If you’re a Recruiter and have ever posted an ad on Craigslist you’ll know that, doing so, garners you a million emails from people who are ridiculously un-qualified.
When I was a Recruiter for a video game company in Vancouver, I would post all over the place hoping to get 1 out of 50 applicants who actually had a clue what we were looking for. I particularly loved the guys who would send a cover letter that started with: “I love to game. I’ve been playing COD for 5 years and I think I can design/build games really good.” These were often 17 year old boys who have not seen the light of day or the inside of a shower for many months.
ACK!
The problem with posting jobs on CL is that you get a plethora of emails that you have to shift through in order to find that one, great candidate. It reminds me of the mid-90’s when every animation school student, or kid with 3d Studio Max on their home computer, would send in an unsolicited VHS reel. I remember sitting in the head Recruiter’s office, as a PA, watching endless, dreadful, tapes of crappy animation.
Craigslist respondents are this generations crap-tastic VHS tapes, and worse. At least the VHS tape contributors spent some time, did some research, made an effort. Oftentimes when you receive a response from Craigslist, the applicant has no idea what the job entails and has barely skimmed the posting. They see “GAME STUDIO” and just apply, hoping for a miracle. You, on the other hand, are stuck with 50 emails/day that are useless.
Perhaps the biggest tragedy of the CL posting is that you may miss that one, amazing candidate that you’ve been looking for. After sifting through 50 emails you get cynical and cranky and stop reading. What if the best candidate isn’t a great email writer? What if he/she fails to catch your attention? You’ll miss them.
Worse still, a Recruiter is the face of the company. What happens when you miss the great candidate and they find their way in another way, only to rat you out to your boss that you missed them. As a facilitator you need to respond to the emails, be respectful, find that great candidate AND please the hiring manager.
There’s a much better way.
Most of your best candidates will come from referrals but you may not get enough referrals or you may not have a large enough reach to get the candidate you want.
Using a targeted social media campaign designed with the specific intention of “pulling” the right candidates to you can take you from a good Recruiter to a great Recruiter. The best part is, once you learn how to do it well, the candidates will start to come to you because you have established a trusting relationship prior to the recruitment process.
If you want to be a rockstar in your company, show this post to the head of HR and book me for a lunch and learn. I can show you how to effectively leverage social media to expand your reach and get the candidates you want.
Here’s a hint: if you meet with resistance explain how your time can be better spent by not having to read a 50 emails a day from guys (and girls) like the one in the post photo 🙂
