A recruitment business exists for one reason – to help client companies find the talent they need - and if an agency doesn’t have a steady stream of jobs coming through, then its days will be numbered.
So, the last thing any recruitment agency wants to hear is that a company has decided to manage its own talent acquisition in-house.
One of the key reasons companies choose to work with a recruitment agency is so the hard work is done for them. But what if technology could take on some of the leg work?
While it pays to keep an eye on the competition, for recruiters, it’s not just other agencies they need to watch out for. Tech giants, such as Google, LinkedIn, and now even Slack are increasingly presenting an opportunity for companies to go it alone.
Here, we’ve taken a closer look at what’s happening, along with outlining some of the ways recruiters might turn these tech developments to their own advantage.
When you work in recruitment, job boards are something you quickly become familiar with. Love them or hate them, a well-written ad placed on a job board can be an effective gateway to reach potential candidates. (See our blog on job boards for some top tips on getting the most from them).
These types of sites are growing too – in both their number, popularity and capability.
What makes the likes of Indeed and Glassdoor particularly appealing for companies looking to manage their own recruitment, is the ability to create a detailed mini profile, complete with company information and reviews, as well as having an easy-to-use dashboard.
What about recruiters? While job boards may have tempted some companies away from using recruiters by giving them some readymade tools, they certainly haven’t had too much of an impact. The recruitment sector is currently booming and let’s face it, job boards are a hugely valuable tool for agencies, so all is forgiven.
Google for Jobs marks the first time Google has decided to officially dip its toes into the recruitment space – and as a platform, it has huge potential to disrupt the market.
In contrast to job boards, Google for Jobs is basically an enhanced search feature that pulls together job listings from various sources online. The search function is currently available in a number of regions, including the UK and US, but is likely to be extended to other locations moving forward.
Here is an example of how it works. Were you to head to Google and search for ‘Marketing jobs Southampton’ you’d be presented with something like this. If you click through, you are then presented with a range of options to filter and amend the search results.
You can’t post directly onto Google Jobs, as it only shows listings published elsewhere. Here are two ways to get your ads shown:
Firstly, you can post a job on a third-party job site that Google pulls from (this includes Glassdoor, Monster and LinkedIn). Interestingly, at the time of writing Indeed isn’t currently on the list, so jobs posted there will not be shown.
Secondly, you can try and integrate directly with Google to get jobs shared that you post on your own website. You may need to edit the HTML of your job postings and there are a few other things you can do to help them get found. Here is a technical guide Google has pulled together about it.
What about recruiters? Google Jobs could be a great thing, giving access to even more potential candidates! But it will pay to keep on the feature as it develops, to make sure you’re doing all you can to get your job postings pulled through.
Used by millions of professionals – and therefore potential candidates – worldwide, LinkedIn is naturally a platform of interest for employers looking to attract new talent.
LinkedIn Jobs is the part of the platform that focuses on the sharing of job ads. Companies can post up to one job for free at any one time and can then pay in a few different ways to share more, including using a pay-per-click model.
Companies can of course share job ads as a standard post on their own page too, leveraging existing connections and maybe finding new recruits amongst the fans of the firm. Team members may also post jobs on their individual profiles, or within groups they are part of, to help get the message out there.
LinkedIn jobs is currently one of the biggest competitors for job boards and it can be a very appealing route to go down, with clever automation such as ‘job wrapping’ designed to help make advertising jobs super quick and easy.
Because LinkedIn ticks two big boxes – it’s a platform designed for businesses, which offers very detailed targeting and its job postings are very popular, it’s a site that every recruiter should be paying special attention to. But it’s not all about the job listings, make sure you’re out there networking and getting seen in other ways too. For some pointers see our blog: The power of personal branding for recruiters
What about recruiters? As mentioned, Google for Jobs is a big opportunity and LinkedIn Jobs is one of the sites that Google pulls job listings from. So, it’s basically a 2-4-1 deal! For many agencies, it will make sense to use the platform and test its effectiveness.
Another tech name getting a lot of media attention at the moment is Slack, described by one publication as fast becoming a ‘hotspot for employees’ looking to land their next role.
While Slack was originally designed as a collaboration tool for workers, offering a place for those within a specific organisation to interact, the platform also allows users to create different networking ‘channels’ where they can converse with other people outside of their organisation.
Job seekers are reportedly turning to these invite-only networking forums to land new roles. One of the ways companies are finding new talent this way is by having employees share opportunities on these channels.
What makes Slack stand out from other networking groups, such as Reddit, Hive and FishBowl, is that users on Slack tend to use their real names for networking rather than aliases.
What about recruiters? We’re really talking about playing the long game here. It could be worth exploring as a different type of networking channel and a potential route to new business and candidates. But as with any networking, it will call for a light, non-salesy approach.
As we’ve touched on, there are some interesting developments going on right now in the world of recruitment. While some tech may end up competing with recruiters for the time and energy of companies with jobs to fill, most offer new opportunities for recruitment agencies too.
Just remember, tech will never be able to match the personal connection a recruiter can achieve by building strong client relationships.