One of projects I train staffing firms on is the use of the internet to draw in qualified candidates for free. As a part of a pilot program, I'm working with a company out of Minnesota called Iris Consulting. They are Tier One Vendors for Express Scripts in Maryland Heights, and they've been very successful with their hiring methods.
The Iris Consulting philosophy is simple. They have a single fixed rate they charge on top of a contractor's salary, which enables them to place contractors at client companies at higher salaries than most competitors. In other words, if you want to work at a client company as a contractor, you go to Iris, and they'll get you a better salary then if you worked through another firm.
The second piece of the puzzle is they only hire quality contractors. They don't have the pressures of a public firm, or even that of account managers and recruiters who need to pay their own salaries, which means they don't just grab resumes and shuffle them off to a client. If you're a good fit, they'll work with you to get you the job. They'll also introduce you to other high quality contractors that help you build a strong social network for future placement.
StlRecruiting remains my blog. They will have no input into content, and we are not being paid to talk about them. Instead, I'll be working as a sourcer for them, identifying key talent in the St Louis Marketplace and helping them establish a web presence for that recruiting. To do that, I'll be posting their jobs and filtering resumes If you want to work in a contract position in the mail order pharmacy business, Iris's position as a Tier One Vendor means they get the jobs first, and their salary structure lets you make more.
As I said, this is a pilot project. I'm speaking with several firms in town (and out), about ways to use blogs to hire local candidates. I'll be reporting on our success (or failure), as it occurs.
