The recruitment industry thrived with the rise of e- Recruitment — recruitment via the internet – as new resourcing tools and strategies made their way through the recruitment process, new challenges appeared for resourcers. An inevitable obstacle every resourcer has to face is reaching a dead end where there is no more candidates to find. This condition might seem simple but essentially it isn’t, for reaching a dead end is a result of using a number of underlying factors and strategies that directly controls the resourcing outcome, thus every detail in the resourcing process matters.
Various reasons can lead to finding a limited number of candidates, misunderstanding the role, inefficient use of keywords, outdated resourcing technology, lack of local talent and lack of quality candidates all play a significant role in reaching a dead end.
- Misunderstanding the role
The first and most important step in recruitment resourcing is analyzing job requirements and developing a good understanding of the role because it determines the quality of the search. In order to understand the role and the client’s need, a quick review isn’t enough, a good resourcer would analyze the role in relation to the client’s industry and make sure to narrow the search to specific requirements. However, many things can go wrong in attempting to understand the role, for instance, the position of Facilities Manager can be misunderstood for a Site Manager or an Operation Manager due to the similarity of their responsibilities. In addition, the required type of work experience can be confusing when the resourcer doesn’t create the link between it and the position. By forming a false understanding of the role the resourcer will use irrelevant words in the search that will lead eventually to a dead end.
- Inefficient use of keywords
An e- recruitment resourcing is all about using keywords. The better and more accurate keywords are, the higher quality will be the results. It goes without saying that irrelevant keywords would not only limit your results but it will display candidates that are not suitable for the role, which can ultimately be a waste of time. An experienced resourcer would not fully rely on the client’s requirements to get keywords but would form keywords from his own understanding of the role. Therefore, picking the right keywords needs serious attention to minimize the chance of reaching a dead end.
- Outdated resourcing technology
In recruitment companies, it is highly important to stay up to date with recruiting technology to ensure all the data is reachable, especially since recruiting methods have evolved along with technology. Phones and social media have replaced the traditional nature of recruitment; and platforms like LinkedIn have revolutionized the resourcing process.
“LinkedIn Recruiter and LinkedIn Talent Insights are both great tools for candidate outreach, which exemplify the role of HR analytics in modern talent acquisition,” Rando (HR Manager) says. “LinkedIn Talent Insights, for example, can help you understand where talent exists, what schools they come from, their attrition rates, etc.—which you can then take and use to tailor your recruitment strategies.”
This demonstrates that companies can fall behind if they are not using new methods of recruiting. Interestingly, using old resourcing technology is directly linked to reaching a dead end in resourcing due to the limited people, tools, and features.
- Lack of local talent
Employers are often precise about the qualifications of the perfect candidate; however, sometimes too many specific requirements can lead to reaching a dead end. Consequently, employers looking for a candidate within a specific country or nationality can make the resourcer job harder due to the lack of local talent and it becomes a struggle to find qualified candidates within the given country or nationality. Thereby, the client usually ends up adjusting their expectations.
- Lack of quality candidates
For a resourcer, sometimes it feels like there are no suitable candidates and every resume or CV they come across has a missing factor or irrelevant experience even if they are doing everything right. But when we dig a little deeper in the resourcing strategies we come to find there is a room for improvement in the tactics and tools that are used. For instance, reviewing the data and asking questions like: Which methods brought the most successful results and which ones brought the worst? Will help developing a better strategy and will definitely lead the way in finding qualified candidates.
Recruiting resourcers are expected to be the bridge that connects clients with the perfect candidate, and reaching a dead end is an uphill battle where it feels like the resourcer is failing. Thus, the above reasons provide helpful insights and methods to keep finding high- quality candidates regardless of the role.
Written by: Jenan Sarhan
Marketing Executive
