A question I have been asked, from the time of my Monster years through the present at TalentOyster is "Do job boards really work?" and my answer has always been "yes". Okay, I know, no earth-shattering surprise but there is more to it.
Yes I know that job boards do work, but I'll also be the first to tell you that no single job board, or single talent source in general is the best answer to all of your hiring needs.
If you use just once source, be it a mainstream job board, recruiting agencies, networking or the classic ads in newspapers you can probably still fill all your roles but... with the looming talent crisis that's unlikely to stay true. Moreover talent shortage or not, using one source is a guarantee that you aren't filling your roles with the best available talent. Of course you do want your organization to have the best people so that means you need a holistic approach to hiring and that means drawing from multiple sources for your talent.
So in short, yes you should be using job boards both mainstream (like Monster) and niche (like TalentOyster) but you should also be using networking and recruiting agencies and other means you can to get a strong flow of candidates to your careers. This idea leads to the next question which is "When is enough, enough?", in other words if your organization is already using two candidate sources have you done enough?
This question is more difficult to answer then a simple yes or no response because it depends on a combination of what methods you are using and the candidate audience you are trying to attract. Specifically if you want to draw applications from diverse candidates you need a niche diversity job board like TalentOyster.
Why?
I often talk about how the diverse audience is often missed by mainstream media. For example for the majority of first and second generation Canadians the main, trusted new source is not a mainstream one but one specific to their own culture. It's not just newcomers though. A similar tenet holds true for other diversity groups like aboriginals, persons with disabilities and LGBTQ. I think we also tend to forget that being outside the "mainstream" isn't just limited to a person's source of news but extends to the network of friends and colleagues they may have. That seems a simple and somewhat obvious point but the implications for the hiring cycle are huge. It means that there is a candidate pool that not only isn't part of the traditional mainstream in hearing about and applying for jobs but is also "outside" the traditional networking circle.
I actually think that you can make a strong case that being outside of mainstream networking circles is the biggest disadvantage that diverse candidates face. You use job boards to advertise your roles and the benefits of employment with your company but the reality we are all aware of is that the candidates most likely to be hired are those who have been networked in. Being that that is the case what does that say for the chances of someone, no matter how qualified or experienced they may be, in finding a suitable role if they simply aren't connected to the same network that you are in?
To return to the question posed earlier, "when is enough, enough?" what this means is that if you are really interested in hiring diverse candidates, if you realize that the future of your company depends on it, you need a comprehensive, holistic hiring strategy. Knowing that Canada's diverse pool of hidden talent isn't just hidden on or by mainstream job boards but also by personal networking and recruiting agencies connected to them means that your strategy must also include a niche diversity job board. Enough is a combination of mainstream job boards, niche ones, recruiting agencies and networking in the balance that works for you.
Only by understanding why and how you make your hiring strategy complete will you be able to not only fill your roles, but also know that you are filling them with the best possible candidates.
No comments:
Post a Comment