One Recruiting tool you could NOT do without

My company is currently evaluating all of the tools we as recruiters use on a daily basis to be successful. I believe the best tool available may be one we are NOT using or never heard of. So I wanted to pose the question to my fellow recruiters. WHAT IS THE ONE RECRUITING TOOL YOU COULD NOT GO WITHOUT?

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Permalink Reply by Amy Ala Miller on July 11, 2012 at 1:51pm

The phone.

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Permalink Reply by Russ Recruits on July 11, 2012 at 5:39pm

my voice.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Zoch on July 11, 2012 at 5:57pm

OK, Fair enough. Assuming you have a PC, Phone, and you can speak what type of software application or online source tool can't you live without?

For example in my office, one recruiter stated Linked In. I thought it was my ATS which holds our internal candidate database, someone else mentioned Careerbuilder since my company has invested the most money in with the number of job postings we have available. These are just examples. I am trying to get a collection of thoughts outside my own company on what tools recruiters value the most right now. It may be something my company is not even using or thought about investing in.

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Permalink Reply by Amy Ala Miller on July 11, 2012 at 6:30pm

My next answer was going to be wine but that's not an online tool so... :)

In all seriousness, the answer changes daily. A lot of times it's LinkedIn, because that's where most of the mid level operations professionals I recruit are at. If I were recruiting straight technical types I'd probably say Dice. If I were a campus recruiter I'd say Career Athletes, alumni sites, or something that targets that audience. One of the most valuable skills a recruiter can possess is the ability to flex between tools - we get too caught up in the shiny new toys (OMG Facebook is making a JOB BOARD!) that we forget to simply fish where they're biting. That it is all.

Take away all my tools I'll still recruit circles around a lot of recruiters who are busy trying to perfect their social media presence.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Hayes on July 12, 2012 at 8:49am

Google

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on July 12, 2012 at 10:04am

I can, and in fact do, live without most of them. As a "free range staffing artist" I make the best of whatever tool is required. At times I find myself in need of something not yet available - so have to create it myself.

So what tool could I not afford to lose? I can't think of one.

Recruiting is a mindset - not a tool set.

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Permalink Reply by Terra on July 12, 2012 at 10:35am

My Database, it consists of over 30,000 candidates, some active, some not. I always will go there first for either referrals or viable candidates. It date back 15 years. After that I will go to Linkedin

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Permalink Reply by Theresa Hunter on July 12, 2012 at 10:49am

I would have to say the websites that list lawyers. I could not do my job as effectively without them

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Permalink Reply by Nick Leigh-Morgan on July 12, 2012 at 11:54am

www.ikrut.com - without it I'd be wandering the streets.

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Permalink Reply by Arianne Bachove on July 12, 2012 at 2:46pm

Love this topic! I'm always interested to see what means other recruiters use. In my last job, I relied heavily on our database because it was huge. My job now is with a brand new company that we're building from the ground up. We don't have that huge database so I have to rely on other methods. I generally go to the job boards and LinkedIn first. Occasionally I'll use Craigs List and Indeed as well... and of course, let's not forget the ever present Referrals!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Sandeep Marquee on July 12, 2012 at 3:07pm

We mostly use LinkedIn Recruiter, BullHorn Reach and MaxHire :)

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Permalink Reply by Tiffany Branch on July 13, 2012 at 1:20pm

Today, LinkedIn and Indeed. As an internal recruiter, my best hires have come from networking on LinkedIn and searching Indeed. I like to use Google when I'm researching hard to find professionals by searching for professional organizations, articles, etc.