6 Essential Elements of a Killer Career Page

With national unemployment at its lowest level in six years and employee confidence at a new high, now is the time for employers to get serious about how they're appealing to job seekers–particularly through the career page. Beyond just a list of open positions, a career page is an opportunity to highlight your company's people and culture as well as what sets it apart from other businesses. With that being said, here are six essential elements of a killer company career page:

13 Communication Practices of Exceptional Leaders

Great leaders are great communicators. They share their vision in a way that inspires others and projects a contagious enthusiasm. But this ability doesn't always come naturally. We've all experienced the pep talk that falls flat: the gung ho "take one for the team" speech that triggers sarcasm instead of motivation.

So how do some people stimulate belief, loyalty, and a commitment that defies logic, while others are dismissed and disrespected? With deliberate intent and lots of practice.

Exceptional leaders connect and communicate at a level that few others achieve by consistently following these 13 communication habits.

Work-Life Balance is Good for Business!

We often think of work-life balance as something that we can give employees by offering more flexible work schedules, or a holistic benefits package. Instinctively, it seems like giving employees time to manage their lives should help them achieve this elusive balance–which so many experts tell us we need.

But is that enough?

Flexible work schedules and an eye for work-life balance are good for business. A study last June by the White House Council of economic advisors showed a "significant positive relationship between work-life balance practices and total factor productivity" and recommended that "wider adoption of such policies and practices may well benefit more firms and workers, and the U.S. economy as a whole."

7 Signs It's Time to Optimize Your Recruiting Function

Recruiting is a totally different function than it was just 10 years ago. The traditional role of the recruiter has expanded and evolved so drastically it can feel nearly impossible to keep up. Latest tools, best practices, and an ever-growing list of new job requirements for talent acquisition specialists requires a constant need to evaluate, assess, and optimize the recruiting process. Let's do a quick audit of the common signs of a broken recruiting function.

Leaders, Recalibrate Your Course for 2015

Millions of people watch the Times Square ball drop during the last 60 seconds of every passing year. According to the Official Site of Times Square, the actual notion of a ball "dropping" to signal the passage of time dates back long before New Year's Eve was ever celebrated in The Big Apple. The first "time-ball" was installed atop England's Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. This ball would drop at one o'clock every afternoon, allowing the captains of nearby ships to precisely set their chronometers (a vital navigational instrument).

We Are All Becoming Millennials

It's hard to read anything about business today and not trip over references to millennials and the changes they are bringing to the workplace. It has everyone in something of a lather.

It is true that there are major changes afoot in modern business and they have happened with the influx of the latest generation of workers. But those changes are bigger than any one cohort.

HR Tech Tips to Use at Your Recruitment Events

Each year, the iCIMS crew heads out to the HR Technology Conference to network and meet with thousands of HR professionals from all over the world. Attending a trade show of this size provides several benefits for an organization, from branding exposure to top sales opportunities. On my way back from the conference this year, I noticed the same benefits are true for attending recruitment events. Here are some easy-to-use tips that your team can put into action to help stand out in the crowd.

3 Lessons Companies Can Learn From Kindergarteners

Last week, my daughter completed her first month of kindergarten. It was an overwhelming and incredibly exciting experience for her. (And let's face it, for me, too.) I'm sure a lot of you have been there.

During the first week of school, parents are invited to hang out for morning assembly. I spent a lot of time waiting around and observing, and thinking about how, minus all the shouting and tears, the first week of school is a lot like starting a new job. Though obviously employees are not children, in a lot of ways kids are simply a more expressive, honest version of the adults around them.

With this microcosm in mind I wanted to share three things I noticed that I think also apply in the adult work world:

6 Steps For Auditing Your Company's Candidate Experience

A positive candidate experience provides organizations with a competitive advantage in two ways. First, from a revenue perspective. The last thing any company wants is to say "no" to a candidate and lose a customer. The business world is way too competitive to lose a customer over a negative hiring experience.

Second is competitive advantage in terms of the War for Talent. As organizations continue to struggle with finding the most qualified candidates, no company can afford to lose top talent because of a poor candidate experience.

The Rehire: How to Win Back Good Employees

The economy is like a pendulum and has been swinging back toward prosperity. As a hiring manager or organizational leader, it may have been only a few short years ago you were scheduling meetings in regard to corporate layoffs. Layoffs cost your organization more than the size of its employees.

And, you lost more productivity than you can simply regain with the sourcing, hiring, and training of a new body. Experience, insight, and industry knowledge walked out the door with every pink slip. Today, you want to regain the momentum you lost, wind up, and take off down the path of prosperity and growth.

Add the extra challenge of the talent that stayed the course with you through the slowdown which is now being syphoned off by other companies, further weakening your company's internal talent. You need to add new talent. You need qualified candidates. You need them now.