Quintessential Careers Press: The Quintessential Guide to Job-Hunting on the Internet Part II: Job-search Foundations Chapter 4: The Changing Face of Employment Recruiting Page 13 Even as far back as 2003, the Global 500 corporate Web sites that included career centers represented 94 percent of European-based companies, 96 percent of Asia-Pacific-based companies and 96 percent of North American-based companies, reported iLogos Research in its Global 500 Website Recruiting, 2003 Survey. In certain industries, such as wholesale and transportation, 100 percent of Global 500 firms recruited online. We can therefore speculate that close to 100 percent of corporate Web sites now have career centers, and the near-total adoption of corporate Web site recruiting by the Global 500 indicates the Internet is the accepted medium to attract new talent, iLogos reported. Online recruiting has become nearly ubiquitous. There's a good reason employers are investing their recruiting dollars online. Just a few years ago, company or recruiter had to spend $5 to $7 to discover a candidate's availability. Now finding a candidate costs only 2 to 3 cents through electronic sourcing, according to a panelist at the 2004 Kennedy Recruiting Conference. Technology has also made it much easier for employers to Recruit, screen, and hire candidates. Applicant tracking software places job-seeker applications and resumes into keyword-searchable databases so employers can narrow down the field by performing a simple electronic search instead of wading through stacks of paper resumes. Just as the process has become much easier for employers, it also now is significantly simpler for job-seekers to apply for jobs electronically compared to the days when they had to send resumes through postal mail. But the very technology that has eased the burden for both job-seekers and employers has resulted in overwhelmed employers and frustrated job-seekers. The ease of submitting applications contributes to some of the frustrations because of the sheer volume of job-seekers submitting resumes to the sites. "The crush of resumes has muted the ability of hiring manager to effectively respond," wrote career advice columnist Joyce Lain Kennedy. Victor Godinez affirmed this point in The Dallas Morning News. Quoting Lawrence Stuenkel, senior partner of outplacement firm Lawrence & Allen in South Carolina, Godinez wrote: "Machine-gunning résumés across Internet job boards is unlikely to result in a response from an employer anymore ... there are about 80 million résumés floating around on the Web." While the downside of applicant tracking systems includes the lack of the human touch in recruiting, job-seekers should probably recognize that these automated systems are a necessary evil for employers. In an era when employers are inundated with resumes -- sometimes thousands for a single opening and tens of thousands a month -- these impersonal applicant tracking systems are a cost-effective necessity. Previous Page Next Page Back to Internet Job-Hunting Index Page