Online Recruiting: Two Steps Forward…

• Author: Anna Kassulke
• Posted: August 15, 2007
• Category: Recruiting
• Tags: Internet Media, Recruitment Communications, Sourcing Strategy
• Comments:

In part one of this three part series Hopes, Dreams and Realities of Sourcing I discussed the role of the internet on sourcing. Now let’s talk about developing some basic strategy:
 
A treasure trove of information
 
How do we develop a strategy for sourcing people with the right skills set, background and geographical market? How, when, where, and why people search for jobs has changed forever. We need to build a process and a system based on what is, not what was. The first thing to impress upon ourselves is that the web is a treasure trove of data that is seriously underused when it comes to recruiting. Our strategy largely depends on how we view the channels of the internet; if we think of it as a source in itself, we are partway there.
 
There is now technology available that conceivably allows us to go out to all of the resume databases. So we can access these databases and find people based on the exact skill sets and qualifications we are looking for. We may be looking for a retail manager, so we perform a keyword search which gives us access to details of millions of resumes. How does this spread compare with the minimal readership of classifieds? It’s huge! There is no simpler way to source candidates than this. You will be in a position to identify hundreds of people with the right stuff, along with their contact data. So your first step will be to develop an email and send it to the right candidates. If you receive no immediate response, you might consider following up by mailing them a letter 15 days later, and calling three weeks after that. The goal of using technology is to automate your sourcing function; sourcing without having to actively source, always having access to a talent pool that never runs dry.

Then there is the question of how to get people to come to you.

Keeping visitors on your careers website

If you are thinking of advertising positions to bring in potential recruits, you should be putting your web pages to work around the clock. There are five crucial rules for this:

1. People should only be able to apply to your organization through your website (now and in the future).
2. Every ad and communication should provide only the URL of your career pages, not your main corporate site.
3. Make the pages sticky: interesting, truthful, and informative.
4. Do not give people opportunities to click out of the site.
5. Find innovative ways of gathering contact details and information.

Websites are one of the most useful tools for sourcing and branding your organization, without having to lift a finger. They enable you to distinguish your employment offering, to extend your unique employer brand, and to give potential candidates the opportunity to experience what people have to say about your organization. As we have said elsewhere in this month’s newsletter, a well-honed ERP combined with an effective career webpage will enable you to source up to 80% of your candidates, so you are freed up to focus on another of your other critical HR functions: retention.

First there is the question of giving people a pleasurable experience as they navigate through the site. An eight-year research study into the functionality of corporate websites was released in March 2003. The study surveyed undergraduates and young professionals and asked them to study a selection of corporate career pages from Bain & Company, Bertelsmann, The Boston Consulting Group, Hewlett-Packard, Merrill Lynch, and Xerox. Some of the more favorable comments about sites concerned navigational ease of use, candidate-centric information, readable fonts, lack of clutter, comprehensive job breakdowns, and effective use of rollovers. In other words, navigation, relevance and image are the order of the day.

Having visitors to your site means engaging potential candidates, branding your organization and enabling people to see, hear, touch, taste and feel what the culture of your organization is like. Write about your existing employees, have photos of your people. Here are a number of examples of corporations reaching out to potential candidates in innovative ways through their career sites.

In Part Three I’ll give specific examples of how to use the internet to your advntage. Don’t miss it!