1. M.E.R. Professional Introduction Services
Executive Search & Merger/Acquisition Introductions
Outsourcing Industry Experts (Managed Services, Call Center, Direct Marketing, BPO)
www.justcareers.com
Death of the Professional Recruiter?
By Chad McDaniel
In the 90 s the value or need to use a professional recruiter was a hot Chad McDaniel is the President
topic of discussion. Internet Job Boards and the Monsters of the and Founder of M.E.R., a
world had surfaced. Companies flocked to post their jobs online so Professional Search Firm
that their recruitment needs gained global visibility. The result was a dedicated to the contact center
mass influx of resumes - most of which may not have been qualified. industry, CRM, BPO, Direct
HR organizations burned the midnight oil - reviewing, cataloging and Marketing industries.
responding to unqualified resumes. At the same time there were also www.justcareers.com
resume databases. These databases provided some good resumes
but were typically of candidates in active job search. We all know that Chad shares his thoughts about
when the economy is good and all things are normal the best the recruitment industry, job
candidates aren t looking. Therefore, the value of the professional hunting and career advice at
recruiter to find the best talent was felt to be retained. http://chadmcdaniel.blogspot.com
Now fast forward to 2010 and we are faced with a new challenge
to our value - Social Media.
With the emergence of sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs,
discussion boards, etc., the days of the professional recruiter may be
numbered
In the golden days of recruiting we had to rely on cold calling, phone
books, company directories, magazines etc. to build our network.
However, today Social Media has made it possible to connect with
thousands of people at the click of a button. The amount of cold The last few years have seen
calling or getting around the gate keeper is significantly down. Social Media become part of the
recruitment process.
If you do not have qualified people learning, setting up and working the tool then it becomes another one of
those great gadgets that you bought but only half works. If per chance you spend the time and energy to
set up Social Media to deliver appropriate results you still need to organize, analyze and decipher those
results. You still need strong industry knowledge to make the appropriate and successful matching of talent
to need- beyond the title, and the organization that show up in the results. Even more importantly, you still
need to take the time to talk to people and understand them beyond the resume.

2. In the end however, Social Media is about access and targeted networking and that s really just one piece
of the recruitment puzzle. Recruitment is not just a transactional process. It is a thoughtful, time consuming,
evaluative, engaged and nurturing process. It is a changing and maturing relationship each step of the way.
You need to discuss and add value to clients business challenges or candidates personal career search
goals. You need to: stay on top of who s who in the market; gain the trust and commitment of your
contacts; make time to listen to employers unique hiring needs; make time to listen to potential candidates
career goals and aspirations in order to make the necessary match to not only skill and expertise but also
your client s corporate culture and communication style.
You also need to organize, track and constantly communicate with this network in a way that offers a return
on yours as well as their investment of time and attention.
We recently conducted a survey Impact of Social Media and Recruitment and the trends confirmed our
initial assumptions. (To review the results, please click on the following link)
http://www.justcareers.com/PressReleases/SocialMediaSurveyResults-ImpactofSocialMediaAndRecruitment.pptx
We had over 800 responses offering critical insight to where companies are struggling today. Companies
struggling to create and develop employer brands on the web and companies struggling to understand
how they should be using Social Media in their current recruitment strategies.
The last question of the survey asked When it comes to embracing Social Media and how to best
leverage this medium, where do you see the greatest pain point for your current company and area of
need ?
Pain points the respondents shared were:
Time
Knowledge/Training
Implementation
Filtering out the Noise (i.e. screening through the sea of responses and resumes)
Confidentiality
The results from the survey clearly show employers are struggling on how to effectively and efficiently
embrace Social Media and the information overload that can come from it. As employers gain knowledge
and learned techniques of Social Media, the element of time and implementation to create a robust
employer brand could be at risk.
So Why the Professional Recruiter?
First
Using the word community may roll off the tongue easily, but it s
really all about creating relationships of value and supporting each
other in our areas of mutual interest and need.
A professional and specialized recruiter makes it their life to develop
and build a network of contacts of specific talent and expertise . If
you have not heard of communities web 2.0 technologies, then
standby as it is coming.
A professional recruiter establishes
It is our job to establish a community that produces a compelling a community

3. content and/or facilitation and engagement of candidates, industry
trends and other relevant industry data. This process takes
significant time and insight to build and to create engaged followers.
These contacts will leave as quickly as they come if you do not
establish value for their time and attention.
Second
The professional recruiter is the bridge between engagement and
candidate experience with an employer. If you want the right talent
- the most suited to the clients need talent - this bridge cannot be
overlooked or thrown to the wayside.
The talent (or hidden talent) that most employers seek to hire are
savvy. They want to be engaged like never before. They expect the
online job seeking experience to mirror that of shopping or banking.
Whereas you can track an order online, you can't track how your job
application is doing because it stops at the point of submission to
the employer. Then it's down to the individual recruiter to 'engage'
with jobseekers. The more effective the engagement, the better the A professional recruiter will find
consumer/jobseeker experience and likelihood of success to win the out and headhunt where their
best talent for the employer. audience hangs-out online.
In the new arena of Social Media a professional recruiter will find out
and headhunt where their audience hangs-out online - monitoring
where relevant conversations are taking place and learning how to
take part. Most organizations do not have the resources and or time
to hang-out in these online communities. Once again, it is
apparent Social Media is a great tool when worked effectively but it
is not the complete picture.
Third
A professional recruiter promotes their client job openings amongst
select and targeted groups of trusted contacts. This has the
opportunity to vastly increase the reputation, visibility and activity
around a vacancy.
Fourth
Hiring managers typically come to a specialized professional
recruiter because dedicated internal HR resources are struggling
with filling a role. The struggle is sometimes about industry reach
but more often than not it is around the true understanding of the
role that needs to be filled. Sometimes the struggle is finding the fit
to the Corporate culture which is a key evaluation to position the
candidate and their new employer for success after the start date of
the new hire. Access and use of Social Media as a tool does not
remove this from the evaluation process and can actually make it
more difficult as there are now so many more people to view and A specialized professional
sort through than ever before. recruiter is invaluable when
dedicated internal HR resources
are struggling with filling a role.

4. Fifth
Contrary to what some might believe- not everyone has put
themselves on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. In my mind, the
dedication, professionalism, skill, tenacity and creativity of which
professional recruiters employ their craft still has undisputed value
to the hiring process.
Finally
There is no doubt in my mind - the future of Social Media does offer The death of the professional
a wealth of new ways to interact with core audiences. We, as recruiter or need for our
professional recruiters, must keep up or we will miss out in both involvement is still open for debate.
opportunity and success in our field of expertise.
In my opinion, if an organization s success rests significantly on their
human capital then engaging the professional recruiter at the
appropriate time and place ensures a greater likelihood of success
to attract not only the best talent but to hire individuals who will fit
your organization in both ability, future potential and personality.
The continued emergence of Social Media is a force to be reckoned
with. Discussions around employer branding and the changing way
job searching is conducted, is forcing the conversation.
Is the death of the professional recruiter eminent? No, I do not
believe so. Yes, the value add for our involvement may still be
open for debate, however ensuring you are attracting the best talent
should not be taken for granted.
The real truth is - change is here. The way we embrace or do not
embrace this change is the interesting paradox.
Your comments and opinions are welcomed. Please email Chad at
mcdaniel@justcareers.com