Finding right person for the job harder than ever for recruiters

You would think that a recruiter's job would be easier than ever right now. Resumes from overqualified candidates coming in by the dozens. Job seekers eager to get back to work. Well, think again!

With 10% of the country looking for work and resumes flooding in, recruiters and human resource professionals are working harder than ever. According to some estimates, an open position that used to bring in 50 resumes is now bringing in as many as 250. Many job seekers are applying for several positions with the same company, just hoping to land one of them. That means more time spent weeding out resumes that don't meet the requirements of the job opening and more time weeding out resumes from applicants that have already applied for, and interviewed for, several other positions.

Another problem? Many of the applicants don't even want the position they are applying for. They are just hoping to land a job, any job, to help pay the bills and get them by until they can find the right job. So now recruiters are faced with the task of determining if an applicant is even interested in the position. Some applicants have applied for so many positions, that when a recruiter calls them to schedule an interview, they don't even remember applying for that particular position.

Combine this with the fact that many companies trimmed their HR staff during the recession. Recruiters were already overwhelmed with their extra job duties. Now they are really overwhelmed! The end result? Finding the right person for the job is harder than ever for recruiters and human resource professionals.

From HRecruiting Buzz

Comment by Akiode Segun on December 18, 2009 at 5:32am: David, nice post.
This is the exact description of a day to day challenge faced by recruiters on a regular basis. I often encounter this situation most times when am recruiting for clients. If I may ask - What is the way out of this job seeker maze of wrong application technique?

Comment by Ken Forrester on December 18, 2009 at 9:29am: Great question Akiode,

If recruiting is scored by matching resume flow to job descriptions, then matching the right person to the right opportunity has become an administrative headache as David indicated.

Maybe we need to admit that the Job board strategy has become saturated as an efficient recruitment tool because they are simply delivering mostly applicants that are interested in your job, but are not qualified for the job.

You may want to consider using the social networking strategy, which is another challenge. It can deliver more qualified applicants for your jobs; however these applicants most likely will not be interested in your job.

A possible alternative is to outsource your recruiting functions to professionals who are skilled in delivering only the qualified applicants that are interested in your job, at an affordable cost.

Comment by Meagan Leddick on December 18, 2009 at 11:47am: Great post! Just because I have 100 people apply to the job doesn't mean that a single one of them is right for it..and really good point about HR teams having been trimmed during this economy...AHHHH!! It will get better though!

Comment by David George on December 18, 2009 at 12:50pm: Great post, David. Karen is right, developing a strong network is the way to go. That, along with a potent employee referral program and some cold calling when necessary will produce great results in any market.

Comment by Maureen Sharib on December 20, 2009 at 8:11am: Here's a step-by-step methodology my customers use:

Identify the companies who employ the type of people you need.
Determine which offices you'd like to pull people out of.
Get their numbers assembled.
Call in and find out who is doing the job you need them to do.
Get everyone - leave nobody behind, if possible.
You must call in to do this - you will find VERY FEW of the possible candidates inside a competitor's company on the Internet. Stop fooling yourself.
Do this at as many target companies as possible.
One you have your list assembled, start calling each person on the list.
Don't stop when you "think" you have one.
Exhaust the list.
Offer each and every one your opportunity.
In most industries, between 30 and 50 names will suffice to garner you one hire.

If you can't/won't/don't have the time to assemble a list call us!
TechTrak
513 899 9628
Happy Holidays! ;)

Comment by Todd Kmiec on December 20, 2009 at 9:04am: Good post David. Whether it's a good market or bad market, employer market or candidate market, it's never easy to find the right person. Good recruiters recognize your point that it is about finding the right person, not just an acceptable person, and this is emphasized in this market. When things swing back the other way the challenges will be different, but it still won't be easy.