Stop Wasting Time and Money!

In a slowing economy, does it make sense to recruit the way you would in a tight economy? Has recruiting ever been a one-size-fits-all proposition? Absolutely not! Your traditional advertising dollars (job postings, ads, banners, etc.) are now generating more resumes than you can review. But since when did quantity equal quality? You’re buried in unqualified candidate resumes, which makes it difficult to find the “needle in the haystack” once you’ve already gone cross-eyed reading the first 50 “duds.” When your recruitment efforts focus on “attracting” candidates by using job postings, banner ads, print ads, etc., you cannot control the type of people who are going to apply. With new and improved ways for job seekers to “blast” their resume to any posting that has specific keywords, it’s no wonder you’re inundated with unqualified resumes. One Recruiter friend of mine has gone so far as to put in big bold letters the specifications of the position and ask that those who do not fit those specs not apply. Do you think this works for her? She said it helps but she is still spending too much time wading through a pool of unqualified resumes. No matter how well you put together your ad or posting, you will still get resume spammed. So how do you recruit in a slowing economy to avoid wasting hours wading through unqualified resumes? Some would say to use technology to screen out candidates or a backend Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to sort through results. But spending more money in a slowing economy is probably not going to put you in good graces with the CEO. Those of you who already have an ATS know that those same candidates who “spammed” you about the job probably also used many of the keywords from the job description on the resume or cover letter they submitted to you. The ATS will help, but will still give you those clever ducks who know their way around the job search world to weed through as you keyword search. As to using technology to screen out candidates on the front end, my big question is, does this screening technology really “screen in” high quality candidates? High quality and skilled candidates are still just as much in demand as they were last year. Are they going to take 30 minutes to answer your cut and paste “screening” questions? So how do you recruit in a slowing economy to avoid wasting hours wading through unqualified resumes without spending a ton of money? Technology helps, but your sourcing efforts will be key. By taking a proactive sourcing approach and actively searching the Internet for candidates to contact, you are controlling your flow of applicants. Reactive methods do not control the flow of applicants. It takes time to source but it takes just as much time to sort through junk resumes. Sourcing those niche locations where these candidates are listed will be key to targeting exactly whom you want. I search the Internet for every position I receive and typically will contact 30 “A” candidates to make a placement. I’m still wading through resumes to find those 30 candidates; however, I am using technology to help me do this and have become somewhat of a pro. You will find in the beginning that it will take you several hours to source for a position. Eventually you will get so good it may only take you an hour or two (don’t expect this immediately, I’ve been full time at it for over 3 years.) Couple your sourcing efforts with very specific postings to niche association sites dedicated to those candidates you know you would want. Ask your ad agency where these sites are if you or your hiring managers don’t know already. If your agency doesn’t know, then spend $30.00 on the 2001 CareerXRoads directory written by Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler to help get you started. These niche posting and Internet searching efforts won’t give you tons of resumes, but will give you plenty of “A” candidates. Remember: “quantity” does not mean “quality.” Increase the quality of your sourcing efforts and you’ll spend less time wading through the quantity. <*SPONSORMESSAGE*>