UK Online Recruitment
Up until September last year, the trajectory for the UK online recruitment sector, was such that 2009 was going to be a year of re-invention, technological advances, and a definite progression to a more sophisticated industry. These development plans were already being implemented by some major sites, including Jobsite, Monster, and S1Jobs. However, many of these ambitious plans have now been delayed, in favour of strategies to a) Stay in business b) Maintain market share in a falling market and c) See off competition wherever possible. The current financial climate is both a great threat, and a fantastic opportunity, and everyone is rewriting their 2009 business plan accordingly. It’s going to be difficult now, for any firm to predict what they’ll be doing in the third and fourth quarters.
The apparent “hacking” of the Monster candidate database, whilst embarrassing, is a bit of a red-herring. There is no greater danger to candidates as a result of this. Candidates register with all job boards, knowing full well that their CV will then be seen by any client of that website. They should be warned not to include sensitive data, such as passport, National Insurance and driving license numbers. Unless job boards start vetting their clients, then all CV data must be considered to be accessible to all, and job seekers need to know this.
The AlljobsUK.com Online Recruitment Index has accurately gauged the rise and fall of online vacancy volumes since August 2000. At the turn of the year, it plummeted to 823.33, its lowest figure since July 2003. With unemployment rising fast, and the volume of advertised vacancies so low, the ratio of candidates to jobs has dramatically altered. However, this means greater numbers of irrelevant candidates, and inappropriate applications, which are giving job boards and individual recruiters the arduous task of screening them. Frankly, this means that recruiters will be focusing solely on placeable, viable candidates.
In their own way, social networking sites, like Linkedin, are simply different types of job boards, but can echo the methods traditionally used for headhunting. In this climate, headhunting (or simply sourcing candidates directly) is being employed much more, as the squeeze is put on advertising costs, and the routes to suitable candidates multiply. The best job boards are themselves developing much more sophisticated means of staying close to job seekers, and integrating with their career development.
I believe that the development of the CV searching facility via Broadbean will be the biggest evolution in online recruitment this year. The ability to search the CV databases of multiple job boards will mean that Broadbean will become a feature of every recruiter’s day. In dramatically cutting down on the time taken to search job boards, the skill of each individual recruiter can be focused on identifying the best possible candidates much more effectively and efficiently.
In an ideal world, there would only be one job board, where all candidates could search and apply for every advertised vacancy. Back in the real world, we know that this is an extremely competitive, where job seekers, recruiters and employers need to decide which job board best meets their needs. Dedicated Job Search Engines, like 1Job, can help candidates search many sites at once. Advert distribution services like Broadbean can greatly reduce the effort involved in posting job adverts. However, the best bet for disintermediation in this sector, lies with the expected mergers and acquisitions that will surely take place this year, as some companies struggle to stay afloat in a tightening market. In our sector, 1Job.co.uk differentiates itself by keeping it simple and delivering on our commitment to clients.
Stephen O’Donnell – AllJobsUK
