Progress is inevitable, and over the last 13 years as a recruiter I have seen many businesses come to market with the latest tool – something that promises to “change the way organisations source, screen and hire candidates” for ever.

Have any of these revolutionary ideas stuck? Well, I can’t think of one.

Probably the biggest change to the recruitment industry in my career has come from social media; something I’m sure we can all agree is here to stay. Everyone has access to social media and it’s largely free, creating a huge level playing field. It’s meant that agencies who rely heavily on proactive applications and job boards are the ones most likely to fail.

That’s because now there is very little that corporations can’t and won’t do for themselves. While the high quality, modern day candidate will gravitate towards what they are already comfortable with – Google searching and social media.

With the playing field levelled in this way, the challenge for a business like ours is to find ways to differentiate ourselves from the competition. It’s never been more critical for the recruitment agency to have a website which is easily found, and a strong brand across all social media and online platforms. At Psixty we don’t claim to have a fancy new tool, but we do always take the time and trouble to understand the culture of every business we work for and the strengths, weaknesses and aspirations of every candidate we meet.

Moving forward, recruiters who don’t actually want to “consult” properly, won’t make the cut. They are the ones who hide behind email, only focus on active candidates (a tiny percentage of all candidates) and rely entirely on job boards.

As for a revolutionary tool that will change recruitment forever, I wouldn’t hold your breath.

However, the way recruiters interact with candidates is changing and this evolution won’t be overcome using old school methods. Identifying the perfect candidate is meaningless if you can’t even start a conversation with them, let alone get them to sit in front of your client. To get them there, your business model really does have to be reinvented to embrace the digital world we live in – not to get ahead of the game, just to stay IN it.

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