The recruitment process has undergone a transformation with the emergence of online startups in this space. While the methods used by traditional players led to some sort of stagnation, the online players have used technology to improve the process. But this has not been without its challenges.

Inbound hiring involves an organization placing an advertisement for a particular post and candidates responding to the advertisement. This can be a time consuming process. Outbound hiring is all about sourcing a suitable candidate for a particular post. In the digital era, outbound hiring is proving to be disruptive and a threat to traditional forms of recruiting. Here’s how both inbound hiring and outbound hiring can co-exist.

Which is better: Outbound or inbound hiring?

Earlier the online space was dominated by a few portals that used ingenuous methods to shore up their revenue by providing value added services to candidates and employers. These portals also badgered those who had uploaded their resumes to opt for premium services.  

New age experts opine that outbound hiring has a clear edge over inbound hiring when jobs are getting automated and demand for specialist jobs outstrips the supply. Technology-enabled recruiting firms claim that they can use data algorithms for understanding human behavior. For instance, what motivates a prospective job candidate to change his job? In the absence of substantiating data that algorithms have chosen the right talent, claims will continue to remain claims.

Inbound hiring necessitates browsing through many profiles before a suitable match is found. Outbound hiring relies on focusing on most promising targets and a greater level of personal engagement with the prospective candidate. This also means that outbound hiring places greater control in the hands of the recruiter. While outbound hiring firms claim that resumes can no longer be relied upon as data may be fudged, the fact remains that a resume continues to be a window to know more about a candidate’s experience. There is also no assurance that positive recommendations about candidates on social media platforms depict the reality.

Outbound hiring has proved useful in hiring tech talent like data scientists, UI/UX designers, software solution architects along with recruiting people in functional domains of sales, marketing and operations.

Inbound hiring suffers from the malaise of sending stock emails to prospective candidates putting them off. Outbound hiring is all about sending a targeted, personalized email to the prospective hire and following certain email etiquette.  Here data is culled from social networking sites and communities and attempt is made to match the data with the requirement.

Scouting the right fit - a challenging proposition

Whatever be the method chosen, finding the right candidate (with the right DNA) for a company can be as taxing as it can be rewarding. The exit of an employee from an organization and death of a person can never be forecast – other things remaining the same. 

I recollect an instance when a high-flying purchasing professional working in a reputed pharmaceutical firm was actively seeking a change in his job. The candidate went to the extent of expressing his desire to join a particular pharmaceutical company. After the offer letter was given, the candidate backed out at the last minute citing personal reasons. His wife did not want him to be on probation for six months.

Complexity in recruitment has often become intractable. A recruiter may work for a whole month and yet a single candidate may not be placed.

Inbound hiring or outbound hiring, recruiters have to get complete information from clients about the job opening. For instance, is the vacancy due to business expansion? Is it because of retirement of an employee or resignation of an employee? It is also vital to learn why the organization has not identified inhouse talent. 

Close interaction with decision makers on recruitment by recruiters will result in locating right candidates - at every stage, the decision should involve the client and only with his consent, a candidate can be recommended.