From the article- ?A well-executed recruiting model assumes that matches are inexact and that candidates who meet the critical requirements but lack other requirements may be the preferred choice.?

If that is the case, there are many poorly executed recruiting models out there- and how does this notion speak to the relative value of the artificial intelligence and fuzzy search technology that is often advertised as a silver bullet? I think there remains a prevailing mindset that the person who best fits ?the requirements? is the best person for the job. If ?the requirements? are difficult to reduce to words and testable standards, suspicion naturally grows about the actual operative selection criteria.

There really is a cultural divide between TPR’s and some corporate recruiters. But there are many corporate recruiters either from the TPR world or naturally savvy who think like salespeople; and salespeople need CRM tools to reach their highest potential. For people not selling or serving, CRM is not particularly useful.

Second, on Kevin?s characterization of the ATS market as ?overcrowded?.

Well, that may or may not be true. It depends on where you believe the ATS is on a product lifecycle basis. If it’s early in the cycle, at the adaptation stage, the challenges are technology and reach; getting the product into the hands of the middle adapters as fast as possible. There will be many competitors and many business models.

If it’s in the mass consumption stage of the market, the challenge is brand positioning, price strategy, and efficiency. There will be fewer competitors, and competitors will have more clearly defined market niches.

If it’s in the mature stage, the challenge is complete cost control and successful passing of costs to customers while maintaining as much price power as possible. There will be very few growing competitors and moderate merger and acquisition activity among existing competitors. There will be few new competitors.

If it’s in the renewal / death phase, the business models are reinvented or superseded, by existing or new market entrants. There will again be more competitors, newer competitors, and growing competitors as the new model or replacement technology takes over the market.

A good argument could be made for any of the four lifecycle stages in today’s ATS business. Which is the actual situation ? Is it really overcrowded ?

In addition, European recruitment is often focussed away from resumes. Many European companies recruit on more varied processes, often using a multitude of different forms or methods of application to meet the needs of the candidate pool. While this may not be 100% useful for US organisations, it certainly deserves examination by US corporate recruiters as alternative (perhaps more candidate-friendly) ways of moving candidates into your hiring process.