Let’s play perfect world for a moment: we’ve acknowledged our failures, highlighted the challenges and obstacles. Carved out a reset button. Our department reports to PR or Marketing – we laugh a bit less self-consciously at the HR jokes. We’re invested in the company, educated on product, philosophy. We are integrated with engineering and even collaborate on recruitment strategies. Proud, passionate, loyal – we’re in it for the long haul.

We have access to great tools: Boolean templates, a LinkedIn Recruiter license, a solid Applicant Tracking System (ha!), maybe even a leads tool. No need to compete, our teams collaborate, we share techniques, assist one another. We’ve built a successful referral program, one that takes advantage of the collective knowledge within the company without becoming overbearing or desperate. We’re bloggin’, tweetin’, Facebookin’, Pinterestin’ geniuses and we are shaking up the world of recruiting. We burned the interview scripts during a recent camping trip and we’re conversing now, building rapport, educating our candidates, talking technical, and sharing insights.

That about covers it, right?

Well, almost. We’re missing one ingredient: we’re not coders. We don’t read it, we don’t write it, we don’t hack it. Not now, not ever. If we could, we sure as hell wouldn’t be recruiters, not now, not in 2012. Sure, we can read a book, buy some ‘Idiot’s Guide to Javascript’ off the $.50 shelf at the local used bookseller. But we’re not fools, not anymore at least, and we know that won’t help us distinguish the elite from the mediocre.

The Recruiter POV

Alex, a recruiter who has worked for Google and LinkedIn, as well as several renowned startups in Silicon Valley, said, “It’s hard to get hiring managers to make decisions. Many companies have limited funding and spending that money can be daunting. One wrong hire can really set you back. And we don’t always know who that right hire can be.”

So how can we limit that exposure, increase the likelihood of success?

“One thing we can’t do is sit on talent,” Alex said. “It’s too competitive. We need to know what we need to know earlier in the process.”

Jeff, a sourcer in Mountain View with a similar pedigree, said, “We’re just too damn slow. These guys have so many options. Engineers are losing patience with coding interviews, too. Their work is out there in the world now. They’ve built apps, or have contributed public code.”

Gild Source

After hearing about Gild Source, Jeff said, “It’s a tool we’ve been missing, that’s for sure. Search for engineers based on their coding skills? Being able to provide pre-rated code and samples of work that early in our interview process? Yeah, that’d be nice.”

On the topic of correspondence, Alex said, “I try to find a diversified methodology, a mix between quantity and quality. If I only search for quality, I’ll reach out to too few in a day and response rates right now are low, doesn’t matter where you work. The quantity hits the mark, but you end up reaching out to a few too many who probably won’t fit. Finding that balance? Now that’s the hard part.”

So it begs the question: can a tool like Gild Source trigger that balance?

“Sure,” Alex said, “If the rating is right there, job history too, and also a rundown of public projects? You can reach the right quantity and know, too, that you’re reaching the right ones? That fixes a few of our problems. Absolutely.”

Take the $.50 you saved on that lowbrow coding book you were never going to read anyway. Some things are best when automated.