From the Rolodex to LinkedIn: How Recruiting Has Changed Since WWII [INFOGRAPHIC]

The world of recruiting has changed. Drastically.

Until about the 1990s, companies advertised jobs in these things called “newspapers.” Recruiters’ contacts fit in their Rolodex. Business cards were gold.

Contrast that to the world of recruiting today. Millions of prospects are available to you with the click of a button. You have to master social media and optimize your careers site. More data is available to you than ever before.

In fairness, over that time the fundamentals haven’t changed much. You still need to be able to inspire people to join your organization. You still need to form great relationships with your hiring managers. You still need to know how to close candidates.

But the tools recruiters use today are completely different from the ones they used even 10 years ago. To prove it, here’s an outline of how exactly the world of talent acquisition has changed since World War II:

Head Hunter Habilis

This was the age of hefty phone books, terse newspaper ads, and perfumed paper resumes. The age when recruiters were private detectives of sorts, trying to track down viable candidates by hoarding business cards or getting their hands on company phone directories.

Recruiter Erectus

Then came the internet. Active candidate recruiting was the only viable option. Posting and praying on online job boards and scouring resume databases ruled the day. Screening out the noise for quality hires was the utmost problem and priority.

Social Recruiting Sapien

Fast forward to today. Recruiters can now proactively contact almost any candidate through social professional networks and other means, opening up a whole new world of passive candidate recruiting. Active candidate recruiting has also reached new heights. Recruiters can now rely on job boards with sophisticated candidate-to-company matching using machine learning algorithms.

Find out if you have what it takes to become a modern recruiter. Read our Savvy Recruiter’s Career Guide.

*Image by wackystuff

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