Carol Schultz was inspired to write, “Why some Recruiters Will Almost Always Be a Success,” from a debate that surfaced from an article written by Adrian Kinnersley, “Why LinkedIn Will Never Kill The Professional Recruitment Industry.”
The debate began when writer Michael Overell stated that “LinkedIn is going to kill the external recruiting industry due to the fact that increasing profiles allow internal recruiters access to the same information and same people that external recruiters have access to.” The assumption here is that everyone is in LinkedIn’s database, which is simply not the case.
The reality of the situation is, LinkedIn will never replace the professional recruitment industry because there is more to being a “great recruiter” than knowing how to source names from LinkedIn, or any other source. Laverne Herrera-Hay, a recruiting manager here at IPS, brings up some excellent points regarding this subject.
Being able to generate names from online sources is just one step in the overall recruitment process. To be a “great recruiter” you first need to know what you are looking for. Contacting five hundred people is easy, but contacting the right people requires understanding the specific skills needed for the job, what the client really wants, and what type of people would be a good fit culturally. In order to do that, you have to pick up the phone.
Online name generation is just part of the recruitment process. Many prospects will not be found on job boards and/or respond to electronic solicitations. Picking up a phone, networking, asking for referrals from more senior individuals, and utilizing outside sources is what can make a mediocre recruiter a great recruiter. Does this take more time, yes, but most often helps generate the best candidates.
Lastly, once you find people you believe are a great fit for the position you must reach out to them in a relevant and intelligent way to spark their interest and start building the relationship. A simple InMail from LinkedIn won’t always generate a response, especially from those who claim they aren’t looking for a career change; sometimes you need to call someone to connect with them. Typically, even if the person claims not to be interested, a great recruiter should thrive on recruiting candidates who don’t wake up looking for a new job. – Laverne Herrera-Hay
Finding a candidate is just the first step in the recruitment process. Eric Pringle, CEO and Founder of Integrated People Solutions, shares some great insight into the next steps of the process.
Candidate evaluation is where the value is in the recruiting process. This involves not only thoroughly understanding the knowledge, skills and abilities required, but also what is important in terms of personality, leadership style, and cultural fit of the candidate to the hiring executive and the company at large. In addition, a good executive search professional understands the team dynamic and chemistry and how the candidate will fit with the other pieces of the leadership team. This is achieved by getting to know the candidate, asking them questions about their past experiences and how they relate to the requirements that have been determined with the hiring executive. This also involves using tools like behavioral based interviews, reference checks, back door reference checks, and I/O Psychological assessments to ensure that the right candidates are being placed. Tools like LinkedIn facilitate the early stages of this process, but they in no way replace the value of a great executive recruiter.There is also value in having an executive search professional who can provide you with guidance in gaining market data for compensation so you are fishing with the right bait, assist with final stages of negotiation, and deal with any nuances pertinent to successful executive on boarding. No internet tool can replace these valuable human elements of the search process.” – Eric Pringle
Overall, there are many qualities that make up a successful recruiter, which LinkedIn will never be able to replace. As Eric Pringle would say, “LinkedIn provides no more guarantee of an ideal match than Match.com can guarantee you will find the ideal spouse. It is one of many potential tools used to source the right match – it does not replace the value of human interaction.”
Above image is © singkham – Fotolia.com
