Suffice it to say, 2001 was not e-recruiting's brightest year. After seven years of boundless growth, e-recruiting has hit shaky ground; but the industry is hanging tough. Nowhere has this sentiment been more evident than at Kennedy Information's e-Recruiting Conference held in New York late this October. Facing numerous logistical challenges, including a last minute change of venue, the organizers pulled together to launch this fifth of e-Recruiting Conferences. Although participant attendance was lower than expected, the Conference still drew some of the industry's top leaders. The result? Two days of exchange on the state and future of e-recruiting.

Although momentarily slow, e-recruiting is poised for a strong rebound, according to Mark Mehler of CareerXRoads, a panelist and attendee at the Conference. The slowing economy has wielded a blow to the industry, stunting sales and general innovation, however 2001 has still seen growth. Two-hundred job sites closed their doors in 2001 and 600 new ones opened to replace them. Overall, Mehler cautions recruiters to expect more industry consolidation, as companies combine to share best practices, technologies and area expertise. This is healthy consolidation according to Mehler; changes that will help e-recruiting regroup and come back stronger. In fact, some speculate that the current retraction might even advantage the forthcoming recovery. Paring down operations and investment now, companies will be able to rebuild with top solutions and technologies when the economy does heats up.

"E-Recruiting is one of the more dynamic sectors of the Internet," says Joseph McCool of Kennedy Information. McCool also sees mores consolidation ahead, followed by an inevitable industry rebound. "The hiring mandate will be given to corporate recruitment executives in the near short-term," adds McCool. According to a recent executive survey conducted by McKinsey & Company, only 20% of respondents believe their companies currently have the talent to implement business initiatives, and 90% of respondents believe their companies need to improve their talent pool. Furthermore, the war for talent will heat up as more baby boomers reach retirement. The latter transition will bring a "talent mentality" to recruiting, as the labor pool narrows and companies face stiff competition to meet their employment goals.

Other buzz from the conference? Lean and mean is the word, especially in the current slowdown. Watch costs and keep your operation nimble. Technology is still the best way to boost productivity. Invest in the tools that will help you do the best job, but be careful not to rely on technology too much. "Recruiters are getting lazy," comments Mark Mehler, looking ever more to the tech "funnel" to source candidates. Recruiters need to look beyond machines and metrics and bring human judgment back into the hiring equation.

The slowdown is testing e-recruiting's mettle. Although the short-term prospects are not glowing, a bright future is looming. The more hearty and resilient recruiters will survive to reap the rewards. For now, with predictions mixed for 2002, cutbacks, closings and consolidations will be the norm. Kennedy Information itself is scaling back, reducing its normal east-west series of e-Recruiting Conferences to just one annual conference next year. We commend Kennedy for its bold efforts in New York City this year, and hope to see the company, and the entire industry, gearing up for growth in 2003.

Recruiters World Special Reports is a timely, in-depth news series that explores vital issues and trends affecting the human-capital industry. Published monthly, Recruiters World Special Reports is presented and distributed exclusively through Recruiters World in Review. Also watch for new articles as they appear on the Recruiters World home page.