Below:
- Monday’s Question of the Day
- Building an ATS From Scratch
- Search Engine Marketing
- Sendouts vs. PCRecruiter
- Candidates Going Out of Their State for an Interview
Monday’s Question of the Day
After reading a post by Jason Buss, I wanted to know if the ERE community thinks that job boards are obsolete. Understandably, this is a sensitive topic for many recruiters. Ryan Reddy, Amanda Blazo, and Eric Smith feel that without job boards recruiters would have to do their own sourcing and question if that would ever happen. David Templeton believes they are already obsolete since most leads are weak and agrees with David Boller that you need to look at other tools to source candidates. John Ruffini sums it up best by stating, “If you are mining resumes form the Internet job boards and that is your main source of candidates, in my opinion you are not a recruiter. There is some value to that, but the art and science of recruiting is achieved by traditional sourcing and networking, and finding the talent that your client cannot and will not find through any other means.”
Building an ATS from Scratch
Christy Grimske is considering a homegrown ATS instead of investing in a solution provider. Is this a long-term solution? What should she consider? The consensus is that Christy should save her company time and energy by seeking a low-cost ATS vendor. Taccara Ohaeri suggests a vendor with a 30-day free trial. Mike Connors advises Christy to consider support and maintenance. Who will be there to deal with unexpected problems? Jake Stupak, who has experience with many companies in the same situation, comes to the rescue and offers some questions to consider around implementation, testing, and installation. He recommends a few vendors, including Salesforce. Christy is very pleased and decides to invest in Salesforce. We would love to hear an update, Christy!
Search Engine Marketing
Reva Levin wants help determining the pros and cons associated with Search Engine Marketing, specifically buying Google and Yahoo! keywords on a pay-per-click model. Most responses were in favor of SEM. Mike Jenkins outlines the benefits and links the pay-per-click model to advertising. He also believes that “Search Engine Marketing is a nice short term strategy compared to the long-term, high investment approach of Search Engine Optimization.” After several positive comments from ERE members, Steven Rothberg wonders if this optimism in SEM is to have clients appear on the first page of the Google search or a shift toward pay for performance (pay per click) instead of pay for placement. Ernst Feiteira and Alison Engelsman both offer advice on effectively using Search Engine Marketing, stressing the importance of tracking and measuring the process. Alison warns that a client’s ATS can be the biggest impediment.
Sendouts vs. PCRecruiter
The never ending question of what ATS is the best continues here…this time comparing Sendouts and PCRecruiter. Unfortunately, you won’t find a unanimous response from this crowd. Both Sendouts and PCRecruiter are user-friendly, according to Lori Fenstermaker and Rosemarie Brooks. Stephanie Huff recommends PCRecruiter for its email integration but also suggests looking into Taleo at a similar price range. The only negative comment about Sendouts came from Juntee Terrenal, who felt that the solution “de-personalizes communication to your clients and prospects.” Pam Claughton and Mark Anderson prefer cBiz and Amanda Blazo concludes that in order for any investment to be effective, “you need to use it 100% of the time.” I will add my 2 cents…if you are looking to invest in an ATS, make sure you identify your unique hiring needs. It would be beneficial to create a list of “must-haves” and a list of “nice-to-haves.”
Candidates Traveling From Out of State for an Interview
Coral Blankenship asks, “Is it common practice to pay for the flight, hotel, and expenses for a candidate to travel out of state for an interview”…even if the company does not cover relocation costs? David Rees and Alison Fielo Worth say “yes” and candidates usually understand that they need to cover relocation. Moises Lopez asks us to consider that most states require companies to reimburse candidates. Tami Gold says that communication is critical, while Angelique Kearney and Michael Peterson take a different approach, looking at the job position and interest in the candidate.