Simon Lewis's Blog

This question was recently posed as a LinkedIn discussion by a senior figure of a marketing recruitment company.   This was my response to the current ticking bomb of the hiring process: 

1.  Social media’s influence in today’s market is undeniable.  But it is also unquantifiable.  The latter aspect is the reason traditional recruiters – and even ‘newfangled’(!) job boards – remain so important to the hiring mix.  The questioner’s response to this poser fell short of suggesting that a jobseeker requesting an introduction to a recruiter’s contact is a liberty; but this is exactly what it is.  Okay, so recruiters build networks for their own purposes but these contacts help their candidates.  

Recruiters have been building contacts for years.  It is only the advent of sites such as LinkedIn that have made them visible. 

Now I am a huge advocate of social media but I am wary of the wolf in sheep’s clothing.  Social media masquerades as a ‘friendly broker’, allowing through its transparency the chance for us all to engage very quickly with people we might otherwise never make connect with (at any level), let alone talk to or meet. 

Why should recruiters be expected to impart their hard-earned network? 

2.  ‘In the good times we hear from recruiters, in the bad times they duck for cover’ may be true of the industry’s more unscrupulous but I would suggest in the main ‘traditional’ recruitment has [been forced] to evolve into a whole new level of customer satisfaction; both client and candidate-side.  Working – as I do – each day with recruitment consultants I hear their frustrations with the economic climate and all-bar-none long for a return to a candidate-driven market.  

Good recruiters consult with their clients, guiding them through the hiring process and advocating the virtues of their candidates.  This isn’t as easy to do at the moment.  The lot of a recruiter right now is more akin to unwanted administration than unfeasible sales so I would argue that likening them to estate agents is not entirely fair. 

3.  In theory jobseekers have never had a better chance to ‘go-it-alone’.  With so many direct channels it is possible to open doors that would previously have remained firmly shut.  However – and this is the BIG negate – what they do with this chance will define success now or long-term failure.  Putting your head above the parapet might seem the sensible thing to do (and in some cases it is) but make sure this is not a knee-jerk reaction to your frustration in finding a job.  Jobseekers need a strategy.  

As marketers you are used to developing a plan for your company but what about one for yourself?  I would suggest identifying one or two recruiters with whom you feel comfortable.  Registering with multiple agencies it is likely to increase your consternation, not diminish it.  If there aren’t jobs out there (the signs are improving, though) they aren’t out there.  You need to work with recruiters, setting out parameters from the start.  

If in the course of finding a new job you opt for autonomy please make sure ‘brand you’ is up to the challenge.  Good recruiters will coach you through the hiring process; they will provide insightful advice on your CV; interview hints; organisational insights; and even how to dress the part.  Recruiters offer this consultative service as part of their proposition and they do it based on knowledge.  If you’re on your own be sure you’ve got these key areas right.  Recruitment is evolving and most direct employers will undertake at least rudimentary searches on you before meeting you, sometimes before deciding whether to meet you at all.  To this end make sure your LinkedIn profile is A1.  Sort your pictures out on Facebook and, if you are a blogger, be cute with your scribbles.  This is how to use social media in the context of job seeking. 

In every aspect of the recruitment mix times are currently tough.  Every day we’re faced with frustration and whilst the recovery signs are good, many challenges remain.  I empathise with the jobseekers because I see their angst.  JC+ and all the other so-called back-to-work Government schemes don’t cut the mustard for the majority of marketers so they are, ostensibly, left to fend for themselves.  

When forced to adopt a ‘no news is bad news’ philosophy in the recruitment waiting game it cannot be easy to remain motivated.  Redundancy then manifests itself as anger, perpetuated by the inefficiencies of [some] agencies. 

My advice: stay calm and get realistic.  Heighten your anticipation but lessen your expectation.  Remaining focused will see you right in the end.

For moralistic and premier recruiters I would stay stick to your principles and decline these cynical introduction requests.  Social media is a brilliant tool and used correctly provides a fantastic platform on which it is possible to make excellent contacts, whether these be new candidates or clients for the future.  It is not, though, the be-all and end-all of recruitment. 

The jury remains out as to the viability and, indeed, longevity, of social media as an honest addition to the recruitment mix but two things should not be forgotten: 1) it is not to be treated flippantly; and 2) it is merely a cog in the enormous wheel of the hiring process.  We can all benefit from social media, provided our respective houses are in order.  Responding to its advances and the way some people use it will undoubtedly govern some courses of action but will it determine the future of the traditional recruiter?  I doubt it.

Read more of ramblings on these subjects:

Taking a look at the recruitment landscape in 2011: http://tinyurl.com/y9oeskg

Why being told you are a mischievous hedonist will help your career: http://tinyurl.com/ybnvfzd

Recruitment agencies: why they are so valuable: http://tinyurl.com/yd9sly7

Simon Lewis | Only Marketing Jobs