Matter.
It matters less. Paper is hard to distribute, easy to destroy, and lose,
and hard to store and retrieve (hence systems like Restrac and Resumix).
As I have repeatedly said, paper resumes should be dead. They should be
replaced with simple, on-line resume builders or video resumes.
Space.
Distance has vanished. Where you live doesn't really matter any more.
Global companies should be able to accommodate anyone, anywhere.
Interviewing should be done via on-line systems, testing and background
screening can also be done on the Internet. Telecommuting is already
popular and growing. Many software firms have workers spread all over
the world, coordinated with email and on-line conferencing systems.
Recruiters need to develop better skills in dealing with virtual space.
As most of us as "people" people, we find it difficult to move
into this new, rather more impersonal media. But, if we don't we
probably won't be recruiters for much longer.
Time.
It's collapsing. No one wants to wait for a candidate. How can
recruiters accommodate this? Build small and very specialized networks
of people within a discipline. Trade information; give out information
about your company and what it has to offer. Put out a newsletter or
provide some regular content that is useful to this group of people.
Whenever you need someone, you can tap this network and seek out
candidates who have already been screened, at least to some degree. Work
hard to manage the perception of time that managers have by involving
them more completely in the recruiting process.
People.
They're the crown jewels. Every company knows this now, but we still
treat candidates poorly. If our store clerks or customer service reps
treated us as we often treat our candidates, we would not do business
with them anymore. We need to vastly improve our responsiveness to
candidates by offering them real time updates on the status of their
resume/application, by reducing the number of interviews, and by making
offers swiftly.
Growth.
It's accelerated by the network. We need to increase the number of
people we contact for any job. We need to search globally.
Value.
Rise exponentially with market share. The more candidates we can build a
relationship with and the wider we cast our net the more value we can
add to our firm. Diversity builds innovation.
Efficiency.
The middleman lives. I don't advocate the removal of the recruiter from
the recruiting process, as some do. But, I do believe that the role of
the recruiter should change to be more of a marketer, relationship
developer, and candidate searcher.
Markets.
Buyers are king. As I said before, the candidate is king. The candidate
controls the entire relationship and can at any time decide to move on
to another recruiter or another firm. Know the markets you are
recruiting from and adjust your recruiting practices to them.
Transactions.
It's a one-on-one game. All relationships are one-on-one. There are no
groups of people anymore. There are no programmers or engineers; only
individuals with individual needs and motivations. The recruiter has to
understand these individual differences and work with the human
resources people to adapt policies and compensation to each person.
Impulse.
The gap between desire and fulfillment has closed. Both candidates and
managers expect swift, efficient, polite and fun relationships. Neither
will wait for bureaucracy or administrative.
