Top 7 Mistakes Recruiters Make in Implementing a Search Strategy

There are plenty of missteps that can harm a recruiter's, sourcer's, or researcher's chances to successfully complete a search. Sometimes, these mistakes are tough to recognize and even harder to learn to avoid.

Here are seven reasons most search strategies tend to be derailed:

1. Do not have a search plan. Just begin entering keywords indiscriminately onto your search engine of preference. I have been training recruiters in search techniques for about five years, and I am still intrigued by the individuals that I come across everyday. Recruiters are smart and usually have very strong communication skills but they approach their search as they do the phone communication. Just dive in, and wing it.

2. Do not define what you are targeting. Why would you? You already have a complete understanding of the market and have a huge database of viable candidates, right? Either that or just guessing to determine the status of the market is more exciting; just like guessing who your candidates are or what they want, it feels like gambling or investing in stocks without a broker, right?

3. Do not know your search tools - Why would it help you to know how search engines list and categorize information when performing searches? Simply typing keywords into the search box will give you many results, why would you need to know any more?

4. I love google. There is no more room for other search engines. After all once you have the best; who needs the rest. It doesn't matter that it only covers about 10% of the internet. All other search engines have different algorithms and varied principles behind how search engines work, and they cover other parts of the internet but I would have learn how to use of them but why bother when I get good enough results now.

5. Search for resumes, not people - Since resumes are placed in the internet with no real cover letter, no attempt at self marketing. They are the candidate's way of saying "please add me to the pile." It takes minimal effort. Why would I want to find real people? They may not want to hear about my position anyway.

6. Why research keywords, it would take to long to find synonymous concepts to expand your search - Just basic keywords from the job description work fine. I have proof!! All of my competitors found the same candidates, right? If I get the description first that is all I need.

7. Surf don't search - surfing is fun. The most fun is when you search for that needle in a haystack!! Love to dive into a pile of hay!!! There are many wonderful sites to see along the way. It is so much fun to go online mindlessly without clear strategies or goals. This is kind of like channel surfing with the remote only better 'cause my TV's got only about 1,000 channels.

OK, enough tongue in cheek. As recruiters we need to have a carefully planned strategy to make effective use of tools and time.

Developing that strategy is an important aspect of our job. It is the process by which we identify and decide our priorities, and develop clear plans to find the very people we need.

There are so many activities clamoring for our attention that we need to prioritize our jobs, tactics, tools and ideas to ensure that we focus on the most pressing parts of the search. Careful planning and strategizing enables us to identify new opportunities and trends and also to change priorities, and take into account emerging market developments which affect our search results.

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