Make sure you stay the cutting edge of your field—that tends to be sound advice pretty much everywhere. At least it can be said that you seldom hear vocational counselors advise anyone to fall behind prevailing trends.
Yet, as with so much advice of this nature, the devil is in the details. What can you do, exactly, to stay at the front of the recruiting pack? Here are a few simple suggestions for today’s enterprising recruiter.
Watch Webinars – Web seminars and conferences are becoming increasingly popular as technological advances make these events more easily accessible (and less prone to glitches). Certainly, it wouldn’t hurt to sit through a webinar or two regarding current trends in recruiting, but don’t just stop there.
Think outside the box—what kinds of webinars are relevant to one or more aspects of your job? For example, if you often recruit for a specific industry, then you should seek out webinars dealing with this field.
Attend Industry Events – You can learn a lot while in front of your computer but, as a recruiter, you’re surely aware of the importance of face-to-face interaction. That’s one reason why it’s a good idea to hit the road on occasion and mingle with like-minded individuals in your line of work.
Recruiting industry events give you a great opportunity to network with others in the field. Aside from offering a setting where you can collect some business cards, these types of events also often include various other attractions, such as keynote speeches from industry notables.
Use the Right Software – It can’t be emphasized too often that recruiting has gotten well past its pencil-and-paper origins. You need to keep abreast with contemporary technology—and there’s more to that than just having the latest iPhone in your pocket.
Applicant tracking software can provide invaluable tools and resources when it comes to communicating with candidates, searching through social media, posting job listings online, storing resumes, and coordinating the various players involved in your team’s recruiting enterprise.
To get the maximum benefit from your ATS applicant tracking system, you should use software that is optimized for mobile use—giving you on-the-go access as needed—and designed for cloud-computing capability.