The Solution for Improving Recruiting; Today’s Job Seekers May Not Like It

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That the talent acquisition process is dysfunctional is not in dispute, at least if you listen to job applicants who endure its indignities and corporate and search firm recruiters who know but won’t publicly say because “You don’t bite the hand that feeds.”

Our first post in this issue focused on common themes and examples of this dysfunction. Now, I am going to offer some ideas on how the process can be improved for job seekers – within two to three years, possibly sooner

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There are three areas for focus:

1.???? Poor communication

2.??? Frustration with automation, primarily existing Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Applicants frequently call ATS the applicant tossing system because so many submissions are never seen by human eyes.

3.??? Lack of transparency

To say that today’s Talent Acquisition Process is frustrating to job seekers would be a monumental understatement. Their frustrations and criticism go largely ignored.? The industry’s “If it’s not broke don’t fix it” arrogance is breathtaking.? There is no motivation for reform because CEOs love to play the popular plausible deniability game that seems to serve them well, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

In the interest of self-disclosure: If you did not read my early post in today’s newsletter, I spent 27 years in executive search.? In addition to a busy practice in the US – I worked in 28 different states – I also recruited in six countries on four continents.? While I tried to introduce some innovation to the process, including videos, in-depth background screening, culture mapping, and extended placement guarantees to strengthen accountability, and most of my clients loved our process, the industry responded with a collective and indifferent yawn.?

Today though, it may be the one thing applicants hate that will be the enabler of change:? AI automation. But given the automation horror stories you hear at online job search meetups, that doesn’t seem likely. However, we may all learn that “unlikely” or another popular talent acquisition criticism, “Not in my lifetime” is only a precursor for some extraordinarily rich irony.

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But first:

·????? Today, applicants can take up to 45 minutes, frequently longer, to customize their resume to align with the online job summary.? Frequently they are then required to fill out an online application capturing the same information contained in the resume, and some companies have preliminary online profile assessments.? Only then can you hit submit.??

“Several times I got error messages and had to start over, and frequently you do not even get a confirmation message that they have received your application,” a Houston healthcare executive explained.?

A Cincinnati hospital’s HR telephone answering system advised applicants they would not receive confirmation messages.? Apparently, their ATS did not include that option. A variation of Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

You go to the effort, but you may never hear anything from the employer.? Ever. Given that there is a cause-effect relationship between the poor recruiting processes and the deadly low employee engagement scores, maybe it is time to hit the radical solution button.

Gerry Crispin of New York, an author and long-time recruitment executive, poses this scenario to improve the process for applicants:

You apply on a company’s website or through their LinkedIn recruitment posting.? “Apply online” in Gerry’s scenario simply means to express an interest in the job and affirm you meet the requirements. Quick and simple. Almost immediately you are contacted by the employer thanking you for your interest. You get options (some of which I have expanded on):

1.???? If you are ready and prepared, we can interview you now.? As in immediately.

2.??? If you need time to prepare, schedule a time that is convenient for you. Including nights or on weekends. Use your local time zone.?

3.??? You are assured that the person interviewing you is thoroughly briefed on the position and the expertise that is required.?

4.??? The person interviewing you will be bilingual so your primary language will be fine.

5.??? If you are hearing impaired, you can be easily accommodated.

6.??? You will be provided feedback within a short time, a matter of days, weeks months, or as is most often the case, N E V E R.

Full stop:?? what company has a talent acquisition team with people like this?

No one.? Who said the interview would be conducted by an actual human?

The pace of AI development is now at the speed of light, and much of this voice recognition technology already exists. ?At first, you may detect a Siri-like quality of speech, but in five years, you probably will not be able to tell you are being interviewed by a knowledgeable, engaging BOT.

Check back.? This AAI talent acquisition show is just getting started.? If you are uncomfortable with change, I can refer you to a memorable line from actress Betty Davis in the 1950 movie All About Eve, “Fasten your seat belts, it is going to be a bumpy night.”

Join us for OFFICE+ HOURS, a group career/.job search coaching meeting at 4:30 PM CT on Wednesdays for information and insight on how to manage your career and accelerate your job search. ?YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

CareerLIVE is at 7:30 AM CT on Thursday and YourCAREER streams at 11:00 AM CT On Fridays

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