What’s the great idea? ITA Talent Portal

Who’s doing it? Illinois Technology Association

What’s involved? Associations often provide career resources, but ITA’s updated job site aims to build closer connections between employers and job seekers.

Unlike many other platforms, the ITA Talent Portal sends recruiters an individual’s name and contact information if he or she clicks on the apply button, regardless of whether the application was completed. By providing this data, ITA hopes to create direct conversations between recruiters and job seekers, who are first verified through LinkedIn.

“Talent professionals struggle to get candidates, particularly quality candidates, through the door,” says Vice President of Talent Programs Trisha Degg. “Hopefully, if the recruiter can engage in conversation [once a person shows some interest], it will drive more quality candidates.”

In addition, companies can create profiles on the portal with information on their work-life balance and office culture, as well as photos and links to their social media channels. “Any job seeker wants to get the best feel for a company’s culture as possible, and social media tends to do a very good job at that because that’s where a lot of companies tend to have a little bit more fun with their brand,” says Degg.

The original platform was created about two years ago by the Kansas City Tech Council and has been licensed and personalized by other organizations, including ITA. “This platform really could be industry agnostic because … I think any high-skilled industry has a hard time finding candidates and connecting those dots so that people know what jobs are out there,” says KC Tech Council President Ryan Weber.

What are people saying? Companies love the opportunity to develop their brands on the portal, Degg says. Recruiters “like that they can create a profile there, and then they are part of the job seeker’s experience, even if they don’t have any current job postings.”

And job seekers appreciate the network they now have access to. “It’s a way for them to do a little bit of shopping and hopefully get into that company through a little more of a backdoor situation,” she says.

(Illinois Technology Association)