Articles - Recruiting and Candidate Dev

To say that the Internet is having an impact today on the permanent and contract recruiting business in Indiana and elsewhere is truly the understatement of the new millennium. Technology and the Internet’s influence ranges from astoundingly positive to incredibly debilitating and destructive.

In the course of my career as a professional placement practitioner, I have seen our information gathering resources grow from a simple rotary dial telephone, a file cabinet and a printed industrial directory to a vast array of information resources putting information in our hands on demand.

Touch tone, pushbutton phones were heralded as a means of doubling one’s call volume and resultant contacts. This was nothing in comparison to our excitement over PC-XT’s and their 4.77 to 8 megahertz chips and “vast” 20-megabyte hard drives.

Finally, we all dreamed of the doors of opportunity opened by our 1200-baud modems. The Internet, not yet ready for us in the early eighties, was preceded by bulletin boards offering both information and our early nemesis, PC games. The only thing that grew faster than information technology was the love affair with task avoidances offered by these innovations.

Fast- forward the tape to today’s technological tools. The interim advantage of the fax machine has been knocked out by email. The art of overcoming objections has taken a back seat to the quest for the “perfect” voice mail message. Finally, the Internet has connected everything from pet food shopping to personal medical analysis at the speed of light. Some things do not evolve or change as fast as the advantages offered by technology. A recent survey of corporate American’s time on the Internet revealed an average time “on line” of 2.3 hours per day (or more than a day each week). The details regarding where they spent these 11.5 hours per week is tactfully be described as non-vocational, entertainment Website participation. This may explain why they often let voice mail respond to most callers.

Many placement professionals are spending a vast amount of money and time trying to keep up with the tidal wave of technology. We need to develop effective exploitation of technology. The Internet and the information platform it provides is the greatest asset we have gained to date in the placement business.

We face the challenge of integrating the Internet into our daily efforts without allowing it to replace what we do best. It cannot replace the fundamental tasks of relationship building with all parties. If we spend too much non-productive time in cyberspace, we may end up with virtual versus actual cash-in. This is one of the many areas where using a researcher is strongly recommended.

Online opportunity boards and resume posting Websites are changing the way many companies find and attract talent for the majority of their “openings”. Client companies have replaced the classified advertisements of the past with lower cost, higher exposure web based job listings. We all know that many people splatter their resumes on the monstrous “watering hole” sites. I suspect that these same people would have responded to the pages of classified ads present before the advent of websites.

Talent makes industry grow and succeed. Recruiting all levels of talent is a test of a company’s competitiveness. The most successful companies are those that recruit the most talented people. They realize that their investment in technological edge does not guarantee their rise to the top in their industry. Availing themselves of the advantage offered by people who bring personal skills and talent is the competitive edge. We need to respect this reality as well. The wasteland of failed recruiters is strewn with leading edge technology investments.

The Internet provides unlimited and nearly instantaneous access to current information. It does not replace cold calls, name gathering, personal marketing efforts, and trust bonding with the PEOPLE who pay our fees and call us for future recruiting projects.

A topic I frequently address in my training sessions and workshops is how to exploit today’s technology and the Internet while maximizing personal effort to increase billings. Use the Internet. Do not abuse it, or let its techno-sexiness lure you into a lost day every week.

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BIOGRAPHY

Doug Beabout CPC CSP brings over twenty-seven years of expertise in top production, personnel services firm ownership, and industry training. His reputation for training excellence has placed him, repeatedly, as a guest speaker for the National Association of Personnel Services. Doug currently works with many state level associations as a featured trainer and speaker at several state conferences. He is a business consultant to many franchised and independent personnel services firms.

Doug is owner and president of The Douglas Howard Group, a personnel and training services company. Doug works a “desk” every day and he is uniquely qualified as a personnel services industry trainer. Many of his clients have put their net worth ON THE LINE to succeed in the personnel services industry and did as a result of his training and guidance.

Doug previously held the position of Vice-President of Training and Development for SRA International, Inc. for ten years and was responsible for the establishment and success of hundreds of personnel services firms and their staff members. Prior, Doug was owner and president of a successful contingency, temporary and retained personnel services firm for ten years in Dayton, Ohio. He gained his early placement experience as a personnel services consultant in an independent firm.

Doug’s professional experience started as an officer in Strategic Air Command. He was assigned to several B-52 bomber units throughout the continental U.S. and Pacific regions. Doug has a Bachelor's degree in Comprehensive Training and Education.

Doug has held the title of CPC; certified personnel consultant (NAPS) since 1981 and is included in several Marquis’ Who’s Who publications.

His websites, www.RecruiterElearning.com and www.ResearcherElearning.com detail many of his services to the recruiters in this ongoing War for Talent. 

Doug can be reached at his Destin Florida Search Consulting firm, the Douglas Howard Group, 850.424.6933Call Doug today at 850.424.6933 or email him at trainer@recruiterelearning.com , he will take you to your highest billing goals.

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