LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Ning, Plaxo, the list goes on. Tech-heavy tools that are being used as sourcing and recruiting aids are becoming more popular by the day and it is truly a cultural phenomenon. There was a time not so long ago when people didn’t have work email addresses. Now if you don’t have the latest BlackBerry phone and 24/7 email access you seem to be behind the times. The proof is truly in our everyday lives, though. Chances are if you’re unaware that Facebook can be used as a noun and a verb, you’d better hope you don’t have children in high school or college.
So if these networking tools are meant to enhance the way we do our jobs, recruiters should be collectively getting better at what we do, right? I’m not so convinced.
Take a look at the average weight of teen and pre-teen kids in America these days. You don’t have to look far or do much research to discover that as a country we’re getting fatter. Computers, video games, thousands of TV channels, and other portable electronic entertainment devices have made us a lazier society. We get less exercise, we don’t work as hard, and we have the waistlines to prove it. But what does this have to do with recruiting? I’m glad you asked.
Having all these instant sourcing tools at our disposal is invaluable. More candidates are available in less time than ever before. With a few keystrokes you can pull up list after list of candidates, get the contact info, and send out an email blast reaching hundreds of people in the time it takes to toast your morning pop-tarts. The reach is astounding, the speed is like greased lightning, and many of the people using this technology can’t recruit their way out of a wet paper bag for one simple reason. They haven’t bothered to master the basics.
Because it is so much easier to draft an email, hit ‘send,’ and instantly reach out to a few hundred people, the art of the phone call is slowly getting lost, and with it, the ability to develop a strong candidate/recruiter relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology and use many of the tools listed above on a daily basis. However, technology does not make a good recruiter, technique does. Anybody can learn how to use a search tool, find a bunch of people, and send an email; but what do you do once the person calls or emails you back? How do you sell them the opportunity? What happens if your search results don’t turn up enough quality candidates? An old-school recruiter wouldn’t even have to think twice. He or she would just pick the phone up and dial.
The problem starts on an organizational level. It is expensive to train people, and since time is limited choices must be made. Do we teach him how to use the database he is required to use or spend time doing mock phone calls? Unfortunately the database will get the nod 99% of the time because they have to assume you know how to talk. The problem is, talking doesn’t teach you how to cold call, develop a rapport on the spot, or establish a long-term relationship with a candidate. After spending a few years in my first recruiting role I saw many peers come and go. It was very obvious why certain people were able to weather the economic storm and continue to have success. They knew how to make phone calls and were not afraid to do it. They could cold call, find a name and a title on LinkedIn and start dialing, or network until blue in the face. The fact is, these people stuck to their proven relationship-based techniques, and used new technology as a supplement. It was amazing to watch, and inspiring to witness.
You can say what you want about teaching an old dog new tricks; I think it is time for some of the pups out there to learn a thing or two from their elders. Now, before you dismiss this as another rant from a crotchety old miser, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m a 26 year-old who, before losing all my baby teeth, had his first computer and hasn’t been without one ever since.
May I ask if one takeaway from your post is that too much Internet recruiting will make one fat and lazy?
Learn how to telephone names source. That’s what I’ve been talkin’about!
Hey Maureen – I wouldn’t say that too much internet recruiting will make a person fat and lazy in a literal sense, but maybe more in a figurative one…glad to see you picked up on my not-so-subtle nuances!
Good luck, Gino! God Bless.
All the best
Saif
Your spam has been reported. Here’s hoping that they disqualify you.
Anonymous, I apologize for the inconvenience you suffered by receiving my message about the blog. Keep in mind, the only people who I sent an email to were either personal friends or direct connections of mine on LinkedIn or Facebook. As such the invitation to connect on one or both of those networks had to be mutual so I did not think it would be bothersome to ask a direct connection to do me the favor of reading my article. Again, I am sorry for the disturbance this caused you.
Hello Gino,
No problem taking a look at your blog. I just read your blob post “Old School Technique Teaches Techology a Lesson”. It really hit home for me! I have to honestly say that most of the recruiters I run into (i.e. they first send me an email that they found me and are looking for an electronic copy of my resume), don’t call to talk. Without their phone #, I can’t call them which is really what I want to do. “Talk to someone behind the curtain”. Who knows, maybe it’s a database fishing for info? Anyways, great blog discussion and I hope you win the challenge. Take care!
Ron,
Thanks for taking the time to read the article and leave the nice note! I think a lot of value is lost when recruiters forget the relationship end of the business we work in.
Gino
Good luck, Gino
Good luck!
Wonderful job, Gino! Hope all goes well for you! This was a great article, and I completely agree with your thoughts.
Hi Gino,
These tools were meant to assist, not replace the traditional approach of hiring and forging relationships…I do agree wit you…!!
Wish you all the best…great thought..!!
Cheers
Gurpreet
Gino,
Good writing… I wish to extend this thinking to the training world.
Good luck
Pierre
Technology makes life easier. But, it also makes easy things more complicated. That’s why companies need more budget to train employees to get out of confusion. But, I still think eRecruitment still rocks. Especially, when most of your target audience is online.
Hit the nail on the head!
Great article Gino! This old dog is always willing to learn new tricks.
Thanks to all of you who have been reading! I truly appreciate all the visits and the positive feedback I’ve been getting. I am very pleased to see that my post has been so well-received!
Exactly Gino!
Thanks for putting it out there!
You have learned well young grasshopper!!!
Great Post Gino
You are wise beyond your years! Best of luck recruiting.
Rick
Gino,
Great article – thank you for sharing! Relationship building is key to successful recruiting. Tools are just that, instruments to assist us with our recruiting. Let me know if you win the contest!
Y’know, Gino, it never ceases to amaze this old codger that people will text a message rather than just calling the person on the phone. With communication difficult as it is already, the spoken word leaves a lot less opportunity for misinterpretation than the written word.
“I didn’t say you had an attitude problem.” A simple enough sentence to read. Most people would say it has only one meaning.
But when you change the emphasis on each word, you change the meaning. Try saying it aloud putting the emphasis on the word in CAPS:
“I didn’t SAY you had an attitude problem.” (…but I thought it.)
“I didn’t say YOU had an attitude problem.” (…but someone does.)
“I didn’t say you HAD an attitude problem.” (…you’ve still got one!)
“I didn’t say you had an ATTITUDE problem.” (…but you’ve got some kind of problem.)
“I didn’t say you had an attitude PROBLEM.” (…but you’ve got an attitude.)
OK, I can hear you laughing from here. Given that there can be so many interpretations of the written word, why don’t we communicate more often verbally? I guess people just like to keyboard or text.
Have a great day!
skippadeaux
Well said Gino!
Great Post Gino!!
Take Care!!
Jeanne
Gino,
Well said. Thanks for sharing.
Kim
Skip – you had me rolling there!
Hi Gino,
I got your message on LinkedIn. Went through your recent article on “Old School Technique Teaches Technology a lesson” very interesting. I wish you good luck for the challenge. Hope you win it.
Uma Rams
Great article Gino! Growing waistlines are not only due to lack of exercise and activity (though that is one of the key reasons) but also due to bad nutritional habits… fast food and packaged food, added with competition to lower prices (did you know it is cheaper to add carbohydrates and fat to your plate than protein and vegetables?).
Gtting back to your focus… will a large waistline be a hindrance to job hunting? Though I do not believe in discriminating anybodyon his/her appearance, wil potential employers be more inclined to hire someone who looks active and healthy rather than the opposite?
Gino,
Great Article. Real Time and Face-to-Face communications are fast becoming lost arts and that is why there are so many that have problems getting where they want to be or working with others.
I always like the example that Skip used above.
Great article G. Good Luck
Interesting question about whether or not a person is more likely to get a job based on their physical appearance. I think for some jobs (police, fire, etc.) considering that they have to pass physical exams and activity is a major portion of the job being overweight could be a hinderance. Otherwise it is clearly wrong to engage in any sort of discrimination. I haven’t personally done any research to see if there is any sort of a trend here, but now you have my curiosity piqued!
Gino,
Great article Gino, but i have to say, not only is today’s technology hindering the recruiters, it also hinders the job hunter. No more of the days of getting out your newspaper, circling jobs, freshening up your resume, putting on your nice suit, and going into a place to say hello and personally give them your resume. It was once said that a hearty handshake and good eye contact were strong attributes to have, but instead nowadays we are forced to send out hundreds of emails just hoping that we catch somebody’s attention through luck. I to had my own personal computer in 1986 when i was just 2 years old…my good old IBM 286, so i know there is no way of turning back. We all want the ease and comfort that technology gives us, but what happens when technology is the blame for hindering one self to finding his place within society. I hope to find one person who would like just a quick chat over the phone to see who the man behind his computer screen really is.
Thanks and good luck with the contest!
Good Luck Gino, Great article!
Gino looking forward to this helping
Gino,
You hit the nail on the head. People say things in an email that they cannot or would not say in person because using email is impersonal. We could all use a little more face to face conversations. Great article and good luck.
Great article and read. Points put across constructively.
Hi Gino~
Great hearing from you. Thank you for inviting me to read your article! Well researched, well thought out and well written. If I had the need for a recruiter, on either end of the process, I would certainly call you. The old adage that “people do business with people they know” rings loud and clear. A significant part that goes to the “knowing” of a person is the visual aspect…how does one react to a situation, comment or human in a “face to face”. I suspect the ole’ pendulum will be swinging back to more of this….at least I hope so!
Hard to keep up with all the comments here, so my apologies for not responding to each one individually! I do want to thank all of you who have taken the time to read and leave a note, though!
Hi Gino.
Great Blog. I think you hit the nail on the head. Being in sales, I think that my reps need to read this. The art of the phone call or my personal favorite, introducing yourself in person, is becoming a lost art. I encourage my reps to get out there and meet people. This has been very successfull for us. The competition is not using these as much.
Again, great article.
Thanks.
Good blog. Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer
Gino,
I do expect to see some of that money back that you win for your solicitation of my extremely important and expensive time. : )
Love always
Patrick G.
Have you ever heard of the comedian Mike Birbiglia? He said that today there is an overabundance or technology and a shortage of people that know how to use said technology responsibly. However, he was primarily referring to his parents and cell phones.
Gino,
What I enjoyed most about your piece is that your thesis is not limited to the recruiting world. As someone in education, I feel a bloated emphasis placed on technology-centered assessment and not enough value placed on building meaningful relationships with students. Forming connections builds capital with people, and pays dividends.
I find that the more I know about a student personally, the more comfortable and candid he will be in class, which helps both of us. As a recruiter do you find that your candidates give you a clearer crystal ball when you’ve made that personal connection?
True, to a point, but as time wears on, old tech is going to get replaced fully by new tech. A phone call is a personal touch that only some employers like or approve of. Sometimes it’s the key and in other cases it’s the red button thats gets you kicked out.
Hi Brent –
I definitely find that a candidate will warm up to me more if I take the time to make a personal connection. Being that my job is based very largely on the building of relationships, getting out from behind emails makes a big difference.
Sure, it is nice and convenient to just fire a few quick notes back and forth via text message or email, but taking the time to pick up the phone pays off more often than not.
Gino
Good Luck, Gino. I totally agree with your position on face to face contact, not just in your profession, but in all work and personal areas. It frustrates me to see the lack of social skills that is being created by overuse of email and texting!
Gino, I like the line about the baby teeth……
Good Luck, Gino. I totally agree! As a teacher I see more and more students coming through the classroom that are computer literate but unfortunately not ready to learn in the good old fasion hard work way. Kids are less eager to learn patience and kindness because they’ve grown up in an instant society with everything at there fingertips.