Traditional Search Firms Are Going To Be Extinct, Whatever Part 2

Earlier this year I was a little annoyed with the prediction of a national search firm how they were going to revolutionize (my word not theirs) with their new fee structure and posted Traditional Search Firms Are Going To Be Extinct, Whatever.

   

Today there is this post from Shally Steckerl of Job Machine fame (and others), Are Recruiters Going the Way of the Dinosaurs?

   

Fortunately rather than get dismissive like I did Shally has some great points on how he sees corporate recruiting (and I believe this translates well for us search firm folks) becoming more specialized.

   

I am sticking with my original thought that there will be some market changes (pricing and technology) and that some of our recruiting colleagues may go out like the dinosaurs and some of us will be more like crocodiles and stick around.

   

   

Click Recruiting for more posts on the topic and MN Headhunter for the latest blog posts

Comments

[Jason Davis]

But when at the end of the day, nothing seems to work, who are they gonna call.

[Shally]

I totally agree! Neither recrutiers nor staffing firms will become extinct. We will both adapt, specialize, and grow our practices as demand for talent increases. Search firms have an advantage in the strenght of relationship they can build. For example, a corporate recruiter can only build relationships with candidates in the context of the particular employer they are currently representing, but staffing firms are able to represent a strong candidate with multiple clients until they find the right fit. That's just one example. I see no way that a robot or some other transactional construct will commoditize human talent. Yes, firms can come up with new product that help them sell their business model but there is no "single solution" that will ever end all of our careers.

[Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com]

If you look at almost any industry, it is the largest and the smallest who survive and thrive. The mid-sized firms which are neither large enough to command market power nor small enough to be nimble are the firms which are squeezed out.

Recruiting firms should be no different. Small recruiting firms with small overhead should be able to survive and thrive by offering superb, personal service and adaptability. Big recruiting firms should be able to survive and thrive by being able to throw a lot of resources at a recruiting problem. Mid-sized firms have few if any competitive advantages as they're not large enough to beat the big recruiting firms at their game yet they're also not small enough to beat the small firms at their game.

Too many business owners and consultants preach growth at all cost yet fail to recognize that they if they grow they need to grow properly or they will grow themselves out of business. If they grow to dominate their niche, great. But if they grow into multiple niches without dominating any, not so good.