CareerBuilder’s 20th anniversary is this September, and as anybody in the staffing and recruiting industry can attest: Things have changed a lot since 1995. “I started on a Selectric II typewriter and carbon copy contracts. My first boss handed me a roll of quarters for the phone both and a stack of index cards as we did not have an office yet,” says one respondent to CareerBuilder’s quarterly Pulse survey.*
Since then, the industry has seen a major overhaul as technology—and clients—have become more savvy and accessible due to the Internet, innovative software and great people like you. In order to keep moving forward, let’s take a look back at the past 20 years, and why we work in staffing and recruiting.
Because we love helping people
DJ Monnat, vice president at Starrtrax, says, “My most memorable moment has been the response from someone I found on CareerBuilder for [an engineering] job I was working in New Jersey. The candidate was an engineer in his former home country. He was working a very low-level job in the U.S.—not at all with his degree. We saw his value—both myself and client. They interviewed, he was hired and he is still employed and actually moving up in the firm after two years. He has traveled internationally for them. I have learned to read the resume and recognize the value of the document—not simply a keyword search. He and I are still in touch and he thanked me for changing his life. What a great feeling.”
Monnat’s point that a resume is more than keywords and a job seeker is more than a resume is the attitude that great staffers and recruiters have, and something that hasn’t changed. Another survey respondent says, “I found a candidate a position after being out of work for over a year during the recession. His unemployment was running out, he felt he was out of hope. When I called him with the offer he was in the car and said ‘Hang on a minute.’ I thought he was pulling over to talk, then I realized he was crying tears of joy and relief. That’s why I love my job—I get to make positive impacts in the lives of the candidates and client we connect with every day.”
Because technology is getting better
When asked what key areas have changed the most since starting in the industry, 39 per cent of respondents pointed to recruiter efficiency due to better job distribution, improved candidate search methods, and similar advances. Close behind (with 31 per cent of respondents) was the use of data and analytics in sourcing, developing strategy, better understanding metrics and ROI. Also important was the improvement in client and candidate experience through more effective career sites and application and candidate re-engagement processes, according to 19 per cent of respondents.
Those data points are making a big impact on business and how organizations invest in their human resources efforts. One respondent says, “Customers are very knowledgeable now with staffing; much more understanding of how we impact their bottom line.”
Because we’re finding new ways to do a better job, too
Nearly half (46 per cent) of those in the staffing industry say that continuing to work to improve their client and candidate experience will be key to their future success—underlining that staffing is a people business, and as we work to do a better job, that includes ensuring that we’re easy to do business with through efforts like easy-to-use technology and client/candidate support.
We’re also able to give more time to our clients and candidates when our routine responsibilities become more efficient. When asked what changes will be most important to embrace in your day-to-day process in order to be successful in the industry, after candidate experience, 38 per cent of respondents cited using staffing software and technology to become more efficient. Twelve per cent added that using data and analytics to make decisions is essential, which means technology and data are revolutionary resources to inform our decisions, but how we use that data in ways to fill positions quickly, as well as interact with clients and candidates, is what will determine our future success. Perhaps one respondent said it best: “Using predictive technology to capture candidates before they decide to leave is a big deal. Who’s spending time looking at CareerBuilder but not applying to anything yet? That’s who I want to talk to.”
*Responses and survey statistics pulled from the Q3 2015 CareerBuilder Pulse survey, which was conducted in the second quarter of 2015 of more than 400 staffing industry professionals from across the nation. If you would like to participate in future research efforts, contact us at staffing@careerbuilder.com.
Join CareerBuilder as we discuss how recruitment has changed over the past 20 years – and as we plan for the next 20. Walk away inspired to better the candidate experience, improve recruiter efficiency, and use data to move our industry forward at Empower 2015. Learn more about Empower 2015.