So the internet pipes are flooded with candidates submitting resumes for work and social networking for their next gig. So flooded that posting a position, tweeting a job link or announcing your need on your social network results in a flow of talent coming at the company website, the recruiter’s email and to various social networks in attempts to get ‘introduced’ into the job. In other words a mess. Candidates are treated badly, not responded to, to the point they don’t expect it. Companies throw up their hands wondering how to vet all the resumes that have rained down on them and few even consider how the appropriate response may affect their market brand. I know the right candidate many times is in the mess, a part of the pipe and they can be found which takes process time and any time lost dealing with a flooded pipe doesn’t have to be necessary today and will not be necessary in the future – not at all…nada.

This means the systems and processes we use to day are about to change. Some of the changes will be subtle while others will blow our minds. I suggest the former as a place to start and I like to start with defining the problem to be solved. Today it is to reduce the internet flow of talent, to treat talent properly by responding graciously and to insure faster quality results for all involved. Sounds right, now how?

I believe I have the answer. I’ve taken the past two years (since my book on Talent with Rusty Rueff was published) to recruit. I call it kneading the dough. After working recruiting assignments from Moscow to London to Latin America to San Francisco backed buy latest cloud technology I discovered that the solution I started with in 1996 is still needed.

I won’t share all here but will give a clue where I start by asking a question, one that solves the ‘clog’. Why do candidates see all jobs at job boards, corporate sites and social networks? Oh, that’s right if the job is not right for them they may refer someone or they may see a job they could be interested in but didn’t know about. Stop, referrals come from inside the company or inside the industry and if someone ‘finds’ a job to consider maybe the jobs should be classified by family where cross evaluation on both ends makes sense. But the controller candidate viewing QA jobs is irrelevant and the controller who lost their job referring to the QA job is just as irrelevant. Both processes waste time.

Talent, company recruiters, hiring managers and third party recruiters should only see information of value on the Internet. That is where we will end up…promise. And asking why is important. Remember the discussion about inflection points to monetize? That is the answer and the biggest names in our business are more concerned with that point than they are helping to link the right candidate with the right job. Please tell me I am wrong. Why do candidates see and apply to all jobs? Page views, clicks, advertising and the ‘perception’ good candidate flow or we have the jobs keeps people coming back. We’ve been at and have paid for this game with poor results long enough and it is time for something new.