With the advent of online recruiting, actual recruiters have often been
cast aside by companies. While they are saving money, there is a huge hidden
cost. Here are five things that are
being lost both for companies and people.
1)
The Quality
of candidates is suffering
The best
candidates often are not online and do not use the online recruiting sites. So,
for the most part, companies only receive the résumés of the people who are
actively looking online. Recruiters
often know the wishes and desires of their best candidates and only send them
when the most appropriate jobs show up.
Although I
have not seen empirical evidence, I will bet turnover has increased.
2)
Mentoring
Over the
years there are dozens, if not hundreds, of candidates I have been able to guide and help. It is one of the joys of recruiting,
especially for a single industry recruiter.
There are people whose careers I have actually managed – both junior
executives and those well into their careers., including presidents and CEO's.
Because
companies have cut back on the use of recruiting, this benefit is unknown to
many young people.
The
corollary to that is that many recruiters have left the business and companies
have lost the counsel of many who knew their companies well.
3)
Long-term
relationships with management have been hindered
Recruiting is a relationship business – both with candidates and
companies.
Good
recruiters know the principals and hiring managers of many of their
clients. Consequently they know who fits
and who will succeed.
Human
resources and the network owned company managers, because they are not allowed
to use recruiters, are often precluded from taking advantage of this valuable
service.
When a
great candidate is spotted for a likely company, it is becoming more and more
difficult to market them to that business.
4)
Working with
résumés
Effective
recruiters can maximize people’s candidacy by interpreting, explaining and
often rewriting (or directing the rewrite) résumés.
5)
Recruiters
know and understand jobs
Working
with recruiters speeds up the recruiting process. They are familiar with companies and hiring
managers and often know the ins and outs of specific jobs so that they can
quickly access appropriate candidates.
Online
listings rarely contain enough information and, as a result, companies may receive
dozens, if not hundreds, of inappropriate résumés which have to be screened and
interviewed. This is time consuming and costly. And it often costs companies exceptional candidates.
Good recruiters are also objective about salaries and are most often able to make deals that are fair to both sides. People don't like to negotiate for themselves, finding it uncomfortable. Recruiters can negotiate appropriate salaries commensurate with the job. This may help lower turnover.
Good recruiters are also objective about salaries and are most often able to make deals that are fair to both sides. People don't like to negotiate for themselves, finding it uncomfortable. Recruiters can negotiate appropriate salaries commensurate with the job. This may help lower turnover.
