When To Hire A Recruiter

by Shannon McKain

When to hire a recruiting firm?

People are your greatest asset. They’re your brand ambassadors and the lifeline to help build your business. According to a recent study by Paycor, labor costs can account for up to 70% of total business costs, which means they’re also your biggest investment, both in terms of finances and time.

It’s true that headhunters, recruiters and staffing agencies can come at a premium cost difficult to digest for a small or medium size business. That cost is the reason many businesses shy away from seeking help outside of the organization. But remember what I said in the first paragraph, that people are your biggest investment? That’s the main reason why you should consider spending the extra money. Wondering when is the right time to make that decision? Let’s dive in to why and when the cost to work with a headhunter or professional recruiting firm makes sense.

Why you should partner with a headhunter or recruiting firm.

A headhunter’s job is to be your partner through the entire process and to have your best interest in mind. They share your goal to fill the position quickly, and with the most qualified candidate. A headhunter doesn’t want to re-fill the position down the road and most (good) headhunters pride themselves on never having to do so.

Headhunters can source passive candidates in addition to active job seekers. This is an important one! It’s common for companies to post a job, then wait for candidate resumes to trickle in. However, a good headhunter will understand your business, your company culture and the nonverbal idiosyncrasies that make your organization tick. Powered with that information, the headhunter can proactively work through their internal candidate database and call on prospects employed at other companies who may not be actively looking, but who may be a great fit for your company. Their proactive vs. reactive approach can make all the difference.

CONTINUE READING

Consulting Is More Than Giving Advice

By Arthur N. Turner for Harvard Business Review

Each year management consultants in the United States receive more than $2 billion for their services. Much of this money pays for impractical data and poorly implemented recommendations. To reduce this waste, clients need a better understanding of what consulting assignments can accomplish. They need to ask more from such advisers, who in turn must learn to satisfy expanded expectations.

This article grows out of current research on effective consulting, including interviews with partners and officers of five well-known firms. It also stems from my experience supervising beginning consultants and from the many conversations and associations I’ve had with consultants and clients in the United States and abroad. These experiences lead me to propose a means of clarifying the purposes of management consulting. When clarity about purpose exists, both parties are more likely to handle the engagement process satisfactorily.

A Hierarchy of Purposes

Management consulting includes a broad range of activities, and the many firms and their members often define these practices quite differently. One way to categorize the activities is in terms of the professional’s area of expertise (such as competitive analysis, corporate strategy, operations management, or human resources). But in practice, as many differences exist within these categories as between them.

Another approach is to view the process as a sequence of phases–entry, contracting, diagnosis, data collection, feedback, implementation, and so on. However, these phases are usually less discrete than most consultants admit.

CONTINUE READING

“It’s, Like, Lawless”: How Private-Equity Headhunters Are Bleeding Wall Street

By William D. Cohan for Vanity Fair

In the battle for young talent, investment banks have been reduced to prep schools for private equity. Inside the cutthroat recruiting process launching the next generation of the superrich—and what it reveals about the status realignment rocking Wall Street.

Once upon a time on Wall Street, the best and the brightest wanted to be M&A bankers, like Felix Rohatyn or Bruce Wasserstein. They wanted to advise IBM on its acquisition of Lotus, or GE on its purchase of RCA. If you could do that work at Goldman Sachs, at Morgan Stanley, or at Lazard (where I once worked), then there was nothing better in terms of pay, prestige, and bragging rights. You were, definitionally, a Master of the Universe.

Well, those days are over. And it’s not only because, according to the Financial Times, M&A deal volume for the first nine months of 2019 is down to its slowest pace in more than two years. Rather, for recent college graduates interested in finance, the place to be these days—assuming you are not an entrepreneur or tech-oriented—is private equity, firms that buy and sell other companies using mostly other peoples’ billions. That’s where real money can be made. In this new, increasingly unregulated America, where the disparity between rich and poor is reaching epidemic proportions, where Donald Trump could hypothetically shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it, people like Stephen Schwarzman, the cofounder of the Blackstone Group (net worth nearly $17 billion and counting); Leon Black, the cofounder of Apollo Global Management (net worth roughly $7.5 billion); and Henry Kravis, cofounder of KKR (net worth $6 billion) are the superstars and the ones to emulate. Investment bankers, worth mere millions, are pikers by comparison.

One consequence of private equity’s current preeminence is that, in the battle for talent, it’s no longer a contest. There’s a massive status realignment: The big private-equity firms essentially treat Wall Street’s major banks like a farm system, plucking away the most desirable young talent after they’ve had a couple years of seasoning. Nowadays, the recruiting of analysts, as entry-level bankers are called, is starting literally within weeks of recent college grads beginning their new Wall Street jobs—in other words, before they know a damn thing. “It’s wild,” says one former Wall Street analyst who now works in private equity. “It’s absolutely ridiculous.” Essentially, as soon as the recent college grads get to the Wall Street investment banks, they are getting recruited to leave to go to private-equity firms. “It’s, like, lawless,” he continues. “It makes no sense.”

CONTINUE READING

The Type of Talent Recruiters Should Be Fighting For

There are certain attributes exceptional candidates have in common, and it’s up to the recruiters to recognize them and fight for them. Not all candidates possess all of these talents, nor do they need them all, but if there are candidates that naturally encompass a few of them, they are bound to become a rising star at whichever company fights the hardest for them. In no particular order, here they are:

Data Cruncher
With big data being at the forefront of a company’s growth, candidates should be able to crunch numbers, analyze data and explain what those numbers mean. This skill proves intuition, analytical abilities and top-notch problem solving skills. You’re not looking for a robot, rather someone who knows what numbers mean, not just what their numerical value is worth.Michael Thomas Executive Search

Communication
All employees, from every company, represent their employer. The best employees communicate intelligently on a social, public and interpersonal level. Whether this candidate is giving a presentation to hundreds, or having a one on one meeting, they communicate sincerely, accurately and professionally. Businesses can’t function without great communication, and it all starts with their employees.

Influencer
This trait comes in many forms. The ability to influence the growth of a business, the ability to influence a group at a meeting, or even the ability to influence the business your company is in. If a candidate can influence, they have the ability to lead. And, if you’re candidate can’t lead, they can’t grow.

Decision Maker
Being able to make a decision, and follow through on that decision, is one of the most admirable traits a candidate can possess. So many others are coy when it comes to decisions because they don’t want to be held responsible if something went awry. Great leaders make decisions, and if they’re the wrong ones, they are the first to understand why and they’re the first to work towards a solution.

Original Article found HERE.

3 Recruiting Trends for 2016

Quality of HireRecruiting Trends for 2016
We’re now in a era of job recruiting where not only can we cross reference a candidates professional references, but we can also investigate a candidates “endorsements” on LinkedIn. We can see who is giving this individual praise for a specific skill or pool of knowledge. Are these endorsers their friends from college, or are they their co-workers and clients? We’re able to get the highest quality candidate as long as we put in a little more effort and utilize resources that are at our fingertips.

Social Network Utilization/Mobile Friendly
In a talentculture.com article, they noted that 94% of recruiters are using LinkedIn, and only 66% of recruiters are using Facebook. Those numbers make sense, but Facebook can be utilized in other ways than simply recruiting. You can look at candidate’s previous places of employment; check what other search firms are doing and more. Get creative! Also, when it comes to recruiting, your website, applications and forms have to be mobile friendly. With the standard desktop computer becoming a thing of the past, your platforms have to be responsive. If not, you’re making it hard for a potential candidate to navigate and use your website, making you look bad, and giving you a 0% chance at landing that perfect candidate.

Being on The Offensive
The previous two trends come together and work as the backbone of this final recruiting trend. In order to find that quality hire, you may need to use those social networks and be on the offensive. Rather than sitting back, and waiting for those quality candidates to float to the top, actively pursue a candidate that might not necessarily be looking for a new position. Maybe you have the perfect position for them that they’ve always wanted. This is a great strategy because it gets your name out there to people who may be on the fence, but also those individuals you reach out to may have a co-worker or a friend they know could be perfect for the job.

3 Tips For Finding Candidates on LinkedIn

As a professional social network for home-office-336373_1280finding quality candidates, LinkedIn has secured its position as top dog. However, you may be using it wrong. With thousands of executive level candidates out there, and more and more joining every day, it can be hard to find an ideal candidate in a timely fashion. Here are some tips that can help you in your executive search.

#1 Be Personable. Talk Like a Human.

This is a must. No longer is it acceptable to send a potential candidate a bland, general, and impersonal automated email or message. If you’re simply copying and pasting the same message to every person you contact, you’re not going to have bland, general and terrible results. Sure, you can use some similar information, like your background, company history, etc. But, when it comes to reaching out to someone, send a personal message about how you found them or questions you want to ask them. The likelihood of a conversation sprouting from a personal message is exponentially greater than that of an automated and impersonal message.

#2 Be Active. Follow Up.

Don’t think you’re pestering someone if you follow up with him or her. It shows genuine interest, your proactive nature and your overall go-getter attitude. This tip is in direct congruence with #1. You have to be personal. Follow up with a sincere message of interest as to why you’re following up and what your purpose of following up is. Let them know you want to set up a teleconference, set up a face-to-face meeting, or simply set up a phone conversation. The more active you are at targeting candidates, the more active the candidates will be to follow up with you.

#3 Be Professional. 1st Impressions Matter.

Sounds cliché, but the outlandish and simply inappropriate messages that often get sent over LinkedIn is mind-boggling. It’s one thing to pick up on similar interests, collegiate background or career history. But, don’t lead with, “Hey man! Great Braves game last night. We really took it to Boston hey?!” And no, you don’t have to portray a posh tone, but use your head. Too casual of a disposition can come off as sophomoric, unprofessional and amateurish. Be yourself, maintain a professional demeanor and gauge your audience.

Making Sure The Shoe Fits

Finding The Right FitThe search for talent has become an increasingly complex challenge as companies scour the globe for the right executive to lead a firm or business unit.

Not only are their needs getting more specialized, but the field of candidates is widening as the economy goes global. Jean Guilbault, co-founder of the Montreal-based executive search firm GXB Leadership, says companies need to change how they view the search process.

The old way of doing things was to “find the right person from your network of contacts,” he said in a recent interview. “Now what we’re looking for is a business solution.” Instead of trying to find the right individual, it’s all about asking the right questions, he says. Companies need to identify what challenges they face — whether it’s growing the business through acquisitions, restructuring, downsizing or productivity — before looking for a person who can contribute to those goals.

Read the full article here.

Written By: Peter Hadekel, Special To Montreal Gazette
Montreal Gazette

Mobile Job Recruiting

The job recruiting arena has changed tenfold from where it was a few years ago. No longer is “casting the widest net” an intuitive, or effective approach. Finding the specific candidate takes a specific approach. The Internet is by far the most effective tool for finding those perfect candidates, but how you use the Internet is where the effectiveness lies. As mobile phones and tablets surpass desktop use, executive search firms need to adapt their online advertising, marketing and overall presence to become mobile friendly, properly search engine optimized and much more.Mobile Recruiting Strategies

Jay Barnett, from Recruiting Trends explains 6 tactics to improve your mobile recruiting efforts:

1. Make sure your careers portal, if not your entire website, uses responsive design. This gives web pages the fluidity to scale and reorganize to fit any kind of screen, while still looking sharp.

2. Make it easy for candidates to upload résumés from a mobile device. At DT we allow people to upload directly from LinkedIn, Monster.com, Indeed, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box or OneDrive. Note that this also ties mobile in with your social media strategy. Alternatively, candidates can copy and paste, or provide a URL to an online version of their résumé.

3. If you use questionnaires, provide radio buttons rather than pull-down lists. Not only is this easier for mobile users, but it also readily displays all the available choices.

4. To keep up with emerging best practices, do what you probably are doing already: monitor blogs and white papers from leaders in the digital recruitment space. There are webinars available as well. And here’s a unique idea: get feedback from candidates who are mobile users.

5. To ensure online images translate well to a small screen, use CSS (cascading style sheets — your IT team will know) to fit images to scale. You want to be sure images aren’t set to a fixed screen size or allowed to default to their “native” size.

6. Videos are relatively easy, thanks to services like YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, and others. They provide “embed codes” that handle scaling for multiple devices.

Above all else, make sure your website and online initiatives are built with responsive design. So weather someone is looking at your site on their iPone, iPad, desktop or laptop, everything appears flawless and navigation is simple and easy to use. Take a look through our website on multiple devices, it’s a 100% responsively designed website.

Read Jay Barnett’s full article here.

Finding and targeting passive job candidates: You’re doing it wrong

From: Mashable Online

candidates

Things are looking up for job seekers. Unemployment numbers are down, the economy is improving and more opportunities are opening up. As professionals gain their financial and career stability back, many are looking at their options and considering what else is out there. In a survey conducted by Jobvite in November 2014, 45% of employed respondents said they would switch to a new job, even though they were satisfied with their current role.

The hype surrounding passive job seekers has grown as more recruiters struggle to find active job seekers with the right experience for specialized positions. But are employers actually succeeding in attracting passive talent?

Recruiting passive candidates is fundamentally different from targeting those who are actively pursuing a new position, and recruiters often neglect the following two major pieces of the passive hiring puzzle.

Start with relationships
What you’re doing wrong: Stalking passive candidates whose skills and experience match your open position online and sneak-attacking them is a dead-end. Digging deep online like some kind of recruiting secret agent to find any and all background information on your suspect — I mean perfect candidate — is ineffective, in addition to creepy.

The alternative: Instead, focus on building relationships organically. Passive candidates who are willing to make a job change will be open to talking with a recruiter. So talk with them.

What’s more, 15% of job seekers are reaching out to their personal networks about opportunities. Be in their professional network.

Another option is to find passive candidates in person by attending industry events/conferences to meet and network with talented professionals. Know where your target talent is congregating virtually as well: 46% of U.S. companies (according to LinkedIn) surveyed said social professional networks were one of the most important sources for quality hires.

Finding, connecting and building relationships with passive and active candidates on professional networking and job search sites should become second nature. Passive talent who routinely lead or contribute to conversations may be in the market for new opportunities. In these conversations, both face-to-face and online, the focus shouldn’t be on recruiting, convincing candidates to leave their current roles, or even advertising your employer brand. Instead, attempt to build genuine connections and learn about stand-out professionals.

The results: In this way, you will build a pipeline of passive candidates and, when you do have positions to fill, you will know exactly which qualified professionals to approach. They’ll be more likely to discuss the opportunity if you’ve already built some rapport. If the candidate does turn down the opportunity, your relationship with him or her will keep the door open for future positions.

Personalize your approach
What you’re doing wrong: Research shows that passive candidates are looking for more benefits and perks, work-life balance and opportunities to move their careers forward. In fact, in a survey of medical sales representatives conducted by MedReps.com, respondents ranked salary as the most important factor when evaluating a new employer.

So here’s the common mistake: When talking with passive candidates, you focus on the salary, job perks and title. You harp so much on all of the benefits that come with the job, the conversation sounds more like a sales pitch rather than a discussion about the candidate’s career goals.

The alternative: When recruiting employed professionals, the conversation should center around them. While trends show what passive job seekers are looking for as a whole, they don’t tell you what will motivate an individual to leave a job in which he or she is already happy.

Although you do want to discuss the details, you should be listening more than talking at first. Encourage the candidate to talk about him or herself so you can learn about his or her needs, wants and ambitions. Use this information to guide your conversation about the actual position. Discuss how the role and the employer meet those unique needs.

The results: Using this strategy, candidates won’t be bombarded with a laundry list of job benefits, but they will envision how they can realistically fit within the company and position. This information will be more meaningful when considering a new opportunity.