In a candidate-rich market IT talent sourcing is often distilled down to what one might call buzzword bingo; the game being to reconcile the buzzwords on the candidate resume with those on the job spec.
A problem arises when the talent pool dries up and the war for technology talent heats up. Recruiters can no longer play buzzword bingo.
A more intelligent approach is required; one where buzzword searching is replaced by semantic indexing and abstraction matching. This requires the IT recruiter to develop a deeper understanding of the terminology she is dealing with.
Specifically the recruiter needs to know:
- What relates to what
- What what actually is.
Those on the buy-side need to ensure that those on the sell-side understand this.
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Great advice for IT recruiters. They should try to develop an understanding of the tech their clients need. Something tells me few will heed your advice.
Posted by: Arun Manansingh | September 04, 2009 at 06:28 PM
Arun,
Thanks for your comment. My experience is that a small subset of recruitment companies do get this.
However most recruitment companies are run as sales call centres, where delivery is regarded as an administrative by-product of the sale.
I try to recommend a more marketing-driven / customer service based mindset.
But sadly that seems to be a cultural leap too far. Again some recruiters get this but they are in the minority.
Ade
Posted by: Ade McCormack | September 07, 2009 at 12:39 PM