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Finding New Candidates
Return to BlogsPublished: December 31, 2009 12:07 PM
Finding the best of the best candidates can be a very difficult task. I know: I do it every day for a wide assortment of companies and industries.
It is very unfortunate that so many people do not have employment. One of the advantages these folks have today is the use of the Web and job boards. Candidates can at least make an effort every day to review postings, and apply for them.
This, however, is the rub. Online postings make life easier for candidates, but they put you in a much more difficult position when you are the one searching for a qualified candidate. Some companies are prepared to be flooded with resumes from applicants whose skill sets do not come close to meeting the needs of their positions. However, when you need to select the best applicant, you will not know whether any candidate is a good match until you have opened each one of many resumes, and started reading it. This process is very time consuming.
We currently have a specialty position open, with very clear specifications. The candidate must meet these specifications to be considered for the position. It has been posted for 20 days; 270 people sent resumes, but only 54 completed an online application. To date, we have sent our client two candidates for review – both of them eminently well qualified. To give another example, we recently searched for candidates qualified for a Customer Service / Sales position. A whopping 703 people sent in resumes online. In contrast, we sent the client a list of just six candidates. The client hired one of the six.
My clients are lucky because we do all the pre-qualification work. All my clients have to do is interview the best of the best – after we have found these candidates for them.
If you do not use our service (shame! shame!), then one way to help yourself is to spend some extra time writing your ad. Provide clear details in the position description, and state the requirements that applicants must meet to qualify for an interview.
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