JobCast by ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo, a name you have seen in this column before. This venerable service is not unique but certainly the “Cadillac†of their industry. ZoomInfo, for those who don’t know, is a search engine that helps you discover people, companies and relationships by searching their own, proprietary database full of over 30 million A+ contacts and 2 ½ million companies culled from web sites, press releases, electronic news services and SEC filings, then summarizes the information into a comprehensive format. Having said all that, this review is not on the flagship ZoomInfo service, but for a new add-on service just announced this year, JobCast.
JobCast does what the competitors don’t do; it allows any recruiter who has a JobCast subscription to easily contact, in a very professional manner, the individuals that come up on the search.
JobCast starts with a Job Requisition. This is a simple form used to enter in some very basic information about the job for which you are recruiting. Once you enter your job requisition, you run the ZoomInfo search in the normal manner by entering the search criteria. As always, you are presented with a list of matches. You then have the opportunity to cull this list of contacts. Hovering your mouse over the contact name offers a quick snapshot or you can click on the link for more detailed information. You check a box next to each contact name you would like to message and then click a link to add these people to your email campaign.
The next steps are the meat of this service. Once you have selected the email campaign recipients, you click a button to add them to the campaign that brings you to the Email Campaign page. From there you are able to compose the email message you are going to send your potential candidates. A default subject line is offered that you are able to modify. Choose your greeting. A space to compose your actual message is available with sample messages also available. Then choose your closing. There is also another space in which to put some information on your recruiting assignment. Once that form is filled out you review your message, then click the Send Now button to begin your campaign.
Once sent, you are able to track your campaign success, or lack thereof. JobCast keeps track of who opens your message, who replies, who forwards it, and denotes. On the test campaign that I used, there were approximately 40 recipients. Those marked “hot†were ones that had actually applied for the position, with a link to their resumes and/or cover letters nearby. Others were marked “direct reply†meaning they had applied to you outside of the JobCast program. Those marked “warm†were not interested in the position sent them but indicated they may be interested in others down the road. Also noted were those that clicked the “apply now†button but did not complete the form, or those who clicked a link in the email but did not take any action, possibly indicating a phone call is needed to reel them in. You are also told of recipients who forwarded the opportunity to another recipient. Last, but certainly not least, are a list of those who chose to “opt out†and not receive emails from you in the future.
Speaking of opting out … JobCast takes care to keep you in line as it relates to spam issues. Technically, anytime you send out bulk, unsolicited email, it is spam but if you take a couple of simple precautions you are safe. One is that you provide an opt out ability, which they do. JobCast keeps a list of those that have opted out and makes sure that they do not get emails from you in the future as long as you are using the JobCast software. Another issue that helps is to make sure you use a subject line that is not misleading in any way. They provide a default subject line for your emails, which you are free to modify but, if you do, make sure it is not misleading in any way.
Overall, this is a wonderful add-on to their outstanding passive candidate search service. It is one thing to be able to search a database and locate a suitable target candidate, but another to contact them and turn them into a real candidate. JobCast makes this process much simpler by providing the seamless and very simple process.
At this time the JobCast service is only available for users of the ZoomInfo service. Anyone interested in more information about JobCast or ZoomInfo should contact Lee Byrne via voice at 781.693.7500 or via email at byrne@zoominfo.com. You can also visit the ZoomInfo website at www.zoominfo.com/recruiting.
TALENThire.com
I am happy to write about this service for the Fordyce subscribers, as I believe it may be of some benefit to some of you, especially the smaller firms. I also want to state I have used this service personally with some success. TALENThire.com is an ASP that, through a private B2B network, puts employers together with recruiters. They contract with many companies, large and small, to place the assignments on their network, along with whatever fee they feel the placement service is worth to them for that type of person. Recruiters are then free to submit candidates to those assignments through their web-based system. Although candidates are submitted through TALENThire.com, the recruiters are able to deal directly with the client companies for interviews and offers. The fees posted by the client companies are typically not in the 25-30% range but often approaches 20%. But keep in mind, they do all the marketing for you. An agency-to-agency split of a 25% fee only garners you 12.5% of the fee.
Many of these clients are A+ employers including Motorola, America Online, Kraft Foods, Giant Foods, Barclays, and a host of other firms you may or may not have even heard of. Once the candidate is submitted, the client company contacts you directly for further information, interview assistance or any other issues that arise. No black hole here … clients are obliged to give you some type of feedback on your submissions, usually with a week or two but often sooner.
TALENThire.com’s revenue is derived from membership fees from recruiters and a portion of the placement fee. Recruiters can either pay a very reasonable monthly rate plus a 10% commission or a straight 25% commission if no monthly fee is paid. There are currently over 100 open positions on the site, with over $1.5M in fees – the average fee is $15K.
For more information on this service you can visit the TALENThire.com website at www.TALENThire.com or you can contact Jeremy Harrison, Agent Relationship Manager, via voice at (770) 989-7314 or via email at jharrison@TALENThire.com.
OnrecEXPO2006
Don’t miss this. They are calling it the “Global Summit for Online Recruitment.†Onrec.com, the UK-based online recruitment magazine is sponsoring a two-day conference offering a great mix of leading online recruitment experts and commentators, along with some of the most popular industry suppliers. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the growth and development of this industry and the adoption and implementation of technologies in the USA. Discussion groups will follow the speakers allowing the audience to participate in this conference.
As the new “War for Talent†gains momentum, recruitment is again becoming a huge issue. The search for talent is borderless and global in nature. There are best practices out there to learn and profit from, and online recruiting is changing very quickly.
Mark your calendar for September 12th and 13th in Chicago. For more information about this event, including speakers and fees, visit www.onrec.com/conferences/120906/attendees.html.
RESUMate Update
RESUMate, a simple, easy-to-use ATS we have reviewed in this column at least a couple times over the years has announced the inclusion of a new daily planner for their 2006 edition. With one click you can view all of your active jobs, showing key dates and facts; the active candidates on those jobs, including interview dates; planned callbacks and other items in your personal schedule; planned marketing calls; and planned recruiting calls. This information is presented in a calendar view, so that you can see your marketing or recruiting plan for the next 30 days.
RESUMate remains one of the most economical recruiter databases on the market with a retail price for the 2006 edition of $795. Those seeking an inexpensive and simple solution to applicant tracking can visit the RESUMate website at www.resumate.com for more information or contact Chuck Schaldenbrand via email at chuck@resumate.com or via voice at 1-800-530-9310 Ext. 202.
Tip – Salary Research
There are many occasions when a recruiter might want to do a bit of research on salaries. Maybe your client is low-balling your candidate. Maybe your candidate needs a little push in the right directions. If a situation arises in the future when having appropriate salary information will help you close a deal, Salary.com (www.salary.com) is a good site to bookmark. You enter a title and a zip code and it offers a very basic range for a particular skill set, which is user selectable, in a given geographic area. For a fee they will sell you a more comprehensive report.
Homefair.com (www.homefair.com) offers a salary calculator based on cost-of-living indexes that allow you to see what a person would have to make when moving to a higher or lower cost-of-living are to maintain their standard of living. A person in the St. Louis area making 50k would need to make 129k in La Jolla, CA just to stay even. SalaryExpert.com (www.salaryexpert.com) offers a free basic salary calculator based on the review of over 10,000 jobs.
Next time you need to sound like an expert on candidate compensation, visit one of these sites. All the services mentioned offer some type of free basic service with more professional level services available for a fee.
Mark E. Berger, C.P.C., AIRS CIR has been in recruiting since 1979. He is currently a partner in Ramsey Fox, Inc., an IT services firm and its predecessor, M.E. Berger & Associates since 1986. He has been heavily involved in Internet recruiting and is an expert on recruiting and sourcing products, services available on the Internet and how these products add to the bottom line. Mark’s interests include successfully integrating both computer and Internet recruiting technology into a traditional recruiting environment. He has taken AIRS I and II training and has obtained the AIRS CIR designation. Mark is also on the board of directors for the Missouri Association of Personnel Services. He can be reached at mark@ramseyfox.com. His website is: www.swatrecruiting.com and we recommend you visit it to see archives of his articles and information offerings exclusively for recruiters.