I’m sitting here at my desk, well actually I’m walking on my treadmill and typing, which to me is amazing, in and of itself. It is crazy to think how much the workplace has changed in the last 20 years. The fax machine has come and gone and we have gone from being excited about getting an e-mail to sometimes wishing that e-mail would just go away!
With all this change, the process of finding quality employees has also changed. Hiring managers went from posting “want ads” in the newspaper, to posting on Monster.com, to posting jobs on LinkedIn. The funny thing is the more things change, the more they stay the same. The above referenced sources all identify the same “active” job seekers. Sometimes this is all you need to fill your position, but more often than not hiring managers are looking to upgrade talent and find the best candidate available.
This “passive candidate” is where things have not changed all that much in recruiting. Good recruiting is still about getting on the phone and networking, then actually sitting down and meeting face-to-face. It is about talking to people, understanding their aspirations, where they want to take their careers, and then coming back when the position is right and allowing them the opportunity to move forward in their careers. Some in the recruiting industry will tell you that the new generation of talent does not want to talk on the phone and the best way to recruit is to send out e-mails, texts, and social networking posts. Don’t get me wrong, I believe all of these are important. However, we find the best candidates are still those willing and, more importantly, able to have a conversation. At Ambrion we meet all of our candidates face-to-face and because of this we are able to give our clients the full picture of the candidate. You don’t make a hiring decision without meeting someone and if you are paying a recruiter to source candidates, you should expect them to do the same. It may be the 21st century, and a lot of things have changed, but you still can’t beat the read you get by sitting down with someone. If you agree that meeting people face to face is still important I would love to hear from you. Or, if you believe meeting someone is no longer a part of the recruiting puzzle, let me know that as well.