It’s easy to think, because of the speed of information on The Interwebs, that searching, sourcing and recruiting can be a fast market. And, honestly, sometimes it can. However, in general, finding and placing candidates is a time-consuming process.To be any good at it, you’ve got to have a long-term plan for going forward, and given the opportunity you’ve got to sell your own talents as much as you sell those of your candidates.

A long-term plan means that, even in this information age, you can’t have any real success with a get-noticed-quick attitude. Whether you’re growing organically and by spending money, it takes time to build your online network, create and grow your presence and get your SEO ducks in a row.

For instance, John Parker recommends on Search Engine Optimization Strategies that we should think of SEO like we think about weight loss. He points out that pre-packaged SEO deals (he calls them “Value meal SEO”), especially the kind that seem “filling” and quick, rarely have any real “nutritional” value. He also says that any changes you make have to be long term. Like a weight-loss pill or fad diet

“Quick tricks and algorithm loopholes might get you results in the short term, but you’ll be right back where you started (or worse) as soon as the search engines discover them.”

He also recommends against spam. Sorry, Hawaii.

In that long-term strategy, you’ve also got to be a heck of salesperson. You’ve got to let people know why your recruiting works (and it helps to be able to back up our claims), and you have to be able to sell your candidates. The organizations with whom you’re working have to be able to see why Candidate A is a better match for their needs than Candidate B, and they rely on you for that information.

Jason Gorham tells this familiar story over on Recruiting Trends.

“I can’t even begin to count the number of times I have found a good resume, called the candidate, and spent the next fifteen minutes explaining my company and what we do simply to get the candidate interested in listening to what I had to said.”

He says that the sales side of recruiting should leverage the technology at our disposal (but remember the above paragraphs about long-term SEO). Still, that technology definitely makes it easier to get your own message out there and keep it fresh. Then, when you have an opportunity to really pitch that message, try to target in on your audience’s hot-button topics. What are their needs as a candidate or organization? How can you meet those needs better than anyone else? Convince them, and you’re selling. Succeed, and you’re really recruiting.

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Of course it’s true that we put on different faces for different situations. You’re a different person talking to your spouse than you would be in front of a police officer, for instance. You speak one way to a VP of Sales and another way to a third-party recruiter. However, in a world increasingly defined by the ubiquity (a word we’ve now gotten to use twice in just a few posts) of information on the internet, the distances between some of those identities are shrinking fast. Candidates are realizing that an employer can have fast access to various versions of their identity, and for some that could mean lost opportunities… or could it mean access to the coolest jobs?

Think about all the recent buzz on video resumes. Lots of people are talking about how video resumes can show a “real” you, about how they can go viral and grow your network exponentially, about how hip and fun and cool they are. A video resume (of sorts) by a guy named Matt Bennett has become pretty popular in the blogosphere because of its zany approach. Joel Cheesman admits here that it’s “clever” but wonders, “Is this stuff getting people jobs?”

On the other hand, Kristi Young argues here that video resumes can accurately target the right kind of audiences for candidates seeking a specific work culture:

“Sure it’s a little over the top, but if one hiring manger out there digs it then I guarantee you this guy just landed his dream job with his dream boss. Matt will certainly get the last laugh!”

However, in a comment on her post, Tom Schmidt argues that “video resume does not integrate into present hiring processes especially at the top of the candidate selection funnel.” In other words, don’t expect a video resume from the next C-level candidate you try to place.

Similarly, many candidates may have a professional blog or website in addition to more revealing personal ones. Ryan Healy of Employee Evolution, in a post on Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist, points out that websites and social networks “are blurring the lines between personal and professional life” and “there is no reason these lines should not be blurred.” He goes on to say that

“If the world already knows what we do in our spare time and we are all able to be completely open about our interests, thoughts and ideas without fear of retribution or not being hired then we can bring our whole being to work everyday.”

John Sumser also argues that “helping people understand your biases and loyalties makes all of the difference in the world” and that “transparency” and “reliability of the information” are becoming the most critical business factors. He reminds us that, in our own Recruitosphere, we create alter egos for ourselves like The Recruiting Animal, Cheezhead, Mr. Moustache and The Chad. Can we really claim surprise then when we find out that our candidates have various personas as well? If they exhibit characteristics of a real person (meaning less-than-professional for some of their 24 daily hours), are we less likely to hire them?

Arguably not, especially when “89% of employers asked, said they would watch a video resume” (according to a Vault survey via Human Capital Considerations). While, according to the study, only 17% had actually watched video resumes, many more have scoured MySpace and/or the blogosphere for mentions of candidates. We’d like to know: are you finding information that slams the door on candidates, or are you rewarding outside-the-box creativity and honesty? Leave us a comment with your take on candidates’ multiple personas.

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“Ubiquitous” is one of those great words that doesn’t see a lot of action. As you probably know, it means “ever-present” or sort of “being everywhere all the time,” and its recent usage is often to describe the internet. In fact, companies like search engine behemoth Google bank on the internet’s ubiquity (see, it’s just fun to say) to generate revenue through volume.

That’s one of the reasons smart folks like Andrew Chen see the worth in comparing Google to volume retailers like Wal-Mart. In a post a while back, Chen did a thorough side-by-side of Wal-Mart and Google, looking closely at their massive scales and business development, and came up with the fact that Google is - in his words - superior to Wal-Mart for two reasons:

• Cost-per-click auction system
• Goods and services, not just goods

He does a better job explaining the two, so you should go read the post if you want to get a bigger picture.

What both of those factors have in common is volume, and that’s how they relate to online recruiting. In a mostly-successful effort to get the biggest market share (which they clearly have as the Chad points out), search engines like Google and some of the traditional job boards - which function in very similar ways - allow vast, but not always relevant, search results.

It’s why industry veterans like Joel Cheesman post about the mertis of vertical search, and it’s why we’ve warned about the poor results of high-volume recruiting.Successful recruiting, especially of Quiet Working Professionals, just isn’t going to happen with big-volume searches or job-postings. Getting the best candidates demands a focussed network through accurate matching, one-on-one connections and a preservation of privacy. Those are things giant search engines and traditional job boards just aren’t designed to offer.

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[Daily post from itzbig] The Definitive Future of Human Resources. . . sort of

While all of this is, at its most basic, great advice, that fragmentation and globalization seems like it can open you up to a lot of unnecessary exposure. While lots of people just accept that exposure as part of the penalty for doing business in a global economy, here at itzbig we think it doesn’t have to be that way.

SHRM:: Poll: Most Orientation Programs Lack Real Impact

“While all of this is, at its most basic, great advice, that fragmentation and globalization seems like it can open you up to a lot of unnecessary exposure. While lots of people just accept that exposure as part of the penalty for doing business in a global economy, here at itzbig we think it doesn’t have to be that way.”

Slashdot: Shutting Down Annoying Recruiters?

“My company is under attack by the leeches and bottom-feeders of the IT recruiting world. They call into our company phone directory constantly — hundreds of calls per day — trolling for names, hawking their job candidates, and refusing to hang up or stop calling, even if we curse their mothers.”

About.com: HR Practices Do Impact Business Profitability

“You guessed it. The more certain factors exist in an organization, such as hiring people who truly fit the culture, and not necessarily the position, the more profitable the business.”

Brazen Careerist: New financial data highlights generational rifts

“The shift is in the definition of the American Dream. Our dream is about time, not money. No generation wants to live with financial instability. And we are no exception. But finances alone do not define someone’s American Dream. Especially when our dream is about how we spend our time.”

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Two major shifts are underway in the hiring world (and arguably in the larger “real world” as well). The world is becoming smaller, meaning it’s easier to conduct business over vast distances. Partially because of that shrinkage, the world is also becoming more fragmented. Opportunities spring up from a variety of places as opposed to from larger, more centralized locations, and taking advantage of those opportunities means being agile and mobile (figuratively or literally).

Joel Cheesman just posted a short-but-great interview with Matt Adams of NAS, in which this fragmentation comes up. Matt says that organizations have to devote a lot of attention to their HR branding, to the message they put out there about working for an organization. He points out that a company’s website is “the single greatest touchpoint that an applicant has with their organization,” and that to attract quality talent in a fragmenting market, the sites have to be increasingly interactive and experiential in order to really brand their culture.

He also says that the online employment space is “too competitive” and “too fluid” for anyone to focus their efforts on any one source of opportunities. He explains that in the same way that talent doesn’t look exclusively at newspaper job sections any more, they can’t (and aren’t) just looking at single, traditional job boards that haven’t really grown to meet their needs.

Similarly, Rusty Weston of My Global Career argues that “Social Networking” is the past and “Career Networking” is the future. Since the fancy interwebs lets you make intercontinental connections as easily as local ones, candidates and HR professionals should maintain a local, regional and global network.

While all of this is, at its most basic, great advice, that fragmentation and globalization seems like it can open you up to a lot of unnecessary exposure. While lots of people just accept that exposure as part of the penalty for doing business in a global economy, here at itzbig we think it doesn’t have to be that way.

We’ve tailored our system to offer the benefits of a more focussed, vertical search and the broad access of a more general job search. The matching system helps create fast, accurate connections while (and this part is very important) protecting the anonymity of both parties involved. Will it be the Definitive Future of Human Resources? Well, time will have the final word on that. Will it be a really big deal to anyone looking to match quality talent with business needs? Well, yeah. That’s why we chose our name.

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[Daily post from itzbig] Recruiters are going the way of the mammals, not the dinosaurs

In the very near future when our network goes live we think a lot of recruiters and sourcers, like pre-historic mammals, are going to adapt and thrive as a species. Those who don’t change? Well, remember what happened to the dinosaurs.

Secrets of the Job Hunt: How to Approach HR

“Approaching an HR manager out of the blue about a job you heard about can be a tricky thing. I recently surveyed some Human Resource folks about this very tactic. I think you’ll find their answers interesting and insightful.”

EXCELER8ion: There is such a thing as a free lunch when it’s on you

“Recently, a trend started called Lunch 2.0, where friends, connections and interlopers make themselves at home at another companies [sic] free cafeteria. You know, the gourmet ones that we’ve either happily noshed at as guests, drooled over, or perhaps are even lucky enough to call home (yes we covet your cafeteria). It’s old tech social media.”

My Global Career: So Long Daimler and Thanks For All the Gas

“Should we add globalization to the burgeoning list of possible career hazards? Consider this: Daimler-Chrysler management and investors may have overreached but as multinational stories go, it is the exception rather than the rule.”

The Sourcing Corner: Tackling Sourcers’ Challenges

“Sourcers face many obstacles that recruiters don’t have to deal with. For instance regardless of how strong your sourcing skills are in some circles you’re still considered jr. level or even worse entry level. So what’s the solution? Are sourcers fighting a losing battle? Not necessarily.”

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So there the dinosaurs were, thinking with their reptilian brains, “Feed. Reproduce. Life is perfect. Nothing will ever change.” Meanwhile, crafty little mammals were scurrying around under the feet of the thunder lizards. In their tiny (but well-developed) brains they thought, “Man, is it cooling off around here?” and/or “What’s that big fireball in the sky?” either of which lead to them thinking, “I better figure out a way to adapt, or I’m gonna be dead meat.”

What brings us to this little anecdote is a series of posts out there in the blogosphere about the effects improved recruiting software will have on sourcers and recruiters. Specifically, Shally Steckerl posted recently in response to another series of posts and comments about how, rather than “going the way of the dinosaurs,” recruiters are developing specializations and adapting to online recruiting. Steckerl suggests that:

If hiring managers one day had access to tools like Jason Goldberg envisions will be built then its possible that hiring managers may be able to meet a certain percentage of their hiring objectives via self service “candidate vending machines.” But ultimately tools can not replace all hiring.

First, how great would a “candidate vending machine” be? Hmm, a design executive with killer ActionScript skills and a great attitude? C-7. Secondly, as is so often the case, Steckerl is right on target.

It’s incredibly unlikely that technology automation will reach a point where every aspect of recruiting is done without human interaction. Most recruiters and sourcers are in the process of adapting to changes in technology that make them even more efficient. They’re learning how to make the most of tools like online job-boards and networking tools.

As those tools become even more efficient - sourcing ahead of demand, protecting anonymity on both sides, creating accurate matches based on detailed profiling - the best recruiters are going to learn how effective they can be by adopting (and adapting to) the right tools.

In the very near future when our network goes live we think a lot of recruiters and sourcers, like pre-historic mammals, are going to adapt and thrive as a species. Those who don’t change? Well, remember what happened to the dinosaurs.

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[Daily post from itzbig] Focussing in on Plan B

The Plan B search should be a targeted one. Candidates should be able to gather information and receive job opening notifications from companies they’re truly interested in. They shouldn’t have to waste their time looking through countless openings or getting hassled by businesses that they want nothing to do with.

The Adler Group: The Elements of Applicant Control

“Someone can always pay more. You’ll never have enough money in the budget to pay top dollar. Instead, you must sell on the idea that your job represents the best long-term career move and the one that can make the biggest near-term impact.”

CareerJourna:: Not Your Father’s Income: Why Wages Today Are Weaker

“American men in their 30s today are worse off than their fathers’ generation, a reversal from just a decade ago, when sons generally were better off than their fathers, a new study finds.”

HR Daily Advisor: 3 Surveys Take a Novel View of HR

“Did you ever wonder whether other human resources pros are spending their days on the same issues that you do, and whether the same concerns are foremost in their minds? Answers to these questions come from a study of 1,400 HR professionals by the British magazine, Personnel Today.

ere.net: No Hire is Better Than a Bad Hire

“Relaxing hiring standards can make good business sense, provided it’s done the right way. The problem is that companies often lower hiring standards in a way that creates unreasonable and unnecessary risk to the organization.”

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We continually hear from recruiters and hiring managers urging job candidates to evaluate themselves and what they’re looking for. We tell job candidates to do that ourselves. People who work with candidates in any capacity want them to conduct a focused job search by beginning with a consideration of what’s actually at stake:

“While making an informed decision regarding your career is a good way to help insure that the career you choose is right for you, it doesn’t guarantee it. Even if you follow all the prescribed steps and choose a career that is right for you, it may not remain your best choice forever.” (from Dawn Rosenberg McKay)

One of the major problems with job boards, though, is that they don’t allow for focused job searches based on the real needs of candidates. Moreover, candidates can’t always hone in on specific companies or even specific types of jobs. Instead, they’re inundated with every job opening that might match a single keyword in their resume or that falls within their broad search parameters.

An effective Plan B job search should give you the best opportunity to find the right company and the right job for you. It should also allow you to avoid having to deal with companies and positions that hold no interest for you. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case on most boards these days, and messages on job openings have become their own kind of spam:

“Post your resume to these boards, and you’ll be added to the Job of the Hour club. After you get tired of emails about jobs selling insurance and delivering pizzas you will discover that you can’t opt out of an email list you did not sign up for in the first place. (from Job Matchbox)

The Plan B search should be a targeted one. Candidates should be able to gather information and receive job opening notifications from companies they’re truly interested in. They shouldn’t have to waste their time looking through countless openings or getting hassled by businesses that they want nothing to do with.

Once you know what you really want, you’ll need the tools to find those companies that can truly give it to you. We believe that you can find the job that is the right match for you, one that meets your needs and enables you to set and reach new goals. The tools to find that realistic dream job exist in our new network about to make its debut. Come see what it’s all about so you can be ready for when that dream job comes along.

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One battle-cry of business success used to be “location, location, location.” However, thanks to the internet’s hand in shrinking the world’s borders, a new, better mantra might be “branding, branding, branding.” Odds are, whatever it is you do online has a lot in common with what bunches of other folks are doing too, so you’ve got to take steps that distinguish you from the herd. It seems like a no-brainer, but unfortunately one of the most important arms of the business world - human resources (including recruiters and sourcers) - doesn’t always seem to take branding to heart.

The branding of HR is going to be most effective if it reflects a healthy hiring-culture. In other words, if an organization lacks a real hiring-culture, a sense of what it means both to work at and apply to a business, they can’t expect top talent to get excited about employement opportunities. Putting it another way, Korre Johnson, Recruitment Marketing Director for VersantWorks challenges HR to

Think about it…what steps is your marketing department taking to attract and retain customers? Now compare that to the steps your human resource department is taking to attract and retain best-fit employees.

HR is usually as results-driven as other branches of the company; why aren’t they just as promotional with their brand identity?

It begins with developing a good online HR presence with SEO in mind. Of course, a little active marketing (whether a blitz or a drip, as HRMarketer.com puts it) will help increase brand awareness. And remember what your parents (hopefully) taught you about honesty, or as the web-world puts it “transparency.” There’s a lot of skepticism out there directed at marketing in general. If potential candidates suspect your brand is being less-than-accurately described (as an anonymous CSO warns on CSOOnline, you can probably kiss them goodbye.

Sound like a massive undertaking? It potentially is, and that’s why enterprise-sized corporations have thus far lead the way in really successful HR branding. But at itzbig, we think our new network, which goes way beyond job-posts and resume-shopping, can help HR professionals of any size craft the right online presence to foster their brand. We think its going to make a world of difference to the online hiring space.

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