5 Top tips on how to put technology to work in the Recruitment sector
Today’s guest blog is by Francis West of Westtek
5 Top tips on how to put technology to work in the Recruitment sector
The recruitment sector, with its reliance on fast communication and the rapid handling of clients’ and candidates’ details, is ideally placed to take full advantage of new technology.
A comprehensive technological solution can remove many complex, time-consuming tasks from the recruiter’s workload. Assessing CVs, matching skills to job vacancies, messaging clients and candidates, can all be simplified and streamlined with the right technological infrastructure.
Social media
While many recruiters use LinkedIn to source potential candidates, it is important to maintain a presence across all the popular social media outlets. Twitter and Facebook, for example, provide recruiters with a free and easy way to reach a huge potential audience.
Keeping your social media up-to-date doesn’t have to become a chore either. Software applications, such as HootSuite, allow you to schedule a week’s worth of regular tweets from just a single session. All it takes is a retweet by an influential follower and your job vacancy could be appearing right in front of a number of star candidates.
CV screening
Recruiters are regularly inundated by a deluge of applications when an attractive job is advertised. That is why many recruitment companies use CV screening software to reduce the initial response down to a more manageable shortlist. Screening software automatically scans a CV for keywords and phrases selected by the recruiter.
The software determines the closeness of the match between the CV’s content and the job’s requirements. Well-designed keywords and phrases can result in precision-targeted screening and, being computerised, there is no possibility of personal bias.
Video interviewing
Assessing candidates before submitting them for a client interview is an essential part of the recruitment business. However, arranging personal meetings can be difficult, especially when many candidates are in existing employment.
Using a web video service, such as Skype, not only helps you get to know a candidate, it is quick to arrange and can convey so much more than a CV alone, and it enables you to assess their demeanour and interpersonal skills in a way that would not be possible over the telephone.
Cloud technology
The storage and sharing of information is made much easier with a cloud-based system such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Large files, such as candidate videos and client presentations, can be distributed to designated recipients with effortless efficiency.
Candidate portals
Including a candidate portal feature on your website that can only be accessed by authorised users allows candidates to keep their CV and contact details up-to-date. It will also give you the opportunity to suggest job alerts they can register for and monitor their activities when they visit your site.
Recruitment companies that fail to keep pace with modern technology and the new tools it brings to the industry will lose the best clients and candidates to their competitors. This is especially true where the under-30s are concerned, who tend to be the most enthusiastic users of new technology.
About the Author:
Frances West is Director at Westtek …
At Westtek, we knew that significant change was needed if business owners and directors were to experience the real benefits of IT. You want technology to work for your business, not the other way round!
Westtek have redefined the concept and delivery of IT around what is really important to you. With our services, IT and telecoms become business enablers, not drivers. We provide proactive management and maintenance of your systems and are continually developing our monitoring and management capability to improve this further.
In everything we do, we want our clients’ systems to work so well that they do not need to call us for support, only for advice and guidance as their business needs grow and evolve.
We work across London and the South East with a particular focus on Hertfordshire and Middlesex, with specialist skills covering Recruitment, Legal, Accounting & Finance as well as Educational organisations.
If you would like more tips and or advice on how to improve your IT systems to reduce productivity loss and frustration, please contact us on 0203 195 0555 or help@westtek.co.uk