How to Combine Your Virtual Interview and Employer Branding Strategies

How to Combine Your Virtual Interview and Employer Branding StrategiesPut yourself in a job seekers shoes. You follow a company on social media and love the content they share. Wanting to learn more about the organization, you check out their website and career page. You watch employee testimonial videos explaining everything they love about the company. By this point, youre excited and could see yourself joining the team. Luckily, theres an open position thats a great fit for you and you apply.But once you enter into the hiring process, the companys energy completely disappears. You receive generic, automated emails. The questions in the virtual interview are dull and you learn nothing new about the organization. You begin to question whether the company is truly as wonderful as you thought.This is a common issue with employer branding. Showcasing what the workdistributionspolitik is about is a priority when companies look for talent. But as soon as the job seeker has applied, emplo yer branding takes the back seat. As a result, candidates lose interest in the role and move on to different opportunities.If you want to keep talent engaged throughout your virtual interview process, you need to keep employer branding incorporated in every step.Scheduling a virtual interviewWhen you invite a candidate to conduct a virtual interview, its tempting to just focus on scheduling. You send qualified job seekers a link to your calendar and thats it. But this is a missed opportunity to give candidates more information about your company.Start including employer branding information with your virtual interview invitations. Use your company logo as well as branding colors and fonts. Also, read your invitation email with the eyes of a job candidate. Look at the word choices in the communication templates and change anything that doesnt match your company culture and messaging.The virtual interview invitation is also your chance to build a relationship with candidates. Show the m you care and want them to succeed. Since the hiring process can be stressful, focus on resources that will put their mind at ease. One good option is a video katechese from a company leader. Record them welcoming the candidate and explaining the main values of the organization. They can also list what types of qualities the company is looking for. This will help the candidate better picture themselves as a potential employee.Use virtual interview invitations as a chance to introduce company leadership. employerbranding candidateexperienceClick To TweetConducting a virtual interviewThe virtual interview allows hiring professionals to get a better understanding of each candidate. But its also a chance to share more about the company culture. By asking the right interview questions, the candidate will see what matters most to the organization.Start by writing a list of the characteristics that define your culture. From there, craft questions that will provide insights into whether a candidate exemplifies what youre looking for. Be clear with the phrasing so theres no confusion about what the company stands for and expects from candidates.It can also be helpful to include real situations that occurred in your workplace. For example, many companies value transparency and honesty. In the virtual interview, explain a situation where an employee did not act with transparency. Then ask how the candidate wouldve reacted. This will give both you and the candidate an idea of whether your values mesh.Following up after a virtual interviewAutomated communications have saved hiring professionals an immeasurable amount of time. Instead of having to compose each email, there are multiple tools that will send out the necessary communications. But from a candidates perspective, these communications seem impersonal.After a candidate completes a virtual interview, dont leave them hanging. While youre deciding whether to move forward with an individual, give them more employer br anding information to digest. For example, you can include a list of articles from your blog that provide deeper insights into what the team does every day.It can also help to share photos or videos of company events. Let candidates know what organizations employees volunteer for. Or show them what the office holiday party is like. This will ensure that they are more likely to continue with the hiring process.Make sure your automated communications dont take away from your employerbranding.Click To TweetYour employer branding determines whether your company will attract great talent. But once a candidate has applied, its important to keep introducing them to different aspects of the organization. By making employer branding a part of each step of the virtual interview process, you can reassure candidates that your company is a great place to work.What are some other ways to include your employer branding in the virtual interview process? Let us know in the comments

Your Pongo Membership Could Mean Tax Savings

Your Pongo Membership Could Mean Tax SavingsTax SavingsYour Membership Could Mean Tax SavingsGood news for last-minute tax filers The money youve invested in your job search may be deductible on your federal income taxes - and that includes your membershipcosts. Of course, leidhing is simple when it comes to the tax code. With the April 15 tax deadline mere days away, heres what you need to know about the tax deductibility of job search expenses.The federal government offers an income tax break for something called Unreimbursed Employee Expenses, which includes money spent preparing and sending resumes as part of a job search. In general, you can probably deduct some of your job search expenses ifYou itemize deductions on Schedule A of your Form 1040 andYour Unreimbursed Employee Expenses exceed 2% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) andYour AGI is less than $78,200 (or $156,400 if you are married filing jointly).If you meet these criteria, you can deduct the expenses that exceed the 2% threshold.EXAMPLE If your AGI is $50,000, the first $1,000 in expenses is NOT deductible (2% of $50,000 = $1,000). But anything you spend over $1,000 is deductible. So if you have $1,050 in expenses, you can deduct $50.That may not sound like much, but remember, this is not JUST your job search expenses. You can combine many other work-related expenses with your job search expenses to exceed the 2% threshold.Eligible Unreimbursed Employee Expenses include the followingTravel, baggage charges, meals and lodging, or cleaning and laundry expensesDues to chambers of commerce and professional organizationsLegal fees related to doing or keeping your jobLicenses and regulatory fees for your trade, business, or profession andTax preparation fees.Of course, since were referring to the tax code, there are a few other caveats. You cannot deduct job search expenses if youre looking for a job in a new occupation, if there was a substantial break between the end of your last job and the start of your job search, or if youre looking for a job for the first time.If youre not sure what you spent on your membership in 2007, contact the Customer Support Team.For complete information on these deductions, consult your tax advisor or read this IRS publication.