My Experiences with HRIS – Session Two

Last Thursday in HRIS class I learned about what comprises Big data, difference between Active & passive candidates, Recruiting Strategies, ATS (applicant tracking system) and most importantly, usage of LinkedIn for recruiting. Some key takeaways:

Big data:  Going by definition, Big Data refers to massive volume of structured and unstructured data collection that is difficult to process using traditional data processing tools. The insights derived from Big Data are changing the way organizations work and HR as an enabling function is no exception.   Big Data for HR can help organizations tap better candidates, create more effective recruiting strategies viz. a viz. competition and create a robust Talent Pipeline.

LinkedIn: I was a member of LinkedIn but it was only after this class, that I understood how to use it for professional recruiting. LinkedIn, as everybody knows, is the world’s largest professional networking site with directory of professionals and companies. Individuals and companies can use this site for networking, job searching, hiring, and organization search. It can also be utilized effectively for connecting with affiliates including alumni, industry and different business groups.

LinkedIn also provides advanced search techniques such as Boolean search. The basics/operator of Boolean searches are 

·         AND   
·         OR                    
·         NOT

Boolean Modifiers are symbols that are used for specific searches ;-

·         “ “                                
·         ( )                                    
·         *,%,$

Apart from standard features available to all the users, LinkedIn also provide certain additional features for recruiters (via paid subscription) such as: 

·         Ability to view the full list of who’s viewed your profile
·         Ability to contact anyone (even somebody outside your network) with InMail
·         Ability to see expanded profiles (outside your network)
·         Additional search filters and results

While LinkedIn caters to professionals from all backgrounds, there are some specialty sites for job seekers and recruiters of specific professions such as GiHub (for coders), Proformative (for accountants) and Dribbles (for designers).

Apart from LinkedIn, technology provides few other tools that make the life of a HR recruiter more efficient. The initial days when hiring managers and recruiters picked hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes by hand to uncover the best job candidates are long gone. Today, the task is computerized; an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is now frequently used to narrow down the candidate pool to those candidates who meet the requirements of the prospective employer. An applicant tracking system is a software program that stores and organizes resumes, allowing recruiters to screen, sort, track, and rank all the resumes they receive. ATS uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, which simply means that your resume is scanned into the software so that it becomes searchable.