'Corner Office': Internet Pros and Cons

April 21, 2004 -- The Web will speed up your recruiting process and save costs, but will it help you find the best candidate?

Pros

Saves time. One hospital cut 18 days from the average time to fill jobs. And some recruiters were able to connect with candidates within 10 minutes of their entry into the hospital's computer system.

Saves money. The average cost per hire using the Internet is $377, versus $3,295 using traditional media.

Extends the scope of your search. You're no longer limited to reaching readers of the local newspaper.

Offers greater control. Free yourself from the tyranny of newspaper deadlines. Enter the data yourself and avoid finding typos in your phone number. Doesn't limit your recruiting efforts to regular business hours.

Allows better searches of your applicant pool. Electronic records are much easier to sort than stacks of paper.

Helps candidates know more. Ideally, candidates can use the Internet to learn about your organization, business results, corporate culture and more. Theoretically, the candidates who apply at that point are pre-sold on the company.

Makes the hiring process virtually paperless.

Cons

Shortens hiring time. Applicants using the Internet expect an almost immediate response to their application. And they won't tolerate a protracted interview process. You'll have to move quickly to get the best candidates.

Extends the scope of your search. There are currently more than 100,000 Internet sites that have job listings, and more than 2.5 million resumes posted publicly. In addition, there are more than 600,000 available jobs online. That means that you should be prepared to get resumes from all over the world, whether or not you're in a position to hire from abroad. And it means that it'll be tough to call attention to your open job.

Increases the volume of responses to an opening. Without a computerized tracking system, keeping up with the volume can be overwhelming.

Isn't always current. Many of the resumes online are dated. Some sites have begun purging and cleaning to correct this, but you should still pay attention to how long resumes have been posted.

Not an effective way to reach passive job seekers. Even less likely than the newspaper to be browsed casually.

Not an effective way to recruit for entry-level jobs or jobs requiring minimal experience or skills.

May increase the number of vendors you're managing. Each site has its own rules, pricing, processes and so forth. How many do you want to learn?

Overemphasizes skills. Most people succeed or fail in jobs based on their interpersonal competencies, not on job skills. Yet Internet recruiting usually hinges on keywords and other data bytes, which make it tough to assess for anything except skills.

Bob Rosner is co-author of The Boss's Survival Guide (McGraw-Hill, 2001), along with Allan Halcrow, former editor of Workforce Magazine and Alan Levins, senior partner of San Francisco-based employer law firm Littler Mendelson. Rosner is founder of award-winning workingwounded.com. Fax him at (206) 780-4353, and e-mail bob@workingwounded.com.