ICYMI: Hirewell’s Top Recruiting Insights Blog Posts of 2019

This is the post where we share our posts and podcasts that had the biggest impact this year. We’ve even provided a brief summary of each so you’ll know what you’re getting into if you didn’t catch them already. Enjoy. And now, drumroll please…our Top 10 Posts of the Year:

1. Salary Trends for the Hottest Roles in Human Resources – With a focus on HR Coordinator, HR Director, Total Rewards Leader and VP of HR roles, this post also noted the uptick in hybrid HR positions. So, while we’re seeing more recruiting as part of these roles, that recruiting merges with more HR functions as well, including building out the on-boarding function and improving the candidate experience.
2. Illinois Bans Employers from Asking Job Seekers About Their Salary History. Here’s What that Means for Your Company – We talked about this so much at the end of the year, but that’s because the law could be life-changing for workers. Yet, many companies are unprepared to deal with it. All that, and you kept asking us about it.
3. Employers Can No Longer Ask You How Much You Make. Here’s What that Means for Your Job Search – See above post. But also note that this law is important, and the numbers don’t lie: Salary history questions are a major contributing factor to both racial and gender wage gaps. Full stop.
4. Salary Trends for the Hottest Roles in Tech – Our focus here was on CTOs, Engineering Managers and VPs of Engineering. We also highlighted how Tech job seekers used to be pigeon-holed, but that’s changing with the exponential growth of open source software. Also, it’s all hands-on roles all the time now, because these days, nothing is more valued in Tech than being able to build things. That, and Cloud and DevOps positions may not get as much attention as other Tech roles, but they’re one of the fastest growing areas in the sector.
5. Salary Trends for the Hottest Roles in Marketing – There are so many roles to track here, from Product Marketing Manager to Demand Generation Manager to Director of Marketing and more. But this is because 20 years ago, marketing was more general and broad, and today, marketing and all the trackable data that comes with it drives business. It’s still a new space, however, and there’s still a discrepancy in defining new roles. A Digital Marketing Manager can be a specialist or an all-encompassing generalist role. And Director, Vice President or Head of Marketing titles can be interchangeable and fit the same profile depending on the size of the company hiring. Suffice to say, there’s a lot happening in Marketing, and we’re all still working through it.
6. Expanding Our Services: Hirewell Opens an Atlanta, Georgia Office – Atlanta, Georgia is one of the fastest growing regions in the country, with 2,600 new jobs each year in the last eight years and significant growth in the Tech industry. Further, Atlanta ranks 5th for best cities to launch a tech startup.
7. Salary Trends for the Hottest Roles in Sales – Whether its Business Development Reps, Account Executive and Managers, or VP of Sales, the demand for Sales talent has taken off dramatically, especially in the Tech industry. What we’re also seeing is that most companies realize there’s a playbook for Sales, and the biggest trend is having a plan. Because it’s not just about having a solid approach any more; it’s about building a sales machine, finding the right people and ensuring their tasks and roles are clear.
8. Rosanna Krug Promoted to VP of Recruiting, HR & Administrative Practice – Rosanna Krug rules! Many of you know that. But this post was about celebrating both her promotion to Vice President of Recruiting within our Human Resources, and Administrative Practice, and her holistic perspective on HR and recruitment. Rosanna is such a strong asset because she regularly encourages not only jobseekers, but all of us to know our worth, understand our industry and keep the bigger picture in mind—whether for professional growth, personal development or a mix of both.
9. What’s Good for Female Leaders is Good For Business (Podcast) – The Hirewell Recruiting Insights podcast has already gone through a number of changes (including a new host), but we remain proud of our debut episode. The episode featured Kate Bensen and the great work she’s doing as president and CEO of The Chicago Network—an organization with more than 500 members dedicated to connecting women and empowering them to lead. We also really enjoyed her perspective on the impact that women leaders make and how the Network inspires and supports the next generation of female leaders. It’s also a great reminder, (though we wish it were unnecessary), of why providing women with a seat at the table is good for business.
10. How to Conduct Effective Phone Interviews – We believe that the long-time, rigid model of how an interview process must be executed —first an intro phone interview and then an on-site interview — is changing. That didn’t stop all of you from making this older post and its focus on the Do’s and Don’ts of phone interviews the tenth most popular post of the year. The times may be changing, and who knows what next year will bring, but for now you’re holding onto the traditions, and we’re happy to support that, even as we push you to look forward with us.

Final Thoughts

We’re continuing our straight-forward approach to the December CTAs: Please share the types of information you want to read in 2020.

Matt Massucci