Inside the Mind of a Candidate

1. You Need to Fill a Critical Position

The number one reason to hire a recruiting firm is that there is an unfilled position critical to running your business. Recruiting firms provide high-quality candidates in a shorter time-frame than an in-house HR department.

2. Best hires

Recruiting firms have access to the best of the best candidates wherever they may be.

3. Huge Network

Recruiting firms know where to find talent, how to reach out, communicate, screen and present candidates from any location and background.

4. More than inbound applicants

Recruiting firms do much more than just rely on job boards and filter through dozens of subpar resumes, they actively search for the best candidates which cuts down on time lost managing underqualified job seekers.

5. Industry knowledge

Recruiting firms know where to find potential employees and more importantly, they also know the necessary skillsets, salary rates, and career expectations for specific industries and categories.

6. Free your time

Most recruiting firms offer additional services such as background checks, sourcing candidates, reference checking, and pre-interview screening, all of which free your time.

7. Quality not quantity

Because the end goal is to hire the most qualified and appropriate candidate, the best-recruiting firms aim to find a loyal employee and will offer longer guarantee periods — typically 3 months.

8. Company representation

Building a strong relationship with a recruiter helps you attract the best employees as the recruiting firm will promote your company’s culture and employee benefits to potential candidates.

9. Focus

While your primary focus is running your business, your recruiter’s focus is finding you the best hire. Assigning hiring tasks to an overwhelmed hiring manager or HR department could delay the process and even prove costly.

10. Avoid mistakes

Hiring the wrong person can be far costlier than hiring a recruiter. Besides the cost of onboarding and training the wrong person, there are significant costs to repeating the process for a replacement and perhaps a decline in employee morale. Recruiting firms are dedicated to finding a candidate with stability.

We hear all the time from employers that there’s just not enough hours in the day to complete the tasks that they need of them. Plus a lot of the time, they’re wearing a lot of different hats to help the company progress in different ways and usually in shorter amounts of time.

So a Solution to Simplify their Recruiting is always welcomed, work with our team to streamline and simplify your Recruiting and  Staffing needs.

At the end of the day, recruiting can start to feel overwhelming. Talent Fusion can take the guesswork out of recruiting.

We’ll work with you really closely to understand exactly who it is that you’re looking for within your organization and who you need to bring in as far as hire is concerned. We know that every single hire that you make is very important.

What we’ll do is work with you closely to make sure that you’re getting the right level of support that you need.

Whether it’s owning a search from sourcing to the job offer stage or simply pre-qualifying candidates to put them in front of your hiring teams, we’ll make sure that your program is customized just for you.

Recruiting doesn’t have to be difficult. Let Complete staff Solutions help you

Do you want to hire employees who can contribute to your success and profitability while adding value to your culture and your team? Employers can shorten their recruitment cycle, find great employees, legally and ethically hire people if they follow these ten steps of our Complete Hiring Process.

Identify the need for the position.

The first step in any hiring process is to determine the need for a new or replacement position in your company. One of the methods used is sales per employee. But, overall workload and its effect on current employees and the accomplishment of your business goals will also drive this decision.

The hiring decision must also balance with the needs of the rest of the organization for employees. Your priority for an employee has to fit into the successful execution of the company’s business plan. It’s important to keep your other employees informed or involved at each step of the staffing decision process.

Plan your recruitment for the job.

The second step in the hiring process is to plan your employee recruitment. Recruitment planning identifies the job description or job specification for the position so you know the skills and experience you are seeking.

It also addresses how you will publicize the position, who will review applications, and who will participate in first and second interviews. You also decide who will participate in the selection of the employee for the job and who will provide input.

This is a key step in a successful employee hiring process. It’s also a key step with the employees who comprise the interview team. You need to be clear about how their input will be used by the hiring manager and Human Resources.

Publicize the availability of the open position.

An important step in the posting process is to notify current employees of the opening. If you believe that you have no qualified internal candidates, you may also post the position externally simultaneously. But your internal applicants may surprise you with their talent and skills. If you do post the position externally before interviewing internal candidates, let the employees know.

You want to avoid misunderstandings. Your best bets externally for filling your open position will vary by job. Some local jobs, especially for nonexempt roles rely on local newspaper classifieds. But, most jobs will require an online campaign through posting the job on job sites and in social media.

Your own website is significant for recruiting employees who seek out your company in particular. Notifying your network on LinkedIn can bring quality candidates to your attention. So will asking your current employees to publicize your opening on their social networks.

Review applications.

If you have advertised the position effectively, you will have collected a large pool of applicants. HR can take the lead on resume and cover letter review and give the qualified applicants to the hiring manager.

Or, some hiring managers may want to see all of the applications, especially for technical, scientific, engineering, and development positions. The applications are reviewed and the most qualified applicants receive a phone interview.

The purpose of the screening is to save staff time and energy by eliminating candidates. The screener, the hiring manager or HR staff, are looking for both cultural fit and job fit during a telephone interview. They check out any questions the reviewers have about the individual’s experience or credentials.

Interview the most qualified prospective employees.

Your application review and phone interview process should narrow down the field of candidates to the most qualified. Schedule interviews for these candidates with the same group of employees who will interview all of the candidates.

This will allow comparisons when you arrive at employee selection. Make sure that part of your interview process is a formal employment application filled out by the candidate that includes permission to check references, background, and so forth.

Notify applicants, who you are not inviting for an interview, that they will not be further considered.

Plan and schedule second interviews with the most qualified prospects as determined by the first interview. You may begin to check references and background for these candidates during and following your second interviews.

Check references and perform background checks.

You will want to begin to check references and background for these candidates during and following your second interviews. Make sure you check all claims by the candidate including educational credentials, employment history, and criminal background.

Where possible, the best source of information is the applicant’s past managers. You will find, however, because of the fear of litigation, many employers will share only the job title, dates of employment, and occasionally, the person’s salary with you.

That’s why managers are a significant source. You should also take a look at the candidate’s public social media profiles and postings to make sure you’re hiring the person you’ve gotten to know. LinkedIn recommendations may further solidify your choice.

Select the most qualified person for the job.

If you have reached a positive decision on a candidate, following the interviews and background checks, determine the compensation you will offer the selected candidate. These are the seven most critical factors to make sure you’ve considered or done before you make the actual job offer.

Make the job offer and notify your unsuccessful candidates.

Select the most qualified person for the job. Now that you’ve accomplished the first eight steps, you may make a written job offer. If reference checks are incomplete, you may make the offer contingent on the background and reference checks.

You also need to notify the candidates who participated in job interviews but were not selected. It’s important and in your best public relations image and interests to communicate with your applicants at every step in your hiring process. It is one of the factors that affect your consideration as an employer of choice.

Negotiate the details of salary and start date.

The higher the level of the job in your organization, the more likely the candidate is to negotiate compensation, paid time off, guaranteed severance pay if the relationship fails to work out, company equipment, time working remotely, and more. These individual have the most potentially to lose if they are leaving a current job and the employment relationship doesn’t work out with you.

That said, I have had beginning employees, fresh out of college, ask for $5,000 more than they were offered. If it was within the salary range for the job (think about how you pay your current employees in similar roles) and the candidate is much preferred, consider negotiating. The two most common asks that I’ve encountered are for a higher starting salary and more paid time off. Flexibility is required. You won’t have a happy new employee if he left a job where he had three weeks paid vacation for a job that offered him one week.

Determine if you can accommodate other requests by your prospect. The most common I’ve encountered has been a vacation scheduled within the first few months of starting. I’ve also encountered several postponed starting dates to accommodate scheduled surgery.

Welcome your new employee.

How you welcome your new employee lays the groundwork for whether you will retain the employee in the future. Stay in touch with your new employee from the time she accepts the job offer until her start date. Continue to build the relationship.

Assign a mentor, let coworkers know the employee is starting with a welcome letter, plan the new employee’s onboarding process, and make sure the employee will feel warmly welcomed during the first days of work. If you do this process effectively, you will have an excited, welcomed employee who is ready to set the world on fire.

Are you interested in a more detailed hiring checklist?

Content retrieved from:
https://www.completestaff.com.au/your-social-employer-brand/.

Whether you started the role as a recruitment consultant with a longstanding career in mind or, like many people out there you fell into the role, there’s no doubt that working in the field teaches you a lot of invaluable skills which can be transferred into a variety of alternative careers. Moving on from recruitment can seem a daunting task but it shouldn’t be – check out some alternative career options below:

1. Public Relations

The role of a PR person is to manage a company’s reputation and influence others’ opinions and behaviour through the use of media and communication. Usually, you are the first person a prospective candidate will speak to about a company and your role requires the ability to sell both the company to the candidate and vice versa. After a stint in recruitment you’re used to dealing with people and overcoming objections, expect the same rollercoaster of ups and downs if you opt for a life in PR!

2. Account Management

A movement from managing recruitment for clients to managing accounts can be a natural transition and you should have some very transferable experiences. If you are good at client meetings, managing processes and expectations then this could be a good natural step. Let’s call this the safe option.

3. Events Planner

You probably involve yourself in more planning than you think already and this doesn’t necessarily mean the office parties – although we know there’s usually lots of opportunity for that in recruitment (there’s the “Christmas one”, the “we made it through January one” and even the “every Thursday one”). This could involve planning interview days, meetings, networking events or industry meet-ups. In addition to your experience, recruiters tend to have an ability to work a room – networking and building good relationships with prospective clients. If this is something you enjoy there’ll be lots of this if you enter a career as an Events Planner.

4. Loan Officer

Much like the qualification process of a candidate you’ll be required to extract the relevant information before approving or declining a bank loan, but more importantly- working in recruitment means you’re probably well accustomed to the loan helpline. It helps to know the script of questions you’ll need to ask and some of the things that sales people might say to try and get a bigger overdraft during the January blues.

5. Career Counsellor

Let’s face it, the role of a recruiter requires much more than sending a resume to a client and counselling candidates through their career choices is part of your day to day role. Taking them through the step by step notions of their career path can be rewarding but sometimes you can leave the office feeling like you’re owed a master’s degree in psychology! Are you great at helping people make these decisions but you’ve not been hitting your sales targets? This could be the ideal role for you.

6. General Counsellor

I mean why limit yourself to career counsellor? After a certain stint in recruitment you realise that, in order to place a candidate you not only need to know about their career motivations but the candidate’s life outside of work which can often include their husband/wife, children and any other hobbies/activities which require commitment outside of work (and that’s just before the candidate gets the job). Onboarding can often require counselling through their first month/two months/rebate period and this includes ensuring that they make it through each day without quitting their job and/or having a mental breakdown.

7. HR Manager

Whilst it’s no secret that HR managers and recruitment consultants don’t always see eye to eye – HR manager positions draw on a range of similar skill requirements. To be successful in an HR role requires good organisational skills, effective planning and communication. Some HR roles also require some internal recruitment day to day which makes it an obvious choice for some people.

8. Real Estate Agent

Many of the roles and responsibilities of an estate agent are extremely similar to a recruitment consultant. It’s unlikely (as many of us know) that there is the perfect house within your budget when you go to market and an estate agent is required to flex a customer’s specification and negotiate from both sides of the fence. The negatives include: long days and cold calling, sound familiar? If you fancy a change of scenery or have always had a keen interest in property then there are a lot of transferable skills. This aside – if you struggle to make it to work on a Monday you can swap them in for a Saturday if you become an estate agent!

Failing all of the above you only live once…

9. FBI Agent

Having been in recruitment for a number of years, we know how to find those additional details of a person we’re looking for. By hook or by crook a recruitment consultant will soon have their mobile/direct line. Now I’m not saying that we’re stalkers, I am saying however if one of your friends required ‘intense research’ on an individual they would probably come to us!

There is life after recruitment

A career in recruitment agencies sydney west can be rewarding but there’s no beating around the bush, it can be tough! If it’s not the job for you then it’s a great job to teach you a range of business related skills that can be applied to a variety of different roles. Being resilient and business minded will go a long way in the business world – whichever direction you chose to go!

Corporate and employee charity fundraising challenges are not only an important part of a company’s corporate social responsibility, they can have a significant impact on your employer brand.

The time and effort involved in supporting charities can bring many positive benefits. In addition to supporting and contributing to a wide range of charities, it may also bring many positive business returns. It promotes an organisation as a socially responsible business, helps make it stand out as a good employer and can have a far wider impact on reinforcing a culture of teamwork and camaraderie.

This could significantly improve an organisation’s ability to attract high-quality employees, a key factor in achieving business growth. What attracts talented employees to an organisation is also what is likely to encourage them to stay and retaining staff can save money and help businesses achieve their strategic goals with less disruption.

Being able to demonstrate that an organisation is a socially responsible business is becoming more important than ever when it comes to attracting up-and-coming talent. Numerous pieces of research show that that the latest generations entering the workforce care more about company ethics and the opportunity to give back to their communities than ever before.

Here’s our top five business benefits of charity participation, all of which help organisations to retain the talented employees they’ve worked hard to recruit and to make the business one which potential new recruits will aspire to join.

Team building opportunities

Completing charity initiatives together helps people to build strong relationships with their colleagues. It’s a fantastic way to bring different people and departments together, and for senior managers and directors to connect and share experiences with their team.

Some of our team recently volunteered to help transform the gardens of two local residents supported by the Complete Staff charity. One of the key things they all said about the experience was how much fun they had all had working together.

Build and maintain a supportive culture

A supportive and team-focussed culture is one which many businesses strive to achieve and creates a place where people want to work. One way to help maintain and develop a culture like this is to bring everyone together through the common ‘feel-good’ factor of charity activity. Even if only a few members of staff are involved in a fundraising initiative,

it can still be used to unite teams. Share stories and updates on the staff intranet and encourage colleagues to cheer them on, for example organising an office-wide send off or a welcome back event to congratulate them.

Fantastic PR

Charity activities will provide excellent news content for your own website and social media and can also be shared with local and trade press. Being seen as an organisation which invests in its local community will also help to attract and retain customers and can help open doors to developing relationships with key stakeholders.

Finally, charity initiatives can also play a significant part in helping organisations to win prestigious awards. The Directors at our business judge ‘Employer of the Year’ awards and one of the key things we look for are organisations which have empowered their teams to make a difference for a charity or their local community.

Extra training and development opportunities

Offering clear development opportunities is an important element of keeping current employees engaged and making an organisation an attractive place to work. There are many aspects of charity initiatives which can provide employees with the opportunity to develop new skills that can be included within overall training and development plans.

For example, managing charity events is a great opportunity for employees to develop communication, leadership and project planning skills as well as improving confidence overall. Volunteering placements can also provide the chance to develop new skills and the opportunity to lead different teams.

Introduce healthy work-place initiatives

Many fundraising initiatives often involve physical challenges which require people to do training in the lead up to the event. All colleagues, whether they are taking part in the event or not, can be invited to get involved in any training initiatives held during lunch-breaks.

This can help to encourage more health and wellbeing initiatives in the workplace and happy, healthy staff are more engaged and productive. When some of our team took part in the gruelling 24-hour, National Three Peaks challenge to raise money for the Complete Staff Charity and Recruitment Agency, lots of other colleagues joined the team on their lunchtime training walks.

A spin-off pedometer challenge was also organised, with a team walking in their lunch breaks until they clocked up 500 miles between them

Your gut tells you that your employer brand is critical to your talent attraction efforts. Your co-workers and industry leaders tell you the same thing. As do white papers, candidate surveys and unbiased research.

If you’re still in doubt of all of that, this study from a few years back found that 69% of candidates wouldn’t take a job with a company that had a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed.

So what makes it so important? Why is the employer brand and company reputation the No. 1 factor in many candidates’ career decisions today?

It’s because storytelling is in our genetic code. Look throughout history and you’ll find evidence of storytelling among all ancient civilizations and cultures. It’s how we communicate. It’s something that human beings are pre-dispositioned for —even today when we have the attention span of goldfish.

You know, maybe storytelling is actually more important today because we have the attention span of goldfish. Maybe, just maybe, we’re drawn into something real, emotional and captivating as opposed to the continual barrage of advertising and cold, impersonal attempts of companies to pull us this way or that.

The secret sauce for a strong employer brand

And so that leads me to the key elements of a strong employer brand. It boils down to three core ingredients:

1. Tell good stories
2. Share the “why”
3. Find an emotional pull

Allow me to elaborate.

Tell good stories

As mentioned, the human race appreciates a good story. Your company and your employees have a story to tell. Your challenge is to find it.

For many companies, that is directly tied to your consumer or corporate brand. What does your company do at its core? What do you sell? What do your employees make, help with, create, provide, etc.? Has your company been around for 85 years, or are you a hungry startup? All of these are factors to include in your story…but then take it one step further and discuss the employee side of that story.

Take Complete Staff for example. They produce quite a number of employee stories that tie nicely back to the company’s services and core values. Here’s an example:

Dig around your company to pull those stories out, but before firming up the themes, see the next point below.

Share the “why”

It’s great to understand what you offer, but to truly create a captivating employer brand, you have to dig deeper and find out why your employees do what they do. It’s bigger than the products you sell, and chances are, other companies offer something similar, right? So what makes you unique? Why do your people come to work every day?

There is a huge cross-section of job seekers who are looking for meaningful, purposeful work. Ping pong tables are fun, but they don’t make your employer brand. There’s something bigger here (I hope!).

Google is a great example of doing meaningful work. Google didn’t just create a search engine. They put the world’s information at your fingertips. And, that access to information can literally change lives.

It’s not what you do; it’s WHY you do it that matters. Find that story; I cannot emphasize this enough. That’s the heart of your employer brand.

Find an emotional pull

And, speaking of heart, the last ingredient in a great employer brand includes an emotional component. There’s an element that tugs on your heartstrings just a little bit. It’s authentic, true and ultimately creates a sense of loyalty with your audience.

Remember the Chipotle commercials from a few years back? That’s a good example of all three of these components.

They know what their story is as a brand, they know why they’re different and why people choose to work for them, and they translated that into a clever video that makes you feel. Let me reiterate that – It. Makes. You. Feel.

OK, one more example. Let’s look at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Not necessarily a household name like Google or Apple, but they’re doing incredibly important work…and that’s part of the why for their employees.

Read through some of their published employee recruitment tips, and you’ll notice a lack of clichés like “career growth” or “working alongside smart people.” What you’ll discover instead is a well-thought-out connector between what the employee does, and why.

These folks may be scientists and researchers, but they don’t talk about test tubes and beakers. They’re improving air quality in Korea and the health of its residents. They talk about personalizing cancer and HIV treatments to save more lives. These are big initiatives and combine “why” people choose to come there with the emotional aspect of it.

Here’s one last tip – leave your audience with something impactful at the end of your story. Psychologically, people equate how they feel to the last thing they remember, much more so than to the entire story. So, speeches, videos and stories are always better when you can end on an important or emotional point.

Consider these employer brand examples and compare the stories you’re telling. What are you doing well? What can you improve upon?

Thanks for reading. What other employer brand stories do you admire?

Ghosting, the term used to describe ending a relationship by not responding to texts or calls, has gained such popularity in recent years. Even the New York Times wrote a story on the phenomenon.

 At least the broken-hearted have good company! Jobseekers have many frustrations about the search process, but none greater than a lack of communication.

 One disheartened jobseeker on social media called ‘Megan’ says:

“The most thoughtless thing is not hearing anything back…even after investing time and money interviewing several times with a company. It’s fine to be turned down, but just to be ghosted by a company? Tell me and let me move on.”

The lack of communication has consequences beyond personal disappointment.

 Megan also says a hiring manager contacted her references and set up times for a call… and then ghosted her:

“I was pretty embarrassed he wasted my references’ time like that. Very unprofessional.”

Unprofessional, by the way, is a term that comes up a lot when jobseekers discuss recruiters; so do some others I probably shouldn’t write here.

Ken Shapiro, Director of the Office for Student Success at Sydney College hit the nail on the head when he tweeted:

“Keep job candidates updated on their status. Rejection is hard but WAITING is intolerable.”

Indeed, with applications submitted electronically and more ways to communicate than at any time in history there is no excuse for keeping candidates in the dark. And yet every candidate has heard something like this:

“Due to the volume of applications and in the interest of thoughtfully considering individuals best suited for each position, we will only contact applicants moving forward in the process.”

That doesn’t sound very thoughtful at all! 
So, let’s get 2017 off to a good start. Even if an applicant isn’t the “one”, building a cordial relationship with two-way communication will surely benefit us all.

Make the process simple

The aforementioned ghosting is exasperated by how much time and energy candidates must put in to every job to which they apply.

“I’m applying for a part-time job, that requires an application and a resume, both containing the same information. One of us is doing this wrong, ” writes a jobseeker on Twitter.

One candidate was asked to complete an 11-part “homework” assignment for an interview. Others complain of “extensive, exhaustive, months-long, multiple-interview search processes.” 

So take a few minutes to review. Would a five-part homework assignment suffice? For applications, do you really use every field? Find the balance between getting what you need and overwhelming candidates.

Keep an open mind, really!

Everyone’s circumstances are different and complex and no one’s life fits in neat little boxes. (Another reason applications are universally disliked). One jobseeker implores recruiters to stop the “rapid elimination of candidates” just because they are currently unemployed, overqualified, too old, too young, etc. 

An HR insider say he knows recruiters who ask seemingly open-ended questions. But beware!

“They’re deducting points for every word that doesn’t match.”

A person who has been unemployed for a while might be just the hardest worker ever. A career changer will have a truly unique perspective. An older worker has irreplaceable experience. With an open mind, you might find genuinely great talent.

Beware of the hoops

While job hunting, most candidates are working and they have the same daily life obligations we all do… plus their job search. This means every step requires the jobseeker to jump through hoops even if they never mention it. (And they won’t).

• Want candidates to take a call during the day? No big deal, right? Wrong. If they work in a cubicle, finding a quiet and private spot can be an ordeal.
• Want candidates to do a Skype interview during the day? If they work in an open office space, they’ll have to take time off.
• Want the candidate to “just send over” work samples or other “homework”? Anyone with a job will stay up all night to finish.
• Want to postpone an interview? That’s another excuse to the boss at the least and a loss of travel (tickets, hotels) money at the most.

Jobseekers realize they will have to work hard and make some sacrifices. They just want recruiters can show a little humanity in the process.

 Emily Edinburg, the social media manager for Complete Staff Solutions (a talent acquisition employment agency and management services company), says companies are getting the message.

“They are starting to realize that no feedback and long applications equal bad candidate experience.”

If Edinburg is right, maybe the only ghost stories we’ll be talking about next year are the ones we heard on Halloween.

Picking up the phone can be a daunting task for a newbie recruiter. Needless to say, it’d be fairly harsh of an employer to task a rookie with winning new clients before they’ve even got a feel for their new role or market, but there is something to be said for throwing them in the deep end. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?

New recruiters should be given the warmest introduction possible, so needless to say, a great balance needs to be struck between careful coaching and letting them get a feel for things themselves. We recruited our panel of industry experts to offer their advice to new recruiters tackling new business development!

Network, network, network.

Don’t be afraid to call clients and ask them questions about their sector. Have a chat with them and THEM, not you. And do more with LinkedIn Groups – share decent content and comment on others’ content to market yourself effectively. But in all cases – spend as much time on the phone and with clients and candidates as possible. Oh! And remember their birthdays!

Be persistent, be persuasive, and never give up.

Once you start having lots of conversations, you start having lots of leads. Pick up the phone and have as many conversations as possible. Find a way to make every one of those conversations valuable in one way or another. If you’re talking to a candidate who’s just left a job, find out what the job is. Work to get referrals. Have conversations about what people are seeing in the market – without expecting it to turn into a job order right away. You’ll build leads, but you’ll also build relationships and learn about the field you’re recruiting in, which is the best thing you can do for long-term success.”

Two tips – do your research on the client beforehand – look at their website, look at any past dealings your company has had with the client etc. The more information, you can draw upon in the conversation, the more credible you will sound. Secondly, don’t be too salesy. There is nothing a client hates more than a hardcore sales call. Finesse your approach.”

Don’t cold call for the sake of hitting call volume targets

Conversations are so important in our industry and will help recruiters learn key market intelligence enabling them to build their desks quicker instead of having random pointless conversations because of KPI’s. Take time to ask about the client and understand their business challenges before trying to pitch services. Only with key market knowledge can recruiters create a specialism within their industry.

Cold calling only pisses off potential clients! It can be successful, but tends to attract clients who are desperate or who will show little commitment. Before you lift the phone or send an email, think, what value can I add? What information can I give away, for free, that they will appreciate? As Jeffery Gitomer says “people do not like being sold to, but they love to buy” and thanks to Rob Malec we know “the idea is to sell more, by selling less”. If you have to cold call then you are not spending enough time marketing. Read Joe Pullizi’s ‘Epic Content Marketing’ for some epic ideas.

In much the same way as companies are creating their employer brands, you too should be creating YOUR own brand. Why do you do what you do? What’s your passion, and where’s your niche? What is your methodology to recruiting and where is your proficiency? Use data in many of these points and tell the story of who you are as a recruiter. You’ll start to separate yourself from the pack in this way.”

RESEARCH

Spend time finding out WHO you are going to call and give yourself a good REASON why you are calling them, not just “have you got any jobs”- talk about their business wins, latest awards/products/services, recent hires, similarities in your background. Above all, be genuine and friendly. Engage with the other human at the end of the phone and LISTEN to what they have to say. Maybe it wont be a win TODAY but if you handle it properly, it could be a win for tomorrow.

Keep the focus on quality rather than quantity.

Make sure you have something to speak about, whether it is an upcoming seminar, a reference or company news. Do a little bit every day, track everything you do, and always ensure you follow up as needed.

Stop selling

Learn to build relationships, as slowly as it needs to take. Ask lots of questions, and listen. Stop trying to be the expert, stop trying to give advice. Just listen to what your prospects have to say, need and want.

Do lots and lots and lots of it.

Tackling cold calls and new business meetings can be really nerve racking for new recruiters, and the only way to get good at them is to do lots of them, analyse everything you do and say, and try to be better the next time. Watch, listen and learn from the more experienced and successful people around you. Try out their ways of doing things, and take away what works for you. But most importantly try to enjoy them, take your job seriously, never take yourself too seriously.

Don’t look at new business development as new business development

Look at business development as life long relationship management and learn, learn and learn. From understanding, comes growth.

Stop sending generic inmails

Recruiters need to invest in hiring and learning how to specifically tailor their approach on line to niche skill types such as developers.

When all else fails, your attitude is what will truly define the final outcome. Some people confuse positivity with ignorance, being unrealistic or naive. But in my eyes, it couldn’t be further from it. Being positive means having confidence in your own abilities, other people and your endeavours. It means being able to critically assess and address a situation, and keep spirits high.

Negativity really is an ugly thing. In all situations it’s important to be realistic and have back-up plans, considering all potential scenarios, but believing something is doomed before you’ve even given it a chance at success is a self-fulfilling prophecy. On the flip-side, truly believing in something means you’re likely to give it everything you’ve got, therefore it will be more likely to work out in your favour.

Peoples’ attitudes are contagious. If you want to bring a bit more energy and positivity into your own life and others’ too – try saying these simple things. But be warned, it has to be with a smile… and the smile has to be genuine.

1. “Hello”

Okay it sounds really obvious that any given person would probably say ‘hello’ on any given day, regardless of being positive or not. But positive people tend to say ‘hello’ in situations where they could easily not say it, and ignore. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the person next to you in the lift or the guy waiting for the same train. You’d be amazed what simply saying ‘hello’ can do for your mood and the recipient’s.

2. “How are you?’

Go the extra step and ask how people are. Positive people tend to ooze a confident selflessness that makes others feel special and appreciated. Asking how someone is might be just what an upset person needs to pull them out of a black hole.

3. “Sounds great”

Positive people aren’t naysayers. They don’t critique peoples’ ideas unnecessarily nor do they try to bring people down. Instead, positive people always try to see the good in things; the potential that exists. They support people, and genuinely want the best for others. They aren’t the first to pick out errors or potential problems – they offer sound advice, but only after showing their interest and encouragement.

4. “I’d love to”

Positive people don’t close the door on unknown opportunities; they give things a go and give themselves as many chances at success as possible. They don’t say ‘no, no, no’ all the time; they get involved in a lot of different activities and benefit from all the new experiences and opportunities.

5. “Thank you”

Positive people show gratitude where they should, and give credit where credit’s due. Showing appreciation and saying ‘thank you’ makes people more likely to want to help out again in future. Saying ‘thank you’ means the positive person has identified the value someone has added, which in itself can lift their mood. It feels good to say thank you, both for the person who says it and the one who’s receiving the message. Negative people are quick to judge, look for a hidden agenda or jump to conclusions, and failing to properly acknowledge someone’s work will likely discourage them from similar behaviours in future.

Being positive can be easier said than done, especially when you’re feeling like you’re drowning in work or that what you’re working on is totally hopeless. But changing your attitude and doing or saying simple things to lift your mood and those of others’ is a great place to start. Being open to new recruitment agency ideas and supportive of projects and ideas you hear about will set you with greater chances for success!

Executive recruitment, in general, is a much higher level of service than your average hiring process. Its focus, thoroughness and complexity are aligned to the significant level of investment involved in recruiting high calibre, senior and executive roles. Here are some tricks of the trade that top executive recruitment consultants follow for success.

1) Research:

Research is fundamental and the key to a successful executive recruitment project. Market insights enable consultants to find the best candidates for their clients, focusing research to really understand their client, the role, the industry sector and the pool of target candidates.

For best results, it’s important to implement a process. You need to have a thorough industry intelligence and research. You discover who your client is, what they are all about, and their industry competitors.

2) Consultative approach used in executive recruitment:

To really excel within executive recruitment, a consultative process is paramount. This means becoming fully immersed in your clients’ company cultures, becoming their trusted advisor, being passionate about their challenges and dreams and striving to achieve success together.

Your approach should be all about proposing data-backed solutions. These solutions should be working together to understand obstacles and working creatively to remove them. Become an extension of your clients, carrying out employee bench-marking to ensure you really understand their superstars.

3) Body language:

Understanding body language is one trick of the trade that can’t be missed out of this post. By investing time to meet with potential candidates face to face, you can gain a better understanding of them. Seeing the whites of someone’s eyes and “pressing the flesh” cannot be substituted if you really want to get under an individual’s skin.

By reading body language, you can assess how suitable a candidate is for a role. You will know whether they will integrate well to your client’s culture.

4) Building relationships:

Building strong relationships with your clients is crucial, as success comes from the journey you provide your candidates. Appointing a senior executive is a significant investment for both parties. The client relies on getting the recruitment right to have business success. The move of the candidate has to align with his career goals.

Being a successful executive recruitment consultant means going above and beyond what’s expected. These are proven ‘tricks of the trade’, thought out processes driven by a passion for our work. Try all these, and definitely, you’ll do the executive recruitment right.

We’ve all been there, on the roller-coaster of emotions that is recruitment. From the Monday morning hell which requires nothing short of a double espresso, through to the vainglory which kicks in during deal swag season. Here are some of my top song picks to get you through the good and bad weeks / months / years of recruiting:

1. Your first day as a recruitment consultant

Song choice: Travie McCoy – Billionaire

It’s your first day as a recruitment consultant. Your new manager sits you down for an introduction and the commission structure is broken down in more detail, meanwhile you’re sat there just thinking “I wanna be a Billionaire so bad”!

2. Monday blues

Song Choice: Daniel Powter – Bad Day

You’ve finally left the office after a miserable Monday, having endured the beginning of the month meeting where you were grilled by your seniors about last month’s performance. It’s now time to reflect and move on / have a large bottled size glass of red wine.

3. That HR manager blocks your deal

Song choice: Puddle Of Mudd – She Hates Me

Yes, you may have gone directly to the hiring manager behind HR’s back… but what else could you do when they decided to ignore your emails and calls, despite the fact that you had the perfect candidate for them? You managed to get the manager bought in and then you get a call from the HR manager telling you that all future communications are blocked and interviews have been cancelled!

4. That warm / smug feeling of being in high demand

Song Choice: Right Said Fred – I’m Too Sexy

When that same client (which you desperately wanted to work with) who turned you down after telling you that they decided to work with a range of cheaper agencies and assured you they didn’t need your services, comes running back.

5. Sifting through rubbish applications

Song choice: TLC – No Scrubs

One of the banes of being a recruiter, when you’re getting a pile load of irrelevant applications (often duplicate) and the applicants are also keen to check in twice a day on their application process and resell themselves in for the position!

6. Job insomnia

Song choice: Cypress Hill – Insane In The Brain

When you spend your thirsty Thursday staying late in the empty office alone (ignoring the continuous snapchats from others in the office who off out at your favourite bar) but it’s ok because you’re going to send over some top quality candidates to a new ‘hot’ job… It gets to the following Tuesday and your client’s disappeared off the end of the earth!

7. Realising that ‘amazing’ candidate isn’t so irreplaceable

Song choice: Beyonce – Irreplaceable

When you find a candidate that you think will get the job but they turn out to be a DIVA, maybe they blank you continuously for 48 hours and you’re feeling hopeless… then you find someone with a better skill set who’s keen on your role.

8. When that candidate comes crawling back

Song choice: Kelis – Trick Me

That same candidate that dogged you once comes crawling back. They might have a good set of experience on there CV but they’re a major Houdini when it comes to commitment. Now that you’re older and wiser to their trickery, you know exactly what they’re like and unfortunately that ‘role is no longer available’.

9. Budgets have been reset and you’ve got a pile of new jobs to work

Song choice: Missy Elliott – Work It

Wow, this is a change for the books – you’ve gone from frantically trying to find the scraps of unworkable jobs to having 10 land on your desk at once. Feeling funky with a fresh lease of life now, you’ve just got to decide if each one is worth it… and whether to work it or not!

10. Continuously being knocked down

Song choice: Chumbawamba – Tubthumping

When you work 5-10 hours overtime daily just to get badly beaten by another agency continually for two weeks. Note to self: keep self belief that there’s light at the end of the deal tunnel, and move on!

11. When someone asks you about your diet since having started our recruitment career

Song choice: Fast Food Rockers – Fast Food Song

Before starting in the recruitment industry you’d like to think of yourself as fairly healthy, but recently those late nights in the office trawling through jobs boards followed by a stint of continuous alcohol consumption has resulted in a rapid decline in the consumption of healthier alternatives, whilst Deliveroo and Dominos seem to have become an excellent option!

12. Don’t go chasing waterfalls

Song choice: TLC – Waterfalls

When you’ve got no core roles on but things keep cropping up outside of your remit, not exactly the kind of area you cover and your manager’s stood over your desk telling you not to stray from what you know (maybe you’ll ping some people over outside of core hours).

13. KPI Chains

Song choice: Mary Mary – Shackles

When everyone leaves the office for team drinks but you’re 20% off hitting your months KPI’s and today’s the last day of the month – you realise that you’ll be begrudgingly catching up on these for at least the next couple of hours.

14. When office haters start hating on your high commission lifestyle

Song choice: The Notorious B.I.G – Mo Money Mo Problems

Last month you did pretty well and you’re feeling pretty fly in your new outfits this week, whilst you can admit that your new Versace sunglasses indoors may be a little excessive you can’t help but feel like haters gonna hate.

15. When you fill the ‘unplaceable’ job

Song choice: Montell Jordan- This is how we do it

Everyone told you that you wouldn’t be able to do it but you got that recruiter’s twinge to go outside of what people told you to do and guess what? Candidate start date is confirmed, notice handed in… do a little dance.

16. When they call out top biller for the month and it’s you

Song choice: Destinys Child – Say My Name

Yeah that’s right- it’s recap of last month’s activity and your director refers to the statistics before announcing the top biller of the month. You look around, hmm wonder who it could be (secretly know it’s you) and get ready to walk to the front in diva manner/act surprised.

17. All work work work

Song choice: Rihanna – Work

We all have those friends who always seem to be free to do something, yet you can’t help but feel like all you do is ‘work, work, work’. Bailing on social plans only to spend the night alone in the office submitting CVs is only possible if you repeat ‘staff incentive trip’ over and over and over again…

Every role has it’s ups and down and it’s no secret that recruitment agency can be testing – hopefully this will help to get you through the ups and downs and get you out the other side of the week! If you’d like to keep the playlist on standby, it can be found here!

How can you be the best recruiter that companies have to keep?
There are several different ways, and there isn’t one simple rule that governs success. Different clients will have different opinions about what type of partnership they prefer with their recruiters. Still, there is a certain set of skills that character traits that all the best recruiters share… and they’re written into what they do every day… RECRUIT!

Whether you’re a newbie recruiter or a seasoned one, it doesn’t matter – if you’re doing well, it’s likely you possess these character traits.

E for enthusiastic

The best recruiters are the ones who get excited about their work and bring truckloads of enthusiasm to their client briefs and candidate needs. They keep a positive attitude and inject energy and effort into the work they do. It’s contagious. It means the recruiter provides a high quality of service. The one that’s enjoyable and memorable.

C for competitive

Best recruiters are also competitive in a healthy way. They absolutely thrive in an environment where they must rise to the top and get ahead. These job hunters are corporate Adrenalin junkies who want to come out on top. They will do anything it takes to get there. They don’t take no for an answer and make things happen.

R for ravenous recruiters

These recruiters are not just hungry to do a good job. They’re ravenous for it! They don’t stop until they find the perfect person for their client, and the perfect role for their candidate! The saying is being ‘hungry for success’, but they really do take this to a new level. They don’t stop and constantly work to feed a need that can never truly be satisfied!

U for useful

Knowledgeable recruiters are huge assets to any business! They are extremely useful, providing not only candidates, but market updates and advisory services to help their client benchmark their opportunities and recruitment / hiring practices. Recruiters are also incredibly useful for candidates. They make introductions on their behalf and advising them through the recruitment process, until they land the job they want.

I for intuitive

Great recruiters are extremely intuitive. They are able to read people and situations and navigate a desirable outcome. Oftentimes, they follow their noses and can pick up on special cues around them. They trust their own judgment and back themselves.

T for talkative

These professionals love to talk and get people talking in return! They’re great at picking up important information from conversations and are masters at striking up a good old chat with a potential business partner, candidate or client. What makes this such an important trait, is the fact that it’s backed up by excellent listening skills! Recruiters will benefit from being talkative if they match it with second to none listening.

There can be more other traits that all great recruiters possess, but with the word RECRUIT, we are reminded of some few qualities.

The world of contingent, employment agency is extremely competitive. The salesperson that visits clients will usually have a nice suit on and promise you the world, but as the saying goes, don’t ask how the sausage is made.

The main thing to understand is that contingent recruiting is a sales game and, as with any sales industry, it is all about earning commission. Employment agency recruiters must provide a majority of their service for free and there still is never a guarantee of earning their commission. [I would venture to say recruiters provide roughly 80% of their services for free]. It is only if their candidate gets selected will they be paid. As a result, it creates a lot of competition, not just amongst competing agencies, but between the many candidates the recruiter has sent to the client.

Therefore, employment agency recruiters focus more on making a successful placement with any candidate rather than a specific candidate. So while a candidate may be sent to that client by the recruiter, there could be as many as 5 – 10 other candidates being sent as well. This makes for a difficult situation because the candidate and recruiter have the same goal, but different outcomes. What I mean is both parties want a successful placement, but the recruiter will be happy with whoever gets placed as long as they are earning a fee.

The point of this article is to take a look into the truth behind employment agency recruiting. Please understand that I do not have an axe to grind against the agency world. I spent the majority of my career in that environment and I had a great time. I made great money, met some of my closest friends and helped change the lives of people when it came to their careers. However, there are parts of the world of employment agency recruiting that I feel it is important for people to understand:

1) Employment agency recruiters are not there to get a candidate a job:

If you are working with an employment agency recruiter, do not expect them to fight to get you a job.

Ultimately recruiters are loyal to those who pay their salary – those people are the client. They will contact you about a job, but if you do not fit the bill it is on to the next candidate. Yes you will enter into a pipeline of candidates because that recruiter should be filling similar positions. However, if they do not have an immediate role for you, do not expect them to go around looking for you!

2) Recruiting agencies hire young:

Most employment agencies hire right out of college. There are many reasons for this, but the one I have noticed the most is because recent college graduates will work 60 hour weeks for about 30K a year. That is typically what is asked of you right out of the gate. Most agencies will have working hours from 7:30- 5:00, however if you leave right at 5:00 you can expect a not so great meeting with your manager the next day. As a result there is a high turnover rate.

The amount of people I have seen get let go is astounding. It’s the main reason companies like Aerotek, Adecco, Robert Half or any of the other major employment agency won’t hire someone with experience. It is impossible to get someone with good recruiting experience to agree to that kind of demand.

3) Employment Agency recruiters have the candidates’ best interest in mind when it benefits the recruiter:

A candidate is only useful to an employment agency recruiter if they are in consideration for a job. If you are not in consideration for an opening they will most likely not give you a second thought.

Again this industry is sales based and a popular phrase in the agency world is “closest to the money”. A candidate not in consideration is not closest to the money therefore is an afterthought.

4) Your resume may open the door for other candidates:

Go to any car dealership and what will you notice? The shiny, new cars are always out front drawing the customer into the showroom. Recruiting is no different.

If your resume is one that is impressive on paper consider yourself that shiny car. Recruiters will use your resume to show their clients that they should do business with them because they will get them the best resumes. It is good to see yourself as the resume that opens the door for them, but you may only be starting the process to get someone else hired.

Hiring managers do not want to hire the first person they see, they want to do their due diligence. So while your resume may be the catalyst that starts the conversation between a client and a recruiting agency, you may just be setting up someone else to get the job.

5) Candidates are numbers:

The old saying goes “Sales is a numbers game”. The same goes for recruiting. When a recruiter first starts out in the agency world candidates are treated as numbers. For example, when I first started my career at Aerotek I was told to just bring in as many candidates as possible to gain experience. Regardless if I had a job for them or not I should bring them in for an interview. What about the candidate? They are taking their time to come into the office and interview with a recruiter, for what? All so the recruiter can gain experience? I am not against training people, but that is up to managers, not the responsibility of prospective candidates.

Conclusion:

This article is not to persuade someone from entering the recruiting industry or candidates from working with agency recruiters. I personally have gone through all these experiences and have enjoyed my career tremendously. If you survive the initial demands as an agency recruiter there is a great career awaiting you. So if you are looking for a career in the industry, jump on in! Just understand the truth behind what goes on.

As a candidate you need to be selective with who you work with. Develop a relationship with a recruiter beyond just picking up the phone the next time a job comes in. Understand which recruiters are working in your specific industry and networking with the people you want to meet. Then develop an understanding with the recruiter of what your career goals are. That way, they can align you with the proper hiring managers. A good recruiter should be there to create conversation between two people who normally may not be connected. Employment agency recruiters can open up doors that you didn’t even know existed.

I’ve written a few blogs for Complete Staff Solution on how companies can reduce their agency spend by focusing on direct hires instead of work agencies. From speaking to other HR types and recruitment consultants that I work with, it’s an increasing trend. Social media, especially LinkedIn, is making it easier than ever for organisations to source their own talent.

‘Hollowing out’ work

Direct sourcing is only one aspect of recruitment, and the world of work generally, that is changing. I recently attended the London Business School Future of Work Consortium, focusing on the future of talent. ‘Hollowing out’ of work is one of the key trends we will increasingly face over the next decade or so. For years now we have been outsourcing work to the developing world. The trend is replacing lots of work previously done by people with machines and computers.

As this trend continues, we will end up with a labour market with a big gap in the middle. The result will be lots of highly specialized work, for which there is predicted to be a shortage of suitable candidates, and lots of low skilled work which needs to be done by people, such as care work.

Other trends for work agencies

Other trends will also impact recruitment: changing demography, increased globalization and continuously increasing technology. Talent will also become more distributed as technology will mean your location is no longer a barrier to you doing certain types of work. Middle manager will apparently become an endangered species.

From a recruitment perspective, this war for talent people have talked of for years. This is predicted to become real in the not too distant future.

What does this mean for the future of recruitment and work agencies?

Recruiters are going to have to be agile. The old methods of attracting people to your organisations just won’t cut it in the future. We may well need to create our own talent by engaging those leaving education and investing significantly in their careers through learning and development.

Employer brand will become increasingly important, as will taking into account as part of your EVP the needs of five generations in the workplace.

If you want to attract and retain the best, you carefully consider and improve your offered benefits.

With regard to work agencies, they will also need to adapt to this changing environment. All of these factors will significantly impact their traditional operating model. At the same time, it may also present significant opportunity for those who are looking to the future.

The demand for low skill work means that there still will be a need for temporary agencies supplying short term labour. This might be sending in warehouse staff to cope with temporary demand, or sending a temp receptionist for holiday cover, but these work agencies can survive the future of recruitment. The predicted demand for highly skilled workers presents a real opportunity for work agencies operating at the senior end, as well as retained search. These workers will be able to demand a premium in the future and will be highly sought after.

An effective manager pays attention to many facets of management, leadership and learning within organizations. So, it’s difficult to take the topic of management success and say that the following ten items are the most important for success. I will, however, suggest seven management skills without which

I don’t believe you can be a successful manager.

Successful managers know what employees need to work effectively, stay productive, and contribute to a thrilled customer experience and a harmonious workplace. They know the behaviors that a manager needs to stay away from to encourage successful employees.

Managers who want to succeed also understand that they are the most significant factor in whether employees are motivated to want to show up for work. A bad manager is frequently cited as a key reason why employees quit their jobs.

Striving for greatness as a manager should top every manager’s goal list. The difference that a great manager can make in the work lives of employees is inestimable.
Helping employees feel rewarded, recognized, and thanked is also key to performing effectively as a manager.
The most important issue in management success, however, is being a person that others want to follow. Every action you take during your career in an organization helps determine whether people will one day want to follow you. Without followers, you cannot lead and manage.

Seven Key Management Skills
A successful manager, one whom others want to follow:
• Helps people grow and develop their skills and capabilities through education and on-the-job learning. Brings career pathing to employees so that they continue to grow and develop.

• Builds effective and responsive interpersonal relationships. Reporting staff members, colleagues and executives respect his or her ability to demonstrate caring, collaboration, respect, trust, and attentiveness.

• Leads by example, sets the pace via her expectations and behavior. She provides recognition when others do the same. She walks her talk.

• Communicates effectively in person, print and email. Listening and two-way feedback characterize his or her interaction with others. The manager is also open to receiving feedback from colleagues and reporting staff. He avoids a defensive response and is willing to change his behavior when the feedback is on target.

• Builds the team and enables other staff to collaborate more effectively with each other. People feel they have become more – more effective, more creative, more productive – in the presence of a team builder.

• Understands the financial aspects of the business and sets goals and measures and documents staff progress and success. This allows the team to feel a sense of progress, that they are reaching goals, and exceeding expectations.

People want to know how they are performing at work. Financial and other goals let them know. Good managers understand their role in this communication.

• Knows how to create an environment in which people experience positive morale and recognition and employees are motivated to work hard for the success of the business. Understands that she is the most significant factor in whether employees are happy at work.

Know a few more characteristics of management success? These are just a start, but they’re a good start. You’ll want to begin with these skills and attributes when you decide to aim for management success.

To know more about this discussion kindly visit us at: Source: CSS EMPLOYERS

The 7 C’s: How to Find and Hire Great Employees

A founder can’t grow a winning enterprise single-handedly. Some may try, but it is nearly impossible to do so. Every famous entrepreneur has built a flourishing company with great employees by his or her side.

An entrepreneur can invent and even commercialise an idea as an enterprise of one. In time, however, the tasks of running a business become too great for the entrepreneur to manage alone. At this point, a savvy leader must find and hire the best workers to help achieve the entrepreneurial dream.

In today’s economy, hiring the best people is more critical than ever.The cost of finding, interviewing, engaging and training new employees is high. Employees also require desks, computers, phones and related equipment, let alone the largest costs of being an employer—salaries, benefits and taxes.

Leaders view new employees as an investment and anticipate an excellent financial return over time.

Over the course of my career, I’ve hired hundreds of people. Some were exceptional employees who were major contributors to our success. Others didn’t work out. In most cases, when an employee left or was terminated, I was the problem. Those dismissed were good people. I just did not know how to properly hire new employees.

Historically, and sadly, the only criteria I had used were to find the candidate with the best skills, experiences and ability to match a job description.

I have since identified seven categories—I call them the “7 C’s”–that you should consider to find the best new employees, as follows:

1. Capable:

Will this person complete not only the easy tasks but will he or she also find ways to deliver on the functions that require more effort and creativity? For me, being capable means the employee has the potential for growth and the ability and willingness to take on more responsibility.

2. Commitment:

Is the candidate serious about working for the long term? Or is he or she just passing through, always looking for something better? A history of past jobs and time spent at each provides clear insight on the matter.

3. Character:

Does the person have values that align with yours? Are they honest; do they tell the truth and keep promises? Are they above reproach? Are they selfless and a team player?

4. Culture:

Every business has a culture or a way that people behave and interact with each other. Culture is based on certain values, expectations, policies and procedures that influence the behavior of a leader and employees. Workers who don’t reflect a company’s culture tend to be disruptive and difficult.

5. Competent:

This is still the first factor to consider. Does the potential employee have the necessary skills, experiences and education to successfully complete the tasks you need performed?

6. Compatible:

Can this person get along with colleagues, and more importantly, can he or she get along with existing and potential clients and partners? A critical component to also remember is the person’s willingness and ability to be harmonious with you, his or her boss. If the new employee can’t, there will be problems.

7. Compensation:

As the employer, be sure the person hired agrees to a market-based compensation package and is satisfied with what is offered. If not, an employee may feel unappreciated and thereby under perform. Be careful about granting stock in the company; if not handled well, it will create future challenges.

Job applicants will give you their answers to the seven categories. They may be modestly presented or exaggerated. You are searching for the truth. To obtain a clearer picture of potential workers, I recommend you talk to former employment associates. The references a job candidate provides will nearly always provide a biased report. Instead, ask the candidate for the names of former bosses, peers and subordinates.

I’m here to tell you that good references will share the truth and not mince words. With these names in hand, call former co-workers and ask them if the job applicant fits my seven characteristics. This will give you a full and accurate view, good and bad, that will leave you much better equipped to select the best candidate.

Choosing a Recruitment Agency to handle employee recruitment for your business can be a daunting task. With so many options, a lot of people have a hard time selecting the right one and often end up picking one that is not suitable for their organization. When done incorrectly, it could cost your business both time and money – resources every business would prefer not to waste.

When looking for a recruitment agency to hire for your organization, cheap may seem appealing. It is this prospect of saving a few bucks here and there that leads most people to make the wrong decision. Cheap is not necessarily bad, but nine out of ten times… you get what you pay for. Price definitely comes a distant second to the importance of getting a recruitment agency that provides quality service.

So before affirming your signature on the dotted line, make sure that the recruitment firm has the following aspects covered:

Specific Industry Expertise – Unless you have very general recruitment needs, it’s crucial that you make sure the recruitment agency in question has the expertise to recruit for your specific business/industry. If they do not have the expertise, they will struggle – and most likely fail – to identify the most suitable candidates for you.

They Cast a Wide Net – Good candidates for any vacant positions are hard to find. Great recruiting firms are able to dig deeper to find the best and don’t limit themselves to one method of recruitment like online job boards. They should be able to apply a combination of recruitment strategies to find the best for your organisation.

Have an In-depth Screening Process – Screening is one of the most important steps in employee recruitment. You don’t want a recruitment agency that dumps 10 CVs on your desk and leaves you to figure out which ones will be the most suitable for your role. A diligent recruitment agency spends significant amounts of resources (including time) pre-screening candidates and will only introduce to you those that match your needs.

Registration and Qualification – The recruitment agency should be registered and licenced by the relevant government authority to carry out its operations. The agency should also be able to demonstrate an understanding of all current employment laws and ethical standards. You do not want to hire a recruitment agency that will tarnish your business’ reputation or get you into trouble with the law.

Offer a guarantee – A great recruitment firm provides a guarantee on their results. It shows they are confident in their ability to find the right candidate for you. If they fail, you will be able to hold them accountable.

Have a High Employee Retention Rate – Most agencies will boast of being able to fill 100% of their clients’ vacancies. This, however, does not matter if only a few of the candidates pushed to clients made it through 1 year of employment. Ask your prospect agency to provide hard numbers on the employee retention rate of their candidates.

Offer an After-Sales Service – The agency’s work does not end once the employee has been placed with the client. The recruitment agency needs to check in regularly for at least the first six months to ensure that their candidate is progressing well and help out with any teething problems.

Reliability – A good recruitment agent should be reliable. They should be able to deliver suitable candidates within agreed upon timeframes. Each day spent with an empty position costs the organisation in terms of productivity, so having a recruitment agent who can deliver on time could help reduce this loss.Ask around for recommendations to find reliable agencies.

Relationship building – When a recruitment agency builds a relationship with their client, they are able to get a better understanding of the client’s business, their culture and the kind of people that would fit well in the organisation. Candidates brought forward will therefore have a greater chance of succeeding.

Communication. For successful employee recruitment, there needs to be two-way communication between you – the client – and the recruitment agency. This will help both parties understand the role they have to play in the recruitment process. A great recruitment agency should have good communication systems in place.

If your Recruitment Provider doesn’t Tick All the Boxes – Contact a Recruitment Agency that does – Contact Us

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Prospecting on LinkedIn is a huge part of many peoples’ roles. It’s kind of what LinkedIn is for, isn’t it? We put our profiles up there knowing full well that people will have the option of messaging us. We can also decide who we want to connect with and even turn off the InMail messaging function if we want to, restricting it only to introductions that are being made by people in our approved and trusted network. We can’t really complain about people prospecting to us… can we? No.

However… what we can complain about is the style people choose to use. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a recruiter sourcing candidates for a role or sales person trying to sell new software to online businesses. Most sales professionals would agree that tailoring and personalising prospective approaches is the best way to start a potentially fruitful relationship over LinkedIn. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach or the perfect method, but generally I prefer contact to be direct, honest and clear, with the person explaining who they are, who they work for and why they’re reaching out. Prospectors have to dangle some kind of bait to make their message stand out and capture attention / spark some interest in the recipient… but in my opinion, some people make pretty bad blunders!

Here are my top 5 annoying LinkedIn approach styles:

1. The overly-friendly message

When you’re having a busy day and some random person emails you asking how you’ve been, what the weather’s like and whether you have any exciting plans for the weekend, I just think, ‘who is this and why are they asking me these questions?’ This uncertainty / confusion kind of undermines the good intention. InMails should be pleasant and contain some niceties, however when it’s from someone I’ve never met, I prefer them to be more direct and open about why they’re getting in contact, without the small talk. How can they possibly care about my wellbeing when they don’t even know me? To me that signals they want something from me, but feel guilty asking for it outright.

2. The cocky message

Have you ever opened up a message that includes some kind of weird, cocky attitude about it? Sometimes sales people try to get the upper hand in their LinkedIn message, and attempt to make the recipient feel like they owe this random person something. Sometimes it can come in the form of highlighting the fact that ‘yes, it’s a generic approach’ but ‘I’m just doing my job’. I really don’t have time for this. While mass-sending emails is a realistic approach many sales people need to opt for, highlighting your own apathy for the task or lack of tailoring is a massive turn-off.

3. The apologetic message

I can’t count how many times I have received LinkedIn InMails from people apologising for taking my time or contacting me out of the blue, before I even have any idea why they are getting in touch. If someone can truly add value to my career or workplace, why would they need to apologise? To me, apologising signifies they have done something wrong or they are going to waste / misuse my time. Positivity and openness is key!

4. The daily message

When it comes to prospecting, persistence is key… not stalking! Sending the same message or a similar one day after day after day is the perfect recipe for getting annoyed. When someone sends you a text message, you kind of feel compelled to respond within a reasonable amount of time, probably on the same day. With LinkedIn, I believe you get a bit more time. A sales person shouldn’t expect to hear back from their prospects immediately or on the same day. I totally respect persistence, but daily repetition is a different story.

5. The sloppy message

Put simply, bad grammar, misspelled names and dodgy auto-fill lines that get your name wrong or accidentally pull through your surname instead of first name are just massive red flags to me.

So there you have it. The annoying LinkedIn messaging styles that are fairly annoying to be on the receiving end of. Having said this, you’ll notice I haven’t screen-shotted images of real examples nor named and shamed anyone. Why? Because that’s just so unprofessional and unnecessary – after all, prospecting candidate is part of many peoples’ jobs – mine too! Unless the message is threatening, malicious or somehow dangerous or disturbing, ignoring it will probably do the trick. Or maybe tagging them in this article… No need to drag someone’s career down in the public eye. They’ll do that themselves with their dodgy prospecting tactics – ha!