pb Human Capital

Throughout 2012 I’ve had a revelation that I’d like to share with you. Hold on to your hats, though, because it runs counter to everything our industry tries to tell you.Here it is: our business is pretty simple. Recruitment, head-hunting, executive search, whatever you want to call it, is a fairly straightforward process.

Clients and candidates alike often ask me about how the ‘market’ is going. Are people hiring? What’s the general sense of activity out there? Like my earlier article, there is a real sense that we are the canary in the coal mine.  If you approach this unique market in the right way, you will land a great job.

I get LinkedIN approaches all the time, most often an offer to provide some kind of service or for a product (recruitment databases, sales training etc.). But let’s be honest, I send out far more LinkedIN ‘inmails’ than I receive. It’s a great tool for us as recruiters, and much is written about how to attract a response via your outward approaches. But what is the best way to RESPOND to a LinkedIN approach?

I guarantee that this will work. It just might take a while.

Ok. That might sound a little strong. But you’re reading my article so you haven’t blocked me from whatever social media site you found this on or punched the computer or at the very least tsked in consternation; well then… hear me out.

The advent of LinkedIn and other social media has dramatically increased the visibility of 'passive' candidates to hiring managers and internal recruiters. In other words, it would seem that recruiters are becoming less relevant. LinkedIn et al. are a do-it-yourselfers dream, and many companies are enjoying success by directly approaching target candidates.

Hold on. What is this guy doing, you might ask. He's saying that he's going to go out of business? Actually, I believe that this huge uptake in D-I-Y recruitment is only going to improve the reputation and utilization of good recruiters.

Think, really carefully, about the reasons you want to leave your employer. Will they change if all your employer offers is more money?