I describe myself as an experienced recruitment industry professional, but 'experienced' can be open to a number of interpretations. If I say that I started life as a researcher in a headhunting company before the internet came along, it probably tells you all you need to know. Not surprisingly, much seems to have changed in that time, but no more so than in the last 5 years. The development of internet platforms, job boards and the rise of social media have given recruiters access to powerful tools and the sort of depth of information which I would have killed for when I was a researcher.
Using social networking sites really is a game changer for the recruitment industry and I am far from the first to say so. But the truth is that there is still much that is familiar about the recruitment landscape in the UK: many of the same names, same practices, same complaints. What is the difference that social networking has made, and what does it mean for the market?
The biggest change is that the internet has turned candidates into consumers. Just as the best marketing teams look to understand consumer habits and engage with their target audience, so the best recruiting teams will need to be brand champions, knowing where the best candidates are to be found and undertaking initiatives to engage with them and develop a dialogue with them.
So how will this affect the market?
Press: It should be dead but won't quite lie down. The public sector cuts should read the last rites.
Job Boards: A mature market now with many of the worst having been weeded out by more discerning users. They should continue to form a significant part of the recruiting landscape because the concept is simple and easily delivered and clients and candidates know that. SEO is generally good and can reach out to candidates for specific roles. For all that, useability is still an issue and user experience is still poor on some. Ongoing profitability must be a concern for all but the biggest as the boards juggle site and customer service improvements with traditionally cheap posting rates.
Those who predict that social media will kill job boards might ask themselves why LinkedIn has its own job board.
Agencies/Consultancies: A huge subject. I can't believe that the market will continue to support the numbers of agencies which it still seems to do, as more recruitment will be taken in-house. Although there will be a smaller number, agencies are not going to disappear from the scene, but they will have to up their game or fall by the wayside. Many are short-sighted, transactionally-based, and add little value; and disgruntled clients/candidates (they are often the same people over time!) can now make their concerns known in a very public forum. I don't care how many candidates apply for a job, sending out an 'if you don't hear from us you haven't made it to the shortlist' note is unacceptable.
HR Depts: Clearly the biggest potential winners. With around 16 million people in the UK using social networks (Source: ONS), and LinkedIn announcing its 4 millionth UK user earlier this year, why wouldn't you be using them? But puzzlingly there are some who are still reticent. This is a huge opportunity to manage the talent pool and develop an effective employer brand.
The recruitment market is far more dynamic now than the one I joined, but there is one enduring core truth that the flood of available information has tended to hide. Recruitment is a human transaction. Personality, presence and work style are critical factors in a successful recruitment and these qualities cannot be judged remotely. 2-dimensional, reactive recruitment, sieving electronic responses to adverts place etc, is no substitute for getting out in the market, pressing the flesh, getting some old-fashioned humint on potential candidates.
The internet has provided the tools for a fresh approach to recruitment, but is not the end in itself. The ability to connect and communicate easily with a large audience is immensely powerful, but it is really only the start. Treat your audience as humans, engage in dialogue with them, try to understand them, provide them with information that is helpful to them, meet some of them - this is where the successful recruiters of the future will reap the benefits of investing in social media now.
