Over the last 10 years, the recruiting industry has seen major changes as a result of the Internet. For many, this statement brings to mind images of job boards. For others, this might also bring to mind the explosion of web-based tools such as applicant tracking systems, social networking, and access to large resume databases.

But the Internet has also begun another major shift in recruiting which is sometimes over-looked: the surge of independent or ‘virtual’ recruiters. I firmly believe we are still only at the beginning stage of a large shift in the staffing industry and one to which industry experts might soon pay more attention.

There have always been entrepreneurs in the staffing industry that tire of working for a traditional staffing firm or inside of corporate recruiting department, and so they take the leap into independent recruiting. Some choose this path for the flexibility in lifestyle and some just do it for the money. But doing so always carried some substantial risks…many of which are becoming minimized due to the internet…and as I said, I think we’re still at the early stage of a shift in the staffing industry.

For example, think about the high cost of long-distance telephone service up until a few years ago. That alone was a reason for recruiters to stay under the shelter of an employer. But with flat rate long distance and VoIP, this has become a complete non-issue.

So, let’s look the four most daunting barriers to entry that are being addressed by independent recruiters in today’s market and their solution…I think that you’ll likely agree with me that these barriers are changing and as a result, the industry itself will evolve.

The first barrier: Job Board Advertising
One of the major restraints that kept recruiters from going independent in the past was the high cost of advertising to promote open positions and to build a resume database. Pre-internet recruiters often used print advertising in newspapers, which also carried a big price tag. We’re all pretty comfy these days with Monster, Hotjobs and Careerbuilder, as well as the many niche market job boards which have done a great job of replacing print media in terms of function but still remain out of financial reach to most independent recruiters. And that’s where recruiting associations and networks can step in. Some, like HireAbility where I work, negotiate with bulk purchasing power to secure favorable pricing or even free access to many job boards…and you can do so legally, without having to share an account with another person which is normally a breach of the user agreement with most job boards (if that’s a concern to you)… Just make sure that whatever association or group discount you’re getting allows you to have your own account and not a shared account with someone else since many job boards have a daily limit in terms of the number of candidates you can view in a given day. Additionally, some boards track the ISP and domain where you logged in and can track when you’re violating their user agreement. But back to my point: an independent recruiter can get a really low price on many boards legally, through an association or network.

The second barrier: Split Placements
In a traditional staffing firm, recruiters frequently partner with other recruiters on their team to increase placement activity and ensure that they meet staffing needs of their clients. An independent recruiter may not be able to service national accounts, multiple recruiting specialty areas, or higher volume needs by themselves. However, recruiters that are able to leverage online networks for this purpose have the ability to ’split’ placements with other independent recruiters, thereby filling the void that was created when recruiters leave a traditional staffing role and decide to go the independent route.

Barrier #3: Back office services
The need for a solid back office has clearly been one of the major hurdles for many recruiters wishing to go independent, and is one of the main reasons why so many recruiters do not decide to hang their own ‘open for business’ sign. Recruiters need to have access to a solid infrastructure that help them to bill & collect as well as to service temporary and contract placements. After all, the costs for providing funding, workers-comp insurance and payroll services can mount quickly. And of course, most recruiters are sales people, not accountants so they prefer to stay focused on what they do best, recruit! I’ve been to a lot of staffing specific trade shows over the years and can tell you that the number of companies catering to the contract services needs of independent recruiters has exploded over the years. You can usually gain access to them directly by doing some homework on Google, or again, the recruiting networks usually have something already lined up for you.

The Fourth Barrier: Social Interaction
This is an area that is often overlooked. In fact, many recruiters that decide to work independently put too little emphasis on the social interaction that working in a traditional office environment provides. Many independent recruiters will go back to working at a company or staffing firm simply because they were lonely, even if it involves making less personal income and sacrificing their independent lifestyle. Both local and web-based networking can fill this gap of course through frequent interaction with peers, forum discussion group participation, on-line social networking, instant messaging, as well as local in-person gatherings.

So, where does this leave the traditional staffing model? Perhaps traditional corporate staffing groups and placement agencies have already started to find out that they must work cooperatively with independent recruiters in order to access talented senior recruiters. It will become increasingly hard for traditional business models to shun the independent recruiting market as that market becomes larger.

For now, the traditional staffing models inside of companies and staffing agencies aren’t going away. However, they will most certainly have to evolve if they are to keep pace with the growing popularity of the independent and virtual recruiter lifestyle and the changing market landscape. And as I said, we’re still at the beginning of this change…and being an early player servicing this niche of independent recruiters, I’m ready to embrace the coming change.