Month: March 2024

At PCRecruiter, we regard security and availability as our most important goals. This commitment extends beyond our internal operations. We understand the crucial role secure and reliable partners play in your organization’s success. But how can you, as a customer, effectively assess potential vendors in terms of their security and availability posture?

Here are some key considerations

Established Security Certifications

Seek SOC 2 Compliance. This widely recognized independent audit assesses a service organization’s security controls and measures to safeguard customer data. SOC stands for System and Organization Controls. It refers to a framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for assessing the effectiveness of a service organization’s controls related to information security, privacy, and other operational risks.

Consider Additional Certifications. Depending on your industry and data sensitivity, additional certifications like ISO 27001 (Information Security Management) or PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) might be important factors.

Scrutinize Security Policies and Procedures

Request access to the vendor’s security policy outlining their approach to protecting your data, who can access it and under what controls, and what their incident response plans entail. It’s important to understand what their communication protocols are in the case of a potential security incident.

Inquire about third-party testing procedures they may be employing and learn how they address vulnerabilities found by these tests. It’s one thing for a vendor to claim security of their system, but without outside auditing and testing their claims may be hollow.

Evaluate Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Plans

Ensure documented disaster recovery plans exist. These plans should outline what the vendor’s backup systems include and how the vendor would restore critical systems and data in case of an outage. You’ll also want to inquire about redundancy measures that guarantee application uptime during unforeseen circumstances.

Your PCRecruiter account is always available to you in a warm standby (read-only) mode, operating on a completely independent and geographically separated infrastructure, and continuously backed up to our current Recovery Point Objective. We call this our ‘snapshot’ feature. In the event of a loss of access to our primary service, snapshot can quickly be switched out of read-only mode and be promoted to primary service, and then reverted to backup mode as required.

Transparency and Communication

A reputable vendor will openly discuss their security practices and be prepared to answer your questions concerning their security practices. Look for vendors who prioritize transparency and actively communicate.

Main Sequence Technology is pleased to provide PCRecruiter users and prospective customers with this information, including documentation of our SOC2 compliance. Your comfort level and ability to meet your own vendor assessment responsibilities to your customers and stakeholders are important parts of the value that working with our company provides.

Be Wary of Overpromising

Watch out for vendors who make big promises or seem overconfident. The fact is, absolute cybersecurity cannot be guaranteed by anyone for reasons such as:

• Unforeseen Threats (Zero-Day Exploits): Cybercriminals constantly develop novel attack methods (zero-day exploits) that exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities. Even with robust security measures, these new threats can pose a temporary risk until patches or solutions are developed.
• Shared Infrastructure (Internet): The internet, which forms the foundation of most communication and data exchange, inherently presents security challenges. Malicious actors can exploit vulnerabilities within this shared network, potentially impacting even well-secured systems.
• Human Error: Accidental mistakes by employees or authorized users can introduce security vulnerabilities. Social engineering tactics can also manipulate individuals into compromising security protocols.
• Determined Attackers: Highly motivated and well-resourced attackers may relentlessly target specific organizations, employing sophisticated techniques to overpower and defeat commercially realistic security measures.
• External Dependencies: Software applications often rely on libraries, frameworks, and other components developed by third parties. Vulnerabilities in these external dependencies can introduce risks beyond a single vendor’s direct control.

While achieving absolute cybersecurity is an unreachable goal, carefully monitoring the threat landscape, deploying and effectively using reasonable controls, communicating transparently, and deploying skilled and objective third-party experts are what you should expect from your vendors, and what Main Sequence will provide as part of our service. Contact us with your questions.

Please note that this blog post is intended for informational purposes and should not be considered as expert security advice. Appropriate and commercially reasonable business operations regarding cybersecurity are highly dependent on conditions affecting each organization. Each organization should obtain professional services from accredited providers pertinent to their industry and the type of information processing being conducted. This blog post is not a warranty, representation of merchantability, or statement of fitness for any particular purpose regarding the service or other offerings of the company.

An effective candidate engagement process, especially one that leverages automation, not only helps candidates become more comfortable working with you, but has the added benefit of keeping your private talent pool more efficient overall.

Let’s look at some of the key factors that make up a candidate engagement experience:

The Power of Connection

Regular, meaningful communication is key for all relationships, and your relationship with candidates is no different. Whether it’s a quick email, a friendly phone call, or a personalized message on LinkedIn, staying connected keeps the relationship alive.

But it’s not just about talking; it’s about listening too. Keeping communication open with your candidates means more opportunity to learn what motivates them, what their strengths are, and what they’re looking for in a job. The more opportunities you create for candidates to connect with you, the better you can tailor your own communications with them and ultimately with the potential managers you’ll be recommending them to.

Securing Your Brand

Recruitment branding isn’t just for big corporations. Even a one-recruiter agency has a story to tell. By sharing your own story with candidates, you can help them understand who you are and what it’s like to work with you. Your reputation as a highly-attentive and engaged recruiter can lead to more referrals, better reviews, and ultimately the growth of your talent and client pools for future placements.

Keeping Them in the Loop

We’ve all been there—waiting anxiously for an update, refreshing our inbox every five minutes. Don’t leave your candidates hanging. Keeping them informed every step of the way shows you respect their time and effort. It’s not just about being professional; it’s about being human.

Furthermore, your continual engagement with candidates may reduce the likelihood of them ghosting you, which a survey by Indeed shows has become increasingly common. Even a simple email on a regular basis can show candidates that you’re still there and still interested in their career, which might mean the difference between making a placement or losing them entirely.

Embracing Automation with a Personal Touch

Automation is more important than ever, even for small-scale recruiting operations. When you streamline repetitive tasks you not only save time but you ensure a more consistent candidate experience.

Using sequencing tools with automated emails and time-based task reminders helps you check in with candidates more regularly, collect the most up-to-date candidate information, and generally stay on top of your process with less work. Giving candidates continual opportunities to update their information via simple forms means your database remains fresh and more useful for surfacing existing matches for new roles.

Your automation should also allow for manual involvement where appropriate, giving you the chance to include details about specific opportunities, personal anecdotes, or links to relevant resources. Recruitment automation should always enhance, not replace, human interaction.

Build Connections, Build Business

Growing and maintaining meaningful connections by sharing your story, keeping candidates informed, and embracing automation will help you create an experience that leaves a lasting impression. Remember that you’re not just filling a position or placing a candidate — you’re building relationships that can bear fruit years into the future. In a world where the recruiting process can feel increasingly impersonal, the frequency and quality of your candidate engagement can be the key to setting yourself apart from the competition.