My 2 cents: SEEK Talent Search as a recruitment tool.

Funny story:I received a voicemail message last week from an IT Recruiter, who happens to work for one of our biggest competitors in Perth. He left a message telling me about an awesome telesales/appointment setting role that he thought I’d be excellent for…Confused, I returned his call.First, Mr. Recruiter apologised as he didn’t recall giving me a ring. He then asked if  I knew what roles I’d applied for through his agency recently (I hadn’t). After some small talk, and even questioning me on whether I was sure he’d rung me, he said that he must have gotten my details from SEEK Talent Search. It all began to make sense. I probably was a good fit for the role.. nearly 3 years ago! Mr. Recruiter had gotten my details off my CV from early 2013 when I was working in telemarketing. He was very surprised to hear that I was actually a recruiter. In Perth. In his industry. Scrambling for the right words, I could hear the realisation that he’d called and left details for a direct competitor about a role he’s working on. Oops.The conversation ended soon after on a very nice note – no harm done.SEEK’s Talent Search product kicked off this year and appears to be marketed as a candidate data powerhouse…Question: When was the last time you logged on to SEEK and updated your captured profile information? Please comment and tell me as I’d be genuinely interested to know. It’s been at least 2 years since I have. I just asked my colleague and she said nearly 10.Next question: When was the last time you updated your LinkedIn profile? I updated mine last week. Today I swept through 20+ updates made by my connections. I’m willing to bet they didn’t also update their SEEK profiles, and I don’t see this attitude changing in the immediate future.How powerful is this data sounding to you now?About a month ago, our MD sent me an email asking my opinion on whether to invest in Talent Search as a recruiting tool. We both agreed it wouldn’t be worthwhile. Here’s what I put in my email response word for word:People create profiles on SEEK only when they are SEEKING a job.

• If they are looking for a job they will be actively searching responding to ours or our clients’ advertisements. Clients often come to us after their own search efforts have failed. 

Therefore we would be targeting passive candidates… BUT:

• If they aren’t actively looking, they won’t be updating their information on SEEK which could make their profile info outdated and hence redundant.

I think they are trying to reinvent the wheel and it’s not worth being an early adopter… I’d hold off as I don’t think it will enable us to, at this point, cover any ground we don’t already with our existing tools. The product lacks the maturity and public awareness of those we already use. As a ‘jobseeker’ I didn’t focus on the information I provided to SEEK and as a recruiter, I don’t rely on it.Sometimes the people you want in your business are already in jobs. They’re not actively looking at what else is out there. Sure, you might strike lucky, but what are the real chances?SEEK sends me emails once a week showcasing jobs ‘just for me’ that don’t align with my skills one iota. Recruitment is a people’s job. This product is a robot. Invest that money in tapping into the job market face-to-face. Interact. Be present. People actually like other people.Databases can be a goldmine as a component of your recruitment strategy only if they are kept up to date. Old information is redundant. SEEK hasn’t got my up-to-date information… why would I trust it to have a candidates?Please feel free to share any comments, opinions or experiences, I’d love to hear them!