Effective Recruiting Strategies “Connect” Candidates with Future Job Openings

Sharlyn Lauby

11 Dec 2012

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is sponsored by iCIMS, a leading provider of innovative Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) talent acquisition solutions. The iCIMS Talent Platform enables organizations to manage their talent acquisition lifecycle (sourcing, recruiting and onboarding) all within a single web-based application. The team at iCIMS have some exciting news to share…check it out!)

I was having a conversation with a client recently about their recruiting efforts. This client is in a very specialized business. Finding quality candidates is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. And they’re really frustrated because the timing between finding good candidates and needing to fill an opening is disconnected.

Here are a couple of examples:

Human resources finds a terrific candidate but the operation doesn’t have any openings, so HR asks the candidate to stay in touch. Meanwhile, the candidate finds a new job. Then the department has an opening … but now the candidate isn’t available.

Or the department manager tells HR they don’t have any openings so quit recruiting – HR does what the department asks. A few days later the manager says they’ve had an unexpected resignation. Now there’s no one in the pipeline.

I’ve experienced both of these situations. It’s not fun. And then HR gets blamed for not providing qualified candidates.

So I was really excited to hear about the newest offering from iCIMS. It’s called Connect and it provides organizations with a way to keep candidates engaged and manage your talent pipeline. Think of it as recruitment CRM (candidate relationship management).

Here’s how it works:

Connect provides companies several ways to collect information about interested candidates:

A general information form that candidates can complete
Social portal that allows candidates to send their information via social networking sites
Mobile kiosks where recruiters can store candidate information using a tablet computer

Once the information is stored, recruiters can import data and begin managing their talent process:

Build talent pools by function (e.g. sales, engineering, etc.) so you can prepare for future openings
Create custom messaging on what’s happing at your company to keep candidates engaged
My favorite – Detailed reporting to evaluate and direct the company’s recruiting strategy

I got a sneak peek at the Connect product and one of the things that really impressed me was the ability to use the tool on mobile devices. As human resources pros, we don’t find talent by sitting behind a desk all day. We’re at colleges and universities. We meet candidates at job fairs. We find the perfect candidate at an association meeting. Now we can create connections in real-time. No more lugging around stacks of resumes!

If managing your talent pipeline better is part of your goals in 2013, consider taking look at iCIMS Connect. There’s an informational webinar being held on Thursday, December 13 at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Susan Vitale, chief marketing officer at iCIMS will be hosting the conversation. Click here for registration information.

Talent networks are an essential component of our recruiting strategy. We can’t wait until a job requisition shows up to start sourcing qualified candidates. Our success as human resources pros is based upon helping the organization find the perfect candidate at the right moment.

UPDATE 1/3/2013: If you missed the webinar about iCIMS’ new Connect offering, no worries . . . you can still listen to the archived recording. Just click here.