The dawn of technology is well and truly upon us. We have more opportunity to connect with our friends and family all over the world, effortlessly. Cloud services have improved so much over the past decade, that it’s now much easier and more profitable to create a global Software as a Service!
We have cloud services for online storage like Dropbox and Google Cloud, cloud CRM’s like Salesforce, cloud communication services like Slack and Microsoft Office 365. However, now that the world of cloud technology has become more diverse, companies are looking at new ways to make our lives more efficient.
But sometimes that doesn’t mean it’s the RIGHT choice.
This week we are going to look at recruitment platforms and we’ll find out if they are better than an ACTUAL recruiter! There are two ways we can look at it: from a candidate perspective or from a client/company perspective.
The Candidate Perspective
You have one goal in mind: to find a new job. And I’m sure you wouldn’t mind choosing either a platform or an agency to help get you there. But which one is going to offer you a better chance?
Working with a recruitment platform might have all your local companies in one place, but a big part of a Recruiter’s job is to provide some type of tailored service for your career needs. This could be in the form of career advice, rare market insights or even helping format your CV correctly to increase your chances of standing out. Unless you have had a bad experience with recruiters, and you want to avoid those pesky ‘salesy’ recruiters who don’t help you at all.
So, while you think trying to avoid recruiters will be beneficial to your career search, you might be wiping out a massive avenue for jobs and significantly decrease your chances of finding your dream job.
We know these Recruitment tools can be great, it (in a sense) turns a physical recruiter into a platform that connects both the company and the candidate. We do know that putting your CV out for companies to see might increase your chances but with the number of similar candidates on the market, how do you think you’ll fare against them?
But what does that look like from a company’s perspective?
The Company Perspective
Just like you, those recruiters who have given the industry a bad name have also turned HR/Hiring Manager’s hair prematurely grey and have opted to use a recruitment platform. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to make their lives easier!
HR Managers and Line Managers now have extra work to do in finding their own candidates on the platform, some of whom aren’t aware of the core components of the job. Generally, a recruiter will conduct the screening process and pick out the best candidates for the position, Hiring Managers will then choose their best candidates and request interviews from there.
Without conducting the screening process before a candidate is submitted, it opens the risk of there being a lot of time wasted in the process, a platform won’t give you a sense of what the candidate is like until you’ve spoken to them. They may look good on paper but if they are rude and abrupt, it could disturb the company culture.
There are a few benefits, however, it’s generally cheaper to use a recruitment platform than to use a recruitment agency. The standard rate is generally 12,5% of the candidate’s Cost to Company, but, like most things in life, if you want a quality service, you’re going to have to fork out a little extra to get it. Companies can choose from a larger pool of candidates to interview and make the decision to engage themselves. Some platforms require candidates to complete a Technical Assessment before their profile is visible to employers, this shortens the hiring process significantly and companies can see candidate’s technical ability right from the get-go.
These platforms are a great tool for employers if you want to feel in control of your recruitment process and when you don’t want to spend too much money on hiring new staff. For candidates though, these platforms can be a success if you are an expert in your trade or have a niche skill set that recruiters are struggling to find.
Whether we like it or not, recruitment platforms are here to stay and it opens up a new avenue to find your next position or a new hire. So whether you decide to use a recruitment agency or use a platform service it would be silly to eliminate an entire process, your career or hire should be the top priority!
Looking for a recruitment agency? Maybe some insights into the current market? Give Acuity Consultants a call and we’ll be able to explain how we can improve your career or hiring process!