Hiring Managers Are Networking - and Recruiters Are the Worms !!

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Was reading eWeeks’ “Help wanted: A mix of skills” article in their July 17th edition… and in this article was a statement from Tom Miller, Senior Director of IT at Fax-Hollow Technologies in Redwood City.  Tom Miller was quoted as saying:

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' b/ M' E6 O4 W: b" _3 y8 N“Over 90 percent of our hiring is through an informal network of people that I’ve either worked with previously or other people in the group have worked with.  So we rarely have to go out through recruiters… Monster, Dice…or any of those traditional job boards.”

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If all managers worked to build their own professional network…

( _8 N4 M: h9 Y4 M* tDoes that mean that there would be the end of recruiting as we know it today ??



5 D& @( O& p: D, a7 R8 `For some recruiters out there – I would find this a significant risk in the future of my career.  I’m lucky – I’m in Technology…  Most techies I know have the social skills of a door mate – and have to make a conscious effort to keep their fingers out of their nose or their pants (that’s the male techies… which make up a significant majority of the prospective candidates I talk with.)
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8 U7 o9 a. Z  HI’m a HUGE advocate of networking and believe that every effective manage should be REQUIRED to build, nurture, cultivate and harvest a professional network, clientele and prospective co-workers and subordinates – through academic organizations, industry associations, establish networking channels – and perhaps even create your own grass-roots, industry relevant posse – interested in building the future of your vertical industry or technology.  Strategic partnerships, passive employment candidates, technology and moral / ethical standards establishment are just a few things that can come from creating such a networking venue… (which – by the way – is no easy task, even with the assistance of the Internet.)


6 }' f  W# U- e8 m7 ^2 h& ZAn effective recruiter knows how to network among the prospects he or she is trying to recruit…
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  D7 z4 ^+ y( R# r9 Y; s8 X“if you want to fish, you need to go to where the fish are – NOT just to water”…

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Recruiting is so much more than just simply searching Monster or DICE for resumes.  Having your thumb on the pulse of what the labor force is all about – is what recruiting is all about.  We’re public relations for both the prospective employer as well as the general work force and their demands, salary expectations, career progression, etc. – and an effective recruiter is responsible to administrating the meeting of these two needs: one to fill an employment requirement, the other to find employment and progress in a career.
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Using the “fishing scenario” – the employer is the fisherman and the candidate is the fish…  Guess you can say that recruiters are the worms… (due to some unethical and immoral practices in our industry – unfortunately, I’ve heard “headhunters” referred to a lot worse.)

I get invited to many, many networking and company product demonstrations in this wonderful city of San Francisco…  Fantastic places… Fantastic Food and Beverages… great people and great places to network and meet new people…. Forget prospective candidates… “Any single managers out there ?” (and they wonder why they can't get a date...)
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Trying to get a hiring manager to accompany me to one of these fun events – reminds me of the old cartoons where the caveman would club the female over the head and drag them back to the cave…  and if they do attend, I've got to make sure not only that it was productive - but that they had a great time as well.

1 n4 Y! H: |6 v+ K8 @7 y Serious managers will recognize, nurture and cultivate networking opportunities and events like these… and having a recruiter right by you when you’re doing it – is the best way to effectively reel in the “big fish”.