In a recession where millions of Americans are out of work of a year or more, overlooking quality talent is happening more often than many of us realize.  But is overlooking good quality job candidates beneficial to recruiters or their clients? No, it’s not and it could be costing employers a lot of money in the long-term.  What would happen if you recruiters could identify quality job candidates that others overlooked?  Well, for starters they could save employers time and money.  Below are few tips on how to find qualify job candidates others may overlook.

1. Focus on the content of the resume more than the format. Many recruiters are so overwhelmed with the sheer volume of resumes coming across their desk and email, that they are overlooking quality candidates who may not use the resume format their prefer.  If you’re going to trash a resume, trash it because the person is not qualified not because the format is imperfect.
2. Don’t rely solely on resumes when making the initial assessment of a candidate’s appropriateness for a particular position.  Take the time to check out their online profile.  Do a Google search. Look at their social networking profiles.  Check and see if they have published papers or articles in their field.  Are they involved in the industry on a deeper level?  Those are the kind of candidates you want on your short list.  However, most recruiters stop at the resume, failing to dig a little deeper.
3. Develop relationships with star performers in the field for which your recruit.  Even if you never hire those star performers, when you have job orders they should be your first point of contact when looking for job candidates.  Remember, “birds of a feather flock together.”  Star performers are likely to have associates, friends and business colleagues who are also quality job candidates.