Where Are The Best Candidates? Ask The Experts!

Recently there has been a lot of discussion in the electronic recruiting community about the brain drain, low unemployment rates and the state of the buyers market. As I continue to ponder the whereabouts of all the "placement caliber" candidates I can't help thinking about the feedback we continually receive from our members at RecruitersCafe. Our membership is comprised almost entirely of third-party recruiters that utilize the Internet to assist them in their recruitment tasks. The common denominator amongst our members is that they're looking for the path of least resistance to the best talent available.

Most of our members report they're using at least three and as many as twenty different Internet sites/tools each to help them source talent. It seems clear in their minds that they must distinguish between the good and the bad and they'll tend to take advantage of any system that looks reputable and offers a free introductory trial. From my own experience that could include just about every recruitment site on the Internet. The point that is continually driven home is that with so many e-cruiting service options and perceived benefits they need to keep searching for what's most effective before making a long-term commitment. Many tell us from experience that any services that will justify a good ROI are few and far between.

From a technical standpoint, e-cruitment tools aren't getting any worse, in fact, they're actually getting better. However, with e-cruiting becoming increasingly commonplace among organizations of all types and sizes and with companies developing more sophisticated e-cruiting initiatives strategists are signaling that participants are now realizing diminishing returns. Furthermore, as businesses build their knowledge base of e-cruiting they'll become more effective at preventing recruiters from using them as suppliers through common electronic methods like site x-raying. Clearly the most proactive e-cruiter will always have a competitive advantage over her peers but has the Internet really only changed the face of recruiting without providing a relative advantage in finding the most sought-after talent? Time will tell.

Top caliber candidates are still happily employed but still open to better opportunities. They are a referral and a phone call away from making a move. In other words they're still where they've always been: in contact management databases, personal organizers, phone books, in the minds of satisfied customers and managers. From our members' feedback we've confirmed that sharp people are also on file with recruiters in their field! Let's face it, sharp people are typically well connected and anyone that is known to produce results receives calls regularly from recruiters. Every recruiter has sharp candidates on file that they've located but for one reason or another have yet to place. Any recruiter in her right mind would jump at the opportunity to place the "diamonds" they have on file but typically claim they're too busy to market them because they have job orders to fill. As we continue to focus on developing our e-cruiting strategies in the age of electronic networking lets not overlook the richest resource available to us, each other's files. One or two partnerships can pay both immediate and long-term benefits. Get connected! Nelson Abreu