Social Recruiting Networks Produce Results for Recruiters

by Dave Nerz

image of social recruiting networksSocial recruiting is a hot topic for recruiters. Yet mastery seems impossible and success is a challenge. Those that have dedicated effort to the process are starting to see benefit.

In Jobvite’s Annual Social Recruiting Survey, the most popular social recruiting networks are ranked as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter in that order.

TOP SOCIAL RECRUITING NETWORKS

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No surprises there for me, but it is interesting to see the adoption rate for LinkedIn growing even faster than Facebook and Twitter. You would think that Twitter has more room to grow than LinkedIn. It is obvious that LinkedIn is pervasive in the industry and that it continues to grow even faster than the other services.

I urge you to view the full survey results at the Jobvite Download Page.

Here are some facts that got me thinking…

92% of recruiters reported using social recruiting networks as a part of their strategy. That’s all, really? I am trying to figure out what the other 8% are doing…not using LinkedIn, really? I’m guessing that the remaining 8% don’t have a strategy which is why they didn’t answer favorably?

50% reported increased candidate QUANTITY. This makes perfect sense, but the other fact that is impressive is — 43% reported an increase in candidate QUALITY! That is shocker for me, but an impressive result.

31% reported increased employee referrals and the result was reported as 21% experienced a decrease in time to hire!

Finally, results were documented by this survey that 73% of respondents successfully hired through social recruiting networks in 2012. That means that if you are not part of the 92% using social media, you are going to miss out on results that others are experiencing.

Do your results track with Jobvite’s survey? Please share your thoughts.

Image courtesy of sscreations / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Summer Reading for Independent Recruiters

by Veronica Blatt

I came across the following recommending summer reading list on SlideShare and wanted to share it with the independent recruiters who follow this blog. As an added bonus, each book also includes a recommended beverage. Yes, I know it’s winter in the southern hemisphere. It’s also currently 11:17AM US ET, but in the immortal words of Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” Hopefully recruiters from all over the globe can find something interesting on this list.

From the list, I’ll be adding Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and Lean In by Sheryl Sandburg to my reading list. Independent recruiters will find other recommendations on a good range of topics and authors.

And in case you’re interested… as soon as I finish up the bodice-ripper romance novel I am currently reading, I’m looking forward to starting The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood. You see, it’s summertime in Michigan. And that means baseball. Since nothing goes with baseball like an ice-cold beer, I’ll be enjoying a locally-brewed Bell’s Oberon.

Independent recruiters, what are you reading right now?

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5 Reasons eHarmony Won’t Threaten Agency Recruiters

by Veronica Blatt

image of computer mouse cord shaped like a heartSo eHarmony, the popular online dating site, is developing a career site to match job seekers to employers. Puh-leeze. As far as I am concerned, agency recruiters shouldn’t spend even five minutes worrying about this new ‘competition.’ I’ve written before about how job boards compare to online dating services, and my sentiments haven’t changed.

Here are my top 5 reasons why eHarmony’s new endeavor won’t threaten agency recruiters:

1. Hiring is not dating. Sometimes you go on a date and realize there won’t be a second date. Sometimes you date for a few months and realize the relationship isn’t going anywhere. Many times (most?) when you break up, you never want to see or hear from the other person again. How does that make sense for employment? Most employers don’t want to hire someone only to hear, “It’s not you, it’s me” 3 months later. And most employers also don’t approach most hires with a “try it before you buy it” mentality. Applying a dating ‘strategy’ to the employment process really doesn’t make a lot of sense. Agency recruiters, on the other hand, cultivate long-term relationships with candidates BEFORE they have a job that is suitable. And they stay in touch with their “exes,” knowing that people move on and create new placement opportunities.

2. Really long ‘application’ process will turn off job seekers and employers alike. To use eHarmony as a dating site, users must currently complete a 250+ question profile. 250+ questions! Just to see if eHarmony will even accept you as a user! Now complicate it by factoring in the high probability that job seekers will be using a mobile device. 250 questions on a phone? Not gonna happen.

2. High rejection rate, which could be discriminatory in an employment context. According to some reports, approximately 20% of all people who try to use eHarmony’s dating platform are rejected as unsuitable. True, many of them are already married, which doesn’t bode well for a site that wants to help people find lasting relationships that lead to marriage. BUT, a significant number of applicants are rejected because the answers they give on the eHarmony profile are inconsistent or too hard to match. eHarmony believes that people who think a lot like each other are more likely to be compatible. Translation: eHarmony works best for black-and-white “yes/no” people. People who think “it depends” is usually the right answer are harder to match in this system. Lots of jobs require flexibility, creative thinking, and nuance — in other words, “it depends” answers. If it turns out that there are certain types of people who are more likely than others to be rejected because of the way they answer questions, this could potentially lead to discrimination-related lawsuits.

3. Lies and TMI (Too Much Information). People exaggerate or outright lie on both their resumes AND their online dating profiles. Savvy users have figured out the keyword game and know how to stuff their profiles with words they think others will search on. TMI is another issue, with some people “oversharing” and an increasing number of employers reportedly turning down candidates based on what they have posted on social media profiles. Agency recruiters struggle with these same issues, which can’t be solved (yet) with an algorithm.

4. Poor job descriptions / employers don’t know what they want. The best matches come when both sides to the party know what they are looking for. Unfortunately, many employers still struggle with poorly-written job descriptions that are based on what a candidate HAS and not what the candidate can DO. It’s the old garbage in, garbage out concept – if the employer doesn’t know what they want, no one will be able to find it, whether it’s an agency recruiter OR a service like eHarmony.

5. The people you want aren’t there. People who aren’t actively looking for a date OR a job probably aren’t using these sites. I don’t care how good the site is, you can only find the people who register.

Hiring is a complex process. It involves a lot more than comparing yes/no tick boxes on an online profile. Agency recruiters understand nuance and culture, which can’t easily be analyzed with software. If job boards haven’t put you out of business, this won’t either. Share if you agree!

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Image courtesy of kanate / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


7 Guaranteed Ways to Kill Split Placements

by Veronica Blatt

image of rubber stamp failNPA is a member-owned recruiting network that helps foster split placements. We’ve been doing this since 1956, so we have learned a lot about how to make splits. Today I’m devoting this space to the opposite side of the coin – with a tongue-in-cheek look at some actions you can take if you’re NOT serious about making splits. And if you *really* want to kill a deal, feel free to combine 3 or 4 of these all at once:

Hoard your best positions. One sure way to fail at split placements is by only sharing crappy jobs. When you get a great job – great fee, great salary, great company, great hiring process, great relationship with the hiring manager – keep that one all to yourself. Only let your partners ‘help’ you on the jobs that are the complete opposite.

Hoard your best candidates. When you get a rainmaker that’s a perfect fit for your partner’s job, hold out for an opportunity to place them on your own for a full fee. That way, you can up the odds that everyone walks away unhappy. Got a marginal candidate that you wouldn’t send to your own best client? Feel free to send that one along to your trading partner. Conversely, when you get a great candidate from your partner, be sure to present your OWN not-as-great candidate instead so that you can keep the whole fee.

Send speculative candidates that have not been qualified for a current opening. Nothing says, “I love split placements” like expecting your partner to do something with a candidate they didn’t ask for and doesn’t match any of their current positions.

Be paranoid. When you’re working on split placements, make sure you speak in code and withhold a lot of details, like the candidate’s name or the client’s name or the job location. Your partners *love* that.

Don’t return calls/reply to email. Providing timely, accurate feedback to your partner (whether on the candidate side or the job side) is really important when making split placements. If you want to kill your deal, it’s a good idea to avoid your trading partner.

Don’t make any proactive calls for help. When you have a job to fill, send out one email blast to everyone you know. Then sit back and lament the poor response. After all,  email *always* gets delivered, and *everyone* loves being on an email distribution list.

Don’t have a 50/50 mindset. This can be achieved by expecting your partner to accept a smaller cut of the fee (20-25%) OR by expecting to receive half of the fee for doing way less than half the work. Most recruiters I know would be *thrilled* to have an arrangement that unfairly rewards one partner over another.

Recruiters who are successful at split placements know that “50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.” They openly share their best candidates and jobs, and treat their partners “fair and square.” My snarky comments are exaggerated, but these behaviors will — and DO — impede splits. What’s your ‘favorite’ deal-killer?

Split Fee Placement Agreement


NPAworldwide Split Placements: What is HOT!

by Terri Piersma

TrustNPAworldwide member-firms are part of a global network of recruiters working together to make split fee placements. 2013 is almost half over. In which niches/industries are our member recruiters making split fee placements? In other words, from an NPAworldwide perspective, what is hot!

The information shared in this post represents split placements through May 2013.

  • Placements of positions with US$90,000 and above salaries were 54% of total split placements
  • Placements of positions with US$100,000 and above salaries were 35% of total split placements

Top 4 Trading Groups based on the number of split placements, listed high to low. Click here to view industries/niches included in NPAworldwide’s Trading Groups.

  • Chemical Process
  • Cross Industry
  • Manufacturing / Mining / Construction / Supply
  • IT / Hardware / Software / Electronics

Trading Group with the largest percentage increase over 2012 based on number of split placements

  • Chemical Process

Overall split placements are down slightly compared with the number of split placements during the same timeframe in 2012. However, the number of positions with US$90,000 and above salaries increased compared to 2012 split placements.

What niches/industries have you found to be HOT in 2013? Please comment below, and share this blog with others.


When is a split not a split?

by Dave Nerz

sandwich-cut-in-halfI’ve been spurred to action by what some are calling “split networks” for recruiters. These new providers are positioning themselves to be split networks like NPA, The Worldwide Recruiting Network, but they are really something else. These providers serve a purpose, but they are brokers not split networks. Breathe Dave, breathe…fill the lungs, rest, exhale and repeat…

There is a new breed of provider to the recruitment industry and they are hijacking a long-established recruiter language to repackage what they do and to make a killing doing it. They call themselves split networks.

In the recruiting industry, a split has always been a deal that was shared by two recruiters. Even within the walls of a recruitment firm, a deal that gets worked on by two recruiters is a split. There are other industries that work on a similar model, for example realtors who share the commission/fee that results from the sale of a home. There is a split that is shared between the selling agent and the buyer’s agent. In a split fee environment, the fee is shared and so is the work.

This new breed is acting as a clearing house for job openings, much like the multi-listing service in property sales. But rather than taking a small percentage off the top, some are taking as much as 50% of the fee collected without doing half of the work. Can you imagine if LinkedIn said, “We will allow you access to candidates but if you do a deal, we are going to take 50% of the fee.” The recruiting community would go ballistic!!!  Then why is it that recruiters seem to be OK with giving 50% of the fee earned to these clearing house sites for employers? Recruiters end up doing nearly all the work but get half the fee. “ALL the work and HALF the fee,” that would be quite a marketing tag line, right?

There are some very good split networks. I think NPA is one, but I am not an unbiased source of information. TE, IPA, First Interview and NBN, just to mention a few, are great organizations built to help recruiters do splits. There are some commendable online groups, many of which are doing the hard work of connecting recruiters to do splits. Some of these organizations take a small percentage off the top; others are even free or just charge dues. Until recently, no one promoting splits has been taking 50% for themselves unless they were doing at least 50% of the work. So be careful, a split is not always a split…sometimes it is a huge commission for a broker of jobs.

In a community that worries about “LinkedIn’s intentions” and “will job boards compete with recruiters,” there are other threats in the mix. Be careful out there! Look for services that are providing HALF the fee for HALF the work.

Now tell me about where I went wrong…feedback, comments and shares are always welcome.


Nimble Markets & Old Habits for Recruitment Agencies

by Veronica Blatt

image of cheetah runningToday’s guest blogger is Geoff Crews with Forsythes Recruitment in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Forsythes Recruitment specializes in engineering and technical recruitment; corporate recruitment, including executive, sales, HR, and finance; office support recruitment including admin, accounts, and clerical; trade and industrial recruitment; and organizational consulting including psychometric assessment, outplacement, and OD. Geoff serves on NPA’s Board of Directors where he is a member of the Tools, Knowledge, and Services Committee.

We have decided to unplug the TV at our house recently. A kind of family experiment. We were spending longer in front of it for an ever-decreasing return in entertainment. It was losing its value.

It has opened up a new world of communication with our young kids. Creativity. Paper planes. Uno. Board games. Taking turns. Dice. Encouragement. Strategy. Winning. Losing.

The TV experiment means I miss a lot of advertising. And so this business – www.nimble.com.au – was new to me when I stumbled across it recently.

Nimble is an online business providing simple, short-term loans of less than $600. The online form takes 5 minutes and the money is deposited into your account within the hour.

Nimble launched in 2005 and recently rebranded, incorporating an impressive website. Their journey has been challenging but inspiring.

When did the market emerge for such small loans?

And while we’re retrospecting (spell check likes it, so remain calm), I note 140 characters suddenly became enough to communicate something meaningful.

And putting your resume online, in full view of your employer, even though you actually quite liked your job, became acceptable.

What is Nimble providing that credit cards can’t? Twitter providing that emails can’t? LinkedIn that recruitment agencies and job boards can’t?

Speed?

Simplicity?

Accessibility?

Transparency?

Specialisation?

Authenticity?

Whatever your answer, can you use those same words to describe your industry?

This economy, as frustrating as it is, is an oddly exciting time for recruitment agencies. Fertile ground for experimenting with established markets. Being creative. Putting value under the microscope.

A good time to consider unplugging old habits.


Confessions of the Independent Recruiting Industry

by Veronica Blatt

I came across this infographic today created by BeHiring and was kind of shocked by some of the information it contained. After reading through it, it seems to be pretty accurate, but also pretty negative. Independent recruiting is a fast paced, busy environment and most times, recruiters don’t have time to waste on job seekers to that are submitting sub-par resumes and cover letters.

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A couple things I found interesting:

17% chance your cover letter will be read – should job seekers even be submitting cover letters if the chance is so high independent recruiters aren’t even going to read them?

427,000 resumes are posted on Monster every week – that’s A LOT of resumes. It’s probably a more productive effort for job seekers to use smaller and narrower niche jobs boards. Is that true, independent recruiters? Do you have luck finding candidates on Monster?

As an independent recruiter do you find these statistics to be generally true? If so, use this infographic to educate job seekers about the life cycle of their resume.


The Best LinkedIn for Recruiters

by Dave Nerz

image of magnifying glassMaybe you are like me and think the best version of LinkedIn for recruiters is the LinkedIn Recruiter Professional Services (RPS) product that lists at about $5000 per seat. If you are like me, you are wrong. There is a product that has been around for a few years but was not marketed to the average independent recruiter until just recently. The product is called “LinkedIn Recruiter” or “LinkedIn Recruiter Corporate Edition” and list for upwards of $8,000 annually. How is it that so many do not know about this product? Well, I have a theory, but I’ll keep that to myself. My Mother always said, “If you can’t say something nice…” Read the rest of this entry »


Is LinkedIn Killing Agency Recruiters?

by Veronica Blatt

image of LinkedIn, a tool used by agency recruiters“LinkedIn is killing agency recruiters.”

“LinkedIn is NOT a recruiter’s friend.”

“How much damage has LinkedIn caused your recruiting business?”

These are all phrases I’ve recently heard from agency recruiters. There seems to be a growing concern that LinkedIn is intent on eliminating the need for third-party recruiters and that it’s only a matter of time before it happens. Read the rest of this entry »


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