I haven't found many blog posts that allow us to hear the client/managers point of view. Well, look no further because one of mine opened up recently. I wrote a blog post about VMS and it's impact on recruiters and jobseekers. Below is a response from one of my hiring managers. I think this can be helpful to the recruiter and jobseeker alike. It reminds us to never take our clients for granted and always provide quality service. It also shows how building and why building a great relationship with hiring managers is so important.

I'm not adding this to try and impress anyone or show off my ballin' relationship with this guy. I think it can help us all get a glimpse of "the other side".

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"I read your article about VMS after the linkedin update email mentioned it. I think there is an angle that you may not have considered, there is a Darwin like force involved here.

Your right in the fact that it tends to lead to reduced direct communication with the hiring manager but I don't think that is simple because of the VMS. I think a large part of it is simply because of lazy companies. Many vendors have given in to the experience you described in your post and simply submit resumes through the VMS without any real effort. But in reality, there is more of an opportunity to make yourself noticed
when there is a VMS because some vendors won't be trying as hard. I don't know if I explained that well but looking at our history probably explains it better.

Over the last couple of years at [client] you and [colleague] have been the most successful vendor mainly because you have taken the most time to reach out and understand my needs. You did not simply depend on the VMS and your preferred status. Other companies have blindly submitted resumes after seeking little or no feedback.

[competitor 1] and [competitor 2] have been good examples. I've probably talked to [competitor 1] for a total of 5-10 minutes over the last two years. They have no idea what I need or want. Every once in awhile they will
get lucky and cough up a decent candidate to interview but I have yet to hire one. [competitor 2] is an even better example. They have sent plenty of candidates in
the past but like [competitor 1], they didn't put much personal effort into it. As a result their candidates weren't as competitive and they weren't having any success. But that changed recently when they really started making an effort and reached out to make that personal connection. Once they reached an understanding of what was needed (quality and price) they managed to find candidates I wanted to hire.

In the mean time [competitor 1] is still spinning their wheels and I've never even heard from some vendors.