Understanding Online Recruiting

Almost every job candidate today has or plans to employ online resources to assist in the job-hunting process.  Many candidates will focus their entire job search on job boards and the careers section of employer Websites.  Whether or not such focus offers a candidate the widest array of opportunities is a discussion for another day.  Nonetheless, most candidates have little or no insight into what happens to their resumes, cover letters, and responses to questions once they have emailed, uploaded, or cut and pasted their information.

The majority of significant employers today utilize one brand or another of what is referred to as talent acquisition management software to expedite and improve the productivity and effectiveness of their recruiting efforts.  While employment opportunities are highly competitive for job-seekers, securing the services of top quality candidates may be even more so for prospective employers.  The developers and marketers of such human capital management applications are well-known names including PeopleSoft, Kenexa-Brass Ring, and Taleo.  If you have ever taken notice, you will often see the phrase “Powered by” followed by the name of an application provider at the bottom of pages on which you may be uploading a resume, filling out a profile, or answering questions relating to a position for which you may be applying.
From the perspective of the employer, these types of applications enable them to automate functions including:

• posting job descriptions and requirements on their Websites and transferring such postings – if applicable – to job boards and other Web-based employer recruitment resources

• enabling applicants to post or create, review, and update resumes online

• keeping all parties informed of application status and – upon recruiter determination – interviews

• maintaining a database of potential recruits, their resumes and supplementary documentation, positions for which they have applied, results of interviews, and other pertinent transactional information

• providing a tool and interface to search the applicant pool, including the firm’s internal talent pool, by using keyword search capabilities driven by various search engine technologies

• submitting and confirming employee referrals, as well as viewing eligibility statuses and job awards

From the perspective of the job candidate, these technologies place even more emphasis on resumes, cover letters, and any other job-seeking communications vehicles.  The organization, keywords employed, and position of those keywords within such documents are critical to a candidate’s prospects of having his or her resume reviewed by a recruiter or hiring manager.  Otherwise, such documents simply aggregate in the firm’s virtual talent pool until such time as they are purged from the system.