Working Well with Recruiters

Working well with Recruiters
5 Steps to Getting Moe Success in the Search Process

The North American head of Human Resources of one of gth bee large offshore consulting firms called me last week to set up a relationship with one of his business units that was going to need a lot of help with staffing next year (approximately 100 architects and program managers). I forwarded my current contact information to his person and received a call yesterday.

In 30 minutes, I received a crystal clear picture of what the division was going to need to hire, the correct profile of what they wanted to see in experience plus a review of the hiring process.

Do you think I’m motivated to work on these positions? You bet I am. I am because I understand clearly what is being sought and can now readily identify it and that translates into motivation.

How much time do you afford a recruiter when you decide that they should help you (I’m not talking about how you evaluate whether to work with them; that’s a different conversation).

What do you trll them? What do you skip over?

Let me offer a few ideas of things that will help a recruiter help you better.

1. What does your company and business unit do? It may be obvious to you but it helps to set a context for how the job fits in to the success of the organization


2. What experience are you looking for?


3. How will you evaluate those skills? Are there specific questions that the recruiter can use to evaluate people for their qualifications? I ask some clients for mini quizzes for job applicants that I forward with a resume to a client. I don’t want to know the answer because I don’t want a client to ever be concerned about whether I am coaching someone through the quiz/


4. What will the interview process be like? From beginning to end, who will this person meet, what will they be evsaluaing as part of their assessment and, under normal circumstances, how long should a successful interview process take.


5. Are gthere any “quirks” that we should know about? A colleague of mine has a client that only pays for the employee’s benefits and not for famiy coverage (Do you think that affects their ability to hire more experienced {more likely, married]) employees?

Taking more time at the beginning of the search process can help you save a lot of time reviewing useless resumes and interviewing people without the skills you want.

And won’t that help you a lot?

Jeff Altman
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2005 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, has successfully assisted many corporations identify leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines as employees or consultants since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

For additional job hunting or hiring tips, go to http://www.sayhi.to/JeffAltman While you’re there, sign up to receive a daily digest of jobs emailed to you as we learn of them.

To subscribe to Jeff Altman’s Search e-zine, send an email to jeffmansearch@gmail.com and write EZINE on the subject line.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

Are Recruiters Failing You? Maybe It's You!

I know of no employment professional that wants to fail on an assignment. Their income and future livelihood is tied up in effective service delivery.

So what's the problem?

Well, sometimes you haven't done a good enough job evaluating an agency's capabilities so you're asking them to do something their incapable of doing . . . but, ya know that isn't always true because, with interest, they'll work on anything!

For example, a new client of mine is a well-know liquor distributor. They asked me to work on a position for to find someone to buy wood for the casks they age their product in. Not exactly a job i my sweet spot.

I loved the idea of the job and am about to fill it. Why? Because they were responsive and communicative and I was motivate.

What goes into being communicative? Well the first and most important thing is a useful position description otherwise, we're off wasting a lot of time we don't have. I don't mean the description that says, "2-4 years of this or that." I mean one that actually speaks of the detailed experience and functionality they need to know and how to evaluate it from your perspective.

Two investment banks trying to hire a mid level Java developer for a trading systems project will do completely different evaluations. On paper the jobs are identical, yet in practice they're different. Be as specific as possible.

The second thing you need to do is provide useful feedback when someone comes up short. Is it useful to say the person was "too light?" Of course not. State where the deficiency was and suggest ways that a recruiter can evaluate for it in the future.

One of the most effective things you can do is call or email a recruiter and show them "some love." All of our jobs are hard. A two minute call or one minute of email goes a long way toward making the search professional feel cared about enough to help you. This may sound goofy to you but don't you like it when your boss praises you for something or just stops by to say, "Hi." Christmas is an ideal time to just drop an e-card to someone.

There are a million ways to get better results; these are a few launch points that will help you get better results.

Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2005 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, has successfully assisted many corporations identify leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines as employees or consultants since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

For additional job hunting or hiring tips, go to www.thebiggamehunter.net.

To subscribe to Jeff Altman’s Search e-zine, send an email to jeffaltman@cisny.com and write EZINE in the subject line.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).