Karen Morgan, President of Morgan Search International, is a thought-leader in talent acquisition and development across the United States and globally. Morgan Search specializes in the placement of marketing insights talent, working closely with companies to build successful, long-term teams. Their expertise spans qualitative and quantitative research, marketing sciences, strategy, planning and innovation, partnering closely with industry leaders such as American Express, Coca-Cola, Ford, Edelman, Intel, JPMorganChase, Kimberly-Clark, KPMG, Microsoft and Netflix as well as start-ups and research agencies.
Following is a brief of the content in this podcast.
Debbie: Since most companies are putting their recruiting efforts on pause, what's your advice to candidates right now?
Karen: The answer varies depending on your current situation - not everyone is in the same boat. If you have a job, my advice is to stay put for now! The only exception being if you're working in one of the verticals that's booming right now - then there may be opportunities you don't want to pass up.
In general, given the uncertainty of the economy, I'd advise taking time to dust off your resume and work on your LinkedIn profile and any other personal branding you have out there.
If you were thinking about the next step in your career before Covid-19 hit, I recommend taking time now to really think through your goals, both personal and professional, and the kinds of companies and opportunities you would like to pursue, so you can really focus in on finding the best fit when the market starts to pick up. Listen to more in the podcast.
Debbie: What can employers do going forward to be more sensitive to the needs of candidates and employees?
Karen: I do feel one of the big differences so far between past economic crises and now is that companies are demonstrating much more empathy and a real commitment to trying to KEEP employees where they can.
That said, companies are laying people off, so it's crucial they provide their employees with as much of a cushion as possible to soften the blow, for instance, continuing to pay health insurance benefits for a period of time, providing some severance, outplacement services, offering to help them network - anything that will help people navigate through this difficult time both financially and psychologically. Listen to more in the podcast.
Debbie: Are there advantages to interviewing candidates via video conferencing?
Karen: A particular advantage right now is that most people are working from home so it's easier for them to schedule interviews around their work commitments as opposed to being at work in an office. Interviewing from home means privacy away from the office and candidates can speak freely and openly. So they may present more naturally rather than being aware and nervous about finding a place to speak from without being overheard. Listen to more in the podcast.
Debbie: Speaking of interviewing, over the past few years, the interview process seems to have become longer and longer, to the frustration of many candidates and employers. How might companies rethink this and streamline the process in the future?
Karen: I feel that this crisis does present an opportunity for all of us to rethink things. Over the past few years, in spite of a buoyant employment market, there has been a lot of frustration expressed from both interviewees and employers. From interviewees, it's about the length of the interview process and from employers, that it's very hard to find talent. Listen to more in the podcast.
Contact Karen on LinkedIn - Morgan Search International or email Karen@morgansearch.com.
Contact Debbie at DebbieF@Creativetechresources.com or 847-902-4175.