Duplication of Effort

Because the market is loaded with high unemployment, hiring managers are approaching candidates directly to circumvent paying fees to recruiters. Corporate recruiters are therefore competing with the very professionals they’re assigned to support. Agencies, sensing a schism and a possible opportunity to snap up a quick albeit reduced fee, are vying to squeeze a toe in the door with the hiring manager and pitching the line, “I can do it better for less and without politics.”

I anticipate that the duplication will continue until such time as hiring managers tire of the inbox onslaught and focus entirely on the highest and best use of their time: winning business.

Any others willing to prognosticate?

< Previous Post

Comment by Martin H.Snyder on October 23, 2009 at 11:52am: two thoughts-

1. If your staff recruiters are "competing" with line managers, then there is an obvious overcapacity problem: somebody has too much time on their hands. If the truth is that line managers are becoming more adept at recruiting and have the time to do so, it spells trouble for staff recruiters.

2. When I read the post headline I thought it would be about the general practice of starting searches de novo (from scratch) rather than building an ongoing machine that adapts to current searches rather than the other way around, including constant production of useful byproducts for other recruiters/stakeholders.