Is The Ladders Giving Recruiting A Bad Name?

Let me say upfront so there are no misunderstandings, I haven’t used your service and most likely never will but thought I might as well chime in with my thoughts on your company, (which remains a topic of discussion) as so many others have. While I will agree that financially you seem to be on track, your business model and brand could probably use some tweaking.

First off, don’t air offhanded and offensive commercials as it affects the entire community of companies within your space. Part of the measure of a good company is it’s ability to demonstrate good steward-ship. I’m not given pause when the Walmart commercial comes on the television as I’m sure most aren’t. Honestly I didn’t find the ads as offensive as others but thought they were distasteful and certainly not something I would want my kids to watch on television. The fact that everyone has seen worse on their television set shouldn’t be the sole consideration for a commercials content. More homework should have been done as the ads clearly have alienated many from your company.

Second, I fundamentally disagree with charging an out of work person $30 a month to do little more than hold their hand and tell them “it will be okay”. For the good it will do, they would be better served to spend the 30 bucks on their local lottery as in both cases, lightning strikes somebody and it may be the candidate. This too has alienated many from your service.

Lastly, take a little bit of the profits you report and sink it into business model restructuring. You could turn more revenue by aligning yourself with the rest of the industry rather than offending everyone. Although I haven’t had any first hand experience with your company as stated earlier, many of the successful folks in my space that I respect tremendously have, and have taken to the rooftops to cry out against you. That should present itself as a red flag to your management team. I’m really quite thankful that I am able to place information technology candidates without the use of your service. I have always been of the opinion that one on one engagement beats the big machine every time and that there is truly much more to a person than the sum of their resume.

History is replete with examples of faulty or misguided albeit successful individuals and companies. Enron, Bernie Madoff, Hitler to name just a few, and the list goes on and on. All of them eventually came to an end but for a time they were extremely successful. Just because you can do a thing, doesn’t mean you should. I can appreciate all of these examples for what they accomplished in their time and at the same time completely disagree with their methodologies, tactics and ideology, as I do at this time with yours.

I hope these words reach you and that they have meaning as I have bad will towards none. I will lose no sleep regardless whether your company succeeds or experiences utter and complete collapse.

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Comment by pam claughton on February 26, 2011 at 10:16am: Lesley,

People can also post their resumes on the Ladders and be found that way. But, honestly, I am with you. Especially now that we have the job aggregators like Indeed and SimplyHired, I don't understand how people willingly decide to pay $30 a month to be part of the ladders, when in 99% of the time, the jobs listed there are also listed elsewhere, and there are also plenty of places they could post their resume for free.

I suspect that their membership of candidates may be dwinding as people become more savvy and realize they don't need the ladders, that they can easily find these jobs on their own. We know the recruiter side of the business has been dwindling because they are just charging way too much (aside from the single free posting). I used the Ladders quite a bit when it was totally free to recruiters, but it was never a 'go-to' resource.

Comment by Brad Zirulnik on February 27, 2011 at 6:04pm: To Chuck: Yes, I am reading the comments. Brad

Comment by Sandra McCartt on February 28, 2011 at 1:13pm: Hi Brad,

As an enterprise sales guy with TheLadders, the people on this site would seem to be your potential customers, past present and future. Would you take the opportunity to respond to some of the questions, comments, concerns and complaints that have been expressed?

Comment by Jerry Albright on March 1, 2011 at 11:30am: Sandra - my guess is no.

Comment by Brad Zirulnik on March 1, 2011 at 2:05pm: Hi All:

When I was a recruiter and more involved with sharing my thoughts on recruiting in blogs such as these, it was pretty easy for me to contribute, share, and help people. That's really what I enjoy and love the most about our community and will continue to do so!

Now that I work for an employer where the topic of conversation is about them (not me), I feel it is only right and respectful to step aside and let my employer get involved with business model conversations where and when they choose to do so.

I hope you all understand.

All the best, always. Brad . . .

Comment by Jerry Albright on March 1, 2011 at 2:07pm: Brad - I can dig it. Good luck there!

Comment by Brad Zirulnik on March 1, 2011 at 2:09pm: Thanks a lot, Jerry.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on March 1, 2011 at 2:13pm: We do understand Brad. But it is about the product you sell to people like us. Most sales folks would welcome an opportunity to overcome objections but this business model does seem different in that respect. If you need us you know where we are. :)

Comment by Sandra McCartt on March 1, 2011 at 2:16pm: What do you say to a potential client when you call on them and they tell you they were totally digusted with the commercial that your company ran?

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