Recruiters losing their popularity
For some time now it has been clear that more and more employers have been using networking and their company websites to recruit new staff. As a result recruitment agencies, in particular, have been losing out.
This was confirmed recently by an article in Personnel Today when a survey of 400 employers showed that nearly half (48%) said that they had reduced their recruitment agency budget since last year.
It would appear that for many generalist jobs these firms have decided that they can save money and still get good quality people.
Where agencies, executive search firms and head-hunters still come into their own is where the recruitment of specialists or very senior people is required.
From a job seeker’s point of view there still remain four ways to find a job, through Agencies, Adverts, Networking and Prospecting. The key change has been in the way the internet is influencing how these methodologies are used.
Most agencies now have websites and display their advertised vacancies on them. Adverts can be found on websites as varied as Monster, Total Jobs and Executive Appointments as well as the traditional means. Networking utilises the Outlook folder and email addresses extracted from business cards; whilst prospecting is done through marketing lists and detailed research of company websites.