As the world is shifting towards a service-dominated economy, recruiting the right people plays an even larger role to foster a company’s survival and growth. 

Apart from a sound business model, employees and teams are the lifeblood of a fast-growing company.

That said, it’s fair to conclude that people are the foundation of every organization, no matter which industry or scale of operation they’re operating in. 

However, recruiting and retaining the right people can be a daunting task, which is why majority organizations require a separate human resources department to delegate that task to. 

Reviewing resumes and portfolios are only half of the job, there’s more to finding an ideal candidate than their skills and qualifications.

That’s because a recruiter must also review candidates’ personality, soft skills, and fit to the company culture, which is more time-consuming than ever.

With that in mind, how should you measure the success of your hiring process?

How to judge whether or not all those investments in time, money and collective effort were worth it?

That’s when hiring KPIs, or key performance indicators, come in. 

Here are 8 most important hiring KPIs you need to take into consideration during your recruitment process in 2021:

1. Qualified candidates per opening
2. Application completion rate
3. Time to hire
4. Sourcing channel efficiency
5. Adverse impact
6. Cost per hire
7. Offer acceptance rate
8. First-year turnover rate

Qualified candidates per opening

It’s always great to have a lot of applicants when postings for job openings.

Because that means you’ll have a larger talent pool to choose from.

But having a high number of applicants does not equal a high number of qualified candidates.

In fact, having too many candidates that aren’t qualified for the job will do more harm than good.

That’s because it’s going to consume more of your time scanning through resumes and cover letters that are not even a right fit for the position, or the company culture.

Qualified candidates per positioning refers to a ratio of applicants who are actually qualified for the role.

It might be a subjective matter to measure. But the simplest way to measure is how many people passed the first stage of the hiring process. 

The average applicants-to-interview rate is around 12%. 

If your ratio is lower, it might indicate that you are not creating appropriate job listings, or that you are posting them at the wrong place.

Then, you can start thinking of ways to fix your job ads to target a better audience.

Application completion rate

It’s common to see people start a job application, and stop before submitting. There are several reasons for this phenomena, people are either busy, or they self-eliminate and decide that they’re not right for the position.

However, this becomes a problem where there’s too many people withdrawing before even completing, limiting the talent pool you can choose from.

This could indicate that your application process is either too complicated, or that your job postings are not attractive to your target audience. 

To measure, you can compare the number of submitted applications against the total number of candidates who started an application. 

Application completion rate is one of the most overlooked hiring KPIs in the human resources industry.

Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that you should try to maximise the number of applicants while forsaking your qualified candidates per opening.

A low application completion rate is acceptable if you have a pool of highly qualified candidates.

Time to hire

Recruiters can determine time to hire by measuring the time an applicant enters the applicant tracking system (ATS) to the time when they receive an offer. 

It’s a great, yet simple measure of your organization’s recruiting process effectiveness.

Depending on the industry, the average time to hire ranges from 14 to 63 days.

A slow time to hire leaves an empty vacancy for too long of a period, potentially harming the company’s productivity.

Taking too much time responding to applicants may also cause them to drop out mid-way, as they might already be receiving offers from your competitors as you’re still looking through their CVs and cover letters. 

If your company seeks to improve its recruitment efficiency, time to hire is definitely one that you should keep an eye on.

Sourcing Channel Efficiency

This particular hiring KPI tells you where all your job candidates come from.

Different sourcing channels include university job boards, social media, online recruitment platforms like 9cv9, etc.

You can measure this hiring KPI by utilizing tools like Google Analytics.

Apart from that, you can even ask your candidates how they found your company at the end of their application form.

Furthermore, you can also explore further by knowing what kinds of job postings pique candidates’ interest.

That way, you can start altering your future recruitment strategies for better efficiencies.

You can even take it a step further by measuring source quality.

This you identify where your best candidates come from, and allocate more of your hiring resources there. 

Adverse Impact

Unconscious bias during recruitment is common during the screening process. But as a recruiter, you’d want to limit it as much as possible when hiring a new team member.

One of the best ways to do that is by measuring adverse impact.

Adverse impact allows you to identify the existence of bias against protected class, this includes minority, female applicants, LGBTQ+ communities, etc.

To measure it, you can divide the applicant success rate of Group A, which is your protected class, by the applicant success of Group B, your non-protected class. 

This rule states that bias exists if these protected groups are hired at a less than 80% rate compared to the demographic with the highest selection rate.

Neglecting adverse impacts results in a less inclusive and diverse hiring process, which may have a damaging impact to not only the company’s reputation, but also future employee retention.

Also read: Why You Have to Write a Company Review?

Cost per hire

Apart from being a difficult task to carry, hiring is also an investment.

According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), companies spend an average of $4,000 on hiring.

Some companies spend more, some spend less. It all depends on the industry they’re operating in and the number of vacancies they wish to fill. 

To effectively examine your cost per hire, it’s best for you to compare it with industry average. 

Despite having different recruitment spending, all companies share one common goal: getting the most out of their investment.

In other words, minimising recruitment costs without sacrificing the quality of your hire.

Keeping an eye on cost per hire allows you to ensure that your company is not overspending, while at the same time gives you the opportunity to plan your budget ahead, should you have a big expansion in mind. 

Offer acceptance rate

When shortlisting candidates on the final round of your recruitment process, one of the biggest questions you might have is how many offers you should make. 

As you give out offers, you’d hope that your best candidates will accept it.

But unfortunately, that has not always been the case. 

While it’s normal to have some candidates not accepting job offers, having too many rejections could indicate a red flag. 

That said, another one of the hiring KPIs that you should monitor is offer acceptance rate.

According to a 2017 study, 45% of candidates reject offers because they were unimpressed with the hiring process.

Other rejection reasons include limited benefits, lack of progression opportunities, unfitting company culture, etc.

To measure offer acceptance rate, divide the number of offers accepted by the total number of offers extended.

It’s a simple, but effective way to evaluate the effectiveness of your recruitment process from the perspective of a candidate.

First-year turnover rate

As part of the human resource department, your job does not stop after the candidate has accepted the offer. 

You’ll most likely have the need of facilitating the onboarding and training process required to help new employees transition into the company culture.

As a result, one of the other hiring KPIs that you need to measure happens after the hiring process, the first-year turnover rate within the company.

To calculate this figure, you can divide the number of employees who leave after less than a year of employment with the total number of employees who left.

A high turnover rate has an adverse impact on the company’s reputation, which impacts future employment prospects.

Some reasons behind high turnover rate include a toxic company culture, unrealistic job expectations, a bad fit for the company, etc.

By keeping a close eye at your company’s turnover rate, you can identify possible areas for improvement as you’d want to retain as many of your best talents as you can within the company.

All in all, you should utilize most, if not all these hiring KPIs to examine the effectiveness of your recruiting process.

Contact us for any assistance in enhancing your company’s employability. 9cv9 has been trusted by both local and foreign businesses such as Pansonic, Pizza Hut, Bosch, Zalora, Toshiba, LINE, etc in recruiting the best talents out there.

Go get your free trial to enjoy the features in the 9cv9 Career Platform by clicking here.

The post 8 Hiring KPIs to Measure Success in 2021 appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

“Just do it”, “Think different”, sounds familiar right?

A strong slogan is what helps a brand sustain its success in the market. 

But what about a personal brand that’s associated with individuals?

Does a strong personal brand help you stand out amongst your peers? 

It does.

When done right, your personal brand can be your most valuable asset. 

If that’s the case, then what’s holding people back from building their brand?

It’s mostly because the process itself can be daunting. One of the most commonly faced issues is not knowing where to start.

And if you’re one of them, you don’t have to worry because you’re at the right place. 

Here is the ultimate guide to building a personal brand that will help you stand out.

• What is a personal brand?
• How your personal brand becomes your biggest asset.
• Ultimate guide to build a strong personal brand:
  • Focus on your own identity.
  • Get to know your audience.
  • Tell a story.
  • Be consistent and authentic.
  • Build an online presence.

What is a personal brand?

A personal brand is a unique combination of experience, skills and personality, that shapes who you are as a person.

In other words, it is how you market yourself and want to be perceived by others.

Similar to a company’s brand, you want your personal brand to be able to communicate the values you stand for and your story to your audience.

Your audience can be anyone, from potential employers to your customers.

Your story plays a major role in building your career.

As more are starting to establish theirs, personal branding is becoming less of a competitive edge and more of a requirement for individuals working in such competitive industries.

On top of that, your brand should emphasize on your strengths and unique attributes to build trust and establish a notable reputation in the market.

With a good reputation, you’ll slowly but surely be able to build credibility and expertise in your corresponding field.

How your personal brand becomes your biggest asset.

Personal brand is key, no matter what occupation you have or which industry you’re working in. Here are some statistics which proves the value of personal branding:

• 85% recruiters say that job candidates’ online reputation affects their hiring decision.
• 90% recruiters say that they conduct online research of potential candidates.
• 78% of hiring managers find the best candidates through referrals.
• Of all Internet users, 65% see online search as the most trusted source of information about people and companies. That’s a higher level of trust than any other online or offline source.
• 92% of people trust individual recommendations more than brands’.

Ultimate guide to build a strong personal brand:

1. Focus on your own identity.

A common mistake when building a personal brand is trying to become everything to everyone.

But just like corporate brands, that’s nearly impossible.

Cooper Harris, CEO and Founder of Klicky, advised people to “decide on a key message and stick to it”.

To find your identity, you can start by asking yourself the following questions:

• In which areas of work do I excel?
• What are my values?
• How do I communicate my values?
• What are my short term and long term goals?
• What brings me joy?
• Why am I doing what I’m doing?
• What are my unique traits?

Getting to know your strengths and weaknesses also helps you to find your unique selling point.

You can leverage on your distinctive traits to help you stand out from others.

On the other hand, you can also discover areas that need improvement and focus on it. 

Once you have a more in depth understanding of your personalities’ facets, you’ll know how to brand them better. 

Remember, your personal brand will most likely change as your career and life path grows.

Don’t be scared to focus yourself on one specific niche. It’s always better to be an expert in one than average in many.

2. Get to know your audience.

Apart from knowing yourself, you should also determine who you’re trying to reach. Is it potential employers? Potential customers? Investors?

The sooner you define your audience, the easier it will be to craft your personal brand.

Because you’ll have a better direction on what kind of story you should write, how and where it should be written.

Once you’ve identified who your audience is, try to think of their motivations, both personal and professional.

From there, you can identify different opportunities to help them achieve your goal. By helping them do so, you are building yourself some positive reputation and credibility. This, on the other hand, helps you to achieve your own goal of crafting a strong personal brand.

3. Tell a story.

A story is defined as “an account of past events in someone’s life or in the evolution of something”.

Similar to its dictionary definition, you should tell a story that explains how your past makes up or fits into one big puzzle, your present.

Telling a good narrative allows you to turn what can be perceived as a weakness into a compelling strength that will wow your designated audience.

When crafting your story, you should always emphasize on those that bring value to your life. 

On top of that, it’s important to ensure that your narrative aligns with your past. It’s never wrong to rebrand yourself for good, but provide reasons why you did it, and how the process came about. 

Remember to not abandon your roots, write shady stories or deny your past.

4. Be consistent and authentic.

Just like how McDonalds have settled with “I’m Lovin’ It”, you would also need to make sure that your personal brand remains consistent, both online and offline. 

On the other hand, authenticity builds credibility.

Humans tend to believe what they can relate to. This means the raw, unedited version of you.

You should only include those skills, experiences, and values that are true.

Don’t try too hard to be somebody else. Displaying an over-polished persona might portray you as a flawless individual. However, it actually puts a barrier between you and your target audience, making you less approachable.

Integrating authenticity and consistency together, you should live up to the brand you’ve crafted and the values you’ve claimed in every opportunity.

No matter if it’s in terms of how you communicate, present yourself or your interests.

Because tiny inconsistencies can largely derail the personal brand you’ve built.

5. Build your online presence.

Another important aspect of personal branding is building an engaging online presence. 

While there are so many social media platforms to choose from, it’s again crucial to ensure that your story remains consistent in all.

But it’s also best to tailor your story according to the audience you are targeting in each platform.

One of the most commonly used platforms to build one’s personal branding is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a social media platform that’s specifically designated to connect business professionals. On top of its networking features, the platform is also commonly used to form groups, recruitment, resource sharing, etc.

Here are several tips to effectively build your personal brand on LinkedIn:

Complete your LinkedIn profile.

While this might sound obvious and easy, completing a LinkedIn profile can actually be tedious. It’s uncommon to see users leave some parts of their profile empty.

This is because besides basic information, you’ll also need to list your education, working and volunteer experiences, accomplishments, etc. 

If you’re completely new to the platform, you can get started on your profile by looking at your CV or resume. People tend to include information they’ve written on their CV on their LinkedIn.

One important tip is to also include your location on your LinkedIn profile.

According to LinkedIn, including your city can help you stand out up to 23x more in searches.

Empty profiles might not draw in recruiters or even any connections.

And considering how much online presence affects your personal brand, you might want to start competing your LinkedIn profile today.

Use a professional photo.

Did you know that LinkedIn profiles with a professional headshot receive 14 times more visits than those that don’t?

Use a recent photo of yourself.

Remember, you should be the centerpiece, not the background, and not the object you’re holding.

Don’t forget to smile, as recruiters are more likely to visit your profile the more approachable you appear.

Focus on key industry skills.

Recruiters often search for keywords that’s related to the nature of the job they’re trying to fill. That said, it’s important to feature some industry terms in your profile, whether it’s in your headline, summary, etc.

Make yourself as accessible as possible to recruiters.

Don’t forget to include your skills on your “Skills & endorsements” section as well.

Have at least 5 skills listed down to attain more networking opportunities.

Write engaging content.

Similar to other social media’s algorithms, the more interactions your posts get, the more people it will reach.

That said, you should write engaging content once in a while that invites your connections to give reactions or even comment.

Remember to write contents that add value to your target audience.

Don’t post too often either as that might appear as spam to your connections.

Key Takeaway

No matter which stage you’re at within your career, it’s never too late to start building your personal brand.

Who knows, by enhancing your personal brand, you can get more connections, job offers, or even generate more sales for your company.

You might have the best skillsets and the highest achievements in the industry, but without a good personal brand, you might not be able to make use of it to stand out from others in the market.

Tell your story to the world, and spread your values. You can start building your personal brand by creating your own profile on 9cv9’s website. Start building your personal brand today!

Once your personal brand is all set, you can then start reaching out to recruiters and find that dream job of yours!

The post 5 Tips to Building A Perfect Personal Brand appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

Can you recall the last time you were ghosted by recruiters?

Probably not so long ago, right?

Unfortunately, being left hanging by a recruiter is a common phenomena on LinkedIn.

In fact, 94% job seekers claimed that they’ve all been ghosted by recruiters before.

But why are people still actively looking for jobs through LinkedIn?

That’s because 77% of recruiters still rely on the platform to find the perfect candidates.

Recruiters receive dozens of messages everyday. That doesn’t include additional emails, phone calls and text messages related to work.

So, how do you get a response?

By standing out.

Unfortunately, it’s not the easiest to stand out through a message.

Keep reading to find a step-by-step guide on proper ways to reach our to recruiters on LinkedIn.

• Why reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn?
• Target the right recruiters.
• Start by sending a connection request.
• Avoid being generic.
• Be modest.
• Double check your message before sending.
• Stay in touch.

Why reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn?

Though it might feel a little strange and too direct, reaching out to recruiters on LinkedIn is socially acceptable.

After all, the platform itself is used for professional networking.

In fact, 94% of hiring managers admitted to using LinkedIn to find their top candidates.

On top of that, more than 95% of recruiters are regular users of the platform (Omnicore).

As of 2019, the platform has over 90 million senior-level influencers (LinkedIn).

It’s very likely that someone you’re connecting with will have a large say on your hiring decision.

Competitive positions receive tens if not hundreds of applicants.

Reaching out to your recruiters and being proactive might help your application get noticed. 

Target the right recruiters.

Before you start reaching out to recruiters on LinkedIn, you should make sure that you have the right person in mind.

It’s crucial to ensure that your recruiter is still active, and is working in the industry you are interested in.

The best way to search for them is to type your industry and the word “recruiter”.

An example would be “human resources recruiter”.

To narrow down your search results even further, you can also search for those recruiters that are within your geographical range.

A narrowed down example would be “marketing recruiter jakarta”.

Start by sending a connection request.

It is most likely that you won’t be able to send a message to a recruiter unless you are connected with them through the platform. If that’s the case, do not hesitate to send a connection request.

One important note is to include a personalised message to your connection request.

Requests with personalised messages have a much higher acceptance rate compared to those who don’t.

LinkedIn recently shortened the character limit on these personalized messages to 299 characters.

That said, you should carefully choose what you want to say, and write them in the most concise, yet cohesive way.

Here’s an example:

“Hi, I’m (Name), currently working as (Job Title) at (Company), but looking to take on new challenges. If you have a minute, I’d love to discuss how my (skills & experience) in (Industry) might be a great fit for the position you’re recruiting. Looking forward to chatting with you!”

Avoid being generic.

Once you are connected with your recruiter, you should now shoot them a message.

The last thing you’ll want to do is send them a generic, copy-pasted broadcast that you’ve sent to three other recruiters.

LinkedIn stated that the platform offers a 300% higher response rate for their InMails feature than other messaging platforms.

Meanwhile, messaging a prospect has a response rate of 10-25%.

If you put minimum work into your message, you can expect minimum effort for your recruiters to reply.

Begin your message by thanking them for accepting your request.

Then, do a little bit of research to the recruiter you are contacting and the company they are working for.

Do you have any mutual connections with them? Any shared hobbies or interests?

Do leverage it if you do.

But don’t worry if you don’t.

You can always start a conversation by talking about the reason why you are connecting to them.

You should also think about the benefits that you can offer to the company itself.

It’s good to let them know about your expertise and experiences. But it’s even better to shift your focus back towards the company.

Also, be sure to include a clear call to action on your first message.

Recruiters tend to ignore vague messages. Be clear about what you want to be connected and what you hope to gain.

This helps to keep your message short and sweet as well!

Be modest.

It’s great to showcase your accomplishments and skills to potential recruiters.

But remember, those accolades are displayed on your LinkedIn profile. Before answering your message, there’s a high chance that recruiters have already viewed your profile. 

It’s instead better to discuss your work and how your expertise can benefit the company, should you be interested in a position.

Try to keep a balance, don’t sound too arrogant, but don’t sound too modest either.

Don’t exaggerate your skills, stick to the facts. Tell them about what you’ve done, how you did it, and what you learned from it.

Recruiters will judge your expertise for themselves as the conversation flows.

Double check your message before sending.

Remember that you are sending a message to set a good first impression.

Avoid having any typos, grammar and punctuation mistakes.

Get your friends/relatives to proofread your message before sending them. They might be able to spot mistakes you’ve overlooked.

Recruiters encounter messages filled with mistakes everyday.

Make sure that your message isn’t one of them. 

Sending a non-polished message might also indicate lack of effort from your side, which might also discourage a response from recruiters.

Stay in touch.

Reaching out to recruiters doesn’t mean that you’ll immediately get the position you applied for.

In fact, it’s just the beginning. It won’t produce results right away.

After having a long discussion and sending in your resume, you might end up with a response like “I’ll keep your resume for future reference”, which isn’t very encouraging.

But that doesn’t mean you should immediately cut off contact with them.

Stay in touch with your recruiters, stay at the top of their minds. Do send them messages occasionally. You can share a post with them with a note saying, “You might find this useful!”. 

These small gestures help recruiters to remember your name, which could help them into portraying you as a friendly and knowledgeable person.

And of course, these are employee qualities that companies want to recruit.

Starting the conversation with recruiters might appear terrifying, but if you keep things warm, friendly yet professional, you’ll surely be able to nail it. That said, don’t hesitate to reach out, who knows, you might end up with a new job!

Not sure which recruiters to reach out to? Check out 9cv9’s page to find the latest companies that are hiring, and start reaching out to those recruiters today!

The post How to reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn? appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

If you are looking for a new job or making a career switch, perfecting your LinkedIn profile should be on top of your to-do list. Even if you’re not, it’s always good to spend some time enhancing your online presence as it helps you build your personal and professional brand.

To give you a little background, LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that most people commonly use to find jobs, expand their professional networks and attain skills essential to excel in their career.

TLDR: Your profile includes a brief summary, work and volunteer experiences, skills & endorsements, etc. In order to get the most out of your LinkedIn profile, you need to make your account as compelling and comprehensive as possible.

Here are 10 tips to create a perfect LinkedIn profile.

1. Choose the right set of pictures.
2. Make your headline more than just your job title.
3. Get some endorsements.
4. Request for recommendations.
5. Take a skills assessment.
6. Showcase your work.
7. Join a group.
8. Write a solid summary.
9. Be an active contributor.
10. Make sure your profile strength meter is at all-star.

1. Choose the right set of pictures

A professional profile photo

It’s important for you to have a professional headshot of yourself in which your face occupies around 60% of the entire picture.

Pages with a professional profile picture gets 14 times more visits and 36 times more chances to receive a message (Meero).

You should also wear a professional attire on your profile, i.e, something that you’d wear to work.

Carefully choose your expression as well. Recruiters are more likely to visit your page if your photo radiates warmth and friendliness.

But don’t display a forced smile!

Make sure it’s natural and candid.

Avoid having any distracting background. Choose one that’s a little subtle so your viewers can still focus on your face. You should also use a high resolution picture. The ideal size should be 400 x 400 pixels.

It’s also crucial to not use a cropped group photo, or a selfie. That’ll reduce both the quality and the professionalism of your photo.

A cover photo

Apart from a profile photo, your page also includes a cover photo. Your cover photo should also be in high resolution, with an ideal size of 1584 x 396 pixels. A pro tip is to choose a picture of something that represents you. 

It can be a photo that represents the industry or field that you’re working in, a photo of your workspace, a personal photo that you took on your own, etc. If you wish to share the values that you stand for, you can also put up a favorite quote of yours as your cover photo. 

If you still have no idea what to put, you can put up free stock images as your cover photo. You can check them out at Pexels or Unsplash.

2. Make your headline more than just your job title

Your headline is the 1-3 line space underneath your name on your LinkedIn page. You have a limit of 120 characters, including space, to write your headline. Hence, you should make the best out of the available space.

It’s common for LinkedIn users to simply describe who they are and what they do on their headline. But your LinkedIn headline should be more than that. It instead is your value proposition, or your “so what”.

Tell your audience who you are and what you can do for them. Include the benefits they can get by connecting to you. 

3. Get some endorsements

LinkedIn endorsements are a feature that allows your connections to endorse you for a certain skill. It adds validity to your online resume by backing up the list of work experiences you have.

The most common ways to get skills endorsements on LinkedIn is by taking the initiative to endorse others you’ve worked with before, whether it’s your client, colleagues, or other freelancers. It’s very likely that they are going to come back and endorse you back.

Endorsing your connections is a very easy task. To get started, you should visit their profile and scroll down to their “Skills & Endorsements” section. Then, click the plus sign beside the skill you’d like to endorse that user for. Fill out the pop-up form that pops up accordingly, and click “Submit”.

Take some time to manage your endorsements. Your skills and strengths will grow and your career progresses, and these endorsements should reflect that growth.

4. Request for recommendations.

While endorsements take seconds, recommendations might take longer to compose. A recommendation is a short note from a fellow LinkedIn user to recognize your work based on their prior work experiences with you.

LinkedIn allows you to request for a recommendation from your profile. 

When asking for one, however, it’s always better to be more specific about what you want your fellow user to write about. Tell them what you want the recommendation to focus on and what you want to be known for. Ask them the same questions as well so you can return the favor to them.

5. Take a skills assessment.

LinkedIn skills assessment allows you to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge on the areas which you have described on your profile. A typical assessment consists of 15 multiple choice questions and each question tests at least one concept or subskill.

There are now 14 skill assessments available, and they are all technical skills. Some examples include JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, etc.

Some companies are now adding “Desired Skills” on their job postings. This requires applicants to pass a certain type of test before being able to submit an application.

Once you’ve passed the assessment, these results will then show up on your LinkedIn profile.

6. Showcase your work.

LinkedIn allows its users to add links and media to their profile. This is the perfect way to stand out as most recruiters prefer seeing your past work instead of simply looking at your list of skills. 

LinkedIn also gives users options to link out, which gives you the opportunity to showcase the articles you’ve written, your personal blog, a YouTube video you’ve featured in, etc.

LinkedIn allows you to showcase five pieces of media in your summary, so make sure you choose the most relevant ones! Adding more will create additional thumbnails. But remember, recruiters are most likely not going to check them all out. So here’s where quality over quantity comes in!

7. Join a group.

LinkedIn groups are popular places for professionals of similar industries or interests to share content, post jobs, make business contacts, or even post themselves as industry professionals. 

Becoming active participants of a group allows you to network with those outside of your immediate circle. It’s often recommended for professionals to join 100 groups. When you have a strong, large network, you get more profile views and collide with more professional opportunities.

You can find LinkedIn groups to join by simply searching at the top of your homepage or viewing the groups you’ve already joined.

8. Write a solid summary.

Your LinkedIn summary is another section of your profile that gives you the opportunity to once again pitch yourself. This space has a 2,000 character limit, so make sure you’re only writing relevant content!

Provide some background, context that summarizes your experience. Remember to incorporate relevant keywords that recruiters are going to use when searching for candidates. 

You should also highlight your biggest accomplishments and projects throughout your career. It’s crucial to incorporate as many quantitative results as you can. Recruiters love to see measurable outcomes.

Don’t forget that on top of being a professional, you’re also a human. It’s also recommended for you to choose stories and words that reveal a little more about your personality. This includes gratitude, humility, or even humor. To top it off, you can even include your interests and hobbies outside of work.

You can then end your summary with opportunities you would be open to and ways to get in touch with you. Or simply conclude by saying how you’d love to connect with others.

From the above description, you can see that your summary isn’t only used to summarize your career, but to sell yourself to relevant audiences.

9. Be an active contributor.

Incorporating relevant keywords and building your LinkedIn profile is a must, but the easiest ways to gain visibility is by engaging with posts. 

Everyone is trying to build a good profile, and using the best possible keywords. The competition is fierce! But not many are actually engaging with the community. In fact, only 1.2% users create content weekly. It’s more likely that a recruiter is going to come across your page through their feed than from a search result.

But this doesn’t mean that you can comment anything on anyone’s posts. Take a few minutes to draft a thoughtful comment that seeks advice, asks questions or sparks debate. This is likely going to generate more likes and replies.

10. Make sure your profile strength meter is at all-star.

When visiting your own profile, you’ll notice a metric that tells you how strong your profile is. It’s always best to try and optimise your profile till it reaches the “all-star” strength.

Why? It’s because an all-star profile is 40x more likely to be contacted about job opportunities than any other profile level. On top of that, they are also 18x more likely to show up in search results.

Sounds like a good advantage right? What’s even better is that only 51% of all LinkedIn users have all-star profiles. A golden opportunity for you to stand out!

Here’s how you can get an all-star profile (Cultivated Culture):

• Add a high quality LinkedIn profile picture.
• Use a custom LinkedIn URL (with some variation of first & last name).
• Create an informative and up-to-date headline that includes your industry and location.
• Fill out your LinkedIn Summary.
• Add at least three positions (current + two previous) to your Work Experience section.
• Add your Education to your profile.
• Add at least 5 skills to your profile.
• Connect with 50+ people.

Now that your LinkedIn profile is optimized, it’s now time to broaden your professional network. Get started by heading over to 9cv9 Job and Career Platform. Find which companies are hiring, and start reaching out to recruiters today.

The post 10 tips to create a perfect LinkedIn profile appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

While the global blockchain market size is expanding, the programming languages that come with it is also growing. There are hundreds, if not thousands of programming languages out there.

However, not all of them are suitable for blockchain projects.

Before hiring a blockchain developer for your next blockchain project, it’s crucial for you (as a project lead) to know exactly what project you’re doing and what programming language is suitable for it. 

Alternatively, if you are an aspiring blockchain developer looking for your first blockchain coding language to immerse yourself in, then this article will be a good read for you.

Here are seven best programming languages for blockchain development that you should take a note of.

1. C++
2. Java
3. Python
4. C#
5. Solidity
6. Rholang
7. Simplicity

C++

Its multifunctionality which includes moving semantics, advanced multi-threading and other object-oriented features makes it one of the most commonly used programming languages, not only in Blockchain, but across the tech world.

C++ is also known as one of the best programming languages for cryptocurrency development. Dozens of tech companies are currently spending hundreds and millions exploring the field.

Popular blockchain projects like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple and EOS are built based on C++. 

Here are some additional functionalities this programming language offers, according to Appinventiv:

• Efficient CPU management and memory control,
• Ease of running parallel/non-parallel threads,
• Option to move semantics for copying data effectively, 
• Compile-time polymorphism for enhanced performance, 
• Code isolation for different data structures and more.

Java

Java has been a popular programming language as it’s the official language of Android mobile app development. 

Developers often utilize it to build sophisticated Smart Contracts and decentralized applications (“dApps”), which are crucial components of blockchain development. 

The programming language is derived from the C-syntax.

Besides, Java has a plentiful amount of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), which include many Java classes, packages, interfaces, etc. This comes in handy when constructing applications without necessarily knowing their inside implementations.

Below are some additional features that make Java a popular choice for developing blockchain: 

• Robust support for OOP (Object-Oriented Programming) methodology
• Ease of memory cleaning
• Portability and independence from system-specific architecture

Python

Python is becoming one of the most popular programming languages in the world. In Redmonk, a developer analyst firm tracking on popular coding languages in the world, Jan 2020 report, they found out that Python is ranked as the 2nd most popular language in the world.

Not only those in the STEM stream are learning it, this programming language is commonly offered as courses in schools and universities.

That said, when hiring your blockchain developer, you could definitely expect that your developers have some, if not great knowledge regarding this programming language.

A big advantage of using Python is the large amount of widely available resources. There are dozens of Python libraries, plugins, and other guides available online for almost every problem the developers might encounter during the development process.

On top of that, the object-oriented language is also relatively efficient for prototyping, making it suitable for any small or large scale blockchain projects.

C#

Being syntactically similar to Java and C++, C# is the next best programming language for blockchain development.

Even if it was initially created only as a Microsoft language to substitute Java, it’s now widely used in other program developments.

It is relatively easy to learn, even for developers new to the field, due to how similar it is to commonly-used programming languages. The language comes loaded with features of C, SQL, and .NET frameworks.

Open-source developers can effortlessly design a highly portable code using C#, which will run across all devices and multiple operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, etc. Furthermore, companies like it even more due to its cost-effectiveness, considering that the BizSpark Program supports it.

Solidity

It is currently one of the fastest-growing programming languages for Blockchain. Developers often use the object-oriented programming language to create and implement smart contracts on various blockchain platforms, most notably, Ethereum. 

Solidity is made based on C++, Python and Javascript concepts compiled together to allow developers to write high-level codes that are still easily understandable for machines. This also makes it easier for developers to learn the language with those respective skills.

Other advantages of Solidity includes the following (QSS Technosoft):

• Many developers utilize Solidity in programming smart contracts on other networks such as Monax and its Hyperledger, Counterparty, Burrow Blockchain, Tendermint, and Zeppelin by Digital Currency Group.
• Solidity also supports multiple type-safe functions through facilitating ABI (Application Binary Interface).
• The solidity development allows a secure and reliable process for different platforms involved in settlement or agreement between two members.
• Using contracts, fundraising can be done and can provide solutions for various problems raised like third-party expenses and reduce the cost of managing data.

Rholang

Rholang is another great programming language for smart contract development. What sets it apart from others is how it has a functional approach, rather than an object-oriented one, making it relatively useful in solving blockchain problems. 

This special feature indicates that Rholang evaluates the whole program as a series of functions and solves them sequentially. Which is different from languages like C or Python that use variables for storing data and change the value of the variables with time.

Simplicity

Simplicity is another high-level programming language. Its founders initially developed the language specifically for writing smart contracts. In fact, it is one of the best ones for it for both professional programmers and open source developers.

The programming language is based on Ivy and works like a Haskell-like syntax, making coding relatively more straightforward and effective. On top of that, it’s highly mathematical structure makes it extremely reader-friendly.

Simplicity also focuses on reducing the complications of Bitcoin Scripts. Because Simplicity hides the low-level logical components from Bitcoin developers, it increases developers’ work capacity, which helps create a relatively faster development period.

With that in mind, you should once again be wary of matching the programming language suitable for your blockchain project with the ability that your blockchain developers possess. Contact us for any assistance to hire the best possible blockchain developer for your company. Both local and foreign companies such as Pansonic, Pizza Hut, Bosch, Zalora, Toshiba, LINE, etc trusts 9cv9 in recruiting their best talents.

If you are thinking of hiring your blockchain team, you can now get started for free at 9cv9 Employer Hiring Platform. The platform contains some of the best blockchain developers in the world who are hungry to learn and work on your projects.

Alternatively, if you are looking for a blockchain job, then our innovative job finding application will aid you immensely to pair you up with some of the best blockchain companies. Take a giant leap towards your next job here.

The post 7 Best Programming Languages for Blockchain Projects in 2021 appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

In recent years, Blockchain has become an essential part of a growing number of industries.

Dozens of startups, developing companies and even large institutions invest most of their profits on studying and mastering this young technology.

Experts expect the blockchain industry to be worth $20 billion in 2024 (DotcomInfoWay).

This phenomenon explains the growing demand for blockchain developers.

According to Glassdoor, Blockchain jobs in the US grew 300% compared to the previous year, while the number of Blockchain-related LinkedIn job postings more than tripled over the last year.

This trend indicates:
1. A huge job opportunity for Blockchain developers, and
2. Difficulties for companies to find suitable Blockchain talents.

Over time, the increase in demand might have exceeded the supply of qualified Blockchain developers.

As of 2018, there are only 105,000 Blockchain developers around the world.

That’s a tiny percentage out of the total 18 million software developers.

That said, companies seeking Blockchain talents face many dilemmas when hiring their Blockchain developers, ranging from decisions like outsourcing vs in-house developers, to how much to pay their developers.

If your company is one of them, keep reading!

1. How your company can benefit from blockchain
2. Skills to expect in a blockchain developer
3. Roles and responsibilities of a blockchain developer
4. Outsourcing vs insourcing: Which one is right for your company?
5. Blockchain developer salaries based on country
6. Finding the best candidate for your company

How your company can benefit from blockchain

From healthcare to banking, nearly all companies are trying to implement blockchain into their daily business operations.

Because of its highly secure nature, it now becomes a first resort for any businesses when attempting to solve problems now.

A common benefit of blockchain that’s shared among different industries is the transparency that it offers.

It’s because blockchain records all transactions in a distributed ledger that can only be modified or updated through everyone’s consensus in the network.

This ensures accuracy, consistency and transparency of data at all times.

The fact that it is distributed across an extensive ledger network instead of a single server also makes the data more secure.

This feature prevents the possibility of fraud or any unauthorized activities.

It also saves your company a lot of time that could’ve been spent doing all the paperwork organizing and validating your data.

Skills to expect in a blockchain developer

Blockchain development is currently one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world.

That said, you can also expect your blockchain developers to have a wide variety of skill sets that corresponds to what the market wants.

However, there are some essential critical skills that all blockchain developers share; these include:

• Web development

A core skill that every blockchain developer should know and learn in web development.

That’s because majority of blockchain developers embark on their career by designing basic decentralized applications.

This suggests that the majority of blockchain developers should know the basics of both front and back-end development. 

• Data structure

You could also expect your for your blockchain developer to have an in-depth knowledge of data structures to build a secure and immutable system.

Knowing only about blockchain is not enough, one should also be able to apply this knowledge as they will most likely be tweaking and modifying existing data structures.

• Blockchain architecture

One must be familiar with blockchain’s network function and how it’s built as a blockchain professional.

Besides, you could expect these developers to be well-versed with concepts like cryptographic hash functions, distributed ledger technology, consensus, etc.

• Smart contracts

Smart contracts are increasing in popularity since the introduction of Ethereum. A smart contract refers to a self-executing contract in the form of computer codes.

As they’re running on a blockchain, these contracts are stored in a public database, cannot be changed and can be sent directly without a third party. 

• Cryptography 

Blockchain utilizes many cryptographic methods such as hash functions like SHA256 and KECCAK256 apart from asynchronous cryptography for generating digital signatures.

This explains why blockchain is said to be a conjunction of advanced cryptography and data structures. That said, your developers must be aware of such concepts.

Roles and responsibilities of a blockchain developer

There are two different types of blockchain developers:

1. Core blockchain developer, and

2. Blockchain software developer. 

A core blockchain developer builds a foundation which others will build upon.

They design the security and architecture of the proposed blockchain system.

One of these “others” is a blockchain software developer.

They use the core web architecture built by the core developers to create decentralized apps, web varieties, etc.

Despite having a very different set of roles, according to Betterteam, both developers share similar core responsibilities such as: 

• Collaborating with managers to determine blockchain technology needs and envisaged functionalities.
• Creating application features and interfaces by using programming languages and writing multithreaded codes.
• Applying the latest cryptology techniques to protect digital transaction data against cyberattacks and information hacks.
• Maintaining client and server-side applications.
• Optimizing and securing blockchain applications by integrating new tools and technologies.
• Educating sales personnel on blockchain features that allow secure digital payments.
• Documenting blockchain development processes and complying with best practices in data protection.
• Keeping up with current blockchain technologies and cryptography methods.

Blockchain developer salaries based on country

From learning economics, we know that excess demand and limited supply will result in a high price equilibrium. And that works in the exact same manner for blockchain developers’ salaries. This is good news for blockchain developers.

For companies, you might need to set apart a lump sum to pay your blockchain developer.

Here are some of the average blockchain developers companies can refer to before creating job postings (Source: Simplilearn):

• India: over ₹460,000
• United States: over $96,000
• United Kingdom: over £68,000
• Singapore: around S$95,865
• Canada: C$136,500 and C$78,500 for entry-level positions
• Germany: from $60,000 to $150,000 
• Switzerland: $180,000
• China: from ¥45,000 to ¥60,000 on average, and approximately ¥60,000 to ¥120,000 for managers and directors

Outsourcing vs insourcing: Which one is right for your company?

Blockchain insourcing

According to Investopedia, Insourcing is a business practice performed within the operational infrastructure of the organisation. When a company in-sources its blockchain developers, it will assign the particular project or tasks to someone who is part, or who will soon be part of the company. 

Insourcing is a viable option for a company with enough talent in its current workforce or can find suitable blockchain talents during recruitment. 

An insourced employee signs a long-term contract with the company. As they are recruited, they will become part of the company’s workforce and are bound by everything written on the employment contract. 

Advantages of blockchain insourcing

Improved communication

One of the most commonly faced problems for outsourced projects is communication issues. Because the outsourced team usually works in a separate location from your core team, you might find it difficult to arrange meetings, determine deadlines and plan schedules, etc.

This often leads to poor communication amongst members. 

As such, those preferring in-sourcing blockchain developers find it more convenient to work with them within the same location or at the very least, same geographical city or country. This could be due to them having more control over the blockchain development team.

That way, they can track progress more quickly and make alternate changes should they be needed throughout the project lifetime.

On top of that, majority team members also prefer having face-to-face meetings with their colleagues, mainly to discuss major developments and updates. Doing so allows one to read the other person’s body language and hear their voice’s inflexion, limiting miscommunication possibilities.

Speed of development.

One of the well-known disadvantages of outsourcing blockchain developers is “the 4x rule”. This translates to how it takes four times longer for an outsourced project to reach completion than estimated. 

A common reason behind this problem is improper communication between the company and the outsourced party. Besides, it’s also possible that your project isn’t the only one they are focusing on at the moment. 

This also raises possibilities that your project isn’t on top of their priority list, making development speed even longer.

More control.

If your company decides to outsource, you assign a large proportion of control to your outsourcing blockchain development partners. Hence, you’ll need to rely on them to deliver the quality of the project that you expect. 

As you are most likely not seeing the outsourced team daily, you might also find it difficult to update the project’s progress over time.

This issue can be minimized if you have an in-house development team working for you. As you’ll have complete control of the project, you’ll also be able to conduct periodic quality checks and immediately address problems, should they arise mid-development.

Minimize security issues.

By outsourcing, your company agreed to have your software developed outside your perimeter. In such circumstances, you may have concerns regarding the security of your blockchain product and your intellectual property.

Getting your outsourcing partners to sign an NDA can mitigate this risk. Nevertheless, there may be high security blockchain projects that pose too much risk for outsourcing.

In this case, insourcing might be your only option.

Blockchain outsourcing

Instead of wasting time forming and training a team of qualified blockchain developers, many companies choose to outsource their blockchain development projects to external partners. 

Outsourcing refers to the process of having someone external to your company, that is not your employee, complete a task or a business process. In the context of blockchain, your company will hand over a particular blockchain project to an external party for completion.

Also Read: 7 Activities To Bond Your Remote Team.

Advantages of blockchain outsourcing

A team instead of individual members.

When your company outsources, you are working with a full team of qualified blockchain developers. Your outsourced partner will most likely have all the skills to be on board on the project immediately. Additionally, as everyone in the team has most likely worked with everybody else, your company can limit the team members’ buffer time to adapt. 

When you are chased by time, outsourcing blockchain developers might be your best option. Besides, they can help you shape your project better as well.

Better focus on core business functions.

Nowadays, blockchain is not limited to technology companies—many operating in other industries, such as retail, pharmacy, automobile, finance, etc. are also adopting the rapidly developing technology, 

It’s a lot more efficient for these businesses to spend their time and resources working on something they’re experts at. This is because choosing to do everything yourself might stall your business growth, as the likeliness of project failure and waste of resources is relatively high.

It’s usually advised to outsource everything but your core business processes. This way, you can avoid stress, save money, spend your energy on activities you enjoy, and bring additional business revenue.

Access to more skills and expertise.

Blockchain is a young technology that’s still continuously developing. By outsourcing, you are allowing your company to be exposed to skills not just available in your geographical location, but globally, since many outsourcing partners work remote.

Your outsourcing partners are also likely to have all the needed technologies to carry out your blockchain projects, which might not be available in the location your company is operating in. This allows you to get access to a vast and skilled pool of talents without any geographical limitation.

Cost-effectiveness.

The increase in demand and a limited supply of blockchain developers have increased the cost of recruitment. Besides, there may be some training and development costs needed after your developers are recruited. 

Moreover, outsourcing blockchain developers also allows you to avoid spending on needed equipment and machines to develop blockchain software. Your company can then put more capital into revenue-producing activities, which delivers significant cost saving than the operational cost of in-house blockchain development.

How should you decide?

As we’ve seen above, both insourcing and outsourcing blockchain developers have its own pros and cons. As a company, your biggest question might be which one is the right one for you?

You should outsource if:

• This is your first blockchain project.
• You are running on an extremely tight deadline.
• There’s no blockchain developers on board in your company.
• You are not thinking of doing another blockchain project in the future.

If you choose to outsource, however, do make sure that your partners have the right skills, experience and commitment to provide optimal solutions for your projects. 

Finding the best candidate for your company

No matter insource or outsource, you need to act fast as the technology keeps evolving as we speak.

You can contact us for any assistance in your company’s blockchain developer hiring decision.

9cv9 has been trusted by both local and foreign businesses such as Pansonic, Pizza Hut, Bosch, Zalora, Toshiba, LINE, etc in recruiting the best talents out there.

Go get your free trial to enjoy the features in the 9cv9 Career Platform by clicking here.

The post Everything you need to know before hiring a Blockchain Developer appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.

2020 has been a difficult year for all of us. Lockdowns, face masks, zoom calls, those things quickly became part of our everyday lives. You might feel that you weren’t as productive as you wish in the past 365 days. You might not tick off any items off your bucket list. But honestly, surviving 2020 in itself is already a big achievement. Now that we’re in the new year, many of you would probably want to start a brand new page of your lives with good old New Year’s Resolutions.

But where should you start?

• Take it easy on yourself.
• Break it down to realistic, actionable goals.
• Consider reflections instead of resolutions.
• Some resolution ideas that you can actually achieve:
  • Draw a line between work and life.
  • Eat healthier snacks.
  • Walk a mile a day.
  • Reconnect.
  • Try out a new hobby every month.
• Key takeaways.

Take it easy on yourself.

You might have the want of punishing yourself for developing unhealthy habits, overindulging or not accomplishing any of your goals and resolutions in 2020. 

Intense workout and diet plans, paying off debts, traveling to new continents, those were the traditional new year’s resolutions that we have been familiar with.

But with the level of uncertainty we’re faced with, and the anxiety that has haunted all, if not most people in 2020, Author, Ruby Warrington, hopes that people will be a little kinder to themselves in the coming year.

If changes are to be made, it should be something that is self-care related, as it will make you feel better at the moment, as if you are living, and not just breathing.

Your goals should also be something that you actually want to do for yourself, rather than to please someone else. That way, you’ll be more likely to stick and focus on it.

Break it down to realistic, actionable goals.

Studies showed that more than 80% of new year’s resolutions fail, and most people tend to have abandoned them by February.

Why is that? The most common reason is because the goals they’ve set are either too broad, or too ambitious. 

That said, in a recent podcast from iHeartRadio, Psychiatrist, Dr. Gail Saltz said that she doesn’t recommend for people to seek drastic behavioral changes in 2021. Because it takes a tremendous amount of effort, which hence also indicates high chances of failure. 

“Setting yourself up to feel failed is not a good solution this year. Pick something bite-sized. If you accomplish it, you’ll feel good, and if you want to do more after that, no one’s stopping you”, said Saltz. 

You won’t believe how much a tiny fix or habit can actually improve your mind, body and life.

Consider reflections instead of resolutions.

Reflecting on your accomplishments in the past year might also be a healthier path to take towards self-improvement.

Apart from being too broad or too ambitious, another common reason why new year’s resolutions fail is how self-critical they are to your current self.

Some think that by earning more, or shedding some extra weight, they can completely transform their lives to the better. Dr. Kelly McGonigal described this as creating a “false promise of, ‘If you change this one thing, you’ll change everything.’”

Scientific studies show that the best way to change one’s behavior is by bundling it with their current behaviors, or what is often called “stacking”. 

Through reflections, you can keep the best lessons and habits you’ve learned in 2020 and stack them with new habits you wish to adopt in the new year.

Some resolution ideas that you can actually achieve.

Draw a line between work and life.

As we social-distanced from our friends and families, we got way closer to our devices, which undoubtedly means more screen time, wifi consumption and electricity usage. Working from home further blurs the line between work and personal life.

Despite still working remotely, you can set yourself a schedule on when work starts and ends. Put all your devices down when it’s your downtime. Have some time to yourself, do something that you love and give yourself a well-deserved break.

Eat healthier snacks.

Panic buying, stress eating, those were common actions a lot of us went through throughout the pandemic. Because of that, many of us also ended up consuming a lot of unhealthy or fast food.

Even if snacks have gained a bad image of causing weight gain, healthy snacks are necessary parts of your diet. It provides you with energy throughout the day and prevents you from overeating.

Walk a mile a day.

Losing 20 pounds is a common new year’s resolution. But after spending most of your days at home staring at your computer screen, it might be a little challenging to get back to exercising vigorously.

That said, you should start with smaller, more attainable goals like being able to walk, or jog a mile a day. If you don’t have much time for exercise on your schedule, you can even write resolutions like “doing a 10 minute stretch every morning”. The choice is yours.

Reconnect.

Social distancing might have left you feeling lonely or isolated. But keep in mind that everyone else around you might have experienced the exact same feelings.

Do take this opportunity to reconnect with your high school friends, your relatives, your colleagues, basically anyone whom you haven’t contacted in years. You won’t believe how much a video call can impact your well-being.

Try out a new hobby every month.

Who says that your new year’s resolutions can’t have any variety? Take the time you spend at home to do things that you’ve always wanted to do, but never had the time to do, let it be read a newly published book, watch the latest movie or even develop a new skillset. The options are truly endless.

You can also explore new hobbies like gardening, or even baking.

Key takeaways.

There’s no certainty on how 2021 is going to turn out, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make the best out of it. 

Remember, change needs to start within. Make sure that whatever it is that you want to commit to in 2021 is for yourself. Also remind yourselves that it’s okay to start small. Don’t estimate the power these tiny habits can have on your lives.

The above examples are some of the more general resolutions one can write. When drafting your own, don’t forget to be a little more specific so that you know exactly what you are working with throughout the year.

Have fun writing your resolutions!

The post How to form New Year’s Resolutions for 2021 appeared first on 9cv9 Career Blog.