When Zero Can Be Good

I have to admit, I’m not a fan of zero.  Often, it has a negative connotation, like back in school.  Kids who cheated on tests received a zero. Sports teams who were really doing poorly often received zero points.  And then there are the “zero” products: Coke Zero, Sprite Zero, PowerAide Zero, and of course, the Zero candy bar.  Personally, I’m not a fan of any of those.  But, there is at least one time that zero can be great:  Zero Unemployment.

Why does unemployment stand at 8.9% in the United States when there are more than 3 million jobs currently available?  What part of the recruiting process is keeping positions from being filled?  And how can we fix it?  It is questions like these that will be discussed today as part of the unofficial “Zero Unemployment Day.” Jerome Ternynck, the Founder and CEO of Smartrecruiters(www.smartrecruiters.com), a free recruiting software, has partnered with Human Resources and Recruiting Expert, Jessica Miller-Merrell of www.blogging4jobs.comto launch the Zero Unemployment Movement.

“Using a social media grassroots effort, we hope to draw attention to the current state of employment,” says Ternynck.  “Unemployment is the consequence of an inefficient labor market.   We live in a connected world in which should be fast, it should be social, it should be fair… mostly it should be easy”.

So, my question for you is this….whether you work in HR, recruiting, or you are a leader with ability to hire, what is the ONE THING you can do differently to support the goal of zero unemployment? This means taking a hard look at your current mode of operation.  Could you volunteer to help job seekers with their resumes?  You could volunteer to speak to the unemployed at a local job service or job fair.  How about partnering with your talent acquisition team to brainstorm ways to shorten the time to fill positions?  Let’s get creative and work toward zero unemployment!

To learn more about the Zero Unemployment movement, please contact Jessica Miller-Merrell at 405-343-5751 and by visiting www.smartrecruiters.com/zero-unemployment or view the release live athttps://bit.ly/hXrjWU.