The 10 Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week

In yet another sign of candidates having the upper hand in today’s talent market, companies are luring workers with paid vacation . . . before their start date.

Yes, you read that correctly. Businesses like SevenRooms, a software company for the hospitality industry, are offering new hires — regardless of seniority — two paid weeks off before their first day at their new gig. The company also offers unlimited paid vacation, but with a twist: Employees must book five consecutive days off in both the first and second half of the year. According to Paul McCarthy, SevenRooms’ chief people officer, this policy helps ensure that workers take the time off that they need — without any guilt.

To learn more about SevenRooms’ generous leave policy, check out the Business Insider story at the top of our list below of must-read articles for talent professionals. Further down the list, you can also find out which U.S. companies made the cut in Forbes’ list of “best large employers”; why some well-known chains are pivoting to help-wanted ads on television; and why one New York Times business writer believes there’s a “liberation [in] being pregnant on Zoom and not in the office.”

Here are the must-read articles from this week:

1. This Company Offers New Hires 2 Weeks of Paid Leave Before They Start. It Then Makes Them Book 5 Consecutive Days of Vacation Twice a Year (Business Insider)

2. DEI in 2022: Key Trends and Findings (Culture Amp)

3. How to Hire for Talent Who Will Stick Around (Fast Company) 

4. America’s Best Large Employers (Forbes)

5. How to Cultivate Referrals from Rejected Candidates (ERE)

6. New Book Points to 5 Tactics for Improving Inclusive Hiring (LinkedIn Talent Blog)

7. Desperate for Workers, Companies Try Help-Wanted Ads on TV (The Wall Street Journal)

8. Coming Out at Work May Impact Productivity (Discover Magazine)

9. Crappy Hiring Practices That Need to Die, and Some New Ones We Need to Adopt (NonProfit AF)

10. How Moms to Be Get to Act More Like Dads (The New York Times)

This week’s must-listen podcast:

Why TA Leaders Need to Care More About Onboarding, Compensation, and Internal Mobility — With John Vlastelica (The Shortlist)

To receive blog posts like this one straight in your inbox, subscribe to the blog newsletter.