TalentEgg Trends

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Let’s Talk Talent!

January 31, 2022 / Trevor Buttrum / 0 Comments

As we complete the first leg of the 2022 Winter – Spring campus recruitment season, I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself as Director of Operations at TalentEgg. My insights into career education and campus recruitment will be a regular feature here in TalentEgg Trends and I look forward to encapsulating all that we have been hearing, noticing, and observing in our space to share with you as a part of this community.

Prior to joining the team this past September, I was a 11+ year client of TalentEgg and led a national career education initiative on behalf of the Insurance Institute of Canada. I am egg-cited to leverage my background in career development, campus recruitment, and adult education in this new capacity!

To say that the campus and early talent recruitment landscape has been ‘dynamic’ in the age of COVID is an understatement. Omicron has added an additional layer of complexity. And, it certainly looks like virtual recruitment and remote work, at least in a hybrid form, are here to stay.

While there can be a lot of uncertainty for students, new grads, and early career professionals (heck, for all of us) right now, one certainty that has reemerged in recent months is that employers need talent!

Now, perhaps more than ever before, it is pivotal that, as an employer, you are weaving a compelling career narrative, employer brand, and value proposition alongside more traditional promotion of your opportunities. It can be extremely difficult to capture early career seekers’ attention and attract top talent, especially virtually, without these important elements.

In our work at TalentEgg, we see that these six approaches are consistently hitting the mark in attracting (and, retaining) students, new grads, and early career talent:

Give candidates a real look at “what’s behind the curtain” in your industry and organization
Commit to Investing in skill building, early career development, and well-being of your workforce
Help candidates to standout and demonstrate their skills
Target and show up often in the digital sphere of Gen Z talent
Share compelling stories that candidates can see themselves reflected in
Take a multi-faceted and high touch approach during peak recruitment periods

This six-part series will dig a little deeper into each approach and provide actionable ways to incorporate them into your employer branding and talent acquisition strategy.

Let’s get crackin’ with #1.

It is important to think beyond what is readily available on your website or may be shared in an info session over Zoom. Rather, focus on what it looks and feels like to be a part of your organization. Real, authentic, diverse, and easily replicable (as in not just for a privileged few) experiences are key ingredients to doing this well!

Consider, who are your best story tellers? Then, select a vehicle to spotlight the kinds of problems candidates will solve, who they will work with, what your (virtual) workplace culture is like, and the kinds of meaningful projects they will undertake.

For example, our friends at EDC had fantastic engagement in their recent takeover of our Instagram for a day. They offered an inside look at how EDC sets employees up for success remotely, ways their Growing Professionals Committee keeps new talent connected via virtual events and regular touch points, and why their employees love working at EDC.

Diverse voices from multiple business areas, engagement of recent hires in the content creation, and opportunities for in-platform engagement were among the keys to success for this takeover.

Another tact is to profile your industry. Our colleagues at Career Connections have taken to our Instagram multiple times over the course of the pandemic to:

Illustrate how the insurance industry has given back in times of uncertainty

Amplify voices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

And, even how claims adjusters are using drones to assess property damage (showcasing both cool technology and how industry professionals are staying safe)

Not only can this demonstrate how an industry (in this a lesser known one) is at the forefront of gamechangers and issues of importance to Gen Z in an engaging way, but also signals the stability and variety it has to offer.

Finally, don’t feel limited to just one platform. A multi-channel approach can be even more effective!

We recently introduced the opportunity for clients to takeover both TalentEgg’s Instagram Stories and LinkedIn Feed simultaneously. Vale, our partner in piloting this service, used a wide array of creative content showcasing mining careers, their employee value proposition, and exclusive insights into their robust student and new grad programs to tens of thousands of TalentEgg’s followers at the peak of the Fall campus recruitment season.

If you would like to speak about additional ways to give candidates a peek behind your proverbial curtain or ensure your employer brand is resonating in a remote world, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Until next time…

Habits to Become the Best Version of Yourself

I’ve been asked more and more to share my insights on developing habits with various organizations since the start of the pandemic. Many have found themselves with extra time with their commutes removed from their day. Some are choosing to feel that extra time with habits like exercise, reading, meditation, and a multitude of other activities. Some are successful at turning them into habits. Many or not. I share my insights as to why.

Why are habits important in the first place?

For anyone who has ever tried to start a new routine, oftentimes an act of sheer willpower is needed to get started. That willpower often drains energy and you don’t want to be using that much energy every time you do something. Habits can help you reduce that energy train so you can use that energy for other things.

Parts of a habit

Habits can be sliced and diced into various segments. I like to use Charles Duhigg’s version.

Cue: A trigger that signals the habit to start
Action: The activity of the habit itself
Reward: A reinforcement for the behaviour

Habits don’t always form when you start doing things primarily because without the cue or the reward, The habit has nothing to anchor itself to in your brain.

Getting rid of a habit or starting a new habit

One of the most surefire ways to get rid of a habit is to remove all cues for that habit. Unfortunately that is easier said than done if you cannot completely control your environment.

Consider the FOGG behavioural model. Think of one vertical axis for Motivation and a horizontal axis for Ability. There would be an action line that starts from high Motivation and low Ability and curves down and flattens towards low Motivation and high Ability. When something is above the line then it occurs and happens. When something is “below” the line then it does not occur or happen.

That means to get rid of a habit you need to decrease your motivation or decrease your ability.

You can decrease your motivation by pairing your habit with a consequence.

Want to stop snoozing and sleeping in? Set an embarrassing social media post to go out just after your alarm wakes you up. You better get up, or that post will tell the world about your embarrassing moment!

You can decrease your ability by making your habit more difficult to do.

Want to stop snacking on some junk food? Stash it way towards the back of your cupboard where you have to inconveniently take out other items to get to it.
Want to stop spending so much? Put your credit card in a hard to access spot. Or even freeze it in a block of ice so that you literally have to melt it to access it – Hopefully by the time you get your credit card out, your impulse to buy has subsided. Make sure you also delete any saved credit cards on your browser for online sites.

On the other hand, if you want to start a habit, you need to increase your motivation or increase your ability. You can increase your

You can increase your motivation by finding the core purpose for wanting to set up the habit or finding a partner to hold you accountable for your actions.

To find your core purpose or why for the habit, ask yourself: why is that habit important to you? With whatever answer you provide, ask yourself: why is that important to you? Repeat that five more times. If you don’t repeat yourself and really focus on it’s important to you then you’ll often find the core reason
An accountability partner can help many stay on task. That’s why study buddies, gym buddies and other type of accountability partners can’t be so helpful

NOTE: for most people one or the other works better. Take a look at when you’ve been successful in starting a habit in the past and repeat your success.

To increase your ability, understand your tendencies.

The acronym SPACEBEAR can help you to find some of your tendencies.

Step-type: Do you prefer small steps, or do you “go big or go home”?
Pace-type: Are you a marathoner (consistently spend time to move towards your goal), sprinter (hit things hard, then take a break then hard and break), procrastinator (wait until the last minute before you get something done)
Aversion-type: Do you react better to a “carrot”, or a “stick”?
Chrono-type: Are you a Lion (get stuff done early in the morning often before anybody else is awake), Bear (slower to rise and get stuff done in the middle of the day), or Wolf (our most productive late night)
Expectations-type: Are you an Obliger (need someone to help hold them accountable) or a Questioner (need to know why something is important to them)
Buying-type: Are you an Under-buyer (buy just enough or wait until you’re almost out), or an over-buyer (buy so much that you’ll never run out and always have some in reserve)
End-type: Are you a Finisher (like to check things off your to-do list), or an opener (like to start new things – though not necessarily finish them)
Availability-type: do you prefer simplicity, or abundance
Recognition-type: do you prefer familiarity, or novelty?

Knowing your tendencies can do wonders to get that habit going. For example: you might start a habit like exercise and only continue it if you constantly find new and novel parts of it to do. Or you might need to start with familiar and easy to do exercises before you gradually move on two more difficult exercises.

Summary

Wow there are many more ways and considerations to effectively start or stop a habit, these will hopefully be some useful tips to get you started.

By setting up habits, you might find that you have more energy to do other things throughout the day.

Pick something from the above to implement. Try it out for a few days or weeks. If it sticks then keep it. If it doesn’t, then try something new.

You’ll likely find that when you set up these habits you become even more productive in your work and life.

About Luki

Luki is a career coach and likes to say that he has found his purpose helping others find theirs. A former management consultant and campus recruiting lead, he shares his SIWIKE Stuff I Wish I Knew Earlier through books, podcasts, videos and other content. Connect with him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukidanu/ or Subscribe on YouTube to access other content https://youtube.com/focusinspired

Staying “Mentally Fit” During COVID to Combat Job Stress

January 18, 2022 / Luki Danukarjanto / 0 Comments

I’ve received many positive reviews on workshops on staying “mentally fit” during COVID. These sessions were delivered for the staff and faculty of a few colleges/universities. Here are a few highlights from the session to help combat job stress.

It’s worth noting that stress is helpful. Stress is what kept our ancestors alive. We wouldn’t be around without stress. However, even though we no longer have to deal with the threat of sabre tooth tigers eating us, our modern day stresses often seem just as dangerous.

In these challenging times, many are having their mental states tested. It is interesting how we are often ready to take care of our physical health, yet when was the last time that you prioritized your mental health? Whether you’re an employer or an employee, faculty or staff, (or really anybody), we could all use a little help on the “mental fitness” front. Here are a few of my favourite helpful concepts.

Awareness

The first step is to admit that you have a problem. You may not be on a 12-step program to recover from addiction, though you may be stressed from work, constantly changing circumstances, uncertainty of the future or a number of other anxiety-inducing thoughts many of us are having during lockdown.

Take a note of when you have those thoughts. Or think back on your day/week and identify those moments of stress and anxiety. If you have stress in your workplace you might not be able to remove the factors that cause it, though you could change your perspective. Start with Awareness then you can shift your perspective.

Perspective

“For there is nothing good or bad and thinking makes it so” -Hamlet, Act 2 Scene 2: William Shakespeare

Here’s a thought: COVID is neither good nor bad. Our thoughts about COVID make it good or bad.

Wait, how can I say that when people have lost loved ones? Could that loss turn into gratitude for the times you’ve spent with that person or the people that you still have around you? Could you give it meaning so that you can move on and thrive instead of just surviving? I’m not saying that you have to, I’m just asking if you could.

Go through those points of stress and anxiety that you recorded in Awareness and see if you can change your perspective. Gratitude can be a helpful tool to change that perspective.

“I have so much more work now that everything has been moved online” can turn into “I’m so thankful I have a job”.
“I lost my job due to COVID” can turn into “I can find my next new opportunity and chapter in my career”.
“I have no idea what the future holds” can turn into “I’m excited about the infinite opportunities and possibilities for the future”.

While it might seem like semantics, consider if your thoughts become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Wouldn’t you rather have better thoughts to be fulfilled?

Think of perspective as your “mental COVID mask”. You may encounter negative thoughts, though with an awareness to reflect and potentially change your perspective, you can prevent those thoughts from “infecting” you and ruining your day.

STFAR

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom” -Viktor Frankl

If you’re with me so far, you might be asking yourself: How do I change my perspectives?

Something out there (or maybe in your head) happens and you often just react to it. Sometimes in a positive way. Sometimes in a negative way. What if you took some time to reflect?

I use the acronym STFAR to help with the reflection process:

Stimulus: Something that happens. That something could be outside. Or sometimes that something is inside your head.
Thought: The Stimulus triggers a thought. Sometimes conscious. Often not.
Feeling: An energy in your body that comes from the Thought.
Action: What you did as a result of that Feeling (which could be doing nothing)
Result: The outcome based on what you did (or didn’t do).

Let’s put this into practice.

What comes to mind when I say COVID?

For many, it is THOUGHTS of stress. Cabin fever from having to stay locked down. Missing summer vacations. Loss of opportunities.

Those thoughts may cause you to FEEL sad, lonely, angry, and even more stressed.

The ACTION you take might be to eat to distract yourself, escape in your social media feed, or watch a streaming service to numb the stress.

However, the RESULT is a few extra COVID-pounds gained.

Let’s try that again while intercepting thoughts and changing perspectives.

What comes to mind when I say COVID? Let’s find a beneficial perspective.

For some, the THOUGHT of not having to commute comes to mind and having more time to do what you want to do.

With that thought you might FEEL more motivated to exercise or learn that skill you’ve always wanted like speaking a new language or the ukulele or whatever that is.

Hopefully that feeling is enough for you to take ACTION and start practicing your Spanish/Mandarin, chord positioning or strumming.

The RESULT is a new skill plus a sense of achievement on the growth.

While being aware, and changing your perspectives may seem challenging now, consider that if you were training to run a marathon, you’d slowly but surely be able to run a kilometer, then 10, then 20, then 42 and beyond! With practice, you can do it.

Practice

“Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action, and directed to a definite end.” -Napoleon Hill

Mental fitness is not about just knowing a tactic or strategy. It’s about putting them into practice consistently and over time. Being aware of your thoughts can be hard enough. Let alone constantly changing your perspective on the thoughts that don’t serve you.

The key is to prioritize time. I use the concept of “non-negotiable time” to help. That’s 60 mins daily (or 30 mins or as much time as you can manage) to invest time on these and other helpful mental fitness activities. Just like you might take time to go to the gym, take some time to go to the “mental gym”.

Use part of your non-negotiable time to reflect on your awareness throughout the day. As you reflect on your thoughts, look to change the perspectives for the thoughts that don’t serve you. Turn those thoughts and perspectives into action towards whatever result that you want.

Meditation is another great practice to help with your mental fitness. Think of it as practice to increase the space between stimulus and response. When meditating, you focus on your breath, your thoughts, a word or something else depending on the type of meditation. Mediation exercises your focus on the present moment.

Even simple mindfulness exercises where you pay attention to mundane activities (I.e. washing your hands), or use your non-dominant hand to do something (I.e. brush your teeth), could help you put your mental fitness into practice.

Summary

Start your path to mental fitness with awareness. Take that awareness and change your perspective. Use the STFAR model to help reflect and change your perspective. Allocate time to “exercise” and put your mental fitness activities into practice. When you do so, you’ll probably find that you’re less stressed at work, as well as less stressed at home. Especially in these trying times. They have worked for many others.

Why not give it a shot?

About Luki

TalentEgg Renews Partnership with Odgers Berndtson for 2022 CEOx1Day – Future Leaders Summit

October 25, 2021 / Simon Ng / 0 Comments

Today, TalentEgg, Canada’s leading online career resource for students, new grads, and early career professionals, announced its renewed partnership with Odgers Berndtson’s CEOx1Day,. This one-of-a-kind initiative is Odgers Berndtson’s premiere leadership development program offering ambitious third and fourth-year college and university students an opportunity to engage with a diverse cross-section of Canada’s top executives.

To the partnership, TalentEgg brings exclusive access to its nationwide network of career-focused early career talent and distinct employer branding expertise in support of this unparalleled professional development opportunity!

“We are delighted to continue the partnership, bringing students an opportunity to participate in this unique leadership development program, as well as supporting Odgers Berndtson in recruiting the best and the brightest candidates to the CEOx1Day Future Leaders Summit taking place in February.” said Mary Barroll, President of TalentEgg.

Founded in 2013, the CEOx1Day Program matches upper year students with top executives from the country’s leading organizations. Every year hundreds of students apply to participate in the program.

This year, 50 students will be selected to participate in a one-day virtual summit chalked full of interactive panels, small group breakout sessions led by CEOs and Presidents, career and leadership insights from CHROs and Heads of People and Culture/Talent, and exclusive networking opportunities.

Participating companies in the CEOx1Day Future Leaders Summit include: AGF, Aecon, Assent Compliance, Digital Research Alliance of Canada, Indspire, Hallmark Canada. Right to Play International, and Shopify.

As a part of its investment in the CEOx1Day Future Leaders Summit, TalentEgg looks forward to providing its vast talent network with: an authentic Gen Z voice to the promotional campaign, high quality digital engagement, resources, video testimonials and insider access to the various recruitment phases of the program.

Of the renewed partnership, Lori Dyne, Chief Marketing Officer at Odgers Berndtson said, “TalentEgg is a wonderful partner that helps us connect with top student talent from across the country. As a key career resource for this demographic TalentEgg shares in our philosophy of investing in the professional development of Canada’s future leaders. They have done a tremendous job in producing video testimonials from CEOx1Day Alumni that we are leveraging as a part of the program’s digital strategy”.

“TalentEgg is also supporting our strategic promotion of the CEOx1Day Future Leaders Summit and the tremendous opportunity it offers to students as they embark on their transition from post-secondary to career via a microsite hosted on their platform and cross promotion on their robust social media channels”, added Dyne.

Other 2022 CEOx1Day program partners include Hogan Assessments, which helps businesses succeed through extensive leadership assessments designed to predict career performance for organizations on a global scale, media company Globe and Mail, Indspire, and educational partner, JDC Central.

Interested student candidates may apply online at ceox1day.ca or talentegg.ca/ceox1day between October 25th and November 25th, 2021

About TalentEgg

TalentEgg is Canada’s leading job site and online career resource for students, recent graduates, and early career professionals.

Since 2008, TalentEgg has helped millions of students and recent grads hatch their careers, and has worked with hundreds of Canadian employers to successfully attract top talent to their organizations.

While connecting our talent network with meaningful foundational and early career opportunities from top employers in Canada, TalentEgg also:

– provides thousands of free career resources created specifically with students and recent grads in mind; and,

– supports an active and diverse community of professionals who are passionate about empowering the careers of the next generation of talent, including employers, career centres, educators, and student leaders.

To find out more about how TalentEgg can help connect you with students, recent grads, and early career professionals visit us at employers.talentegg.ca.

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