Ok, now that you’ve got the gist of it. Think about disintermediation when it comes to the recruiting industry. I’ve had a goal for a long time to reduce reliance on job boards. Not because they’re evil, not because I have a personal vendetta, but because the model is goofy to me. The analogy I use sometimes is that job boards are a bit like HMO’s. HMO’s stand between the patient and doctor. HMO’s have an undue influence on the choices of the patient, and ultimately the kind of connection they have with their doctor. HMO’s also have an enormous impact on the experience that a patient has in seeking care. I think the parallels with job boards are obvious.

Enter the force of disintermediation.

The internet has made it easier and easier for individuals (and companies) to have access to the things that before required an intermediary or middleman. Used to be we paid job boards for the posting, and they did the SEO work on the job so it showed up in results on Google. Now with vendors like jobs2web the job boards are suffering the effects of disintermediation. This is just one example among many of how disintermediation is affecting our industry.

What changes do you see or foresee as a result of disintermediation?

What are the implications of disintermediation for job boards, Agency recruiters, CRM vendors, ATS vendors, corporate recruiters, or anyone in the recruiting industry?

Even better, what will your response be when, not if, disintermediation starts to affect your world?