International recruitment company, Aquent, has decided to launch a new corporate website without a search/job board function, replacing it with what it describes as “open access to all its recruiters”.

With the ultimate aim of connectivity and visibility, candidates will now be encouraged to search for an agent who specialises in their area of interest first.

Based on each agent’s profile, applicants will have the ability to connect with the consultant directly either by phone, email or social network, or apply to any of the specialised jobs that the consultant lists on their profile.

“Candidates are tired of applying to jobs via [email protected], where their application disappears into the ether and they never hear back. They don’t even know if the job is still open or even whether it even existed in the first place and, worst of all, they don’t know who the person is who is handling their personal data,” explains Aquent International CEO Greg Savage.

Aquent aims to embrace the social media model as an intrinsic way of doing business, according to Savage, who believes that a lack of personal interaction is doing the industry no favours and now is the time to do something else.

On the agent’s profile, visitors will see their face, all their contact details, including any social networks they belong to, find out what they are passionate about, read their testimonials and be able to apply for jobs via this person’s profile.

“With more recruiters going out of their way to be uncontactable, and hiding behind job reference numbers and email addresses, we have created a totally transparent way for talent and clients to connect with our people. Besides job boards don’t find people jobs. People find people jobs”, says Savage.