Time to get beyond Linkedin
There is a lot of information out there about how to develop your candidate & contact database using Linkedin, Facebook, mySpace, and dare I say it, the 6,559,123 other social networks that sprang from the ether in 2007.
There are also sophisticated tools outside of these sites to search these networks, scour the Internet, run complex keyword algorithms, pull down email addresses, etc... There are contact information resources like JigSaw and Zoominfo with millions of names.
Do you get the feeling that there is plenty of contact information out there?
If you are now in the recruiting business, you should be a real expert at these tools by now. But this kind of knowledge should now be a given. It is time to move beyond these tools (by first mastering them.)
One way to think about this unprecedented availability of contact information is the evaporation of one part of our jobs! Twenty years ago, you had to build contact information databases the old fashioned way: a ton of cold-calling. But this aspect of our business is going the way of $2 gasoline.
We have to move beyond this initial shock of so much contact data. Master the tools, but then move on - because the value of that simple data is declining every day. Remember, executive recruiters and their clients often know the five obvious potential candidates. So why do they use a recruiter?
The answer is the key to differentiating yourself in this industry - an intense knowledge of business. It's time to get hungry for the expansion of your knowledge of business operations, not just for names of candidates and contacts. Read everything you can about your chosen industry and be a real resource to your clients. You probably make more money than your clients - it's time to know as much about their business as they do.
There are also sophisticated tools outside of these sites to search these networks, scour the Internet, run complex keyword algorithms, pull down email addresses, etc... There are contact information resources like JigSaw and Zoominfo with millions of names.
Do you get the feeling that there is plenty of contact information out there?
If you are now in the recruiting business, you should be a real expert at these tools by now. But this kind of knowledge should now be a given. It is time to move beyond these tools (by first mastering them.)
One way to think about this unprecedented availability of contact information is the evaporation of one part of our jobs! Twenty years ago, you had to build contact information databases the old fashioned way: a ton of cold-calling. But this aspect of our business is going the way of $2 gasoline.
We have to move beyond this initial shock of so much contact data. Master the tools, but then move on - because the value of that simple data is declining every day. Remember, executive recruiters and their clients often know the five obvious potential candidates. So why do they use a recruiter?
The answer is the key to differentiating yourself in this industry - an intense knowledge of business. It's time to get hungry for the expansion of your knowledge of business operations, not just for names of candidates and contacts. Read everything you can about your chosen industry and be a real resource to your clients. You probably make more money than your clients - it's time to know as much about their business as they do.
Tags: business, candidates, industry, linkedin, recruiting
Comment
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Comment by Robert on September 10, 2008 at 11:54pm -
It is truly great to hear that Corporate recruiters are still looking for that personal touch. I am quickly approaching my first year in the business as a Full life cycle recruiter. My companies primary focus is demonstrate to corporations the value of hiring former Military Officers and Enlisted Soldiers. I am always searching for creative ways to be more efficient in the way I do business. I have always perfered the personal touch and look forward to building many more relationships.
Miles and crew I appreciate what you have done with this website and Sheree thank you for directing me here.
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Comment by Devin Blanks on August 25, 2008 at 6:41pm - These are all good comments in regard to Miles' post. I own a staffing firm and it is a very refreshing thing to hear those in this industry that still hold true to what an actual Recruiter really is. This impersonal, indirect approach to recruiting will never be as effective or efficient as the personal and thoughtful consultative approach. Companies these days are figuring out that consistently running a guantlet of resume mills and turn-and-burn firms will never get them the true top-tier professionals. Thank you for this excellent post and great comments everyone.
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Comment by Jami Lieberman on August 25, 2008 at 1:15pm
- As a corporate recruiter, I find that I am looking to create more than just a DB of potential candidates, but to establish a network that I can tap into when I have a need. The difference is the relationships I develop with the professionals in a particular sector, that I will one day need someone in. I already know them before I need them, and they know me before they need me. That is recruiting. Database mining is a means, not the end. The relationships are the key to success.
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Comment by Tim Schieffelin on August 25, 2008 at 10:34am - Ditto to all thus far. This is a great summation of the state of recruiting today - thanks, Miles!
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Comment by Stuart Zweighaft on August 25, 2008 at 8:10am
- I agree with Miles and David. The pendulum is swinging the other way and we have to go back to the basics. Mining job boards or social networks is no longer the definition of a recruite. We have to go back to actually finding people through hard work - ie. talking to people.
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Comment by David Lynn on August 24, 2008 at 10:25am -
Miles is absolutely right...using the tools is the easy part, the data is there for pretty much anyone to find, clearly that's no longer the part of the process to look for justifing your value. Scouring the web to put together lists of names is about as valuable now as dragging job boards. Anyone can do it.
In addition to knowing our clients' businesses, I'd suggest that recruiters need to be experts in the broader art of "recruiting". Almost a contridiction in terms, eh? It's not. Too many who call themselves recruiters are really quite narrow in their skills. To make more money than your clients (that's not the goal, it's just a benchmark) you need to be an expert in your business first and then theirs.
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