By Charlene Long

Recruiters have always known that good communication with hiring managers throughout the entire hiring process is necessary in order to get a position filled. It is not enough to just have a job description and an initial conversation. It is equally important to get feedback on individual resumes as they are submitted and on candidates as they are interviewed. But do hiring managers value communication with recruiters?

Recruiters submit candidates who they think are qualified for the position and need to know specifically why a particular candidate is being passed over by the hiring manager. Frequently job specs change over the course of the hiring process and all this information needs to be communicated to recruiters. Recruiters also should let hiring managers know about the current job market for the positions they are trying to fill. Often a hiring manager will simply not know current pay ranges or how much in demand certain skills are in their location.

So why do some companies decide they can fill jobs without ever having to talk to a recruiter?

Instead of having hiring managers work directly with recruiters (and actually have to employ them), many large companies use a VMS (vendor management system) process to fill their open positions. A company that uses a VMS will contract with one of the large franchise-style staffing firms (VMS provider) to take over the hiring function for the designated jobs.