The rise of CV aggregators and pricey job boards have not delivered the efficiencies that internal recruiters imagined when they enthusiastically jumped on board. The doomsday scenario of the elimination of the conventional recruiter did not materialize either.
Clients are finding themselves wasting time in front of screens trying to pick great candidates out of a long list of inappropriate resumes. Non specialists input buzzwords into their system, only to find out hundreds, sometimes thousands of applicants feature these key terms somewhere on their profile.
“CVs are often out of date and you may end up trying to track down a candidate who got a job months go” says Jon Wilson, Associate Director Business Transformation at niche recruiter Hydrogen Group.
Another complication for internal recruiters is that they have to recruit for a multitude of roles that require in-depth specialised technical or industry knowledge. A generalist recruiter, is not always able to become the “go-to-expert” in every field they are asked to recruit in. It can be difficult to distinguish amongst potential candidates’ skill and the hiring manager may end up getting a flood of unsuitable CVs. “A shopping list of requirements or buzzwords doesn’t always cut it” claims Wilson.
“A professional consultant will ask a lot of questions and develop a clear picture of the technical requirements of the role. Experienced niche recruiters make it their business to know personally some of the best candidates and are able to assess levels of experience as well as the organisational fit. At Hydrogen, we make sure that our consultants stay in regular contact with our candidates and their developing capabilities. This can be of immense value to a time strapped hiring manager” Wilson states.
“We pride ourselves in training all of our recruitment consultants in the fine art of aligning our candidates with the clients’ needs” says Ian Temple, CEO of the Hydrogen Group. “We have invested heavily in our internal database of candidates, but it is our in-depth knowledge of our clients’ requirements and our candidates’ capabilities that unlocks value for the client” claims Temple.
So before an organisation surrenders all their recruitment to the whims of an online job board, the hiring manager, should evaluate each role and determine whether the use of a professional recruiter is the best way to provide a sustainable and positive outcome. “A mix of candidate sources is usually the best way forward. The rule of the thumb is to use online resources for the more general roles, and yield to the pros where specialised skills are required” says Wilson.
