Friday, September 28th, 2007 at 10:28am by JRed

Yes, it was a hit song by Foreigner, but today I want to briefly talk about a word that I feel is too often missing from our vocabulary and skills set these days.

The dictionary defines the word Urgent as an adjective that is “conveying a sense of  pressing importance” or one that is “requiring immediate action or attention.”

How many of us really exhibit a sense of urgency on a daily basis? Whether in Recruiting or Sales, would our business partners say that they recognize a sense of urgency from us or would they stare back at us with a blank expression if we asked them to give us their opinion on this subject.

If you’re a Peak Performer it better be the former and not the latter.

Simply put, an atmosphere of urgency will create an atmosphere of achievement. There’s an excellent piece on this subject at Monster’s Goals section.

Think about it for a moment. Have you noticed that creating a sense of urgency helps you to replace question marks with exclamation marks!

The best way to create a sense of urgency regardless of industry or profession is the use of deadlines coupled with micro-goals.

If you can get your staff REALLY excited and passionate about their work and the business as a whole you’ll be amazed at the sense of urgency you’ll foster.

Be aware of one common pitfall. No “firing your team up” speech will ever work unless you have a sense of urgency yourself. Otherwise, as a leader, you will be one of the core causes of this problem.

No matter how intelligent or capable you may be, if you don’t have a sense of urgency , NOW is the time to start developing it.

Thursday, September 27th, 2007 at 12:44pm by JRed

Please note that we’ve added 1 new Sales Blog and 1 new Recruiting Blog to our Blogroll on the right sidebar…

• Sales Guru Online
• 5 O’Clock Blog

Thursday, September 27th, 2007 at 12:40pm by JRed

No, I’m not talking about the odds of my beloved Buffalo Bills’ chances of winning this year’s Super Bowl (300 to 1 for those who needed me to add insult to injury!).

Instead, I’m referring to those who have recognized the sheer importance and mastered the sales art of under-promising and over-delivering.

More than just a cliche, this is such a critical key to success in both Recruiting and Sales. Jeff Littlejohn’s 5 O’Clock Blog has some great things to say on this topic. Let’s take a quick look at both.

RECRUITING

Whether we want to admit it or not, the harsh reality is that our industry is perceived as a miserable failure when it comes to this concept.

In fact, 90% of the time our business partners will tell us during the initial Needs Analysis phase that they have been burned by Recruiters in the past who failed to hold-up their end of the bargain and the result is a reluctance and distrust towards forming a new partnership. Can’t say I blame them.

Something as simple as providing your client with a daily/weekly Status Report regarding your search (acknowledging both the success and challenges during the process) can go a long way in maintaining a level of trust and belief that you’re actually doing what you were hired to do for them.

A Peak Performer has to stand behind his or her word and deliver on what is communicated.

SALES

If you over-commit yourself or your company’s products/services to an initial customer, you run the risk of actually losing their business in the short term. More tragically, you will never regain their trust or their business.

Peak Performers cannot get caught up in trying to please everyone all of the time or in winning popularity contests. This is a business model that is destined to fail.

SUGGESTIONS?

Be who you say you are and do what you say you’re going to do.

Above all, the best advice is to monitor yourself closely to make sure that you NEVER over-promise and under-sell. 

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 26th, 2007 at 7:40am by JRed

This is such a simple rule of thumb - - so easy - - that it may seem ridiculous to devote time to writing a post about this. While today’s tip could be applied to both Recruiters and Sales Professionals I want to focus on the candidate for a moment.

When you schedule a phone interview with a Recruiter (especially if it’s your first in-depth conversation to discuss things in greater detail) please make sure you know a little about the position you are going to talk about. I know, it seems as though that would be common sense, but you’d be surprised at how often we encounter this with candidates.

Opening the conversation with “What position is this again?” shows a lack of preparation and quite honestly it comes off as a little insulting. If we’ve contacted you and succeeded in scheduling a phone interview it’s a given that we have already provided a quick summary of the opportunity through brief preliminary discussions and/or messages (in an effort to generate interest and get a you to respond) at least a few times already.

Besides, if you’re blasting your Resume to several organizations each day and not keeping track of when and where it’s being sent you’re already going about your job search in the wrong way.

The solution is simple.

First, keep a record of the date that you submit a Resume as well as a quick note that provides you with a quick summary of the position as a reference tool and one that also includes the name of the organization and contact listed with the ad. Second, when an interview has been scheduled (often at least 24 hours in advance) you should immediately pull your quick summary and locate the full ad so you can have it in front of you during the interview. At the very least, you should read it in its entirity prior to speaking to a Recruiter.

If none of that has convinced you of the importance of being prepared for the initial phone screen here’s something else to consider.

From a Recruiter’s perspective, a candidate who comes off as careless and unprepared during the initial phone screen will force the Recruiter to obviously assume that the candidate conducts themselves in a similar manner when dealing with clients and customers. Obviously, our job is to qualify/disqualify every assumption, but why risk putting yourself behind the eight ball from the start? Why would you want to do anything that could create uncertaintly especially that early in the recruiting process about you as a viable candidate?

MOUNTAIN TOP TIP #6: PREPARATION SAYS YOU RESPECT YOUR TIME AND RECOGNIZE THAT TIME IS VALUABLE TO OTHERS AS WELL. PREPARATION SAYS YOU REALLY CARE. BE PREPARED!

Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 10:58am by JRed

Here’s one of the LEAST EFFECTIVE ways to write a job ad that will attract only the-best-of-the-best…

Women, as well as men, are encouraged to apply.

Aw gosh! You really mean it? You’ll actually consider a woman for the job? Wow! I can’t believe it! What a progressive company and definitely one I want to be a part of!

If the goal is to find a first-class sales professional - - a Peak Performer - - why do I continue to come across this statement in job ads at least once a week?

If you’re an organization that has to include this in your job ad I feel sorry for you. Somewhere along the line you lost sight of the fact that to be the best you have to hire the best - - regardless of gender, race and culture.

Some may argue that it is important for them to highlight this especially in so-called male-dominated industries where the common pereception (stereotype) is that only men would want the job and only men would be able to perform at a consistent and high-level of success.

Nice try.

A Peak Performer looking for the best career opportunity available to them will pursue any position that offers a challenge as well as an opportunity for personal and financial growth.

Those who write these ridiculous job ads would be wise to focus on highlighting those aspects instead. Otherwise, you run the risk of alienating and eliminating some excellent candidates even before the process has officially begun.

MOUNTAIN TOP TIP #5: DON’T GET LAZY WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING JOB ADS. IN MANY CASES, THEY ARE YOUR COMPANY’S ONLY SHOT AT GRABBING THE ATTENTION OF A PEAK PERFORMER.

Wednesday, September 19th, 2007 at 11:41am by JRed

If most Americans are in debt why are 80% of us unaware of the link between poor credit and job offers?

The overwhelming majority of today’s job seekers have no idea that many employers have made checking a credit score part of the job application process, similar to drug testing or criminal background checks.

Let’s face it, the vast majority of us live with debt each and every day.  Mortgages, car payments, credit cards and student loans are the most common examples. 

We now know that a poor credit could affect a career. In fact, we’ve even had a couple of clients who simply would not overlook a low credit score despite overwhelming evidence that the candidate was an absolute perfect fit for the job. 

With the uncertainty that exists in the job market why do we continue to gamble with our futures when we can do something about this mess?

We cannot forever borrow our way to prosperity. In 2004, the average credit card debt of U.S. households was $9,300. College students are graduating with an average of $19,400 in student loans. That’s just credit cards and student loans! We haven’t even considered mortgages and car payments!

Whether you want to believe it or not, there is something you can do about your financial situation. You can beat debt and build wealth on the path to financial freedom.

Most people dismiss any financial plan that proposes to elminate debt because they’ve lived with the burden for so long that they simply assume that it’s just life.

How many times have you thought to yourself that you would love to try and eliminate debt, but what’s the point since you’ll always have bills to pay?

We need to change this line of thinking! Besides, Peak Performers are always striving to be the best so why wouldn’t you want to be the best when it comes to managing your personal finances?

Fortunately, there are many options available to help you get your personal finances in order. How would you like to eliminate $30,000 in credit card debt in only 8 months? Wouldn’t you like to pay cash for all of your future purchases? It can be done!

All you need to do to get started on the path to financial freedom is to visit a service like Dave Ramsey’s site and take part in his My Total Money Makeover program.

One of the best decisions you can make is to finally take control of your finances. It’s time to start telling your money what to do instead of letting your money tell you what to do.

In the end, your wallet - - and your career - - will thank you.

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 11:35am by JRed

A comment by Jim Durbin in one of his recent posts makes an excellent point. He wrote that “Firing clients who don’t appreciate your work is a sign of strength.”

Do you agree with that statement? I certainly hope so especially if you’re a Peak Performer!

In Recruiting, as in Sales, we often go out of our way to qualify a prospect (understatement of the year). The cliche “Time is Money” was created by a Peak Performer, no doubt.

What happens when you qualify a prospect, secure the partnership and deliver exceptional results (often exceeding expectations) only to have your “business partner” refuse to uphold their end of the bargain?

In Recruiting, there are few things worse than investing time, energy and resources finding first-class professionals that meet nearly all of a client’s specific needs only to have them ignore your efforts.

Ok, so they don’t really ignore you. I mean, they do spend less than 5 minutes looking at the results of your hard work (i.e. candidate Profiles, Assessments, Resumes) and provide you with the “I think I’ll pass, not interested” auto reply without any real justification.

My advice is to PUSH BACK the very first time you encounter this type of response!

If they are serious about forming a mutually beneficial partnership then they will trust you as an expert in your field and they will be open to hearing what you have to say.

If you call them out and ask them to qualify their feedback and they choose to ignore you then they don’t really value your time or your expertise and they are most likely they type of client you’ll never be able to please - - no matter what.

The harsh reality is that you’ve just wasted valuable time with a client that can never be satisified. Your time could’ve been better spent dealing with those customers who truly resemble business partners.

Once you begin to recognize your true value and the value of the products/services you provide you’ll not only demand more from yourself, but you’ll begin to demand more from others.

Win-Win.

Is firing clients that don’t appreciate your work a sign of strength? Absolutely.

Fire them before the clients that truly matter fire you.

Friday, September 14th, 2007 at 11:28am by JRed

In today’s online driven job market, there’s no shortage of advice on how to get noticed and stand out from the crowd when seeking employment.

 A quick Google search using the phrase “get the interview” delivers an amazing 198,000,000 results! Monster is the first returned result so I’ll pick on the company that’s listed second.

One site claims a rough average that for every 100 Resumes you mail out, statistically you should get 10 interviews and 1 job offer. The site continues by providing the reader with the “Top 7 Tricks For Getting An Interview” to stack the decks in your favor and stand out from other candidates.

Not sure why there are only 7 as opposed to the expected 10 you see all the time, but here’s a quick rundown…

• Use a different color paper and not the standard white
• Use a different size paper for your Resume
• Get an inside contact
• Send a Certified Letter
• Send your Resume with a gift
• Deliver the Resume in person
• The Post-It Note trick

It does not appear as though they are ranked in any specific order, which is a good thing because I personally like only 3 of the 7 suggestions.

The best suggestion is the one that encourages you to “get an inside contact” at the company you’re interested in. These referrals can open MANY doors and be very valuable and rewarding!

The most creative strategy on the list is to use a Post-It Note. The thinking is based off of the assumption that in some organizations a Secretary/Receptionist is responsible for junk mail and for weeding out the qualified/unqualified Resumes before delivering them to the Hiring Manager’s desk. Imagine if a Post-It Note on one of the Resumes reviewed said “This one looks good - JR” and that’s it. There’s a chance the Secreatary/Receptionist might assume it came from an internal employee and a greater chance that your Resume moves to the Hiring Manager’s desk for review.

My least favorite suggestion (do I have to pick only one?) is the one that encourages you to “send your Resume with a gift” and it uses the example of ordering a pizza and having it delivered to the contact. Wait, there’s more! “If you do the pizza, here’s a tip - - put your Resume in a zip lock bag and tape it to the inside of the box.”

Seriously? Seriously.

Where do I begin!?! First of all, there’s no way I’m eating or drinking ANYTHING that is delivered to me by a stranger!  Second, if I saw a plastic bag of any kind taped to the inside cover of the pizza box in the off chance that I actually opened it I’d probably run and call in the local Hazmat Team.

My advice is that you obviously want to be creative when trying to separate yourself from other potential candidates, but that’s taking things to the extreme and definitely not the way to do it.

I recommend the Certified Letter technique, the Post-It Note tactic (very creative!) or something along those lines.

In fact, we had a candidate recently contact us to express an interest in one of our open positions using a creative and simple tactic. The only information provided to us was found in the Subject Line of the email…

“Regarding Sales Position: Please contact me ASAP to set interview @ 555-852-0001″

Nothing more, nothing less. No Resume. Not even a name. However, it was enough to pique our interest because for all we knew this professional was a Peak Performer and someone we’d definitely want to speak to or at least add to our network.

The person has an interview scheduled with us for next week Monday. Mission accomplished on their end.

MOUNTAIN TOP TIP #4: BE CREATIVE WHEN TRYING TO GET NOTICED, BUT DON’T GO OVERBOARD!  

Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 2:27pm by JRed

My guess is no, which is why the news that The Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has begun sending audit notifications is unnerving. Jim Stroud summarizes the story quite nicely on his site yesterday.

Last week, I wrote a post that discussed the enormous volume of varied recruiting processes that exist throughout our industry regardless of whether on the corporate, agency or independent side of things.

My first reaction is that it will be extremely difficult for them to enforce this with any real teeth - - at least initially. However, as these news reports pointed out, the fact that audit notifications were sent a year after the ruling was enacted could signal that the OFCCP is serious when it comes to enforcement.

Although it will be difficult (dare I say annoying?) for some to swallow at first, I welcome anything that will force Recruiting professionals to become even better at what they do.

Plus, one of the goals is to make us all to learn how to write better Job Ads so it will force many of us to pay closer attention to how basic qualifications are worded. In addition, it will also force many of us to develop a stronger understanding of our recruiting process. For some, that will mean they’ll have to actually create a formal recruiting process to begin with.

All in all, despite any knee-jerk reactions I might have to all of this I must say that it does appear to be an initiative with merit.

I’ll champion anything that attempts to make things better. That’s a win-win scenario for all.