(August 25, 2008) Recruiting is a market at the intersection of people and opportunity. People, the supply, and opportunity, the demand, are combined to make organizations more able to fulfill their potential. Recruiters sift, sort and select in order to meet the need of the groups they represent.

That sounds painfully obvious.

But, that’s where the big picture lives. A strategic perspective comes from considering things that are ridiculously apparent. Competitive advantage comes from finding a way to view the basics differently.

Basic Questions about the Labor Supply include

• How many people are there?
• How many of them work in the profession?
• How many of them live in the neighborhood?
• How old are they?

In order to fully grasp the responsibilities and consequences, you need a deep understanding of the supply and the demand factors for the labor market. In the end, all you need is enough data to navigate the confines of your niche. In the beginning, you have to learn the location of the ditch.

Population distribution is a good way of thinking about the labor supply. Population distribution means dividing the whole in various ways (age, gender, occupation, zipcode, kind of car and so on). An understanding of population distribution allows you to compare one huge collection of examples of population pyramids.

Read the Entire Population Distribution Series

• 080825 Population I
• 080826 Population II
• 080827 Population III
• 080828 Population IV
• 080903 Population V
• 080904 Population VI (Types)