Digital Recruitment Sheds Light on Lazy Headhunters

Just read a blog posting by Will Hawkins - http://ow.ly/1Ss2 so - as a 'headhunter/recruitment consultant (don't ask me what the difference is - pleeeeasse!) I thought appropriate to respond.

It's hard not to become defensive when reading articles about recruitment consultancy - on the whole they are emotive pieces usually written by people who have had a bad experience and want to get things off their chest. Another reason you often see these articles would be because a PR hasn't got anything else to write about and wants to ruffle a few tail feathers and make the headlines.

Thankfully with Will's article it seems to be much more balanced. I can't quite understand in a blanket 'not using headhunters to recruit new staff' - there are good reasons why companies use recruitment businesses and perhaps the engagement between recruiter and client hasn't been the best in this instance - it's impossible to say who is at fault. However he makes a very good point about the use of social networks to source/attract new staff. As recruitment consultants we have been doing this for some time and, if done sensitively, can produce good results. The likes of LinkedIn, Plaxo and now twitter have enhanced the way we target potential candidates for our clients. However, this is not the be all and end all, merely just another channel.

Most decent recruitment business (and I'm not going to drop our name now just to demonstrate we are one of these - decide for yourself...) have a number of sources from where to attract candidates. They'll be advertising across a wide variety of job boards, not just the Monsters and Jobsites of the world. They may even still be engaging in some press based activity. There's likely to be an SEO strategy or ongoing PPC campaign which will drive awareness and some form of social media strategy although strategising in something that is changing so fast is difficult! They may have engaged a PR agency to raise awareness - call it a traditional TTL marketing campaign if you will.

In addition they should have a relational database that is kept up to date and accurate - most don't. They will have built up a team of consultants with 2+ years of service each who have built relationships with candidates and clients – most don’t. These relationships are the difference. The knowledge, empathy, interest and enthusiasm generated by dealing with someone over a period of time or acting as a candidates' career manager goes far beyond the traditional perception of recruitment consultants that they are just in it for the money. I have been in recruitment for the past 15 years. It’s never been about the money – that followed the enjoyment of the job and success that it brought.

Finally (do I hear you sigh with relief) remember that recruitment businesses are agencies - as are design, digital, advertising, PR, travel and estate agencies. As individuals, we could do all of these things ourselves - we could book our own holidays, sell our own houses, design our own adverts - but, we don't. We leave it to experts who do it for a living. Pick the right one and you will get added value.

Wetherby RUFC Juniors Tour

Everyone had a wonderful time on the Wetherby Juniors U7 - U10 tour this weekend. The venue was Bridlington and we arrived at our home for the weekend at about 7:30. All the boys were very excited and were rushing around. The parents seemed to be focussed on checking out the bar.

We played Bridlington over 3 games on the Saturday - we won 1 and they won 2, a pretty decent team. We then had a bit of lunch and went to Waterworld and then on to the log slide and dodgems!

After that it was perfectly timed for a few pints in the bar watching 6 nations and Irelands win and then Karaoke in the function room where Marcus Little dressed up as Elvis.

Sunday took us to Driffield and we drew 1 - 1 with them - they were a set of big lads!

Back home at 4pm and off to la Locanda for a nice meal.

Much fun was had by all - well done to Paul for organising it all.

www.twitterjobs.com

Firstly I hope our competitors aren't reading this...or perhaps they should be! We (N etwork marketing) are now on twitterjobsearch.com - it's brand new and I think we're getting the hang of it. There are inevitably going to be problems as the service gets bigger and bigger however it's a great way of people getting information straight to their desktops via tweetdeck or something similar. Twitter really can be a great business tool as well as personal.

Check us out on www.twitterjobsearch.com and look for marketingjobs09.

Cheers

Came back from a lengthy meeting of the REC this morning - thsi is the professional body for the recruitment industry - they are promising massive changes and better support for businesses - hoping they deliver! www.rec.uk.com

The Student Book Awards 2009 - Judging

The official judging for The Student Book Awards took place at our offices this afternoon. The judges, Rick Ward, Pete Camponi (www.gratterpalm.co.uk) and Al Wightman (www.awadigital.com) commented that the standard of work was high and they have short-listed 4 campaigns which now need to be executed before a final decision is made. A big thanks to the judges who took time out from their busy schedules to attend.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday 2nd April.

We will be putting what work we can up on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=47960532167&ref=mf

The 2009 Student Book Awards

As the title would suggest...on an annual basis The Book recruitment www.thebook.uk.com work with Leeds College of Art and Design to set up an awards ceremony for the degree level students. The Students are asked to put together creative concepts to a specific brief and then they present to a panel of judges.

On the panel this year are Rik Ward and Pete Camponi (Gratterpalm) and Al Wightman (AWA Digital).

Two years ago all students had their work rejected as not strong enough and had to resubmit - we hope that's not going to be the case this year!!

Will update on how it went!

Well - the U-Talk Marketing 'Definitive Guide to Social Media' didn't quite hit the 'definitive' mark. The seminar was a bit of a re-run of Groundswell, Dell were supposed to bethere (but weren't which was disappointing as they have potentially the most interesting story), the 'will it blend' by Blendtec was amusing but hardly insightful and most of the people presenting seemed to be 'mates' of the U-Talk Marketing Mktg Dir.

Having said all of that I am sure it would be useful for many - particularly those that hadn't seen the Tiger Woods walk on water or the Grand Central freeze virals - where have you been??

I think overall it gets a 6 out of 10 from my perspective - not enough indepth discussion about really using social media and not enough insights over and above what spending £9.99 on Groundswell would give you. Not sure it was worth £200 per head...