I might never understand the disconnect between today’s job seekers and employers. And let me tell you, the majority of the blame is on the employer side. That’s right, you heard (err…read) me!
Job seekers want to have a two-way, mutually beneficial dialogue with employers. And why the heck shouldn’t they? If employers truly want to hire people who are top performers and engaged at work, how do they expect to find these people? Surely not through one-way, blast communications like job boards.
Employers want the task of hiring people to be easy (and the way they’ve always done it). Again, I completely understand the notion. But, is what you’re doing now all that easy? You’re posting to job boards and getting so many applications in return — many of which are not even close to qualified for the position — that you likely have enough work to fill an entire year with every open position. Are you even giving every applicant a fair shake? By this I mean not only for the candidate’s benefit, but also for your organization’s benefit. You might be missing out on “the one.”
Ok, so maybe I do understand the disconnect…the question that remains is why. When given the opportunity to connect directly with top talent, why wouldn’t you? Why hide behind a job board, or even your corporate site? Why use even social media as a one-way broadcast tool?
Change is hard, but nothing worth doing in life is easy. My goodness, at least consider the alternatives!
I spoke to a great group of hiring managers, HR professionals, and recruiters yesterday during a webinar titled, “How to Recruit Young Professionals Utilizing Recruiting 3.0 Tools.” During the presentation, I discussed at length the power talent communities have. While the webinar was for employers, I think the benefit to both parties is clear: Talent communities provide you with all the tools you’re already using (less the job boards, which are replaced by job marketing) and combine them into one tool that also happens to foster two-way, mutually beneficial dialogue between job seekers and employers. Boom, problem solved.
Never heard of talent community software? I’ve embedded my slides from the presentation below so you can learn more. Do the right thing and explore alternatives to your current attraction and hiring methods.
Author:
Heather R. Huhman is the Career & Recruiting Advisor for Cachinko. She is also the founder & president of career and workplace education and consulting firm Come Recommended, author of #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010), national entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com, and blogs about career advice at HeatherHuhman.com.
