In sourcing, big data can’t yet gap poor candidate experience, labor intensive research for right fit for volume of skilled pros (for specific hard to fill roles, maybe, exec recruitment/research definitely)

However, big data – SMAC does have huge potential on talent management which can mean, TA has to follow the leader.

I don’t know by how much or what %, but there’ll be less recruiters for sure. more part-timers, more contractors and free-agent nation for good and bad.

It will disrupt the profession of recruitment.

@ Charles – thank you for your insights. Agree on potential for huge ROI – LI will have to determine its fate

@ Maureen & Carol – agree. Military is usually ahead on this stuff and logic/human ingenuity/thought can’t be replaced, esp in sourcing process

@Matti – I think your point is fair but not sure we’re there yet with LI in terms of saturation similary with boards but it’s probably not far off. Paradox indeed but I imagine LI will mine more business for selling ‘sales’ leads versus just the employment business. Doing so already.
As long as folks are willing to create a profile, send inmails, etc – it’ll be around and of value to recruiters.

@ Martin – what I find ironic is we participate (all of us, me included) to have access to the social sphere. We gave away our data for free. LI monetized it and will continue – if it expands with big data on sourcing, yes – less recruiters for sure.

@ Alan – I’ve seen Talent Locator (good stuff) but I was referring to a few other big private equity backed players. Email me directly pls.

Thanks,

Michael

Cheers,

Keith

Built into that advantage is a tension where as LinkedIn becomes more of a public space, its social value decreases, and so does the quality of data and interaction people are willing to undertake.

LinkedIn’s own culture has evolved- they were in hypergrowth and now are starting the real process of digging out a business deal by deal by deal. They know they will have a fight with other major information companies, and to be sure, the sales performance of a skilled recruiter is essential and likely will be forever.

LinkedIn is a great business, and they will be with us for a long time. Among many other trends, they may eat recruiter jobs, but the business will still go to recruiters- although fewer and better recruiters. The real estate industry may be a good model of that evolution…

However, I just got word back from Perri Gorman (http://www.linkedin.com/in/perrigorman)creator of Archive.ly.
Check it out, and drop my name….

Keith

Cheers,
Keith

Charles: I think you’re right on target.

Matti: On line sourcing is extremely labor intensive and time consuming as you point out. But, of course, once one finds names you have to connect with people…the hardest part of the job.

I see no easy solution to this problem.

An easily-affordable tool which will allow you to search (Boolean, semantic, etc.) for someone with any type of internet presence at all (web, SN, etc.) and *create a digital dossier on them, including direct contact information either obtained or extrapolated/tested. Furthermore it will be equipped with (perhaps optionally) simple algorithmic interpreters so you can get some meaning from the data.
In other words: we’ll have access to something like the NSA has *probably had for a dozen years or so….

Two things:
1) We’ll still need folks like Maureen to find some people.
2) Managers will still complain they can’t get anybody good, because the problem isn’t the sourcing, it’s the recruiting (and having something people will listen to).

Cheers,

Keith

* Search engines won’t do this.

** I’m basing this on a chart I saw that showed that laptops tend to have the computing power of the best supercomputers of ~a dozen years prior.

The military uses all kinds of artificial intelligence but when it gets right down to it they use PEOPLE to interpret the data the AI fixes on because AI sometimes can’t decipher from a terrorist planting a bomb on a car or a civilian fixing a tire (or children playing.)

I’ll follow the military lead on this one.