Jobresponder, the advertising response management and screening tool that I have mentioned on occasion in my other posts is now fully up and running and has been launched!
There has been a great buzz around it and lots of traffic, www.onrec.com press released it and I have decided to include the same press release on my blog as well. Here it is:
(I will continue with my discussion on Recruiter Resilience in my next post)
Taking the anxiety out of screening and response management
An online system that can handle recruitment advertising response and screening for any organisation worldwide, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week has recently been launched at www.jobresponder.com .The Jobresponder system has been designed to fully automate the job advertising response and screening function.
“We realised that companies tie up extensive resources and funds to manage the responses to and screening of their job advertisements”, says Mr Angelo Pereira, of Jobresponder. “This motivated us to develop a user friendly, step by step system which frees resources such as staff and communication lines and greatly reduces the costs usually involved in the ad response function.”The innovative system is equally efficient and effective for small, medium and large companies or agencies that are involved in recruitment in any form.
The process begins by entering the advertisement details, as they will appear in the media (electronic, print or any other media form), and setting up the simple screening criteria questions. The advertising company receives a unique reference number, which is added to the relevant advertisement along with the www.jobresponder.com web address. Applicants can then easily enter the system by using the reference number and the response process kicks into action as the system automatically matches applicant’s details to the pre-determined criteria.
Respondents who do not match the inherent, or “must haves” as they are more commonly referred to, requirements, are automatically informed or negated by the system. This ensures that respondents are not kept in the dark for excessive time and also ensures that the process does not become clogged.
Relevant applicants on the other hand are forwarded to the next stage for short-listing. “Nice to have “ questions relating to skills which are not essential for the position but which make the applicant a closer match, lead to a ranking of respondents to assist in the compilation of the final short-list.
Successful respondents fill in a simple, standard resume that is stored and made available for viewing in the advertiser’s own password protected response page. The rankings and other response statistics are also provided. The advertiser can - at his/her own pace - print or download the information for evaluation and compile a shortlist using the shortlist click function.
“It is a scenario where the fully automated system carries out all the so-called leg work,” says Pereira,” while the advertising company keeps the control and decision making; managing the response and screening process in a time effective manner.”
Advertisers can also decide on whom to negate from those who were successful in the initial response process but who on further study do not make the short-list. Clicking on the negate button will automatically send an e-mail to the relevant respondent at his or her personal e-mail address, informing the applicant that his application has been unsuccessful in this instance.
The system is in itself unbiased and non-discriminatory as it poses the same questions to each respondent and, as it is automated, it is unable to discriminate thus complying with labour legislations.
Jobresponder offers a free trial of the system, which is easily obtained by simply signing up for their informative newsletter.
“Jobresponder has received very positive feedback and results and we believe it will soon become widely used throughout the recruiting arena worldwide” says Pereira.
Visit www.jobresponder.comfor more information on this unique system.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Recruiter Resilience
As mentioned in my previous post I would like to chat about the concepts of resilience and managing adversity and how they have had a positive effect on myself and all the recruiters in my company.
The concepts are not specific to recruiting and can be used by anyone in any industry, career and any sphere of life (personal and work - a double benefit).
As all recruiters know, ours is an adversity rich industry! lots of competition, extensive demands from both clients and applicants allike, deadlines, deadlines, clients changing their minds, applicants not always disclosing all required information, high targets etc. (you know the rest).
It's no wonder so many recruiters burn out, whilst other never even last the first year in the industry.
I wanted to know why despite all of this some recruiters just keep going and succeeding, doing well when others falter.
So I did some research and tests and whilst their are various contributing factors, the areas that came up as the main contributors were the persons resilience levels and ability the manage adversity.
Adversity and resilience are basically a persons ability to bounce back from and take control of adverse and difficult situations. In other words how well you deal with challenges even if you initially percieve them as negative, how quickly do you get on with it after difficult situations, do you take responsibility for what happens to you or do you think it is happening "to you" without you having any control.
I had the recruiters (as well as myself) complete resilience and adversity quotient tests and the scores confirmed the above. Those who scored the highest were those who were succeeding more often in their operations.
Resilient people and those who manage adversity successfully are often more successfull and / or happy (I'm not just talking money or work here, but in all areas of life.)
This is not to say they don't experience difficulty and challenge or never feel unhappy but when they do they manage it better and faster. They believe they have control, take control and move forward.
The beauty of these attributes is that not matter what level you are at with them at this stage you can improve them.
After testing myself and the other recruiters I continued researching for tools and found a book called "Adversity Quotient at Work" by Paul G Stoltz (he also wrote "Adversity Quotient" which is less work oriented but the concepts remain similar). You can find the books at www.amazon.com (and probably various other on or off line book stores)
I found the book (I listened to it as it is also available in cassette form) excellent, exceptionally insightfull and practical. I used the methods in the book (along with other research on the area of resilience) to train myself and the recruiters who work with me and work on increasing their levels of resilience and adversity management. The results have been wonderfull! Thw recruiters are more successfull and happy in thier work as well as personal lives (an added benefit as we all know it is often difficult to do well at work if we are not happy outside of work), they have told me so often.
They are more understanding of clients and applicants, their needs, their personality differences, their reactions to different situations etc. They have assumed more responsibility for what happens in their operations, they no longer blame as many outside influences when things go wrong or become challenging. They take control, they bounce back faster and get on with it. And so do I.
If you are a recruiter, manager of recruiters (or anyone in any walk of life for that matter) I believe it is definately worth putting some effort into improving your resilience and ability to manage adversity. Read about it, do some research (the internet has allot on these subjects), practice the methods of improving and further develop your skills in these areas.
You wont be sorry and will be a stronger recruiter.
I would suggest taking a test to establish your current level this will give you a place to start from, then after a while of putting the methods into practice you can test again and see how you have improved. (Remember it does not matter what level you are at now, as you can always improve.) you can find one at: http://discoveryhealth.queendom.com/resilience_abridged_access.html
In my next post I will mention some of the other things I have put in place to benefit the recruiters who work with me and how they have worked (or not) for us.
P.S. thanks for feedback on www.jobresponder.com, really helpfull!
The concepts are not specific to recruiting and can be used by anyone in any industry, career and any sphere of life (personal and work - a double benefit).
As all recruiters know, ours is an adversity rich industry! lots of competition, extensive demands from both clients and applicants allike, deadlines, deadlines, clients changing their minds, applicants not always disclosing all required information, high targets etc. (you know the rest).
It's no wonder so many recruiters burn out, whilst other never even last the first year in the industry.
I wanted to know why despite all of this some recruiters just keep going and succeeding, doing well when others falter.
So I did some research and tests and whilst their are various contributing factors, the areas that came up as the main contributors were the persons resilience levels and ability the manage adversity.
Adversity and resilience are basically a persons ability to bounce back from and take control of adverse and difficult situations. In other words how well you deal with challenges even if you initially percieve them as negative, how quickly do you get on with it after difficult situations, do you take responsibility for what happens to you or do you think it is happening "to you" without you having any control.
I had the recruiters (as well as myself) complete resilience and adversity quotient tests and the scores confirmed the above. Those who scored the highest were those who were succeeding more often in their operations.
Resilient people and those who manage adversity successfully are often more successfull and / or happy (I'm not just talking money or work here, but in all areas of life.)
This is not to say they don't experience difficulty and challenge or never feel unhappy but when they do they manage it better and faster. They believe they have control, take control and move forward.
The beauty of these attributes is that not matter what level you are at with them at this stage you can improve them.
After testing myself and the other recruiters I continued researching for tools and found a book called "Adversity Quotient at Work" by Paul G Stoltz (he also wrote "Adversity Quotient" which is less work oriented but the concepts remain similar). You can find the books at www.amazon.com (and probably various other on or off line book stores)
I found the book (I listened to it as it is also available in cassette form) excellent, exceptionally insightfull and practical. I used the methods in the book (along with other research on the area of resilience) to train myself and the recruiters who work with me and work on increasing their levels of resilience and adversity management. The results have been wonderfull! Thw recruiters are more successfull and happy in thier work as well as personal lives (an added benefit as we all know it is often difficult to do well at work if we are not happy outside of work), they have told me so often.
They are more understanding of clients and applicants, their needs, their personality differences, their reactions to different situations etc. They have assumed more responsibility for what happens in their operations, they no longer blame as many outside influences when things go wrong or become challenging. They take control, they bounce back faster and get on with it. And so do I.
If you are a recruiter, manager of recruiters (or anyone in any walk of life for that matter) I believe it is definately worth putting some effort into improving your resilience and ability to manage adversity. Read about it, do some research (the internet has allot on these subjects), practice the methods of improving and further develop your skills in these areas.
You wont be sorry and will be a stronger recruiter.
I would suggest taking a test to establish your current level this will give you a place to start from, then after a while of putting the methods into practice you can test again and see how you have improved. (Remember it does not matter what level you are at now, as you can always improve.) you can find one at: http://discoveryhealth.queendom.com/resilience_abridged_access.html
In my next post I will mention some of the other things I have put in place to benefit the recruiters who work with me and how they have worked (or not) for us.
P.S. thanks for feedback on www.jobresponder.com, really helpfull!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Recruiter Technology: the follow on!
Hi All you hard working recruiters!
Well I have spent the last few weeks working on finishing http://www.jobresponder.com and baring a few small bits and pieces it is ready to launch! I am really stoked and can't wait to see how it goes and get all of your feedback.
Anyway to continue with my last thread, the one thing that the process of developing jobresponder has exposed me to is recruiter technology. I have had to do allot of research to establish what is out their, if my product has the potential to sell, do I have many / any competitors etc.
This is the kind of research that really opens ones eyes and unfortunately most recruiters do not do it - why, well for a number of reasons I suspect: allot of us are just too busy to spend hours on the internet trying to find out what technology is available to us, many of us just don't even realize or think that their are any usefull tools out their for us so we don't even bother.
Some of us (as I mentioned in my previous post are just stuck in our old non technology ways).
Well I am here to tell you that their are a number of products out their that are excellent and will really help you improve your productivity.
Now that I have started my research process I am going to carry on and although this blog is not about technology I will keep you informed in future posts should I find any technology I find really usefull for recruiters. After all to me it is exceptionally important that people keep developing products to make our lives easier and when I see one which I think is good I am going to give it my endorsement (for what its worth). If we don't support this development, then it does not become worthwhile for these people to keep developing and improving their products and that would be a great loss to recruiters.
I have noticed, during my research that it is relatively difficult to find some of the technology available to us, as when I use the most common recruitment terms I generally get sites that are mostly dedicated to candidates / applicants and not recruiters. So I often had to sift through them to find what I was looking for. I have spent some time trying to find search terms that are more focused and find what we need. Once I have put this into a legible format, I will post any info. of interest to recruiters.
On this subject: should their be any of you out their who have a great recruitment product feel free to let me know and I will check it out, if its good well the above applies.
This is a relatively short post as I am very keen to get started launching my product and their is a mountain of work ahead of me.
I think my next post is going to focus on what attitudes and beliefs make a successfull recruiter, I have spent some time observing the recruiters who work for me (I am in an open plan environment with them) and after years of observing have noticed definate characteristics for success and characteristics for non success. I have then gone about putting in place training to strengthen the positive characteristics and to change the negative / incorrect ones.
This has had a marked positive impact with increased revenues and happier recruiters. I will share my thoughts on this in my next posts, what has worked for us and what has not. You can take from them what you wish. Just as an intro. one of the main concepts I have introduced and trained is that of "Resilience", this concept and the training has helped my recruites significantly in their work and attitude to work and from their feedback in their personal lives as well.
Their is allot about resilience on the internet, look it up and tell me what you think.
Thanks for the response so far, apologies for the time between posts - I am planning to improve on this significantly.
Well I have spent the last few weeks working on finishing http://www.jobresponder.com and baring a few small bits and pieces it is ready to launch! I am really stoked and can't wait to see how it goes and get all of your feedback.
Anyway to continue with my last thread, the one thing that the process of developing jobresponder has exposed me to is recruiter technology. I have had to do allot of research to establish what is out their, if my product has the potential to sell, do I have many / any competitors etc.
This is the kind of research that really opens ones eyes and unfortunately most recruiters do not do it - why, well for a number of reasons I suspect: allot of us are just too busy to spend hours on the internet trying to find out what technology is available to us, many of us just don't even realize or think that their are any usefull tools out their for us so we don't even bother.
Some of us (as I mentioned in my previous post are just stuck in our old non technology ways).
Well I am here to tell you that their are a number of products out their that are excellent and will really help you improve your productivity.
Now that I have started my research process I am going to carry on and although this blog is not about technology I will keep you informed in future posts should I find any technology I find really usefull for recruiters. After all to me it is exceptionally important that people keep developing products to make our lives easier and when I see one which I think is good I am going to give it my endorsement (for what its worth). If we don't support this development, then it does not become worthwhile for these people to keep developing and improving their products and that would be a great loss to recruiters.
I have noticed, during my research that it is relatively difficult to find some of the technology available to us, as when I use the most common recruitment terms I generally get sites that are mostly dedicated to candidates / applicants and not recruiters. So I often had to sift through them to find what I was looking for. I have spent some time trying to find search terms that are more focused and find what we need. Once I have put this into a legible format, I will post any info. of interest to recruiters.
On this subject: should their be any of you out their who have a great recruitment product feel free to let me know and I will check it out, if its good well the above applies.
This is a relatively short post as I am very keen to get started launching my product and their is a mountain of work ahead of me.
I think my next post is going to focus on what attitudes and beliefs make a successfull recruiter, I have spent some time observing the recruiters who work for me (I am in an open plan environment with them) and after years of observing have noticed definate characteristics for success and characteristics for non success. I have then gone about putting in place training to strengthen the positive characteristics and to change the negative / incorrect ones.
This has had a marked positive impact with increased revenues and happier recruiters. I will share my thoughts on this in my next posts, what has worked for us and what has not. You can take from them what you wish. Just as an intro. one of the main concepts I have introduced and trained is that of "Resilience", this concept and the training has helped my recruites significantly in their work and attitude to work and from their feedback in their personal lives as well.
Their is allot about resilience on the internet, look it up and tell me what you think.
Thanks for the response so far, apologies for the time between posts - I am planning to improve on this significantly.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Recruiter Technology, Why are we afraid!
Apologies for taking so long to follow up on my initial blog!
My excuse is that I got really caught up in work, as all recruiters know we sometimes get so busy that thinking becomes difficult, let alone putting our thoughts down. (Still just an excuse though)
I have also been really busy as it is almost time to launch my new product http://www.jobresponder.com and wow I feel really great about it! It is turning out even better then I hoped, the tech and graphics guys have done a great job putting my dream into reality. Please check it out if you get a chance, I really appreciate feedback and I believe managing your ad response and response screening will never be as difficult again. (If you think I am trying to sell you on it, well, yes I am. I suppose that is one benefit of your own blog you can do a bit of selling now and then.)
Anyway, this brings me to an interesting topic which I am sure we have all discussed in length and with much passion and often fear. The replacement of recruiters by technology!
I have heard from some clients as well as recruiters trying to develop new clients that some feel our days are numbered, as technology e.g. on-line job portals / boards both general and per company created will soon replace us. "What, Technology in Recruitment, Never I Say!" (My attempt at sarcasm).
These are my thoughts on the matter: what are yours?
Technology is fantastic! A great tool for Recruiters and should be embraced with open arms. Many recruiters are afraid of technology, they would still prefer to work with flip cards and say that anyone using technology is not a "Real Recruiter!
I say: ignore technology and real recruiter or not your business is doomed, it will not last long into the future.
Technology is not a replacement for recruiters but a powerfull tool to assist us, make us more productive, give us more reach, make us more competitive. We should (in fact must) welcome it as many other industries and professions do. How many accounting packages are out their that could and in many cases do replace accountants in certain areas, yet the demand for accountants is still huge.
Why are we so insecure about our industry!
I know Recruiters have taken a battering over a long, long time, but one thing we can not doubt is that we are nesessary, in fact essential? We to are always in demand - even if some folk like to tell us otherwise.
We have had clients try their own portal / database, only to realise how difficult the Recruitment function actually is, mainly their own portal only brings about more work and less recruitment success as they get piles of responses who they can never use but they still need to manage.
They mainly come back for our assistance, even if it is with their portal as an additional tool.
So we should be getting in first, start using the excellent technology available to us, become recruitment technology experts and then use this knowledge to our advantage, sell our skill to our clients, using this knowledge and ability as a strong benefit to using us.
If clients want to use technology in recruiting we should be involved in this process, tell them what could help, introduce then to technologies using your expertise. this may seem like a bad business approach, but at leat if you introduce them to technology that you know, you have the control and can make yourself indispensible as part of the recruitment process using the technology, show them how using your services and skills in conjunction with technologh is the best choice and will lead to the best recruitment - give them benefits, benefits, benefits!
this is better then trying to persuade them not to use recruitment or just waiting for your business with them to possibly shrink. Where's the control in that - and even if they find their technology does not work without a recruiter who says they will return to you.
So lets get on the web, start looking for and researching recruiter technology that meets our needs, get out of the Arc and into the recruiter cruise liner and show the world that we are truly essential and not to be taken lightly.
P.S.
When we use technology we encourage more to be developed in our area as it becomes worth while. I have noticed that while their is excellent technology available to us it is limited compared to other areas.
Anyway these are some of my thoughts and feelings on the subject, hope they are of interest to some and encourage some action and thought.
Please let us know your thoughts, I don't mind if you really despise what I say, love it or just feel it is not really of much interest! It's just my outlet for some creative side of me (I enjoy writing, good or bad!)
My excuse is that I got really caught up in work, as all recruiters know we sometimes get so busy that thinking becomes difficult, let alone putting our thoughts down. (Still just an excuse though)
I have also been really busy as it is almost time to launch my new product http://www.jobresponder.com and wow I feel really great about it! It is turning out even better then I hoped, the tech and graphics guys have done a great job putting my dream into reality. Please check it out if you get a chance, I really appreciate feedback and I believe managing your ad response and response screening will never be as difficult again. (If you think I am trying to sell you on it, well, yes I am. I suppose that is one benefit of your own blog you can do a bit of selling now and then.)
Anyway, this brings me to an interesting topic which I am sure we have all discussed in length and with much passion and often fear. The replacement of recruiters by technology!
I have heard from some clients as well as recruiters trying to develop new clients that some feel our days are numbered, as technology e.g. on-line job portals / boards both general and per company created will soon replace us. "What, Technology in Recruitment, Never I Say!" (My attempt at sarcasm).
These are my thoughts on the matter: what are yours?
Technology is fantastic! A great tool for Recruiters and should be embraced with open arms. Many recruiters are afraid of technology, they would still prefer to work with flip cards and say that anyone using technology is not a "Real Recruiter!
I say: ignore technology and real recruiter or not your business is doomed, it will not last long into the future.
Technology is not a replacement for recruiters but a powerfull tool to assist us, make us more productive, give us more reach, make us more competitive. We should (in fact must) welcome it as many other industries and professions do. How many accounting packages are out their that could and in many cases do replace accountants in certain areas, yet the demand for accountants is still huge.
Why are we so insecure about our industry!
I know Recruiters have taken a battering over a long, long time, but one thing we can not doubt is that we are nesessary, in fact essential? We to are always in demand - even if some folk like to tell us otherwise.
We have had clients try their own portal / database, only to realise how difficult the Recruitment function actually is, mainly their own portal only brings about more work and less recruitment success as they get piles of responses who they can never use but they still need to manage.
They mainly come back for our assistance, even if it is with their portal as an additional tool.
So we should be getting in first, start using the excellent technology available to us, become recruitment technology experts and then use this knowledge to our advantage, sell our skill to our clients, using this knowledge and ability as a strong benefit to using us.
If clients want to use technology in recruiting we should be involved in this process, tell them what could help, introduce then to technologies using your expertise. this may seem like a bad business approach, but at leat if you introduce them to technology that you know, you have the control and can make yourself indispensible as part of the recruitment process using the technology, show them how using your services and skills in conjunction with technologh is the best choice and will lead to the best recruitment - give them benefits, benefits, benefits!
this is better then trying to persuade them not to use recruitment or just waiting for your business with them to possibly shrink. Where's the control in that - and even if they find their technology does not work without a recruiter who says they will return to you.
So lets get on the web, start looking for and researching recruiter technology that meets our needs, get out of the Arc and into the recruiter cruise liner and show the world that we are truly essential and not to be taken lightly.
P.S.
When we use technology we encourage more to be developed in our area as it becomes worth while. I have noticed that while their is excellent technology available to us it is limited compared to other areas.
Anyway these are some of my thoughts and feelings on the subject, hope they are of interest to some and encourage some action and thought.
Please let us know your thoughts, I don't mind if you really despise what I say, love it or just feel it is not really of much interest! It's just my outlet for some creative side of me (I enjoy writing, good or bad!)
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Introduction to why I am am starting this blog
This is my first blog, and I am really excited! What a wonderful medium for sharing and learning. I hope that what I write on this forum will be of interest and help to others and that it will become a place of sharing of knowledge and experiences.
I have always said (and have heard from others) that people working within recruitment are a unique breed, I have been in the recruitment business for about 13 years and have faced a number of interesting times / challenges during this period both from a personal and work front. I have come to realize that recruiting is a very challenging, pressurised and some times soul-destroying industry. You need to be tough and be able to take the punches, but if you can survive, I believe it is one of the most exciting, rewarding ways to spend your days.
I hope to hear about how other recruiters feel, the challenges they face and the joys they have experienced. I have over my 13 years developed some exciting tools and ways of making the recruiting process easier and I hope to be able to share this with other recruiters in this forum and get their ideas and feedback.
Lets share our challenges, our successes, our lessons – and then see what we have that can help make our lives easier.
Recruiters (unlike many other industries) come from so many different background, yes, some have backgrounds or education in Human Resources or Psychology, but this can definitely not be seen as the rule. In my time I have met recruiters from marketing, engineering, sales, accounting, business, tourism etc. etc.
I studied marketing, but got into recruitment as my Mother was and had been in recruitment for many years and had started a recruitment company (the one I now run), like most young adults I was not sure what to do with my life and seen as I was working part time in the company I decided to give it a go. 13 years later, here I am.
I am not sure what draws people from so many different backgrounds to recruitment (I have heard so many different reasons), but I do know that once they are in it two things can happen! Either they are chewed up and spat out within a year (recruiting must have one of the largest turnovers in any industry I know) or they tough it out and get so hooked that they are in it for life! I am a lifer.
Recruiting is tough!!! No matter where you do it, for a recruitment company or within a corporate, medium or small company – one of the reasons for this is: we deal with people! Our product is literally People! And people are always a challenge, mostly because we are so unpredictable, we change our minds (frequently), we do what suits us (and not others), we can be swayed by so many things.
Even psychologists don’t know all the answers, yet we as recruiters (mainly not psychologists) are often expected to the have the answers. Yet recruiting from what I have experience is an area that gets little support from the market as a whole, few products are developed to make our lives easier. Although this is slowly changing, it has been slow and many areas are still managed exactly as they have been for years.
Other areas of business often see recruitment as an area to put the blame when anything goes wrong “they chose this staff member who is not performing”, “they are slow in finding the right person for this position” etc. But when a great person is found for a position the kudos is often happily accepted elsewhere.
Having said all of the above – what a ride recruitment can be, dealing with so many different people from so many different walks of life, multi-tasking, dealing with constant deadlines and the accompanying pressures, always on the go, always challenging, always learning!
I have loved and despised our industry and what I do over the time I have been in it, but always land up loving it!
My aim has always been to make it easier for recruiters, to help keep more people within our industry, to build strong resilient recruiters that love what they do and can face up to the challenges. To create tools that simplify the recruitment process for us.
I have over time been involved with recruiting of staff for the recruitment profession and then training them. I have had success and failure in this endeavour with some great consultants and some that have not lasted. During this process I have kept notes and tried many new techniques of training and motivating recruiters and have come up with some great tools and methods that have worked. They have helped keep me motivated, helped keep other recruiters motivated, kept them strong in the difficult times and made all our lives a bit easier. I have also had allot of fun working on technology for our industry. Technology I hope will be of use to all recruiters (and maybe even make me some money). Get a sneak preview of my new technology tool http://www.jobresponder.com to make the applicant ad response management process a breeze, not launched yet as still under development (lots to be added), will be up in a week or so. let me know what you think, I would love any feedback
I hope to, over time, be able to share what I have learnt and developed - via this forum, with as many of you recruiters (and anyone else who is interested at all) as possible and get as much input, feedback and lessons from you as possible so that we can all learn, develop and make each other lives and work allot more rich and fulfilling.
Hope to hear from all who are involved in recruitment in any way or have an interest in this area.
Anything you would like to share regarding recruitment, any support you may need, any lessons or helpful information you have, lets hear it, lets share it!
I have always said (and have heard from others) that people working within recruitment are a unique breed, I have been in the recruitment business for about 13 years and have faced a number of interesting times / challenges during this period both from a personal and work front. I have come to realize that recruiting is a very challenging, pressurised and some times soul-destroying industry. You need to be tough and be able to take the punches, but if you can survive, I believe it is one of the most exciting, rewarding ways to spend your days.
I hope to hear about how other recruiters feel, the challenges they face and the joys they have experienced. I have over my 13 years developed some exciting tools and ways of making the recruiting process easier and I hope to be able to share this with other recruiters in this forum and get their ideas and feedback.
Lets share our challenges, our successes, our lessons – and then see what we have that can help make our lives easier.
Recruiters (unlike many other industries) come from so many different background, yes, some have backgrounds or education in Human Resources or Psychology, but this can definitely not be seen as the rule. In my time I have met recruiters from marketing, engineering, sales, accounting, business, tourism etc. etc.
I studied marketing, but got into recruitment as my Mother was and had been in recruitment for many years and had started a recruitment company (the one I now run), like most young adults I was not sure what to do with my life and seen as I was working part time in the company I decided to give it a go. 13 years later, here I am.
I am not sure what draws people from so many different backgrounds to recruitment (I have heard so many different reasons), but I do know that once they are in it two things can happen! Either they are chewed up and spat out within a year (recruiting must have one of the largest turnovers in any industry I know) or they tough it out and get so hooked that they are in it for life! I am a lifer.
Recruiting is tough!!! No matter where you do it, for a recruitment company or within a corporate, medium or small company – one of the reasons for this is: we deal with people! Our product is literally People! And people are always a challenge, mostly because we are so unpredictable, we change our minds (frequently), we do what suits us (and not others), we can be swayed by so many things.
Even psychologists don’t know all the answers, yet we as recruiters (mainly not psychologists) are often expected to the have the answers. Yet recruiting from what I have experience is an area that gets little support from the market as a whole, few products are developed to make our lives easier. Although this is slowly changing, it has been slow and many areas are still managed exactly as they have been for years.
Other areas of business often see recruitment as an area to put the blame when anything goes wrong “they chose this staff member who is not performing”, “they are slow in finding the right person for this position” etc. But when a great person is found for a position the kudos is often happily accepted elsewhere.
Having said all of the above – what a ride recruitment can be, dealing with so many different people from so many different walks of life, multi-tasking, dealing with constant deadlines and the accompanying pressures, always on the go, always challenging, always learning!
I have loved and despised our industry and what I do over the time I have been in it, but always land up loving it!
My aim has always been to make it easier for recruiters, to help keep more people within our industry, to build strong resilient recruiters that love what they do and can face up to the challenges. To create tools that simplify the recruitment process for us.
I have over time been involved with recruiting of staff for the recruitment profession and then training them. I have had success and failure in this endeavour with some great consultants and some that have not lasted. During this process I have kept notes and tried many new techniques of training and motivating recruiters and have come up with some great tools and methods that have worked. They have helped keep me motivated, helped keep other recruiters motivated, kept them strong in the difficult times and made all our lives a bit easier. I have also had allot of fun working on technology for our industry. Technology I hope will be of use to all recruiters (and maybe even make me some money). Get a sneak preview of my new technology tool http://www.jobresponder.com to make the applicant ad response management process a breeze, not launched yet as still under development (lots to be added), will be up in a week or so. let me know what you think, I would love any feedback
I hope to, over time, be able to share what I have learnt and developed - via this forum, with as many of you recruiters (and anyone else who is interested at all) as possible and get as much input, feedback and lessons from you as possible so that we can all learn, develop and make each other lives and work allot more rich and fulfilling.
Hope to hear from all who are involved in recruitment in any way or have an interest in this area.
Anything you would like to share regarding recruitment, any support you may need, any lessons or helpful information you have, lets hear it, lets share it!
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