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Talent Acquisition

3 Must-Read Books for Millennial Talent Acquisition

Whether you are an HR specialist or work for a talent acquisition agency; staying on top of what is going on within your industry is crucial. When hiring, you may have numerous resumes on your desk and a sea of frozen faces staring back at you, all convinced that they are perfect for the vacancy, but are they? Reading about talent acquisition can assist you in understanding hiring trends and what to consider when hiring recruits, and more specifically, millennials.

Staffing firms and the like are being stretched in terms of learning new strategies of hiring quality employees, however, a recent ‘speed bump’ includes the growing number of ‘millennials’. This generation is seeking more than just a job – they are looking for a self-fulfilling position that brings meaning to their lives, and they are not afraid to ‘job hop’ to find it.

A great salary is not going to cut it for them, you need to know who they are, what their driving motivation is, their interests, their desires, their goals.

You might already know what a millennial is looking for when it comes to searching for a job but if you want to be one step ahead of the game then these books might make for interesting reading – just incase there is something you’ve missed.

1. ‘Hiring for Attitude’ by Mark Murphy

Issues addressed in this book are based on studies from large and successful organisations such as Microchip, The Ritz-Carlton and Google. In a nutshell:

  • The five biggest reasons why new hires fail
  • Two quick and easy tests to discover the attitudinal characteristics that you need for your unique culture
  • The five-part interview question that gets candidates to reveal the truth about what their last boss really thinks of them
  • Where great companies really find their best candidates
  • The six words most interviewers add to the end of behavioural interview questions that destroy their effectiveness.

2. ‘96 Great Interview Questions to Ask Before You Hire’ by Paul Falcone

It will probably come as no surprise that this man is featured in the list of must-have reads because Paul Falcone has written lots of books and a number of them are best-sellers. In his own words he says his books, “focus on what he’s passionate about—strengthening the muscle of a company’s senior and frontline leadership teams.”

Now the title of this book gives huge clues as to what you can expect from it but here’s a very short insight in to what it contains.

  • Questions and answers are presented in an easy to use format, as well as helpful tips regarding the interpretation of candidates responses.
  • A great guide to enhance the emotional intelligence of the interviewer to see through superficiality, attract ‘winners’ and identifying subtle concerns.
  • Current information on background checks, challenges faced by hiring millennials and how to reinvent the employment applications to retrieve the information that you are looking for.

3. ‘75 Ways for Managers to Hire, Develop and Keep Great Employees’ by Paul Falcone

Ok, so not only has he featured once in our list but here is again. This is Falcone’s latest offering and “focuses on key employee retention and offers best practices that will enable the entire organization to operate more effectively by transforming front-line managers into exceptional—and highly promotable—leaders.”

It also includes:

  • Hiring for organizational compatibility
  • Motivating your staff during times of adversity
  • Delegating in ways that develop your staff
  • Performance reviews – skillfully completed
  • How to put an end to top performers restlessness
  • Communication – how to offer constructive criticism

In a society where almost everything can be bought, like certificates, identity documents and degrees – we understand that being a professional ‘talent scout’ can become a hugely stressful position for you.

However, equipped with a good understanding of the millennial generation and staying updated with the reading in the field of talent acquisition will most definitely benefit your skill set and enable you to hire the right recruits.

By Jörgen Sundberg

Founder of Undercover Recruiter & CEO of Link Humans, home of The Employer Brand Index.