Gary Haran.com

Head hunters offer a very valuable service to society but I fear that they’re not evolving at the speed of the internet. If they don’t learn to use the new tools available, they risk getting a bad rap. Heck, they’ll be thrown in league with spammers.

Demography is turning the tables

The population is getting older. As lots of people are retiring a younger crowd is the one that you need to cater to. They’re a really different breed. It’s been said that “Generation X won’t do things because they have a deep sense of mission, or loyalty to an organization.” and generation Y are said to “switch their loyalty in an instant“.

This younger crowd is driven by a desire to change the world. They’re attracted to jobs that give them social recognition or have bigger meaning. If they can change something in this world they’ll pick that job over another.

If you approach them in a sloppy manner they’ll see the organization as a boring entity that just doesn’t get it. They’ll want nothing to do with you or the job offer.

Worst Way To Attract Talent

Nothing spells awkward better than a recruiter spamming a bunch of people on a mailing list. He’s not doing anyone a favor if the mailing list is a technical one. He’s just spamming.

One famous example of bad netiquette is Pradipta who sent out an email forgetting to use BCC to 416 people.

Another form of spamming is hitting the “Add As Friend” button on Facebook to whoever might possibly be a programmer in your region. This guy doesn’t have a profile picture and I know none of the 4 friends on his list.

This head hunter wasted his time and mine and managed to look like a goofball in the process. It reminded me of my uncle trying to act cool with the young crowd by putting his baseball cap on sideways while he was drunk at a party. Any head hunter using Facebook is taking a step in the right direction. He just needs to know that it’s to make himself available, not to spam.

Best ways to attract talent

Employers need to react to this trend and find more innovative ways to attract top talent. (disclaimer: I work at a company building tools to help recruit talent)

Knocking at someone’s door with a job offer isn’t what it used to be. In different times a message about a job offer would have been a favor but today it’s becoming an annoyance. If you are a recruiter and want to reach out to people you have to research your candidates and send an appropriate message through email. If they have a web page with a means of contact you should use that instead.

Tell them how you heard about them. Explain who you are. Tell them about the company and the job but keep it short.

6 Tools A Recruiter Can Use

Twitter: Create a complete profile. Speak your mind about your profession and tweet about job offers in the area.

LinkedIn: Create a complete profile. Create your online network and publicize job offers. People on LinkedIn will accept messages about job offers if they set it in their profile. You can also ask people if they know someone to make your network grow.

Facebook: Create a complete profile. Use it as a window for potential recruits to get to know you. Don’t add someone as a friend to send them a job offer unless someone you both know introduces you.

Google: Search for groups in your area. If there are meet-ups feel free to show up with a few business cards. The ones looking for jobs will appreciate it and you’ll expand your network.

Google Groups: find out what the policy is on job offers. Feel free to ask rather than just post a question.

Standout Jobs(disclaimer I work there): Post job offers on a slew of job boards and find out which give you the best results. Use the sourcing tools to find internet savvy candidates.