A Sinister Cloud On The Horizon For The Recruiting Industry...

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while since I last posted on here - that's because I've been really busy keeping my head above water in this never ending recession. Anyway, I've noticed many references by recruitingblogs to Bounty Jobs... I'm sure they are paying recruiting blogs to promote them.... which is fine, that's how recruitingblogs in part make their money. I had no idea who they were at first, until someone told me they were the equivalent of Talent Puzzle here in the UK.

So - on the subject of Bounty Jobs, and similar services setting up here in the UK, I thought you should all take a read of the following article written by a person I have huge respect for in our industry....

(replace "Tesco" with "Walmart" - and you'll get the picture)

Click HERE

I can't comment on how everyone is taking Bounty Jobs in the US... but we aren't taking to kindly to this type of service in the UK. Don't you just hate how the likes of Walmart are forcing it's suppliers to work harder, for less, forcing all the small grocery stores out of business, and forcing us as customers to accept hikes in grocery prices because we have little choice on where else to shop! The big supermarkets totally control the food supply chain, and I for one don't want anyone coming into the recruiting industry and taking dictating how we as the REAL supplier should be working in a similar fashion.

I know that Jason most likely won't feature this particular blog of mine, as he's kindly done in the past... given the fact that Bounty Jobs are a sponsor on here (perhaps when he's gone he might comment?). However, I just wanted to know how you are all taking to Bounty Jobs over there in the US?

Are you happy with them coming in a trying to control the market - forcing you to go through them to get to the jobs you want to fill, driving down your fees, and even taking their cut of your low fee in the process?

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Comment by Sean O'Donoghue on June 13, 2011 at 2:18pm: Hi Mike,

Thanks for your contribution here. I'd already apologised for misjudging how Jason might approach this blog post - and I'm glad he's kept impartial, as he should be.

Right now your major argument for recruiters to use your service is that the smaller firms, or "headhunters" can gain access to roles which they usually wouldn't be able to. I agree very much with that fact - many small agencies and independent recruiters / headhunters do struggle to get onto supplier lists of the larger companies. They lack the resources, reach, branding, recognition and funds of the larger competitors. To use a bountyjobs service if they have candidates which they cannot place in their own jobs seems like a good idea...

HOWEVER - what if those independent recruiters and headhunters were able to now deal with those clients directly - collaborate with other like minded recruiters, share resources, gain support from a much larger brand than their own, cover any location in the country, and do anything that their larger competitors can do? What if they could access all of these benefits for free, in a totally secure social environment? That's exactly what we offer recruiters / headhunters / small agencies in the UK, and soon the USA as well.

With us, the recruiters remain in control 100% of the time. We help our agencies gain the best possible fees, because when combined, we can deliver a service that is unmatched by any other agency in the world. Our agencies deal directly with our clients right from the very start. There's no throwing CV's out there in the dark and hoping one sticks. There's no waiting on feedback from clients, there's no waiting on fees to be paid either. This is real recruiting as it should be, delivered by niche specialist recruiters who know their region and markets better than any of the large agencies.

Mike - how about you ask your agencies a simple question - "Would you rather work on a role via Bountyjobs, sacrificing 25% of your fee, and not controlling the relationship with the client - or would you rather deal with the client directly from day one, without sacrificing any of your fees, or having delayed payment?" I know what their answer would be each and every time... and we are allowing our agencies to do just that - the barriers that Bountyjobs and Talentpuzzle relied upon in order to attract agencies to use their service are being broken down. We're the ones doing just that... and with the greatest of respect Mike... there will certainly be a place for your services in the market - but I think you've greatly underestimated the psyche of headhunters and recruiters... They simply won't go to you if they realise there's a far better alternative, that allows them to work in their chosen way that brings the best possible results.

Next year will be an interesting one - recruiters and headhunters will be making a stand... will they accept the poor bargain that Bountyjobs and Talentpuzzle are offering them, or will they take back control of their industry... cutting out the middle people who took advantage of them for a short period?

Time will tell Mike - perhaps you will adapt your services to be far more favourable to recruiters. I really don't think you'll be able to continue in the way you are used to for much longer. Just my opinion - nothing against you personally, and I wish you the best of luck either way!

Comment by Mike Hard on June 13, 2011 at 2:43pm: Sorry Sean - I didn't realize you were advocating a competing service. I thought you were an agency posting a question/concern about our model. I'll bow out of the public discussion but wish you and your company the best of luck both in UK and US. There is plenty of room for new ideas!

Comment by Jerry Albright on June 13, 2011 at 3:18pm: Sean - why do you assume we have to "accept" or reject Bountyjobs or Talentpuzzle? What type of stand will we be making, exactly? Just looking for some clarification - thanks.

As good at predicting the future as anyone can be - I'll take a stab at the future I see for myself and many, many recruiters I know. We will most likely remain unaffected by any of these services.

Comment by Slouch on June 13, 2011 at 5:08pm: You wrecked a potentially good conversation Sean.

Comment by Sean O'Donoghue on June 13, 2011 at 6:10pm: Sorry guys...

I don't usually give any reference to what I do - and can only speak in terms of the UK market - where a large % of small independent agencies are coming together with our help to compete far more effectively against the big agencies on a more level playing field. I am a recruiter first and foremost, but am also very active in helping us little guys get back control of our market. If any of you check out our website you'll see exactly what we are doing, and we've got a huge amount of support. I don't need to actively promote what we're doing on sites like this simply because people find out about us through other methods. We're a non-profit making organisation, more or a support group - run by recruiters for recruiters - and we don't charge a penny to our members.

I don't speak on behalf of our industry - but I can speak on behalf of a large % of small agencies and independent recruiters in the UK. Perhaps you guys have mistaken what I'm saying here, or taken it in the wrong way? I've not set out to attack anyone, or put anyone down - I'm merely stating that we're very passionate about raising the profile of smaller agencies, and stamping out the bad image that our reputation has been dragged into getting thanks in part to the big agencies and job boards.

Again - I can only speak on behalf of the UK market. And Jerry - you are right, in a way - but if you don't accept Bountyjobs, although are fully aware of what service they offer - is that not a form of rejection anyway? How can you be aware of something, have the chance to use them - choose not to, and then call that not rejecting the service?

Sorry for taking this discussion off point in a way - I was just showing that we personally don't need Bountyjobs or Talentpuzzle, which would prove that their offering wasn't as great as they make it out to be. If anyone is making a stand, it's the group that I work with - and I wasn't speaking on behalf of you guys. I won't go into the exact details of what we're doing - you can all find us easily if you choose to - just search for The Independent Recruiting Group.

Finally - Mike... We're not offering a "competing" service, any more than any other independent recruiter would be. We're simply a collection of independent recruiters, working independently for ourselves, and with each other when needed. We don't charge for our services - we are all in it together working to assist each other. I appreciate "Social Enterprises" don't really exist in the US, so perhaps you guys don't understand our mentality behind wanting to improve our indsutry for the simple fact that we care - not because we want to make a profit out of the process.

Anyone else care to comment? Still feel I've wrecked this Jason??

Comment by pam claughton on June 13, 2011 at 6:28pm: Sean,

"Social Enterprises" exist all over the US, we just don't label it. A lot of us here have split networks that we've organically formed with other recruiters we know and trust. I do a lot of business via splits. But, there's so much business out there, that none of us have to turn to other more formal networks such as Bountyjobs unless we choose to. That's why Bountyjobs is not a threat and never will be. There's just too much business out there. All you have to do is pick up the phone and get it. :)

Comment by Sean O'Donoghue on June 14, 2011 at 8:28am: Hi Pam,

Thanks for your comments. Again, I can't comment on the US, and apologies for assuming that social enterprises aren't very common place out there. We are however still very much in a recession, nearly all industry sectors are in decline, and there has been a massive slow down on recruiting (in the UK at least). Business is not booming, there aren't lots of jobs - but there are far more candidates than we know what to do with.

Certain companies have set up in the past 3 years to take advantage of the tough situation many recruiters have found them in - too many candidates, not enough jobs. All I'm saying is that Bountyjobs is taking a large piece of the market - look at how many of the Fortune 500 companies use them. They certainly are beginning to have a voice and dictate how recruiters can operate. All this discussion was focused on is a warning to recruiters to watch out for Bountyjobs. I ended up making the mistake of mentioning the organisation I'm involved with, but not in order to create conflict - it was simply just to show what we're doing to ensure that recruiters are the ones in control of their market at all times, not middle people like marketplaces or RPO firms.

Love them or hate them, these organisation plan to stick around, to grow, and to gain even more market share - taking their piece from our pie. It's a free market though, and if nothing else, these guys are showing their entrepreneurial drive and forward thinking. I congratulate them on that, but don't like the way Talentpuzzle in particular are saying one things to recruiters, and then portraying us as the bad guys to the companies they want to help with their recruiting.

I didn't mean to set out to upset anyone intentionally, this was just a warning for us all to keep on top of our games. Either way... have a great week people.

Comment by Tom Byrne on June 16, 2011 at 12:15pm: Sean, I don't see Bountyjobs as a threat to recruiters. It's a technology based service that automates the recruiting process between the hiring company and 3rd party recruiters. In theory it sounds like an interesting and creative solution. However, my experience with them was poor and quite frankly a waste of my time. Too many recruiters vying for too little jobs (including jobs with low fees). Now, for an independent 3rd party recruiter with limited resources I can see Bountyjobs of potential value. However, you are competing against the masses and have little to no access to hiring decision makers which to me is worthless. If a recruiter is all about "throwing stuff against the wall to see if something sticks" then Bountyjobs may be a good resource. However, I would much rather spend my time developing relationships with hiring managers, understanding their needs, and creating a recruiting plan to meet their needs. Without access to the hiring manager it is merely a crap shoot.

If you don't mind data entering literally all or most of your candidate database into theirs and then trying to match your candidates against open job orders where you have little to no control then by all means go for it. The more time you spend doing this the more successful I (and others) will be working directly with hiring managers and having the ability to consult, influence, get feedback, and make placements!

Comment by Sean O'Donoghue on June 17, 2011 at 4:16pm: Thanks for you comments Tom... very well put, and when you look at it that way (as I do too), then Bountyjobs will never threaten REAL recruiters. All I know is that there will always be a demand for recruiters who offer real value in what they do. CV / Resume pushers will fall down eventually - and if Bountyjobs are only attracting these types of recruiters anyway then they can keep them.

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