Thanks Dad, For Teaching Me To Be Bold

Posted on June 14, 2013 by amy

As I thought about topics related to work for this week’s blog, my dad kept coming to mind. Maybe it is because Father’s Day is Sunday, but with every thought, I could almost hear his voice and the bits of advice he has given me over the years. Each one is deserving of its own post, but I think the lesson that has applied most in my recruiting career has been this one: “Be bold!”

My first job was as a newspaper carrier at the Vincennes Sun Commercial. I was nine. Shannon, the girl who lived down the block, had tipped me off that she was going to be giving up our neighborhood route and would get me the job if I was interested. This was a prime job opportunity in our little town for a kid my age. My dad quickly agreed, having passed papers as his first job as well.

Thus I embarked on my first job. I learned a lot from that paper route. My dad showed me all the tips for being a great newspaper carrier; how to roll the papers tight,  how to toss them so they landed right on the welcome mat and how to keep them dry by using plastic bags when it rained. He reminded me of the the responsibility to have the papers there on time no matter what the weather was like or how tired I thought I was. That lesson, too,  has served me very well over the years.

The hardest part of being a newspaper carrier, though, was collecting money from the customers once per week. Some people have no shame when it comes to money. There were actually people who would avoid paying this nine year old kid her $1.15 per week for their newspaper delivery, a small fee, even in 1979.

While most customers gave me a dollar and a quarter and told me to keep the change, in the beginning there were a few that would hide when they saw me coming on Friday, pulling my bag of papers in my red wagon and carrying my little zippered bank bag.

This is actually pretty sad as I look back on it now. Some of the nicest homes on the block owed me for several weeks before I finally told my dad why I wasn’t earning any money on my route. I will never forget the day he took my hand and marched me right up to each door of those that were avoiding payment. That was the day I learned to be bold.

My dad used his policeman’s knock, not a quick push of the doorbell like I did. On this particular occasion he even had his uniform on, which was very effective.  When the customer appeared at the door, he said something like, “ Sir, are you aware that my daughter has already purchased this newspaper on your behalf and has been delivering it to your home in good faith that you will pay her weekly?” I remember hiding behind him avoiding eye contact with the offender at the time. Dad never raised his voice, but he was bold. He spoke calmly, with no fear, and it was extremely effective.

“If you want to be successful in a job, Amy, you must be bold,” my dad told me that day. “Unfortunately, many people in this world do not respect those who cannot or will not stand up for themselves.”

After that day, I found that each customer happily pulled out their wallets to pay me each Friday. Some would even leave an envelope pinned to the door with my name on it when they planned to be gone.

I have remembered this day at many times throughout my career, and applied it in many situations. I used it when I was a new manager and there were employees who were annoyed with reporting to someone younger than themselves. I was bold and never let it keep me from from asserting my authority. I used it when I had to let someone go because they simply were not doing the job they had been hired to do. I stated the facts, showed no fear, and boldly, it was done.

When I became a recruiter was when I appreciated his advice most. To be a good recruiter, you must be bold. Take cold calling for example.  My first boss was a bit shocked when he asked about the person that I was having such a lengthy conversation with on one of my first calls. It was the CEO of a major hospital network that we were pursuing. Apparently a great deal of planning typically went in to accessing a client at this level and the general manager was almost always involved in those situations.  ”How did you get him on the phone? ” my boss asked.  ” I asked to speak with him, ” I said.

I’m not sure you’ll find many kids delivering newspapers at nine these days. Hopefully fathers are still finding ways to show their kids how to be bold. I think any recruiter will agree that being bold is critical to your success in the business. Each time I discuss my fees, I remember walking up to those doors on my paper route. Thanks, Dad, for teaching me to be bold, and happy father’s day!

What lessons did you learn from your father that has made you a great recruiter? When did you first learn the importance of being bold in your career?

Amy McDonald works with several employment websites and is the President and CEO at REKRUTR. She has been working in the human resources and recruiting industry for over 20 years. Amy has worked with hundreds of recruitment professionals throughout her career, training best practices in sourcing candidates and refining the recruitment process. In her spare time, Amy participates as a thought leader in Recruiting for BIZCATALYST360°

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Finding and Motivating Passive Candidates

Posted on May 31, 2013 by amy

Critical to any recruiter’s career, is the ability to find and maintain relationships with exceptional passive talent. According to one LinkedIn report, only 21% of the world’s workforce considers themselves an active candidate. The other 79% are passive candidates. These so-called passive candidates are where you will build your core network. These are your ambassadors for new business, your referral sources and the product you market. In most cases these are the candidates a hiring manager is most interested in finding.

Knowing what motivates passive candidates, and how to identify them, will help you break the ice in networking with this type of talent. Understanding these motivations helps you to seek out the pain that may be present in their current situation. If you have an opportunity that can remedy that pain, you are more likely to spark their interest and make a placement.

Talented People Want to Make an Impact. When you meet someone new, ask a few questions beyond “What do you do?” Do they like their job? Do they like who they work for?  Do they feel empowered, or is their ability to make an impact stifled by an overbearing supervisor or co-worker? Never underestimate the need to feel appreciated.  Many dream of a job where someone would actually notice their contributions or would accept their input.

Even employees that are very successful sometimes feel under-appreciated. It’s these people that you want to pay attention to. They just might be persuaded to look at an opportunity for a similar job where they can make more of an impact on the organization. You could not ask for a better marketing opportunity as a recruiter than presenting a candidate that is already successful in a similar role at your client’s competitor.

Everyone Wants To Work In Place Where They Feel Comfortable. Ask a person what they love about the environment that they currently work in and you will quickly know if culture is a motivator for change where this candidate is concerned. This is because, beyond the logistics of scenery, people just want to fit in. Passive candidates are more likely to want a corporate culture that fits their personality. Probe carefully when talking with potential candidates. What does their ideal work environment look like? Where is it located in relationship to where they are now? Are they laid back and creative or someone that feels most comfortable in their power suit? What motivates them to be successful and does their current employer provide that? What do they like or dislike about their co-workers.

You will get vastly different answers when you start asking these types of questions.  It can be one of the most compelling reasons to consider a job change. I encourage job posters to include information about the company culture on their job advertisements. Job distribution sites offer ways to share your ads on the web with social networks and other industry websites, not just job boards per se. Because of the viral nature of this type of posting, the job lands in front of passive candidates as well as active ones.

Top Performers Like To Be Challenged. Often, an individual that is extremely comfortable, maybe even too comfortable, in their current position will be intrigued by an opportunity for a new challenge. When I meet someone who is very successful, I like to ask them to tell me about their next professional challenge. If they have a difficult time giving concrete examples of their future or current professional challenges, this person may be silently begging to be motivated again. It is never a mistake to stay in touch with a successful person who is not being challenged.

We have all been a passive candidate at some point in our careers. Early in my career I was working for a great company. I had a solid career progression and was in a role I felt I had mastered. I was gainfully employed, successful, and comfortable. I was so comfortable in fact, that I had plenty of time to listen to a recruiter who called to share an opportunity with me one Friday afternoon. I quickly realized that the opportunity he was selling was called the same thing, but very different than the position I was in. It might even be hard to deliver everything this company was looking for. They had high expectations and I would need to learn a lot to be successful with them. It would be a new challenge and that was exciting to me.

Needless to say, I pursued the interview with his company and was offered a position. When the recruiter called, I’ll admit that I considered declining the offer. The position did not pay more, had less autonomy, and was a bit more of a drive. Taking this job would mean a big change. The consultant who recruited me was a master though. He quickly reminded me of our first conversation. He asked me one question: “Did I want to settle for comfortable or challenge myself to be great.”  The rest is history, folks. I took that position and never looked back.

Find out what motivates every person you meet. Any one of them could be a passive candidate. I don’t have any statistics on the number of people that have nothing that would motivate them to explore new career opportunities, but I’m guessing it would be pretty low. Few people have a job that could not be improved. Almost everyone you meet is a passive candidate.

 

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The C Rule : Warming Up Your Application Process With Email

Posted on May 16, 2013 by amy

Not a week goes by that I don’t hear someone complaining  about their displeasure with an application process. Common complaints revolve around submitting a resume to a “black hole”. They never receive a response. They spent an hour on the complicated online tool for submitting an application only to receive an immediate message : DECLINE.

I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to say that a fairly large number of talented people hate looking for a job in the first place. When they feel mistreated just applying to your position, it is like salt in a wound. This can translate in to negative comments about your company and even you personally. Escalate that by the fact that they are probably sharing it on Facebook or Twitter with hundreds if not thousands of people to be recorded forever, and you have a recipe for disaster.

If you want to warm up the reception of your process to new applicants, I highly recommend you examine the C Rule. Okay, full disclosure, I made up the term “C Rule” to make my title look more interesting. I’m really not a big fan of workplace jargon, but hey, it got your attention didn’t it? 

What is the C Rule? The C Rule as I define it states:  When there is a problem that needs fixed, you should probably start with the letter “C” because “C is for Communication! “ The primary tenant of the C Rule is that every process goes better when there is good communication.So, if the C rule applies, and trust me, it does, when a process is broken or someone is unhappy, start with looking at your communication.

Whether you have 10 resumes coming in, or 10,000, the first step to making a warmer applicant experience is communicating to the applicant what is going on! Applicants aren’t asking you to be their best friend, they just want to have an idea of what to expect.

The easiest way to accomplish better communication to applicants, with minimal effort on your part, is email. If you are getting 10 applicants, a quick template on Outlook will make this easy. If you lean closer to the 10,000 mark I am going to assume you have some technology in place to help you manage the masses. I am also going to assume this technology can probably send mass or automatically generated emails. 

“Communication, good communication, means getting your point across to the recipient without being offensive.”

So how do you do this in a COLD email?  First, let me clarify that written communication does not have to be cold. Think I’m wrong? Ask anyone under the age of 30 or over the age of  60. The under 30 crowd will admit they avoid telephone communication all together. The over 60 crowd will most certainly have a letter pressed between the pages of a book they can pull out to show you.

 Warm up Written Communication with These Four Tips:

1. Show some appreciation. Let the applicant know you appreciate their interest in the position they have applied for. This seems so obvious, but you would be surprised how many recruiters forget this act of common courtesy. ” Thank you for your interest in our organization, we are pleased you have considered us in your career search.”

2. Explain what the applicant should NOT expect. Will you call all applicants? I’m going to guess the answer to that is “no”. Make them aware of this in the email. Be nice, but let the applicant you simply can’t call every person who applies.  ”Due to the large volume of applicants that have shown interest in this position, we are unable to speak personally with each one…”

3. Explain what the applicant CAN expect. So if you might not call them, how will they know if they are being considered? This is going to depend on your process. If you know that all candidates being considered will be contacted within “X” number of days, TELL THEM ! If you don’t, which often is the case, you might say something like: ” While we are reviewing your resume, we suggest you learn more about our company by visiting our career page… candidate tips…website…” then continue with “only those candidates moving forward to an interview will be contacted by phone.”

4. End the applicant’s experience with you and your company on a good note. This step is more commonly known as the “regret letter”. Applicants know you can’t hire every candidate, but it will go a long way towards their opinion of your firm or company if you take the time to send out a simple message communicating to the individual that, while you can’t offer them this opportunity, you hope they find another. Consider at least one phrase that says something like: “We wish you success in your search for employment…”

There will always be the applicant that expected more than you can give, but using these communication tips for your messaging will go a long way with most. What challenges do you face in regards to a balance between efficiency and applicant satisfaction?

Amy McDonald is the President and CEO at REKRUTR. She has been working in the human resources and recruiting industry for over 20 years. Amy has worked with hundreds of recruitment professionals throughout her career, training best practices in sourcing candidates and refining the recruitment process. In her spare time, Amy participates as a thought leader in Recruiting for BIZCATALYST360° 

 

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Three Tips for Splits

Posted on May 3, 2013 by amy

When I was a girl one of my biggest goals was to be able to do the splits like all of my little gymnast friends. Let’s just say that we are NOT all created equal. I never did pull off the physical act of doing the splits. I did, however, master recruiting splits. Those splits really worked for me.

For those who are not familiar with the term “splits” as it applies to recruiting, I am referring to the situation where two search professionals work together to make one candidate placement. Typically one search consultant has the job order, and the other provides the candidate. The two professionals work together and then “split” the payment or profit of the placement.

I have facilitated hundreds of split placements over the years. It is sort of a specialty for me. At one point, I managed over 200 split partners throughout the country for a large scale expansion. Splits are a great way to supplement your billings.  These are not meant to replace the sourcing you already use from telephone calls, ads you place on big boards, or job distribution networks. They do enable you to take on more job orders than you could typically handle on your own. If you are working on the sourcing side, they can often result in placing a talented candidate that was previously screened but not a good fit for your client’s needs, too. The question here is would you rather make part of the placement fee, or no fee at all? Typically you will have exhausted all of your other resources before you turn to a partner for a candidate, or on the flip side, a job order.

Despite how well it has worked for me, I have heard stories from many fellow recruiters that have been very disappointed when they attempted work on split placements. Some say they wasted time recruiting candidates for a job order that wasn’t really qualified. Others have been burned on the payment side. In one situation I know of, the candidate basically made a relationship with the other recruiter and when the original placement flopped, the candidate stuck with the split partner instead! EEK! Scary stuff right?

If you think you want to work a split situation, here are three easy tips that can prevent the negative situations that can result from split work.

Keep It in the Family

When it comes to working splits, I highly recommend you consider those within your own office or network of offices first. The risk for misunderstanding regarding payment is a lot lower. It is also more likely that a recruiter who shares a similar philosophy in their recruiting style will be a good partner. If you are an independent recruiter, and want to work on splits, seek out those within your personal network first. You will always have more confidence working with someone you know and trust in the industry.

We Want Pre-Nup

Always, I repeat, ALWAYS draw up a contract for a split placement BEFORE you begin working together. Every agreement does not need to be lawyer approved, but you do need to have your expectations in writing and both parties need to agree on the terms as they are written. Consider determining who has ownership of the candidate and for how long, the percentage of the total fee that each party will receive, and how source ownership will be determined. Your split partner should have an opportunity to comment and amend the contract to meet their own needs and then you both should sign off in agreement.

Call Me, Maybe?

Obviously there should be communication between any two people who are working together. Many of us spend a lot of time shooting emails back and forth. I really recommend you incorporate phone calls in to your process for splits. The person that is working with the client doesn’t want 3 phone calls a day inquiring about the candidate’s status. (Welcome to an HR person’s world.) On the other hand, the recruiter with the candidate relationship wants details on what is happening.

My advice to avoid all the hassle on this is to set clear expectations up front about when you will talk by phone. You might even consider setting up specific dates and times for phone conferences with your split partner. Will you talk once per day or once per week? In some situations, it is only necessary to have a phone conversation when there is a significant update. Whatever the case, these calls needn’t be long, but they need to happen. Make the commitment to communicate and stick with it. There is nothing that will sour a split relationship faster than lack of communication.

Have you made a lot of split placements? What was your biggest challenge or success story? What advice do you have for those trying a split situation for the first time?

Amy McDonald is the President and CEO at REKRUTR. She has been working in the human resources and recruiting industry for over 20 years. Amy has worked with hundreds of recruitment professionals throughout her career, training best practices in sourcing candidates and refining the recruitment process. In her spare time, Amy participates as a thought leader in Recruiting for BIZCATALYST360° 

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How to Eat an Elephant.

Posted on April 26, 2013 by amy

This week’s post is for those of us who need a little motivation for that bigger than life project we’re working on. Whether it was assigned, or you volunteered for it, you know the one I mean. It is the one you’ll be working on this weekend.  It’s the one that seems to never be finished; the one that keeps you awake at night. It is the most challenging project on your plate. Sometimes, it is the only project on your plate. I call these projects my elephants. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

Is it Really an Elephant?

I am a horrible procrastinator. I’ll admit. Somewhere around the fifth grade I realized that I work really well under a lot of pressure and I’ve used that my whole life to justify what most call habitual procrastination. It is pretty scary that I just put this in print. Usually I deny it, and my husband, my parents, or my former colleagues have to remind me that this is part of the problem. Identify the traits of your personal work style that could make a project feel like an elephant when it doesn’t have to be. Be honest with yourself so you can determine what is really causing this project to be so massive. Talk it over with those you are close to; those who know you best. Are you really overloaded, or is it your support team, the work environment, or your own bad habits that are making it feel too big to handle? Once you find the obstacles, you can work to tackle them one by one; “one bite at a time.”

Turn Down the Perfectionism

While I’m confessing, I’ll go right ahead and let you know that I can be a perfectionist as well. Sometimes a project can feel like an elephant because I get so caught up in the small details that I am not keeping my focus on the big picture. Does this happen to you? This used to happen to me when I worked on big-scope sourcing projects in RPO. I would have one position with a difficult profile, and I’d throw everything I had in to that one position. I’d hope the other easy-fill positions were doing fine. Until they weren’t doing fine. Then I would stress out and complain about this GIANT elephant I was trying to manage. Do yourself a favor if you know you have a bit of a perfectionist’s streak. Turn it down right now and keep the big picture in mind. Perfectionism can be productivity’s worst enemy.

Reward Yourself Throughout

One of the hardest things about elephants is waiting for the reward at the completion of a project. Even if you have been retained to work on this project, finding the satisfaction of a job well done is hard when the road ahead looks bumpy and full of potential risks and failures. Find ways to reward yourself at various points along the way. Only you can determine what will motivate you and when you can consider a task completed as warranting a reward, but trust me it makes a difference.

Get Help!

Are you using all of your resources? Is there technology available that could take off some of the load? My best piece of advice for dealing with an elephant is taking “breathers” throughout the project to see where you can use some help. Are there people you can delegate some of the on-going tasks to? Can you add some technology within your budget that will help you get organized? For example, if you are a recruiter and not using a job distribution tool like REKRUTR.com I highly recommend you try it. The time you save in posting the job or jobs to various websites alone will make a big difference.

What do you do to choke down your elephants? Post your techniques in the comment section below.

Amy McDonald is the President and CEO at REKRUTR. She has been working in the human resources and recruiting industry for over 20 years. Amy has worked with hundreds of recruitment professionals throughout her career, training best practices in sourcing candidates and refining the recruitment process. In her spare time, Amy participates as a thought leader in Recruiting for BIZCATALYST360° 

 

Posted in Business Consulting, Project Management, Recruitment Process, Time Management, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Workforce Disaster Planning

Posted on April 19, 2013 by amy

 

In light of the events in Boston this week, I thought this might be a good time to talk about disaster planning, and how it relates to recruiting.

Regardless of the disaster, be it natural or otherwise, it is important to know how your company, and/or those you recruit for, will react in emergency circumstances.  Many small businesses invest so much time, money and resources in making their venture successful, yet fail to plan well for the unexpected. I read an article on the SBA site last week that said a shocking 25 % of small businesses do not re-open after a major disaster. http://www.ready.gov/business.

Want to provide a true value for your clients? Get them discussing their workforce risks in the case of a disaster right now! Tell them how you can provide them with the security of knowing their workforce needs are addressed immediately in the event of a disaster. Their workforce, after all, can be their most critical investment. Imagine the situation a company would face if they were to wake up tomorrow with the majority of their employees unable to report to work due to emergency circumstances.

When real disaster strikes, your clients should know they can make one call, text, or email to initiate a plan for replacing the most critical positions in their company immediately. Start opening discussions with your clients about their crisis workforce planning sooner rather than later. Below are some tips I would offer based on clients I’ve worked with in the past:

Get Detailed Profiles for Every Position

It is impossible to determine which positions will be impacted by a disaster. While the initial reaction from most companies is the desire to ensure executive positions are filled,  what about the front line worker that keeps their doors open? Is it the CEO that is most critical to replace, or your web development team? What if there is no longer an HR team? Who decides how and when to begin replacing key roles? Eliminate questions involving role preferences and culture fit by have job descriptions, and profiles in advance. This will allow you, as the recruiter, to know what you will be expected to provide in the case of emergency, and if you need to have screened candidates in your database that you could call immediately.

Agree on Process and Screening in Advance

Think of every scenario up front when it comes to process, and have your plan in place. Is your client willing to let your firm make the final decision on some or all positions in the event that the typical approval chain is compromised? Will these hires be considered temp-to-hire positions, or permanent placements? At what point are you authorized to initiate immediate response? Phone calls and other communication may be very limited in the case of disaster. You should determine in advance individuals at various levels that can authorize you to begin workforce replacement efforts. I highly recommend having this information in a prepared contract on file. Include all of the necessary authority signatures in advance.

Determine Fees and Terms Up-Front

No one wants to be discussing fees and terms of payment with a company that has just lost 1/2 of their workforce. These companies will be struggling just to keep the doors open. Reasonable terms should be in place long before there is ever a need to implement them. As the recruiter, consider a considerable discount for your clients that are willing to trust you with this task in advance. The smart companies who consider risks in advance, and are prepared for these circumstances, will often be willing to offer you exclusivity or a retainer to provide them with an affordable resource for their recovery plan. There are also far fewer emotions in place if this is decided upon in advance. It will ensure a win/win for both parties.

Let me know if you have clients retaining you for disaster initiatives now. Are their challenges you see in providing your clients with this type of service? Sound off in the comments!

Amy McDonald is the President and CEO at REKRUTR. She has been working in the human resources and recruiting industry for over 20 years. Amy has worked with hundreds of recruitment professionals throughout her career, training best practices in sourcing candidates and refining the recruitment process. In her spare time, Amy participates as a thought leader in Recruiting for BIZCATALYST360° 

 

 

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You LOOK Perfect For This Position.

Posted on April 12, 2013 by amy

 

I was prompted to write this post after reading an article from Salary.com  entitled “7 Ways Your Looks Affect Your Pay”.You can read it  here if you are interested.

The article has some good statistical data that I don’t like, but I’m also not going to argue with.  Their findings, I have to admit, are spot-on in regards to the culture at many of the companies  I have consulted with in the past. After reading it, I started thinking about how looks also relate to the screening and hiring process in many organizations. This can really present a challenge to the recruiter working for or with a company that demonstrates this type of culture.

Have you ever had a hiring manager say something like:

“They look good on paper, but what do they really look like?”  

I have heard this, and worse. I always like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but let’s face it, they usually mean exactly what they’ve said:

 ”What do they look like?”

To take this a step further, in many cases, the answer is as important to placing that candidate as are their skills. Please note, I’m not talking about asking about appearance to determine a protected class. Here are some examples:

” I need a Barbie or Ken for this territory. You just don’t get business in this area if you are ugly.”

” I’m sorry. He has the right skills, but the manager will never hire that guy. He is sort of short and he doesn’t hire anyone over 6’2″ to work side by side with him.”

” Her back-ground is a fit, but what in the world is that thing on her forehead? Is it a birthmark? I can’t work with someone if I can’t look them in the eye. That mark on her forehead distracts me.”

“Before I meet her, does she have an athletic build?  That is a must. We work with doctors after all.”

These are all real life quotes from my career, people. I can’t make this stuff up! Keep in mind, that I didn’t typically meet with a candidate face to face. I was in Indiana and they were somewhere else in the world where I had found a job order. I  am guilty of telling the client this just to get the candidate in the door, or to get them to give me another chance for the right fit.

Some of these might sound pretty silly, but if we are being really honest with ourselves, can we all  say that a candidate’s  appearance would never  have a bearing on whether we would hire them or present them to a client? That’s rhetorical. I’m not answering that one. Let’s say that your client said something like ” This position requires a professional appearance,” though. Would how a person looks change the way you felt about that candidate?

Since most of my clients only know me by the sound of my voice,this also makes me curious. Would they hire me if they really knew what I looked like?  Not that I think I’m unattractive, but gee, we all have our insecurities about some part of our appearance. Who determines what is better or worse?

So are you too tall or not tall enough? Are you too fat or too thin? If you have curly hair will you get the same consideration as your competition that is a silky blonde? What about those with big noses vs. those that have a chiseled chin. Who should have preference?  Are you forever penalized with some companies for a scar from that car wreck when you were sixteen, or the tattoo from that bad weekend in Vegas you won’t discuss? Would that really keep you from getting the job? I’m sorry, but the answer is, yes, it might.

These are totally fair  game in the U.S. Legally that is. For now. Unless you can prove that it relates in some way to identification as a protected class. In fact,  some of these once “closed door” discriminators are being eased in to the work place with current employees. Check out this page from www.annualmedicalreport.com. Here is an excerpt:

CVS Caremark Corporation has come under fire for asking employees covered under the company’s health care plan to disclose a range of personal information in a “wellness review” — from their weight to blood pressure — or face a financial penalty.  According to company statements, CVS is giving its 200,000 employees an ultimatum: submit your height, weight, body fat percentage (Body Mass Index, aka “BMI”), blood pressure, glucose levels, and other health indicators or suffer an on-going financial penalty of $50 per month.

I hope we never get to a point that you need to agree to submit this kind of personal information as a prerequisite to being considered for every job. You just never know, though. If we go there,  who will determine when it is necessary to meet wellness criteria ( for example) to perform the job. Have you ever had a doctor that looked like they might have a BMI higher than your own? Is it really about wellness, and insurance rates, or are we just  looking to have a workforce that makes our company look good?

I’d love to hear you sound-off on this post. There are extremes to this topic, of course. Care to share any crazy requests for particular looks? Maybe you’ve been given a knock out factor related to appearance? Do you think it is O.K. to consider appearance as part of the screening process? If so, do you include this information under requirements for the position?

Amy McDonald is the President and CEO at REKRUTR. She has been working in the human resources and recruiting industry for over 20 years. Amy has worked with hundreds of recruitment professionals throughout her career, training best practices in sourcing candidates and refining the recruitment process. In her spare time, Amy participates as a thought leader in Recruiting for BIZCATALYST360° 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Making of A Star Recruiter

Posted on April 5, 2013 by amy

Recruiting can be a very misunderstood job and finding a true “star” in this industry is not easy. So how do you make a star recruiter?

Is it in the training? Uh-uh. Despite the claims of very successful professional recruiting trainers, I don’t think that is it. It might increase the probability, but I’ve seen plenty of recruiters receive training from the best the industry has to offer and still fail. They just didn’t have “it”.  They have the degree. They are aggressive and like a competitive environment. They are motivated by the potential of making a lot of money. They have excellent verbal and written skills. They can even make a hundred calls in a day without blinking an eye.

So what is the “it” factor that they still lack that keeps them from becoming a recruiting star?

A very wise leader in the recruiting industry, I’ll call him Bill, once told me, “What we look for in a recruiter is intangible, Amy. It is like finding a professional athlete. Skills are important, but what makes a star is in their soul. It’s their passion for what they do.”  The longer I work in this industry, the more I realize how right he was. The “it” factor is HEART people! A recruiter must have HEART! The basic skills are important, but in the end, a star in the recruitment industry is motivated by helping people.

For the clients they serve, recruiters relieve the pain the employer is experiencing while the position is vacant. They reduce overtime costs. They help that supervisor be able to make it to his kid’s ball games again. They reduce turn-over by finding the best candidate the first time.

For their candidates, a recruiter is a healer as well. They take a job they are content with and replace it with their dream job. The pain they do experience in their current role is replaced with the next career step, or more money, or less travel, or more flexibility, or a new challenge.  Sometimes they help with all of the above! This impacts the life of the candidate’s family as well! Face it; recruiters can be some serious change agents.

Now don’t get me wrong. These stars like to make money. They like it a lot. They can usually think of no better way to feel good about supporting the lifestyle they have always dreamed of, than by helping people. At the end of the day, they are motivated for what recruiting is all about and the financial is just the bonus that comes with it.

So if you are looking for ways to take your recruiting teams to the next level; if you are trying to make “stars” in the industry, consider reminding your team of what recruiters really do. They change lives! Recruiters are problem solvers and change agents! The ones that get “it” will be your stars.

Do you have a feel-good story to share about being a life changer as a recruiter? I think we all have at least one candidate or client that has told us how much we have impacted their life. Sound off in the comments. I would love to hear your experiences.

Amy McDonald is the President and CEO at REKRUTR. She has been working in the human resources and recruiting industry for over 20 years. Amy has worked with hundreds of recruitment professionals throughout her career, training best practices in sourcing candidates and refining the recruitment process. In her spare time, Amy participates as a thought leader in Recruiting for BIZCATALYST360° 

 

 

 

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The Candidate Who Stalked Me

Posted on March 27, 2013 by amy

This week I want to talk about those candidates who stalk us. You know the candidate I mean. They are the one you ask the lady at the front desk to send directly to voice mail. I use the word stalk in fun really. Mine has never threatened me. We have a love/hate relationship. Let me explain:

We had a thing once. By “thing” I mean I had a really hard to fill job order this guy was perfect for. He met the criteria, so I sold him on it. He was gainfully employed but motivated to make a move by a boss that was intimidated by just how great he was. My, client loved him and they were willing to pay whatever it took to get him. Therefore, I loved him too. He represented that one huge fee we all dream about landing and I had already spent the whole thing before the invoice was even submitted.

Then it happened. The unexpected call from my client immediately put me on guard. “No! “They found the dreaded internal candidate. The last minute, “I’m so sorry, but they didn’t hear about them until today”, internal candidate. This is the search consultant’s worst nightmare. Despite my pleas to the client regarding why it was a mistake to let this candidate go in lieu of the internal transfer, policy won. The placement was not going to happen. I got the other job order, but this candidate would never be willing to step down to that position.

The break up call to that candidate was the hardest I’ve ever made. He almost cried on the phone. I felt physically nauseous after. It was my first lesson as a recruiter in why you never get emotionally involved in the placement process. It was also my first lesson in why you don’t tell a candidate to “keep in touch,” when what you really mean is “Don’t call me. I’ll call you.”

“Stay in touch,” I told him when I hung up the phone. Today when I think of that call it plays out in slow motion in my head. You know, like a television replay. It plays back in my mind like the guy that misses his pass despite the perfect athletic form he has during the attempt to catch it.  The truth is I only said that to be nice. The chance I would have another opportunity to present this candidate was slim. I could market him to new clients in a different industry, but my niche was pretty narrow. So in the end, I realize that his so-called stalking was sort-of my fault. You see, he thought I really wanted him to stay in touch.

He continued to call me once a day. “What do you have for me?” he would ask. “Any new leads?”

“I’m sorry. I will call you if I find anything.” The guilt of not being able to help this guy was killing me. I hated him for making me say, “I’m sorry I can’t help you,” every single day. I avoided him for several days in a row. But he continued to call at least once or twice a week.

Then it occurred to me. This guy knew everyone. He was one of those rare connector people that made friends wherever he went. After all, there was a reason I built a relationship with this guy in the first place. Just because he didn’t fit my other job descriptions didn’t mean he didn’t know someone who did. So I did it. I used him! I used him for his contacts. It was so easy. In my defense, he let me!

“I don’t have anything that matches your experience, but while I have you on the phone, can you help me? WHO DO YOU KNOW at ABC Company?”  Of course he knew people. This was his industry. He was great. He enjoyed working with me and despite our deal falling through, he wanted to help me. I trusted his opinion and enjoyed his insight. Over the period of more than a year, I presented him to clients a few times, but it just never worked out. I still avoided his calls, but when he did catch me “to see what the market for jobs was like”, I shamelessly asked him for every referral I could get. I actually made at least two great placements as a direct result of one of his leads.

Do you have a candidate that you avoid; your own personal “stalker”? Care to share any crazy stories? Do you ask them for referrals? Have you told them you can’t help them?

Amy McDonald  is the President and CEO at REKRUTR. She has been working in the human resources and recruiting industry for over 20 years. Amy has worked with hundreds of recruitment professionals throughout her career, training best practices in sourcing candidates and refining the recruitment process. In her spare time, Amy participates as a thought leader in Recruiting for BIZCATALYST360° 

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The REKRUTR Vault : Is Mobile the Future of Recruiting?

Posted on March 20, 2013 by amy

I have been fascinated by just how far mobile technology has come in the last 5 years and even more so by where it is going. Something that has become so ingrained into our lives has to effect recruiting, right? Well of course it does!

My husband is working out of state this week and while the kids and I sat using the Skype app on my android phone to hear about his day’s events, I noticed how very normal this was for my 4 year old daughter. I, on the other hand, still felt like Jane Jetson! I was almost giddy. Who knew we would see this kind of technology in our lifetime? Mobile is here, and “wow!” it is here to stay. I’m confident that using mobile technology will be important for recruiting almost every generation. It will be mandatory for attracting  the millennial candidate and beyond. Keep in mind, by 2018 it is estimated that this group will make up 50% of the workforce.

Smartphone usage has grown 50% between 2011 and 2012 alone. Mobile device use is expected to overtake PC use by 2014.  It doesn’t take a lot of due diligence to see that mobile is where everyone is spending their time these days. For a recruiter, that impacts their sourcing strategy significantly. Frustrated employees are checking out job ads from their phone at their desk or on a break. Even those who are just curios about an opportunity they see while browsing the web can express their interest immediately from any location, at any time of day.

According to a recent Microsoft Tag infographic, Americans spend 2.7 hours per day on their phone socializing. That is over twice the amount of time they spend eating and over one-third of the time they spend sleeping. I listened to a blog cast last week that claimed there are literally more mobile phones on this planet than toothbrushes!

At REKRUTR, we are working hard on our Mobile 2.O roll-out, which I know will be exciting for our users. We completed phase 1 just a few short weeks ago. The updates ensured our site was mobile friendly for all devices, and it allows new users to sign up and view our brochure pages. Perhaps the most significant increase in mobile traffic we recognized though, was candidate traffic. We saw a dramatic increase in mobile applicants the first day. Even applicants using iOS (their iPhone) are able to let the recruiter know they have interest in the position immediately after viewing, despite the fact that they don’t have access to a stored resume.

My prediction: mobile will play a big part in the future of recruiting ! If you have any doubts about just how much of an impact that mobile is already making on recruiting, check out iMomentous blogger,Vanessa Bostwick’s post for More Mind-Blowing Statistics About Mobile Recruiting. She sites some incredible stats from one of our tier one posting partners, Simply Hired. Their 2013 Mobile Recruiting Outlook had some great information on the subject.

What are your thoughts about the impact of mobile on your recruitment practice? What other ways are you using mobile?

Amy McDonald  is the President and CEO at REKRUTR. She has been working in the human resources and recruiting industry for over 20 years. Amy has worked with hundreds of recruitment professionals throughout her career, training best practices in sourcing candidates and refining the recruitment process. In her spare time, Amy participates as a thought leader in Recruiting for BIZCATALYST360° .

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