Open Recruiting

Always on. That is what open recruiting is, a practice of interviewing people for your company, not a position. From what I see in the market, processes and people aren’t used to this.

Think about it: most companies want you to apply for a specific position. The recruiter and the hiring manager review your application and decide if they want to interview you and eventually hire you. If they don’t, they encourage you to continue watching the job board for other positions. In this requisition-based model of recruiting, the candidate is doing a lot of work. They have to monitor the job boards, try and figure out if their resume is presented in the best format for the position, write a compelling cover letter, talk to a recruiter, spend time with the hiring manager determining if it is a position they’re interested in, not get their hopes up too high, and then face the prospect that they will have to do it all over again when things don’t work out.

Meanwhile, the recruiter is reviewing the resumes and screening candidates; they are doing targeted research trying to find the perfect passive candidate; and, they are focused on what the hiring manager said they needed. They are doing a lot of work, hoping they can fill the need and move on to the next requisition.

Recruiting is about people. It’s a relationship, not a transaction. As a recruiter, you are performing an extremely valuable and honorable service, helping someone navigate one of life’s most stressful situations… getting a new job. For this reason, small businesses that implore an Open Recruiting model can have a significant competitive advantage over medium and large businesses.