Can you think of any better way to define relevance than talking about Betty White?  After 50 years in show business, Betty White is still relevant and earlier this year was drafted by Facebook fans to host Saturday Night Live at the age of 88.  This is incredible and a testament to perseverance and serendipity.

Relevancy in the job market means the time someone spends reviewing and submitting profiles and resumes to companies is worthwhile (stands a chance of success). Relevancy means the corporate recruiter or hiring manager is spends time sourcing, reviewing and vetting talent that is ‘close’ to the opportunity. These points are important because the processes we use as candidates and recruiters has become irrelevant. We spend too much time, too many cycles dealing with information that will not lead to the candidate or a job. The Internet pipes are full. Ask the recruiter at any company what happens when they post a position on the Internet. Ask any candidate if they expect a reply from the notorious ‘black hole’ once their resume is submitted. And for those who are thinking I don’t know what I’m talking about I do…check me out here.

Relevancy means a person and a company discover each other find value based on experience and industry resulting in a relationship that may lead to a current or future employment relationship. So why when I post positions on boards or social networks do I receive large numbers of unqualified talent that don’t come close to my specs? Why when I post at LinkedIn am I immediately served up talent that don’t align with my needs? I experience each and understand that in order to graciously protect my brand it is imperative I manage and respond to each so I do – or at least I try. When I started building recruiting software in 1994 that ultimately became Hire.com I realized that there would be many who would rush into the space seeking financial rewards and as a result they would create unnecessary inflection points in the process they could monetize. Some of those companies became successful Monster(s) while many fell by the wayside. Making money is great but only when you provide value…boards and social networks are recruiting sourcing stations that result in more work talent vetting and resume storage than needed.