Networking no longer working? The evolution of recruitment.

Remember the days before the internet. No. Neither do I. But once upon a time, to staff a role, we would put up an ad on a piece of paper on a job board. Or for those harder to staff roles, draw on our network. This is what made you a successful HR manager. But in modern times with the internet connecting us all. With 6 degrees of separation feeling very close. Does networking still work?

You may think the internet is a blessing for a HR manager. It allows you to maintain connections with a greater number of potential employees. And this is very true. For you, for me and for everybody else.

Suddenly, we have greater competition for qualified candidates. As they can easily maintain a relationship with you and every other recruiter. Networking works both ways. So what sets you apart? How can you win in this digitally interconnected world?

While there will always be a place for personal connections. To staff with the very best candidates, it’s time to meet new people. And the best way to do this, is use the reach of the internet. Over 6 million adults are on the internet in Tanzania. That is 6 million potential employees.

To reach them, you decide to create a jobs page on your website. But after much fighting with IT to get the page published, it’s still not what you want and doesn’t generate the number of application you need.

And so, you post the job ad on Facebook or Twitter and link it to your jobs page. This helps, but you’re still not reaching the number people need. So what now?

This is when we turn to job websites. These portals do nothing else except foster engagement with jobseekers. They are hubs for career advice and conveniently aggregate all job ads for their community. For years, these websites have been our best friends as HR managers. They gave us the reach to find the candidates we want. But they give the same to other employers. So how do you stand out in the crowd to the candidates you want to attract.

It’s all about the details. While posting an ad may seems to be a tedious part of your job. You must remember, this is your first impression on a jobseeker. It sets their expectations, the tone of the conversation and is what they will make the decision on whether to apply to your company or not.

It is up to these portals to make posting a job ad with all the important details easy. Giving me the right options and guide me through the types of information which is critical for a jobseeker. To allow me to make the ad branded with a company logo.

One jobs website, BrighterMonday, is leading the pack. They have just upgraded their employer center. Revamping the workflow to quickly and easily enter all the details of your job ad.

With this information, job seekers can filter and compare “apples to apples”. Jobs in the same industry, with similar experience level requirements. BrighterMonday give me the power to make my job ad shine to these candidates who know what they want. Getting more qualified job seekers to apply for my role.

Plus, there’s job applicant management built in, so all candidate details are conveniently stored in one place. No more loosing applications in my email inbox.

This is the new networking. Rather than knowing a friend of a friend, I know all qualified job seekers in Kenya and can speak to them in jobs portal. Even classify them into candidate pools for future roles that may come up.

If you haven't checked it out for a while, do so! If you’re using it, what do you think.

Here is the video:

BrighterMonday's New Employer Centre