Monday, June 09, 2008

Recruitment and the human factor

Finding the right job in London is like walking along a really long tightrope. Whilst juggling. Thankfully there are agencies to offer support and guidance along the way. Whatever their reasons for helping, it works for me.

For employers, finding the right candidate for a position generally comes at a hefty price. So you can understand why companies are looking to use latest technologies to cut out the middle man. Last year recruitment accounted for a quarter of all online advertising, and brands continue to experiment with new technologies to gain direct access to potential candidates.

Last year a virtual recruitment fair was held on Second Life which was hailed as a success by the companies participating. Blogging has become quite important in attracting candidates, as have PPC campaigns and (some would say) Social Networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. 

I tried using Facebook to search for jobs and I found it confusing and unprofessional. However it's not a bad place for recruiters to advertise, as ads can be targeted towards the right candidate profiles. Having said that, most people I've asked aren't even aware of any advertising on facebook - a phenomenon known as 'banner blindness'. An innovative approach to advertising is needed for this kind of advertising to pay.

From my perspective recruitment agencies are in no danger of being ousted for now. They provide a valuable service to people like me, and it's in their interest to get it right for all parties. They connect the right people to the right jobs and it seems to work. 

It's certainly the right thing to do for companies to divert their ad spend from offline to online. And there is a great deal of untapped potential for recruiting using new media methods. But the loss of recruitment agencies would mean a loss of the human factor, and isn't that what the recruitment industry is all about?


Video CV's - a novel approach, but not always the right one.

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