What Recruiters Will Succeed In 2008?

Zoominfo's newsletter is out, and Amitai Givertz gives his take on what we'll see in 2008. 

As the competition in the Web 2.0 market intensifies Ami foresees a proliferation of new applications, platforms, widgets and whiz-bang technology along with increasing usability issues in existing social networks. What was once fun will turn into drudgery with multiple logins and communities of “friends” to manage — detracting from core recruiting activities.

Against this backdrop, Ami predicts a general backlash among the industry’s early adopters. They will increasingly default to using proven resources like online sourcing, direct recruiting and building their personal networks.

For the rest, the gap between those who “get it” and those who “don’t even know” will widen. The real opportunity that Ami sees for established vendors and service providers lies in helping close the gap as the front runners start to slow down and the early majority catches up.

His analysis on social media is spot on.  I'm blogging, and dabbling in other social media, but these tools aren't going to make a recruiter successful on their own.  You have to know how to recruit, and commit yourself to understanding what makes a good recruiter.  Making phone calls isn't enough, especially if you're selling into companies that run results, not bodies.

Benchmarking, personality assessments, behavioral interviewing, goal-planning - these are the keys to success for a recruiter.   All too often we convince ourselves that this is a relationship business, but that doesn't mean it's schmooze or lose.  It's about delivering the best results to your clients.  That's what I train you to do. 

Social media is a tool, but it's one tool.  We'll see more of it, but if you really want to make an impact this year, train on being a better recruiter.

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