Part of the reason why the vast majority of recruitment advertising delivered low result is because the demographic data required to plan proper targeting strategies seldom exist. Say, if one doesn’t know the makeup or the supply and demand dynamics of the PHP community it will be difficult to plan and pull off a successful recruitment campaign. 

Instead, blame is often laid on the middleman (e.g. job boards, print etc) when essentially the problem is planning and targeting flaws as a result of poor availability of data. Any amount of advertising on job boards is not going to work if the demographic one targets do not frequent them. Paucity of data is the main culprit.  

Numbers do not explain everything but they allow us to form perspectives and can help in the shaping of effective targeting strategies. Any day, it’s better than guesswork.  

ACS is one of the leading professional associations regularly churning out good data on the IT industry.  If you are in the business of hiring IT professionals, at the very least peeking at their comprehensive compendium (pdf) will assist in forming clearer perspectives, which can be valuable in planning targeting strategies.

In a flash of brilliance, Susan decided she wanted to hire a boss. A website is created; buzz is generated using social media. Employers noticed; connections made and Susan got hired (Here’s the story).

Is the above example an exception or is this the new norm for our age? 

Susan is obviously very smart, but the undeniable fact is – it’s getting easier and easier for job seekers and candidates to find one another. Unlike any other time in memory, job seekers has never been richer with options and tools to express themselves, get noticed and connect with employers.  As Clay Shirky puts it -  “The moment we’re living through, the moment our historic generation is living through, is the largest increase in expressive capability in human history.”

If you are a middleman who earns a living by connecting job seekers and employers, is the new status quo a threat? Where do you fit in a world where job seekers are armed to the teeth with options (many of them just don’t know it yet), and employers’ sourcing toolbox gets richer?

So, here is the question to ask – what can you do exceedingly well which employers cannot do very well themselves? What can you offer job seekers that’s not available anywhere else?

Unless you can figure out a way to maintain (or enhance) the existing triangular nexus, employment transactions will increasingly be a two-way nexus.

Some of the most successful recruiters, that I’ve encountered, have very little to do with social media.

Last week, I caught up with a friend and a former colleague, a top-notch recruiter; one of the best in the business. Curious, after five years since we last met, I asked about his social media footprint. Zilch. He doesn’t tweet nor blog. I cannot find him on Facebook or MySpace, and his LinkedIn network is limited to a miserly 33 connections. It turns out he’s doing very well regardless of his limited presence on social networks. The downturn has been hard on his current employer, but not surprisingly, I am told he is consistently one of the best performers. His secret: the phone; the phrase “let’s do coffee” and a deliberate and determined strategy of building real relationship with candidates and clients over the years.

I pondered if my friend will be at a disadvantage if he does not embrace social media in the near future. Unlikely, because the use of ‘social media’ is largely tactical and he got the strategy part sorted out. Besides, I suspect his limited involvement in social media is because the demographic he targets are not on it yet. I am sure, like any other tool that he has used over the years, he will embrace social media if that is what his clients and candidates wanted. For him, strategy comes first; tactics and tools are secondary.

Look at companies applauded for using social media effectively.  Often, they are organisations who have a history (strategy) of caring deeply about customer service and building long-term relationship.  Social media is embraced as a tactical tool, just like any other tool used over the years, to pursue an overall strategy of serving their customers with distinction and enhance relationship.

I am convinced it’s not any different for recruiters. The larger strategy should be a relentless focus on building relationship with candidates and clients. If enriching the relationship requires the use of social media, by all means embrace it. If a phone suffices, invest on more phone time. Obsesses on strategy and find the right tactical tool to support your obsession. As Kathy Sierra puts it “Please, businesses, don’t DO ’social media’. Do ‘user happiness’, which may, or may not require use of social media tools.”

The vast majority (81%) of Internet users across the globe used search engines.

Online behaviour in Australia is similar. Each month close to 2.3 million searches, with the keyword ‘jobs’, are performed on Google. In other words, your employment brand is oblivious to the world, unless you are listed on the top of search results.  Obviously, SEO becomes increasingly important. 

How do you incorporate search engines into your recruitment strategy? This whitepaper by Jobvite is a good start.