Automated job boards like Monster, Dice, CareerBuilder, and automated VMS systems have taken the “human” out of human resources. Many hiring managers are at the mercy of automated systems that select “human beings” as though you were going to your local Ikea looking for glassware. Because of the “savings and expedience” of these systems, the quality of candidates has suffered. Hiring managers are at the mercy of human hiring automation.
When working with true expert with in a firm that cares recruiting is a work of art. Every candidate has unique qualities that they bring to the table, skills, personality, tenacity or creating ideas that will change the world. All human beings have a unique skills, character and personality.
Ideal candidates aren’t found among the masses put forth by automated systems. Each company not only has a particular skill set they are searching for but they also have a cultural style that needs to match the style of the candidate. We all know you cannot put a square peg in a round hole.
After 27 years of successfully recruiting candidates with a 100% satisfaction rate I’ve developed a sixth sense of being able to select the right person for any position. There are so many essential intangibles that make the right match: their interaction with you, their ability to understand the job, how they respond to requests for information. So many that cannot be seen on a resume or through an automated system.
You know how costly it is to hire the wrong candidate. The amount of time and energy put into recruiting a candidate adds up and when you didn’t make the right choice, or chose the person because their cost is lower and you cut back on quality because of cost, that is sometimes an expensive error. On the other hand, the value of the right hire may never be able to put in dollars.
Candidate sourcing is an art. The traditional ways of finding a candidate through referrals and networking is alive and well. It’s so much more secure to find a passive candidate than one that has their resume all over the job boards. And the candidate that has their resume all over the job boards may get into what I call “So many choices, they cannot make a choice.” Candidates that place their resumes on job boards also allow unscrupulous recruiters the opportunity to take their resumes from the public record (aka Monster, Dice, CareerBuilder) and send that resume wherever they please. The candidate gives up the right to control where their resume has been sent and may hinder their opportunities more than help them.
Often times in the case of a VMS, the automated system that creates the work request that is sent out to the consulting firms is responded to automatically by responding with resumes that match the keywords in the job description. In many cases a recruiter is not involved in this transaction at all. This is not about matching for the quality of the candidate and a culture fit, but more about matching what’s on paper. When is the last time you met a human being that is “black and white?”
Although these systems appear to speed up the hiring process, it removes the human factor that ensures the right match for the position.
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