Orange Is the New Blog: Why Offense Is the Best Recruiting Strategy
Are you in Orange Is the New Black withdrawal? Whether you missed Netflix’s most-watched original series this summer or you’re one of the millions of fans anxiously waiting for season two to launch in 2014, you can learn a thing or two from the prison-based comedy-drama. Number one being – don’t watch all 13 episodes in one week!
Number two is a lesson Piper Chapman, the main character, learns soon after landing herself in jail ― a good offense is your best defense. I won’t spoil how she learns this, but to be more successful behind bars Piper had to learn to be smarter and faster than her other inmates. Strategy was essential, and an offensive stance was critical to competing more effectively.
The same lesson can be applied to your recruiting strategy. Getting ahead of competitors early is a great offensive play, as well as keeping a solid support system behind you as Piper learns in episode three when “Crazy Eyes” stands up for her to another inmate. I mean, how many people would throw a pie for you?
In the recruitment industry, it’s just as important to be backed by a powerful support system that will allow you to be agile (and quick as a chicken) when it comes to getting ahead of your competitors. If your firm is in the market for a professional grade recruiting platform, then here are a few things to consider before choosing your most trusted ally:
The Cloud vs. Pretenders:
It’s painful to watch the flashbacks of Piper slipping from a nice girl from Connecticut into a convicted member of an international drug ring – so lesson here is stay true to who you really are. Unless you have a team of dedicated IT resources, choose a true cloud product that is updated and maintained by the vendor. True multitenant Software-as-a-Service systems make it easier for you to grow and cost 46% less than on-premise solutions over the course of seven years. Plus you can hold the vendor (who knows software) accountable so you can focus on what you do best – recruiting.
Support System that Is Built to Last:
As you evaluate recruiting software vendors, ask them about the resources they dedicate to ongoing development and support of their product. Gain a full understanding of the vendor’s experience in the recruitment industry, as well as its staying power because it’s not a short-term partnership that you’re aiming to have with this company. After all, you need a system that will support your firm now and in years to come…even if you’re not looking at 15 years to life.
Acceleration Power:
A few minutes can be the difference between making a placement and getting dropped. Ask the vendor how their product is going to make your team faster than the competition. Bullhorn spends $1M every month on enhancing our products, which results in less clicks and more productive time for our users. In fact, it takes a user only two clicks to create a candidate from a resume in their inbox, and 0.3 seconds to search 100 million candidate records in the system.
In the last episode, Piper has a final confrontation with an inmate that has made several attempts to harm her in the past. The episode ends as a cliffhanger, leaving fans questioning whether or not she’s going to win the fight.
The thing is, the minute you get rocked back on your heels and find yourself on the defense, there’s a good chance you’re going to end up losing. In the recruitment world, you’ve got to stay on the offensive or at the very least you’re going to lose critical momentum. If you’re looking to win more business and compete successfully in an aggressive industry, then forget the defense and choose a revenue-driving recruiting platform that’s going to keep your firm far ahead of everyone else.
This Bullhorn Blog post was written by Ashley Healy.
Ashley Healy specializes in integrated marketing communications and a wide range of marketing activities including social media management, SEO copywriting, content marketing, promotional strategies and employment branding. She previously worked as Content Marketing Manager at Bullhorn and prior to that, as a copywriter and marketing coordinator at Verndale, a full-service digital agency.
