The Continuing Case for Re-Humanizing Executive Search
When we first started Weller & Company back in 2010 we had a vision to bring some humanity to a search industry that had become impersonal and transactional. Our vision was to have a company that railed against the things that gave recruiters a bad name. That’s why we adopted the tagline: re-Humanizing Executive Search. We stand by that vision and practice it in each of our searches. Based on feedback from both candidates and clients we are proud to have been able to uphold that promise.
Today, more than ever, we continue to bring humanity and a personal touch to the talent acquisition process. The search industry is the same as it ever was: highly transactional and impersonal. Passing through resumes and candidates by the thousands in hopes of getting a few placements. Rarely do you find a search company that recognizes that there are actual people with hopes and dreams connected to those resumes. Unfortunately, this transactional and impersonal way of filling positions is being practiced by many companies.
In recent years more and more companies have implemented talent acquisition strategies that rely on using AI powered applicant tracking systems (ATS). ATS use algorithms to search and filter resumes and profiles based on specific job criteria. These systems have promised to streamline the TA process, increase efficiency and lower acquisition costs. The main issue is that this technology has outpaced the technical savvy of job seekers. Many job seekers don’t realize that they may need to rewrite their entire resume so it isn’t filtered out by the algorithm in initial screening. Some may not realize that a person may never look at their resume. As such, highly qualified candidates who may use either an economy of words or the wrong words to describe their experience will get rejected. Companies miss out on this talent and job seekers get frustrated.
To avoid this two sided issue we make it a point to use broad search criteria when looking for candidates. This gives us the opportunity to put two eyes on all the search results. We, more than any algorithm, understand that buzz words don’t equate to competence. We appreciate a concise description of a person’s experience. And, if we want more information, we can just contact the candidate. Does this take time? Yes. Is it worth it? Definitely. The relationships we create with our candidates (even the ones who don’t qualify for a specific job) are extremely valuable. We are able to better understand the marketplace, evaluate trends in compensation and benefit requirements and grow our network.
Technology has made the job search process easier than ever for job seekers. They have thousands of openings at their finger tips via LinkedIn, Indeed and other job boards. On the other side of the equation, Talent Acquisition teams have access to millions of job seekers and their work histories. The issue is that we don’t see results because of the technological disconnection between TA teams and job seekers. The solution is one that we have advocated since the beginning: Bring a personal touch back to talent acquisition - re-humanize executive search.