shortlist reports today the launch of the regeneration, a reverse-of-a-job-board play that encourages job seekers to register their skills (creating a so-called Skills Signature®) and then be found by employers/recruiters. There is quite a bit of emphasis / rhetoric on ‘breaking the paradigm’ to a point where you have to ask if the functionality is attuned with the current talent market realities.
You can gather already that my initial impression is not that crash-hot. Then again the site’s new, and there’s now the hard yakka of refining the service and adjusting to what users really need to get them to cross the line.
In any case, I thought a few things should be pointed out, on the chance the Regenerates (kindly) are keen to get a constructive critique and/or exercise their right of reply:
- You don’t have to register on the site to search for talent. Will that lend itself to abuse/spam? I think it will be frustrating for registered job seekers to be targeted by trawlers, tire-kickers and, in general, freaks with too much time in their hands
- Even if a legit approach by an agency or employer happens, it will be a hassle for the user if the recruiter asks for a copy of the person’s CV (strong chance of that happening in my view). The site does not offer the function to upload a cv, which is really a matter of principle to them:
A Skills Signature® is not a resume. In fact, it’s much more significant. A resume is merely a static application defined in response to an advertised job, or the job market in general. But the Skills Signature® is a fluid and pro-active expression of a person’s self. It defines how they ideally would like to be seen and allows them to express their personal preferences regarding skills they would prefer to apply in life
- The paying premium user gets access to market intelligence on the attractiveness of his/her skills through a number of reports; but the recruiter always can access talent for free. I can imagine this pricing rationale being more suited to an scenario where the supply of talent is at least less scarce?
- I trust the site promptly refines the skills trees it currently sports. I would venture that a significantly higher level of skills granularity both in breadth and depth will be needed for serious recruiters to come up with relevant results
I’ve been wrong before, so if you see merits to the model please point them to me. All the best to the new startup nevertheless; one more choice always has the chance to make things better.
