Fellows Bytes: How big a role does technology play in IP recruitment?
In this day and age it is incredibly difficult not to come across technology in some shape or form in your everyday life; whether it is your ever present mobile phone, the computer in the office or even the self-service check outs in your local supermarket. In this edition of Fellows Bytes we highlight some ways in which technology has become crucial in the running of our business.
The most obvious benefit is our ability to communicate more easily with our clients and candidates. I was lucky enough to enter the profession when sending an email was commonplace; however my colleague Pete remembers a time when fax machines and couriers were the medium of choice when sending CVs. As a result the profession has become a lot faster paced, with the process of initial candidate enquiry to securing a first interview date sometimes being confirmed within the space of a day or two. It is also now possible to have 24 hour access to your work email via your mobile phone. I’m all for switching off at the end of the working day, however having this access can make all the difference when a great candidate gets in touch at 23:25 on a Tuesday night. 
As you can imagine it is sometimes difficult to get hold of a candidate during the day in order to arrange an interview etc. as it is less likely they will be checking their personal emails or be able to speak on the phone if they work in an open plan office. Being able to text a candidate is a quick and convenient way of keeping in touch, and is especially handy if something needs to be confirmed last minute.
As much as we would like it to be the case, we do not always find the perfect candidate by them getting in touch with us. Sometimes we have to do the chasing. This might be us using our social networks, for example LinkedIn, to perform searches and subsequently contacting them via an InMail, or by us reviewing firm websites to get a better idea of potential candidates available in the market.
Whilst it is becoming less common, there remain some businesses out there that still don’t have an on line presence. We find our website and social networks to be crucial in increasing our visibility to potential clients and candidates, as well as strengthening our brand message and identity, and we regularly use them as channels to voice our opinion on the current market. Perhaps a lack of a Google+ page and (to a lesser extent) a LinkedIn account could be forgiven, however we find it astonishing that some still do not even have their own website.
Our on line presence also provides us with a stronger link to our international clients and candidates. We have built a strong overseas contact base through our ongoing attendance at conferences across the world and these connections are maintained easily through the use of technology. Language barriers can be facilitated with translation applications and rapport can be further built through video conference calling.
Got a question you want answered? Get in touch with us via email: [email protected], or why not be the antithesis of this latest post and send a carrier pigeon?