Why Digital Recruiters are Different from the Other 99% of Recruiters

Kathryn Duncan

Looking for your best digital marketing employee? In today’s market, your ideal candidates aren’t the ones in the unemployment lines or the ones filling your inbox with applications for your open position. They’re unique because they are often “passive” candidates who have no problem finding a job, and probably aren’t even “looking.”

Before your next search, it pays to take into account what makes recruiting for digital so different:

Reality #1: Your best talent aren’t always coming from large corporations

Small digital marketing agencies often generate the best recruitment candidates. And the fact is, if you don’t already know who all those small companies are, you can easily overlook an entire pool of candidates who just happen to be flying completely off your radar.

Sifting through stacks of resumes that cite numerous company names you’ve never heard of can not only be daunting, but a time-waster. Without following the who’s who in the digital world, you’re wasting time, money and the opportunity to find your perfect candidate.

Reality #2: You must get your network in place before you need to fill that job

Emerging digital talent has traveled well beyond traditional venues into a new cutting-edge world. Simply put, it can be hard to earn their trust.

How do you earn that trust? Take the time to get to know them – well before they are actually looking to make a move. When you already know a potential candidate’s strengths, career highlights, and salary expectations, you will have established a valuable relationship that can be leveraged for your next hire.

Reality #3: Many hiring managers realize they don’t have the time and resources to build such relationships and are increasingly turning to specialized recruiters. 

Digital recruiters free up your time, allowing you to focus on managing and building your business.

Good recruiters already have well-established relationships of trust with candidates. They know the ropes, the players, and the salary requirements because their day-to-day lives are immersed in the culture and lifestyle of your future candidates. It’s their job to ally with you to help you build a compelling case to convince superior talent to join your team.

Speed and accuracy are crucial to a successful employee search. The pool of qualified digital recruits is small, so finding that perfect match for your company can be intimidating and expensive. When you allow an expert to match your opportunity to the best-qualified candidate, you will have no doubts you’ve got the right person for the job.

Kathryn Duncan is a partner of FRWD Co., a digital media services agency based out of Minneapolis. She has been relationship recruiting for five years and on any given night can be found networking with the rock stars of the Twin Cities’ digital industry.