my first Creative Coffee Chat for Creatives who want to drink coffee. So that’s not really what it’s called, because I haven’t branded it yet, but it is what it is. Here is a sampling of questions that were covered, and since I do not record these sessions, the answers are as close to what I actually said as possible. Minus a few “ums” which I am working on.

What trends are you seeking in the employment market?

It’s an interesting market right now. What is occurring now in employment and hiring is not something we have ever seen before. People are now conditioned to work remote and changing that will be very difficult. Talent has a lot of pull in the types of jobs they will consider. Most people looking for work prefer remote or at the least, a limited hybrid schedule. Many employers are asking people to return to the office, either now or in the near future…. generally, again, a hybrid situation. While the percentage of businesses that allow 100% remote has increased significantly since before the pandemic, I believe over time there will be a continued shift by employers to have people back in offices. In the long term, employers still hold more cards than talent. But talent won’t give these cards up easily.

What can I do, as a recent graduate, to stand out in the job market?

Network, do your research, engage and connect. Network – be someone who is involved in the community in which you belong. I once met a recent grad at a networking event…she was there by herself and clearly felt out of place…but she was there. We started talking, I was impressed by her willingness to get into the community and I ended up finding her an associate level account services role. She is now a digital marketing manager for a major consumer brand. She wanted it and made it happen.

I’m hiring and I have a hard time finding qualified talent.

I’m not surprised. Again, if you read the news we are all led to believe that talent calls the shots. And some do and always will but by and large, if you are having a hard time attracting talent, the problem is not that there isn’t great talent out there, they just aren’t interested in your company. You have to ask yourself why, and what can you do to change that?

Attracting talent really starts with everything you do. It’s not just one thing, like hiring a good recruiter or recruitment agency. It’s the whole ecosystem of your business that sets you up to succeed or fail as a hiring organization. Companies tend to roll out the red carpet for the best talent and ignore the rest. That’s is a real transactional approach and not how you build an employer brand.

What do you tell someone new to recruiting?

Someone once said that “recruiting is having a bunch of coffee meetings with people you don’t want to have coffee meetings with”.

Recruiting has many flavors so it’s hard to cover them all, but at the core, it’s about them, not you. Them being the person engaging with you to hire, and the people you are trying to hire or place. And since it’s not about you, it’s also something you can do only so much to control. Set guardrails, be a good person, do the right thing always and have others best interests in mind.