First Post

So my first blog post for Real Recruitment. I always look forward to the holidays because jobseeker traffic slows down a bit and I can get caught up on my to-do list and organization for the coming year. I use these weeks to clean out everything. My email, files, desk, piles in the floor... whatever! Starting fresh in 2008 gives me a sense that I can really do this job and stay on top of it.

I read an article today about innovation in recruitment. The author of the article suggested that we need to get down to the bare basics of recruitment. A telephone. How realistic is that. People can't reach me as it is. I hate the telephone. I hate dialing it, waiting for someone to answer, playing phone tag, answering it without knowing who is on the other line, getting the pesty jobseeker that wants information on every job instead of going to the website and reviewing.

Technology is our friend and we should use it to our advantage. I have a bad habit of being too short and sweet in my email communications. I'm not suggesting that we write the next great novel but something the jobseeker can feel good about. We should be informative and there should definitely be a call to action.

The key is to keep your hot candidates engaged in the process from the start. Make sure your hiring managers are making decisions quickly. Do you ask them when they want to make a hiring decision when they send you the requisition?