Recently, there has been a spate of press reports on two topics that are important to recruiters:
While I appreciate the visibility the media has accorded these issues, I’m troubled by the message that was conveyed. For that reason, I’m offering the following alternative points of view for you to consider.
Are Corporate Career Sites the Only Answer?
Corporate career sites are deluged with resumes these days. That’s hardly news. Whether you’re posting job openings or simply building your employment brand, if there’s an e-mail address to be had on your site, job seekers will be sending you a resume (or two or three).
What is news, however, is the conclusion that is being drawn from this happy situation. According to the press, some recruiters now believe that the resume deluge at their own site eliminates the need to post job openings on job boards and career portals. While I understand that perspective-especially in light of tight recruiting budgets-I think it’s dead wrong.
Limiting your sourcing to your own career site reduces your candidate flow to just two cohorts of the workforce:
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the population of the first cohort typically runs about 16% of the U.S. workforce. So, ask yourself, are you willing to ignore the other 84% simply because you have a good resume flow at the moment? Even if you add another 16% to account for the population of the second cohort (and with the exception of truly world renowned brands, I think that’s being generous), you’re still ignoring two-thirds of the workforce. That doesn’t make sense, even in a slow economy.
And, then, there’s the issue of quality. While a few “A” level performers undoubtedly have found themselves looking for a job as a result of a layoff, the vast majority continue to be employed. In other words, you will almost never find them in the first cohort above. Further, countless surveys have shown that these most-sought-after of candidates are also especially cautious about making a move to a new employer during these days of uncertain economic growth. In other words, those same “A” level performers are unlikely to be among the second cohort above, as well.
So, here’s the bottom line: The only way to ensure that you are connecting with the entire candidate population online-passive as well as active, “A” level performers as well as the rest-is to maximize your penetration points. That means you must have a well-designed corporate career site (not one that job seekers are simply tolerating because of the economy) and an outreach strategy in which you:
Even when resumes are flooding into your site, it takes both of those steps to maximize your ROI … your return on the Internet.
Which Resources Are Best for Finding Job Boards?
You may also have seen the recent press reports about authors writing reviews of their own books on Amazon.com. Several authors were interviewed for these articles and their basic position was “Well, why not?”. Writing a review of their own book (using a pseudonym, of course) was no different than writing a marketing flyer, they opined, and besides (here comes the real point), it improves sales.
Now, if you’re not in the writing business, this view may not seem all that important. But to me, it is dishonest and deceptive. While it’s absolutely true that the books we publish here at WEDDLE’s don’t even begin to compete with the best sellers, I’m convinced that principled behavior is the touchstone of good business, whether you’re the author of a mystery novel or the CEO of an energy trading company.
So, as my small contribution to restoring public confidence in authors and the books they write, I offer the following two statements:
The Internet and Web-sites such as Amazon.com are wonderful sources of information, but we must be smart consumers of that information if we are to ensure that it actually helps us. And, to be a smart consumer, we should always carefully consider the origins of all information and make sure we have the whole story before forming our own opinions.
Thanks for reading,
Peter
This Issue’s Sponsor: Dice
This issue of WEDDLE’s newsletter is brought to you through the generous support of Dice.
Give Dice a try with our FREE job posting offer!
Dice is where you will find the best tech candidates available.
But don’t just take our word for it …. Try Dice for yourself – at no risk. Click here today!
The Free Job Posting offer is available to first time customers only, posting jobs by March 31, 2004.
Section Two: Site News You Can Use
Classified Intelligence reports that broadcasters are using the Internet to make inroads into newspapers’ classified advertising business. According to a recent report the company released, there are “several markets where broadcasters offer more jobs, home or cars online than their daily newspaper counterparts.” Ironically, the radio stations are using a technique we’ve urged on newspapers for years: it’s best described as a two-step, multi-media approach that first intrigues the candidate and then sells them. In other words, you use the outreach medium (the radio spot or classified ad) to provide just enough information to intrigue the listener/reader about an opportunity and then direct them to a specific posting on the radio station/newspaper Web-site where there is all of the information necessary to sell even the most passive of prospects. It’s a double whammy that works!
Execunet, a networking and membership organization for executives earning $100,000K+, is now charging for job postings on its site. Rates range from $99 for a single posting to $599 for a year’s worth of unlimited posting.
SeniorHelpWanted.com launched its Web-site for recruiting experienced workers. It joins RetiredBrains.com, SeniorJobBank.com and JobsforSeniors.ca in filling a niche that will become increasing important as the demographic reality of a smaller workforce begins to intrude on corporate business plans.
TrueCareers released the results of a survey that suggest the much hyped Free Agent Nation is actually a Free Agent Fantasy. Half of all respondents report that they would prefer to work for the same employer for the majority of their career, while 25% said they would like to stay a minimum of 5-7 years. Just 22% said they thought moving every 3-5 years was a good idea. These findings, of course, run counter to the recent spate of surveys that forecast a massive outflow of employees as soon as the economy strengthens. What can HR professionals do? Launch a communications campaign that (a) acknowledges the difficulties of the past several years, (b) thanks employees for the efforts they’ve made to help the organization prevail, and (c) reiterates the strengths of the organization as an employer. Then, make those strengths real by reinvigorating the organization’s support for and use of personal development resources, internal mobility and (top-to-bottom) leadership that listens.
WEDDLE’s announced a free public presentation by its Editor and Publisher, Peter Weddle, Entitled HR Leadership That Makes a Difference, it draws on the themes in his latest book Generalship: HR Leadership in a Time of War. Peter will describe the looming threat to HR professionals in today’s corporate environment and introduce a strategy for countering that threat by becoming a strategic leader in the organization. In short, this event is about pride … the pride that HR professionals deserve to feel. It will be held in New York City on March 16, 2004 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. (registration starts at 8:30 a.m.) at the Grand Hyatt New York (Park Avenue at Grand Central Station-212.883.1234). Seating is very limited and registration is required. So, sign up now if you’d like to attend; to register, please click here.
Section Three: Site Profiles
Site Insite … how well do you know the Web’s 40,000+ job boards?
1. If you were a lawn care company gearing up for Spring, which of the following sites might help you cultivate a new hire with an expertise in lawn maintenance?
2. Everyone is starting to think about Spring break (and their bathing suits), so you need another personal trainer for your gym and fitness center. Which of the following sites would buff up your search?
3. Whether March arrives as a lion or a lamb, you need someone to tame your inventory of patio furniture. Which of the following sites could you count on to stock candidates?
(answers below)
Site Spotlite … from the pages of WEDDLE’s 2004 Guides and Directories
Yahoo!HotJobs
A WEDDLE’s 2004 User’s Choice Award Winner
Post full time jobs: Yes
Post part time, contract or consulting jobs: Yes – All
Distribution of jobs: National: USA
Fee to post a job: Not Reported
Posting period: 30 days
Can posting be linked to your site: Yes
Resume database: Yes
Number of resumes: 6,000,000+
Source of resumes: Direct from candidates
Top occupations among resumes: Administration, E-commerce, Finance & Accounting, Information Systems, Sales & Marketing
Other services for employers: Auto notification of resume-job match, Banner advertising, Special area for HR professionals, Status reports: banners/job postings
Answers to Site Insite:
1. All of the sites but GrassisGreener.com, a general purpose board that pulls job postings from other job boards.
2. All of the sites but Strength.org, the URL for a nonprofit working to eradicate poverty and hunger around the world.
3. All of the sites but KeepTrack.com, the URL of a company that sells preventive maintenance software.
This Issue’s Sponsor: Dice
This issue of WEDDLE’s newsletter is brought to you through the generous support of Dice.
Give Dice a try with our FREE job posting offer!
Dice is where you will find the best tech candidates available.
But don’t just take our word for it …. Try Dice for yourself – at no risk. Click here today!
The Free Job Posting offer is available to first time customers only, posting jobs by March 31, 2004.