Thursday, September 27th, 2007 at 12:11pm by JRed

Danish-American Humorist Victor Borge said that “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”

Well, in that spirit…

I don’t know about you, but one thing that always gets under my skin is when a candidate becomes one of two kinds of people when leaving a voicemail message.

MICRO MACHINES MAN

This is the candidate who returns your call promptly, but when they get to the part where they’re going to leave you a phone number where they can be reached they suddenly morph into John Moschitta, better known as the “Micro Machines Man”.

I’m not sure why this happens exactly. Up until that point in the message, the candidate was doing just fine. It’s almost as if their pants spontaneously caught fire and all they can think of is ending the message so they can focus on  resolving this unexpected life or death situation.

CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE CANDIDATE

This is the candidate who calls back thinking they’re the ONLY person you’ve contacted throughout the course of a 10-12 hour day. For that reason, I like to call them the “Center of the Universe Candidate” because they seem to think everything you do revolves around them.

How do I know this? They NEVER leave a contact number.

Obviously, we have their number on file because we were the ones who contacted them in the first place. Yet, over the course of a busy day the nature of our business guarantees that we will be contacting hundreds of candidates. 

Surely, this sort of thing happens not just in Recruiting, but in Sales as well.

Your best bet as a rule of thumb is to ALWAYS include contact information in your message even when you are certain the person you’re calling has your number.

In the end, it saves everyone valuable time and tells the person you’re calling that you respect their time as much as you value your own.

Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 1:39pm by JRed

My last post got me thinking about something I read recently on The Hire Sense. Reminds me of why I now get most of my news online rather than relying solely on the mainstream sources.

Contrary to public opinion, the sky is not falling when it comes to the economy especially as it pertains to the employment/recruiting industry.

Hire Sense cites a recent Manpower survey to make their point.

I would have to echo the sentiments expressed by Derrick Moe who writes, “Notice how 58% foresee ‘no change’ in their hiring pace in Q4. That doesn’t mean they are slowing down, just sticking to their plan. No matter how the media attempts to frame the current economy, we are seeing an active sales market.”

Exactly.

Our firm has seen numbers in line with our 2007 projections for each quarter and our 4Q projections are no different even after the latest cacophony of reports. 

Thursday, September 6th, 2007 at 1:06pm by JRed

In an earlier post I presented the results of a recent Harris poll that ranks industries on how well they serve customers.

Most consumers (92%) think supermarkets have the best customer service. Online search engines (84%), computer hardware companies (78%) and hospitals (78%) round out the top five.

Anyone else have a problem with that information? What kind of a world do we live in when Hospitals (Health/Medical industry) aren’t ranked #1 and at 100% when it comes to customer service?

Maybe the problem is that sick people who I would call “patients” are labeled as “customers,” which only supports the harsh reality that the Healthcare industry is truly a business as opposed to a public service.

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not going to shout from the rooftops that universal healthcare for all is the answer and I’m not even going to suggest it as a solution. I just wish that the industry would institute some major reforms on the recruiting side of things.

I realize that there are many Healthcare professionals who are gifted beyond belief and excellent at what they do. My mother is one of them. I also realize that there are not enough of those types of individuals to take care of a population that needs them and far too many people in the industry who are just in it for the paycheck. They have to work somewhere, right?

The stories I have heard (as recently as this past weekend!) are truly unbelievable. To think that a person who does not have a caring and considerate bone in their body could somehow get a career in the medical field is remarkable to me. Worse, when these people fail to do their job properly (sometimes risking the lives of others) they are rarely reprimanded.

Why? ”We need the help!” is the reply, of course. To risk upsetting staff members, which could prompt them to leave and go somewhere else would be corporate suicide. Nevermind that it could equate to a possible death sentence for those who they should really be concerned with.

Despite the real shortage of qualified Healthcare professionals that exists in this country, that’s no excuse for choosing to ignore the implementation of a professional recruiting/hiring process.

The goal is to fill as many rooms as possible with sick patients. Perhaps the goal should also be it should be to find the best-of-the-best to serve those in dire need and not hiring a person simply because they submitted an application.

Friday, August 17th, 2007 at 2:57pm by JRed

Being a Peak Performer means constantly striving to improve until you’ve become the best that you can be. It’s reaching for the top of the mountain with one hand while helping others who want to join you in your pursuit with the other.

Our stated goal from day one is to improve the recruiting process as well as the recruiting experience. This is a give-and-take relationship where I do my part and others I interact with (whether clients or candidates) will do their part. That’s the hope anyway.

Communication is the key. Without it, success is forever locked and hidden away. I encourage my business partners to approach me when they feel I need correction for “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12:15).

In that spirit, consider this the first in what I hope will be an on-going series of discussions crucial to creating better experiences in the recruiting industry. If we can first assess, then address and finally put into practice these things perhaps we’ll all play a part in changing it all for the better.

Since everything’s more fun when you give it a name let’s call this our Mountain Top Tip #1.

Fridays are typically the one day of the week when we try to track down and follow-up with any potential candidates who failed to get back to us after expressing an interest in one of our career opportunities at some point during the week.

In most cases, we’ve already established direct contact with one another based on our policy of responding to all candidates within a 1 hour timeframe. For whatever reason, the candidate simply refused to respond.

Here’s a sampling of some gems from today’s phone blitz…

SCENARIO A - THE ABSENT-MINDED PROFESSOR ROUTINE

CANDIDATE: ”I’m not interested.”
PRP: “I’m sorry, but I’m a little confused because you contacted us YESTERDAY regarding one of our openings.”
C: “I already found a job.”
PRP: “In less than 24 hours?”
C: “Yes, I’m not interested!” –CLICK–

SCENARIO B - THE CONSPIRACY THEORIST ROUTINE

C: “I’m interested in your Sales Manager position that you have posted.”
PRP: “Great! Would you like to tell me a little about yourself or would you prefer to schedule a phone interview for another time? Either way, before we can do that though I will need you to take 15-20 minutes to complete our Pre-Screening Questionnaire and - - ”
C: “What!?! I’m not paying someone to find me a job!”
PRP: “Excuse me? I’m not sure where you got that from sir. What gave you that impression? We’re not that type of firm.”
C: “I’m not paying someone to find me a job! Don’t call me again!” –CLICK–

SCENARIO C - THE FAMILY MEMBER WHO’S A MIND-READER ROUTINE

CFM: “He has a job. He wouldn’t be interested.”
PRP: “That’s interesting because he sent me his Resume THIS MORNING and even left a voicemail message for me to call him.”
CFM: “Well, he makes good money and is happy where he works.”
PRP: “That may be, but I’m guessing he realized that the opportunity we have is vastly superior in job responsibilities and earning potential.”
CFM: “I don’t think so! Goodbye.” –CLICK–

SCENARIO D - THE “HOW DARE YOU!?!” ROUTINE

PRP: “Good morning! I’m from Paramount Recruiting Partners and I’m calling to follow-up with you. You recently expressed an interest in our Sales Manager position we have available.”
C: “Why are you calling me?”
PRP: “Like I said, you recently - - ”
C: “No! Why are you calling me at this number!?!”
PRP: “Because it’s the number you told us to call.”
C: “This is my work number and I’m at work now. I can’t talk about this here. You’re going to have to call me back some other time. I’m stepping into a meeting and have to go. Thank you.” –CLICK–

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. Fun isn’t it? Candidates, you need to know that we’re here to HELP YOU. I know that you’ve probably had some awfully negative experiences with other Recruiters and Agencies in the past, but please don’t hold that against us. Give us a chance to prove to you that we’re different.

MOUNTAIN TOP TIP #1: IF WE’RE CALLING YOU BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT YOU’RE A TOP PICK WHY WOULD YOU TREAT US TO A RUDE CLICK?

Thursday, August 16th, 2007 at 12:33pm by JRed

What criteria do you use when deciding whether or not a particular prospect is a complete waste of time? Can that same criteria be applied when it’s a CLIENT that is becoming a complete waste of time?

We’re very selective of the types of organizations we partner with and of the assignments we choose to work on. We have to be. “Time is money” is one of my least favorite cliches, but it’s so true especially in our line of work.

The last thing anyone from my firm wants to do is spend time sourcing, screening, interviewing and submitting candidates only to have the point of contact treat their hard work with a complete lack of respect.

Worse, is when the client resorts to “gut feelings” and snap judgments to determine whether or not they will see a candidate, completely ignoring our professional analysis and presentation as though it were submitted by rank amateurs.

Of course, I’m talking about the “Decision-Maker That You Can NEVER Please” no matter how hard you try. Despite meeting all the REQ changes (that seem to occur on a weekly basis despite an in-depth Needs Analysis!) there’s always a reason for turning down one of our candidates.

Currently, we’re dealing with a client that fits this description and it’s becoming quite tiresome. I have personally gotten involved and taken a more active role in the entire process and still nothing’s changed.

So why don’t we just cut ties, take our losses and move on, right? It would be an appropriate question if we weren’t delivering qualified, interested, hirable candidates on a consistent basis regardless of the changes to the job description.

Never one to back down from a challenge, my staff and I have become almost obssessed with filling this position. Plus, the fact that the placement fee is staring us in the face, taunting and laughing at us daily, makes this situation more complicated.

At this moment, I will remind all the key players that this is a partnership. We were “hired” (I feel dirty writing that as a Third Party Firm) to do a job and we’re going to deliver.  

Friday, August 3rd, 2007 at 12:19pm by JRed

I guess nothing should suprise me anymore. With the emergence of Web 2.0, social networking sites and blogs I fully recognize that we are living in a world that’s becoming more and more transparent by the minute, but is it still too much to ask for a little common courtesy? How about a little professionalism?

I was reading John Sumser’s ERN piece this morning (Do Manners Matter?) when, like a gift from Heaven, I was provided with related fodder for this post.

While our firm relies heavily on repeat and referral business as well as word-of-mouth we still commit significant time and resources to developing new business relationships. Part of that mix includes a targeted email campaign to those individuals and companies who have expressed a willingness to hear from companies like ours.Soon after I read Sumser’s article I opened a reply that I received in response to one of those targeted emails. It was one word and one word only - - “Pitiable.”I don’t know, what’s worse? Being a business owner and sending a response like this OR being a business owner here in Western New York (a place where everyone knows someone you know) and sending a response like this?The best part? The slogan plastered all over their website is that “We treat each customer as if they’re our only customer…” Sure.In fairness, for all I know, this could’ve been this individual’s attempt to get me to respond so that he could market his company’s services to us. I mean, I did see on their website that they do offer Advertising/Marketing Services. Even so, what a risky approach!

Being the gentleman that I am I found a phone number and immediately called the guilty party. I was taken directly to voicemail where I introduced myself, referenced his email reply and welcomed any opportunity to “take part in the healthy exchange of ideas” in an effort to “get an outsider’s take on what we might want to do differently to more effectively communicate our value and services.”

It’s a battle between killing them with kindness or killing them with insults. I wonder which approach has a better success rate?