Recruiting Services Help Find the Right Fit
The Bureau of Labor Statistics sees flaws with the math that predicts workforce shortages within the next decade, but if you ask managers in any technology-related industry, it’s becoming more difficult to find the right person to hire.
Faced with a tough job finding the right person, many high-tech companies turn to outside recruiters. The scheduling of countless interviews and reading stacks of résumés is replaced by online databases and screening to narrow the search and find what the employer wants. The cost is usually billed to the recruiting employer.
In the copier marketplace, Copier Careers, a Minneapolis-based firm for the field, is “another link for the industry,” says Dave Grandelis, Director of Recruiting for Copier Careers. The forte of the company is to narrow the search of interested and qualified candidates for copier-related companies. Copier Careers is “in the niche,” Grandelis says, we talk to everyone from presidents to technicians and have a thorough understanding ab out what is happening in the industry. And since most candidates are recruited from inside the industry, the “ramp-up” time is shorter – and as a general rule, the technician or salesperson can immediately go on the job without a lot of training.
“There’s a home for everybody,” said Grandelis. “It’s just people coming together having a link to locate each other. It’s one-stop instead of having to search and look all over the place.”
Service and sales managers in the copier industry have intense demands on their time and usually appreciate someone else doing the search, as do most managers in other fields who also have time constraints that make it tough to look for a candidate.
The time savings for managers and potential employees is “huge” with outsourced recruiting, said Marc Karasu, Vice President of Marketing, Yahoo HotJobs, an online recruiter headquartered in New York, N.Y. “Employers and staffing firms can add, edit and delete postings anytime and as often as they like. As soon as they have a job opening, they can post that opportunity online almost instantaneously. Additionally, rather than having to hand-sift through every résumé that comes across a desk, online tools and technology enable managers to more quickly pinpoint the candidates they are looking for. It’s as simple as searching a database by a specific keyword, experience level, location, job preference or salary.”
Legal recruiting is similar to the niche recruiting of Copier Careers. Tim Mahoney, Senior Vice President of Business Development for The Esquire Group, Minneapolis, Minn., a legal recruiting firm, says The Esquire Group service further facilitates searches by human resources people, thereby improving their efficiency in finding and hiring the best candidates.
“We are a legal recruiter and we recruit attorneys, paralegals and legal secretaries, so ours is a very niche type of recruiting,” Mahoney said. He goes on to say that often when our clients have that need, it’s very common that the HR people don’t fully understand w hat they need or what they are looking for.
Is a recruiting service is always the answer? Mahoney says, with increased competition there are more and more companies claiming to be recruiters as job markets tighten. In this case, he says, finding the right recruiting service can be a drawback. “Another perceived disadvantage might be the feeling of a loss of control over the process,” Mahoney said.
In lieu of these concerns, many managers still welcome having an outside recruiter aboard because they don’t have the time nor the expertise to do it, Mahoney says, and HR departments are often thinly staffed and can’t provide the needed services.
The hardest part of running any business is hiring and firing. Grandelis says Copier Careers really helps with recruiting the right people “as another alternative and another source. We’re a good one to be tied into if you’re in the industry.”
Multiple advantages over ads
Mahoney says the advantage of using a recruiting service over advertisements is that the recruiter can target a broader network of qualified applicants. Plus the recruiting service can do an assessment of skills to determine how well the person fits based on the specific needs of the company looking for a candidate.
“Another advantage would be the ability to bring a number of people to bear on the search as opposed to maybe an individual HR person w ho may be working to fill a number of opportunities. For example, here in the Twin Cities, we have 12 people in our office and we can assign a number of people to work on any given search at any particular time,” Mahoney said. “I think another advantage is a much more sophisticated understanding of the marketplace as to what current tr ends are in salary, retention, benefits and expectations of the candidates and things like that.”
Newspaper or magazine ads in a niche industry can be costly. Grandelis says only a few people scour the ads for jobs. If there are no results from a newspaper or magazine ad, the employer is out the costs.
While advertisements help to search, a recruiting service can both narrow and broaden it. Service technicians are certified, Grandelis said, and if the person is in the database, Copier Careers will work with any candidate. Even if someone is not as experienced, it might b e a good fit. “It might be a small independent dealership is looking for that person.” Grandelis said. Put another way, Grandelis said, “What brings water to my dish might bring oil to theirs.”
Recruiters also help keep person on the job
It’s sometimes easy to find someone to fill a slot, but it’s a little tougher to find that person who will work out for the comp any or the firm in the long run. Someone well-placed in a job he/she likes and in a location he/she wants to be is more likely to stay. In the legal area, Mahoney says they know most of the people are still where placed by the Esquire Group and most stay longer than other hires.
“Yes. It’s done quicker,” Mahoney said. “It’s also done more effectively and as a result, I think a better hire is made, and a long-term hire, as well.” Grandelis agrees: “Making good hires is very valuable. Making a bad hire costs companies a lot of money.”
Karasu says online recruiting is faster, easier and cheaper versus traditional search methods. “It also empowers employers to cost-effectively outsource their job searches while retaining control of the candidate selection process (i.e. personalized search agents, tracking capabilities, pre-screening tests, and account managers),” Karasu said.
Recruiting companies serve management
Companies such as Copier Careers have another facet to their recruiting in addition to matching technicians and salespeople to the recruiting company. The company also finds management candidates. “Sometimes managers don’t want to post their résumé out on the Internet,” Grandelis said, “but one might call me and tell me to keep my eyes open for them.”
He adds that some of the best candidates don’t post their résumés publicly. “ They call people within the industry and tell them to keep their eyes open,” Grandelis said, “and that’s really where we come into play.”
Finding jobs faster with high technology
The two sides of technology are that qualified high-technology candidates may be scarcer in the future, but ironically, technology is aiding online recruiting companies with more methods of matching employers to job seekers’ search criteria, as well as provide access to the latest job postings.
This feature of firms like Yahoo HotJobs enables the job seeker to do other things while the technology searches the database for them, Karasu said. “By applying to jobs on the Internet, applicants no longer need to spend money to send résumés via mail nor do they need to wait a few days for the résumés to arrive in the recruiter’s mailbox,” Karasu said. “Today, people can go online and search for jobs, get career advice and research prospective employers very quickly and easily.”
The recruiting service is a highly-specialized advocate for employers – their primary purpose is to fit the right candidate to the right employer as efficiently and effectively as possible. “As a recruiter, we’re always here,” Grandelis said, “we pick up our phones and we’re always looking out for our clients.”