Best Use of Search Aggregators such as infoGIST
I am often asked my opinion on the best use of resume search “aggregators” such as those offered by infoGIST, TalentHook, DataFrenzy, AIRS and others. If you’re not familair with the term, a resume search aggregator is an application that allows a user to enter a search string that will execute across multiple free and paid job board resume sites and aggregate the results.
Many staffing and recruiting organizations tend to use resume search aggregators at the associate level – enabling individual sourcers and recruiters to run Boolean search strings focused on specific hiring needs through a resume search aggregator to to simultaneously search several paid job boards as well as in some cases 100+ free job board resume databases.
While there is a huge convenience factor in using resume search aggregators in this fashion, as each sourcer or recruiter can save time and effort in not having to log into multiple job boards to execute Boolean search strings on each one individually, there are some limitations of resume search aggregators you need to be aware of, and I feel there is a better way to use this technology.
Limitations of Resume Search Aggregators
Limited Boolean Logic Support
Many of the resume search aggregator applications do not support full Boolean logic or even symbols such as the asterisk for root word/stem searching. That, in itself, is a major limitation when attempting to mine information systems such as job board resume databases, because highly effective and precise search strings cannot be created. Also, some of the aggregators don’t even allow you to “hand code” Boolean search strings – instead, forcing you to create searches using a query builder which often significantly limits the ability to create effective searches.
Similarly, not all job board resume databases support full Boolean logic. Even if a resume aggregator application supported full Boolean logic, if it is being used to search a site that does not support it – you will not get the results you are looking for (or any results) because the job board resume database can’t execute your search string.
Limited Zip Code Radius and Education Searching
Some job board resume databases do not support zip code radius or education searching. If you are attempting to use a search aggregator to find candidates in a specific area via zip code radius, or candidates with specific a education level, you will not get results from any job board resume database that does not support that kind of search. On the other hand, some search aggregators do not support the ability to search by zip code or education. If the search aggregator itself can’t perform these kinds of searches (and/or you can’t configure a Boolean to accomplish the same thing), you simply can’t do it through the aggregator.
Sorting by Relevance
Some resume search aggregators do not allow users to sort the results returned from a Boolean search across multiple job board databases by relevance. This is a huge flunk – when it comes to search, the whole point of searching for information is to get relevant results, and the most effective way to sort results is by relevance.
Search Limits
Most resume search aggregators have limits on the number of results that can be returned from each search – some are as low as 150. If a sourcer/recruiter is running a search on job boards and opening up the parameters to search resumes posted in the last 90, 120, or 365+ days, in many cases the number of results can exceed the limits imposed by the aggregator. That means in some cases, sourcers and recruiters simply CANNOT find and retrieve some results because of the artificial limits.
The reason why some aggregators have limits on the quantity of results that can be returned per search and in some cases per DAY from specific job boards (usually the big ones like Monster) is because the big boards don’t want people strip-mining their databases via software.
A Better Way to Use Resume Search Aggregators
In contrast to how many organizations leverage resume search aggregators, I propose that the ideal utilization of these applications involves largely automated 24 X 7 mining of job board resume databases, whereby “broad” Boolean searches are configured and saved into the resume search aggregator application designed specifically to pull relatively general results into an internal database/Applicant Tracking System (ATS) on a daily basis.
Once the resumes are pulled into the internal resume database/ATS, sourcers and recruiters can run more precise, configurable, and powerful full Boolean queries, searching by location, and sort the results by relevance, and find the best candidates available without artificial limits on the number of results. (Note: if your internal database/ATS does not support full Boolean logic and sorting by relevance – it should – but that’s another post entirely).
I recommend automated daily searches because even in the largest metro areas and running relatively broad and generic searches, you are not likely to bump into any search aggregator’s max result limit because there are only so many people who will post their resume every day of any given skillset.
I recommend using search aggregator applications to run broader searches because most can’t run precise Boolean queries anyway, so why try to do so and miss picking up candidates in the first place? Keep in mind that every single search aggregator is limited to the search interfaces they search through, and they will be “dummied down” to the lowest common denominator (the least configurable/capable search engine). In many cases, more complex and precise queries are impossible to achieve anyway.
Instead of a running the risk that a search aggregator (or the job boards I am searching through it) is incapable of returning results of candidates that DO exist but are incapable of returning from a complex Boolean search string, I would much rather get them into my internal database for permanent data capture. And while broader searches can yield some “false positives,” I have not found it to be a problem. I have worked with resume databases from 100,000 to over 3,000,000 records. Statistically, the more, the better – and sometimes the best candidates have lackluster resumes – you never know anything about a person until you get them on the phone/meet them in person and talk to them!
I also believe that automating the input of search results into an internal database/ATS because all too often, sourcers and recruiters over-analyze resumes and unknowingly miss fantastic candidates. This is the #1 mistake (out of 15) sourcers and recruiters make when performing secondary search.
Benefits of My Proposed Utilization of Resume Search Aggregators
1. Lower paid job board costs – you will not likely need as many passwords and/or resume views per job board because sourcers and recruiters will be motivated to run searches in your internal resume database/ATS first, and in many cases will have no need to search the job boards individually, as the majority of candidates they would find would already be in the internal database.
2. It can build the breadth and depth of your internal candidate database faster and more thoroughly than any team of people could, automatically, and at a lower cost.
3. Increased ability to find the right people. The larger and more varied your internal candidate database, the higher the statistical probability that you will have the right candidate for any given opening.
4. Your organization can be better insulated against and prepared for a future labor shortage. The larger and more varied your internal candidate database is now, the more likely you will be insulated against and prepared for an impending labor shortage when fewer candidates may be actively looking for jobs. You can effectively work on building a large passive candidate database, as well as effectively increasing the referral recruiting opportunities/capacity of every sourcer/recruiter in your organization.
5. Automatic, guaranteed, permanent data capture. Unlike sourcers and recruiters, resume search aggregator applications won’t look at a resume and not enter it into your internal database because it doesn’t match the job opening/hiring profile the recruiter is currently working on. Without such a system, if a sourcer/recruiter does not enter a candidate into your internal database from a job board search – that candidate will typically remove their resume from the job board at some point, and you may never be able to find them in the future when you may need them (or the referrals they can provide). Also, unlike many sourcers/recruiters, resume search aggregators won’t dislike certain job boards and simply not search them. You can never know where the best candidate for any given job order will come from. However, if you are automatically searching just about every database in existence on a daily basis, you have the highest probability of finding them, capturing them, and having them when you need them.
6. Guaranteed and incentivized utilization of your internal candidate database. In many organizations, there are sourcers/recruiters who never search their internal resume database/ATS, opting to search Monster and/or other paid sites exclusively instead. Your internal ATS should be the first source of candidate generation for sourcers and recruiters, and it is more likely to be so if sourcers and recruiters know that the majority of the candidates they would find on the paid job boards are already in your internal system because of the automated daily mining of candidates.
7. Increased sourcer/recruiter productivity. Instead of sourcers/recruiters running their database queries on multiple job boards daily, they will save time by only having to search your internal system for the majority of their assignments, as they would be assured that the majority of the candidate hiring profiles they need have already been mined and entered into Recruitmax.
Conclusion
If you already use or are considering using a resume search aggregator application such as infoGIST, DataFrenzy, TalentHook, or AIRS, I highly recommend that you consider the limitations of search aggregators and that you contemplate the advantages and benefits of using an aggregator application to perform broader, more general automated daily searches to enter results into your internal resume database/ATS for permanent data capture and for more precise search/retrieval from your internal system than your aggregator or the job boards allow.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
.jpg)
Good points all around, but I think you are misrepresenting one thing. You implay that aggregators are limited in their ability to search, but in some cases, the aggregator only reflects the limits of the resume database. You point this out here:
** you will not get the results you are looking for (or any results) because the job board resume database can’t execute your search string.
This is an issue that any resume database buyer should be aware of. Search options and functionality should be fully reviewed before purchasing any resume database. Also, check out the aggregator software, a good platform will only limit you to what is supported by the target resume database.
Still, you offer some very good best practices.
Nik,
I sure hope I did not misrepresent anything – that certainly wasn’t my intent. I was careful to point out that sometimes aggregators are limited by the job board/resume database they are used to search.
For example: “Similarly, not all job board resume databases support full Boolean logic. Even if a resume aggregator application supported full Boolean logic, if it is being used to search a site that does not support it – you will not get the results you are looking for (or any results) because the job board resume database can’t execute your search string.”
I do definitely want to be clear that in some cases the search limitations are in fact imposed by teh target resume database being searched.
However, some aggregators do in fact have very limited search interfaces and are thus themselves the limiting factor.
Thank you for you positive feedback – much appreciated, and thanks for reading!
One point of order you forgot to mention is that quite often searches done via aggregators are best done “one board at a time”. In other words, you break each string out against only 1 board at a time, so for example set: “string 1 @ board 1″ / “string 1 @ board 2″ / “string 1 @ board 3”. The “one string @ 1 board” method is preferable to how most naturally se their searches as “one string @ multiple boards” for example like: “string 1 @ board 1 + board 2 + board 3” (all at the same time). By breaking out your searches in to more “controllable chunks” you are better able to tweak and adjust to compensate for ‘board related variables’.
- Nunese
Do TalentHook have the full boolean search?
Padma,
Also reference: http://bit.ly/wT9Vb
To the best of my knowledge, no – TalentHook does not support full/true Boolean search. The again, neither does Google.