A complicated procedure for a relatively simple process, vendor management systems are the Rube Goldberg machines of today's recruiting industry.  Instead of connecting with a hiring manager via a phone call or email, recruiters work with all of the over-done levers and pulleys of VMS Systems to get job orders and submit candidates.

The implications have been big:

Companies - VMS systems let companies access large candidate pools, however the candidate pool is often shallow. Skill sets are matched, but because there are too many candidates to screen and interview, candidates who look good on paper end up clashing with company culture. In worst-case scenarios, turnovers increase, employee loyalty decreases, and it becomes increasingly difficult for companies to retain talented, innovative employees.

Candidates – VMS boards eliminate simple communication between third party recruiters and hiring managers, as well as candidates.  There is little to no feedback throughout the entire hiring process.  Resumes, however, become more important than ever. Candidates compete with each other by being the most compatible person on paper. In addition, standardized rates enforced by vendor management systems put more experienced professionals at a disadvantage.

Hiring Managers - The number of candidates hiring managers need to choose from rises exponentially with every vendor submitting talent to the system. Time is spent filtering through the masses, rather than meeting one-on-one with third party recruiters to assess the type of person and skills the company really needs.

Third Party Recruiters - The lack of direct communication with hiring managers drastically levels the competition between third party recruiters. In the past, the ability to screen, interview, and sell candidates to a hiring manager was key in making placements. Now, more emphasis is placed on the mechanics of the recruiting process. The recruiter who can get the best matched resume to the hiring manager first is the “winner.”

The Workaround - Fortunately, some hiring managers have chosen not to accept the ho-hum results they get from VMS-procured talent. Instead of using this clumsy system with it’s over-abundance of procedures, hiring managers skip the VMS, and work with recruiters to decide on candidates before jobs are even posted. As a formality, jobs are posted and the recruiters submit pre-determined candidates.

While many of us may wish the whole system could be scrapped,  a large number of companies have invested in VMS systems, and they are not going to disappear anytime soon.  In the future, recruiters and hiring managers need to work together with corporations to achieve a more harmonious balance between technology and the human element.

But you probably want a solution for right now...

A Solution

VMS Sync, from Sendouts, pulls job orders from the VMS systems you work with to your Sendouts database. No more copying and pasting means that you can begin working job orders instantly, and fill them faster.

In addition, VMS Sync features a split-screen view that allows users to easily drag and drop candidate fields into VMS submit forms.

Getting job orders into your database faster gives you more time to add the human element to hiring transactions.  Instead of manually parsing field after field into a database, you can be screening candidates, conducting interviews, and connecting with hiring managers.

No other ATS has a solution quite like it. Learn more about how Sendouts VMS Sync can help you overcome VMS challenges.

Today we’re releasing some big things for companies with big goals. Our latest version (8.7) is geared towards companies that want to solve the problems of working with VMS boards and defining their firm’s individual process. Of course I’m talking about our new VMS Sync and Business Rules Engine, both of which help solve these problems and make it easier than ever to focus on recruiting and leave the mundane, boring stuff to your ATS.

Lets take a look at these two in a bit more depth:

VMS Sync

We’ve been listening and have built a great new tool for pulling down job orders from your VMS of choice. Our brand new VMS Sync automatically adds the latest job orders directly to Sendouts and let’s you and your crew start working right away, eliminating copy/paste and more importantly reducing the time it takes to get VMS jobs into your system. We’re really excited about this and we think our users will be too.

Business Rules Engine

Ok, we know it sounds boring, but the Business Rules Engine is completely unique in in the recruiting software space. Essentially it helps recruiting firms build rules that are as complex or simple as they need. Larger firms in particular will find this tool extremely valuable. It’s infinitely complex or infinitely simple as can be imagined. For more examples of just some of the capabilities of our business rules engine, travel on over to this link.

Along with the VMS Sync and Business Rules Engine we’re releasing the WebConnect API and Custom Reporting Tool ^beta to help firms with larger needs build their own job search and posting applications and custom reports right in Sendouts. You can take a look at all the new tools by clicking here.

Sift through job orders before investing your time in a fruitless chase.

Maybe you want to bill a million dollars, or maybe you want to be able to take five weeks of vacation this year.  Taking extra time upfront to qualify job orders can help you reach your business goals.  Don’t waste time hunting for mythical candidates, or trying to fill job orders that don’t really exist.  Be picky about the searches you take on and begin filling jobs more consistently.

In the age of mobile & social recruiting there will always be tools you can use to meet your goals.  However, it’s easy to get lost in technology and lose sight of the bigger picture.  When qualifying job orders, a good strategy begins with valuable conversation and is backed-up by technology.

11 Ways You Can Qualify Your Next Job Order

1.  Candidate Availability

Does a candidate for the opening potentially exist?  Will you have a big enough candidate pool to provide your client with a match?

Qualifying job orders is just one more reason why it is valuable for recruiters to carve out a niche.  When you are an expert in an industry, you should have a pretty good idea if a particular skill set is easy or difficult to come by.  In addition to industry knowledge, you can also perform a quick search in your ATS to get a feel for what your internal candidate pool has been like for the position.  If you need to go a step further, you can consult with industry blogs and tools like LinkedIn to help gauge if your candidate may actually be out there.

Tools:  Industry Blogs, LinkedIn, ATS

2.  Priority

How big of a priority is it that the client fills the position?

Determining urgency begins with a simple question to the client.  However, assessing a client’s answer is not always easy.  Hesitancy or an obscure answer is a red flag that filling the position is not a priority for your client.  If you are lucky enough to have a client tell you that they need the position filled immediately, take their response with a grain of salt.  Use prior experience with the client, tap into your recruiting network, and use follow-up calls to assess if the job order continues to be worth pursuing.  Are they really desperate to fill the position, or are they just trying to get you off the phone?

Tools: Conversation, Your Network

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Netflix Prices on the Rise - Are You Raising Your Recruiting Fees Too?

Netflix is raising the price of renting DVDs through the mail by 60% – and customers are none too happy about it.  The announcement of the price increase has the web all a-twitter with thousands of complaints on Facebook and other websites.

What used to be a $10 monthly fee to rent physical DVDs in addition to online streaming will now cost customers $16 a month.  Customers can still subscribe to the streaming service only for $8 a month.  This change in price structure will undoubtedly push consumers toward online streaming options, following trends in the entertainment market.  Netflix is confident that people who rely on DVDs will continue to shell out the cash, and while it is a move to increase revenue, it is also a move to phase out physicial DVDs and set up Netflix as a top contender in streaming video.

As the economy stabilizes, should recruiters begin raising their fees as well?  It may have been a while since you raised your fees, or you may have even cut your fees to stay afloat in a floundering job market.  But is now the time to consider hiking up your fees?

Do you have a niche in the market? Like Netflix, when you have a great service, you can afford to raise your fees, no matter what the economic climate is.  Identify the services you offer that your clients cannot live without, and raise your fees accordingly.

Are you looking to phase out a service you offer? Perhaps there is a service your firm offers that presents more problems that the revenue is worth.  Charging premium fees for an out-dated service can help phase it out.  Then, you can focus on the real revenue generators, as well as the services you see being in demand in the future.  Plus, clients who really need a service that is falling by the way-side will be willing to pay for it.

What factors do you consider in raising your fees?  Will potential backlash from clients prevent you from making a strategic pricing move like Netflix did?

In the eyes of a college student, summer is that anticipated season of the year that liberates you from nine months of stuffy classrooms and piles of coursework. This year, however, I got a sinking feeling as I completed my last exam.  Ready or not, I had made the great leap from junior to senior year. I realized at that moment, that in less than 12 months I would graduate and begin work in the “real world.” I had to start thinking about the question that I had been simultaneously avoiding and attempting to answer since the start of college: How do I get my first job?

“Oh you don’t need to look for jobs because,” he paused to take a large sip of his martini, “they have a way of finding you.”

I posed this question to nearly every adult I have struck up a conversation with since early May, and the answers that I received vary wildly. One person said she called up the firm and simply asked for the job. Others were more enigmatic. “Oh you don’t need to look for jobs because,” he paused to take a large sip of his martini, “they have a way of finding you.”

There did appear to be a consensus on one piece of advice. One pearl of wisdom that echoed with everyone I spoke to was the importance of forming personal relationships. Although the necessity of networking may seem intuitive to someone who has been in the workforce, to me this came as a surprise. For the last ten years the school system has taught me that good grades are a top priority and indicative one’s intellectual abilities. While grades do matter when job searching, especially for the first employment, I have learned through my dialogues with seasoned job hunters that networking is equally important.

I have only taken the first few steps in the long journey that ends with a paycheck from my first official job, and I am not yet sure of my exact destination. At least now I know that networking, real or virtual, will provide me with an  avenue to reach that destination.

Remember landing your first job? Was it through someone you knew, did you answer a job ad, did you knock on doors?  While technology like job boards and social media have changed the tools used to look for work, are the fundamentals the same?  What advice can staffing and recruiting professionals share with Millennials, like me, who are looking to finally put their education to work for the first time?