The Best Recruiters Have a Sense of Humor...

Read my OTHER blogs!

2009-09-30T12:22:00.002-06:00

I will no longer be posting to this blog. I will be writing the same type of articles and posting to www.examiner.com.

I also have my personal blog at www.jaynashaye.blogspot.com

Please read me there!!!!

Notice ME!

2009-06-16T13:09:00.010-06:00

Have I mentioned the job market stinks? Unless you have been living under an umbrella in Bali with a never-ending supply of fruity umbrella drinks I am certain you know the job market stinks. Getting an interview is incredibly tough right now, not to mention actually getting a job. CEOs are working at convenience stores, grown adults are working fast food and many, many people are working unemployment.

There have been a few articles lately that discuss the lengths candidates will go to in order to get noticed by a company or hiring manager. They camp out in the lobby, the send flowers with resumes attached, the stand out in the parking lot and pass out resumes and at least a hundred other non-traditional methods. The tough part is how many job seekers see these tactics used and are then confused as to what is really appropriate for their own job search. I figured it is about time for me to weigh in on the discussion.

Without further ado, here are some common questions and my humble opinion on each.

How the heck do I get my resume past their evil on-line application system?
This is a question I get a lot. In my current role we use a system that allows us to effectively track all of our applicants. As you can imagine, we get hundreds of them for each posting and keeping up with them all without that tool would be impossible. While these onlines systems are necessary in many cases, they do not replace the human element...thank the resume gods because I kind of like my job, thanks! What they do is tell us if a candidate meets the minimum qualifications of the job. The system can't tell me if you are a hard worker or if you have a great personality. It can only tell me you have X years of experience and a particular education level. The rest is up to me.

SO...what does that mean for the job seekers? It means to apply for what you are qualified for. If the position asks for a Bachelor's degree and you only have a high school diploma then don't apply. If the position asks for 5 years of marketing experience and you have 2 years of experience working in retail then don't apply. What ends up happening to the "chronic appliers" is the recruiter begins to recognize your name as soon as they see it and no longer takes you seriously. I need to know that my candidates have an understanding of their skills and they know what they are bringing to the table. And NO...owning a home computer does not, in fact, make you a Director of Information Technology.

How long do I wait until I follow up and HOW do I follow up?
This is a tricky one. Unfortunately, all the people out there in bunny suits have ruined it for the rest of the job seeking public. Recruiters and hiring managers are "hiding out" to avoid the onslaught of crazy. I can no longer answer the phone at my desk because of the volume of phone calls I get. And that is AFTER the front desk and the HR administrator screen as many as they can catch. I couldn't possibly answer every voicemail and email I get from candidates wanting an update.

I know what you are thinking. "But, Jayna. I apply to nine hundred places and never hear a single thing back. What else am I going to do but call or email them?" To that I say - GOOD POINT. Companies not responding to applications is one of my major pet peeves. I think it is incredibly inconsiderate; however, it is often a result of too many applications and not enough recruiters. **I must interject at this point that I respond in some way to every single applicant to every single job we have. Just didn't want anyone to start pointing and screaming "hypocrite." So, if you are left hanging and want to follow up you should do a couple of things.

First, don't apply on Monday and then call on Tuesday. Many companies post a position for a specific amount of time and don't begin reviewing resumes until the end of the posting period. I would suggest following up 3 days after the posting close date. If there is no posting close date then wait 5 days from the time you apply.

Second, you should call and ask the receptionist how best to get a status on your application. The front desk typically is a great source of such information. And BE NICE to the front desk. They are my first line of defense and if you are rude to them or lie to them or wear a bunny suit they let me know. And that? Moves your application to the very back of the pile.

So, what does all this mean?
1. Make sure your resume is impeccable. No spelling errors. No grammar or punctuation errors. You never know when that missing comma is going to be the straw that broke the recruiter's back.

2. Be sure you are applying for jobs you can actually do. If you aren't a nurse, don't apply to be a nurse. If you aren't a software developer, don't apply to be a software developer. These jobs, just to use two examples, take education and experience. While I am absolutely certain that you are, in fact, a very fast learner like your resume says; it doesn't make you qualified for the job.

3. Don't harass the recruiter, the front desk receptionist, random extensions throughout the building that you find on the automated directory or the human resources department. Follow up on your application professionally and with a bit of consideration that the person you are mentally throwing in front of a fast moving train is also a person who is probably buried under a mountain of resumes.

4. Don't show up and pretend to have an interview. Um...I have a calendar and if I scheduled you to come in I think I would know it. Also? The receptionist is pretty savvy and if you don't know who exactly to ask for she'll probably catch on that you are being less than truthful. One teensy, little career tip? Lying = bad.

This may not all be the best news for job seekers. This is no magic trick or shortcut or pill you can take. I know looking for work is frustrating and irritating and sometimes demeaning, but I promise you -- being professional, leaving the bunny suit, resume cake and balloon bouquet at home will pay off in the long run. You WILL find a job and those other guys? They'll just be a punch line in some recruiter's blog.

Interviewing 101

2009-02-28T10:59:00.005-07:00

It is no secret that the job market is tough right now. I am willing to bet that everyone out there is either out of work or has someone close to them who is. As a recruiter I see the impact every single day and it really stinks. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I am very grateful every day that I have one, but the down economy is tough to take. The hardest part is getting to know my applicants, getting to like my applicants and then having to tell them they didn't get the job they have been so excited about.

Yes. There have been tears. And sometimes they are even the candidate's.

Many times they didn't get the job because of a poor interview. Sometimes the interviews are downright bizarre. If you are a recruiter, or have known a recruiter, the phrase, "I should really write a book about all the crazy things candidates do" isn't new to you. I know I have said that on many occasions. So, in an ongoing effort to help candidates improve the odds of getting a job in a poor economy, here is a list of interviewing tips and suggestions.

1. Attire. If the recruiter sends you an email confirming your interview time and in that email she encourages you to wear a suit?? WEAR. A. SUIT. Yes, it was just a suggestion, but it is the same suggestion made to every other candidate. If every one of them wears a suit and you don't...well, you can pretty much kiss the job good-bye. Listen to your recruiter, folks. Our goal is to fill the position with the best candidate possible and our candidates are a direct reflection of us. I want my candidates to impress the hiring manager. That way we BOTH look good. Thus the reasons I make suggestions for things you may want to do if you want to impress the hiring manager. SO...if I suggest you wear a suit just go ahead and consider that an order.

2. Be on time. Seems simply enough, right? Well, apparently not. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have a candidate show up exactly at 2:00 when I told them that I need them to arrive 10 munutes early so we can walk to the conference room that is 2 buildings away and the entire panel of 4 interviewers is going to be there at 2 ready to start and it would really be nice if I could get you in there before them so I can introduce you and we can all start off on the right foot instead of having to speed walk to the buidling and run up a flight of stairs and slide into the conference room at 5 after and everyone is already looking at their watches wondering where the heck the candidate is. Whew...let me take a breath. Just make sure you know where you are going, how long it will take you to get there and barring any loss of limb or imminent death PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get there on time. Oh...and in case you were wondering...on time? That means 10 minutes early.

3. Don't get too familiar too fast. I know, everyone wants to feel comfortable in the interview and it is really, really awesome when the interviewer is great to talk to and everyone is having a nice, easy conversation. It doesn't even feel like an interview, right? Maybe not, but here's a little tip, it is, in fact, an interview. Even when you are talking about this really great band you all love and want to follow around like the Grateful Dead IT IS STILL AN INTERVIEW. Please don't tell me about your great aunt's chronic bad breath or your dog's really rank farting problem. Don't say, "hell this" or "damn that" and PLEASE, PLEASE for the love of all that is professional don't use terms like "craptacular" or "trashtastic" or anything else that really shouldn't be used outside of 5th period History with Mr. "I'm Really Just Here To Coach Football So Why The Hell Am I Teaching This Subject." Be professional. Have a laugh. Smile. Enjoy the conversation, but keep it professional.

4. Let me ask you the ENTIRE question before you answer. This happens all the time. People think they know exactly what I am going to ask based on the first 4 words and they proceed to interrupt me and begin their brilliantly thought out answer. Hey...I'm all about enthusiasm, but don't you think it would be helpful to know what we are talking about? I know this interview is really all about you and I really appreciate your willingness to bare your soul, but let me at least have a few lines in the "You Movie." I might actually ask a good question here and there and sometimes, just sometimes, I ask something you didn't anticipate and you just spent 15 minutes waxing philosophical on something really, really irrelevant. Who's the idiot now? Hmm?

5. Don't bring a friend to the interview. Or your Mom. Or your girlfriend. Yes - I know. Support systems are a good thing, but seriously? Tuck a good luck note in your pocket or enjoy a pre-interview text message exchange, but leave your cheerleading squad at home. I mean, seriously, people.

Alright. I don't want you to think I make this stuff up so I now present you with some true stories from the front lines...

In the city I live in there is a river that flows through the middle of town and it is a very popular pasttime to float the river during the summer months. A candidate timed her float so that she would be able to float half way down, get out on the bank and be on time. Punctuality = Good. Showing up to an interview in a bathing suit and water shoes = bad. (Thanks Lisa for sharing this one!)

A candidate arrived for an interview during lunch hour and he showed up with fast food, spread it out on the desk and proceeded to chow down during the interview since it was his lunch hour.

A candidate brought in his cell phone, answered the cell phone when it rang during the interview and proceeded to argue with his wife while I sat and waited for him to hang up.

I now challenge my fabulous readers to share their own stories of bizarre interviews you have survived. Maybe one of these days we can actually put them all into a book! I know I would buy it.

Need a job? Here's a little tip. Or three.

2008-11-13T23:42:00.002-07:00

**NOTE**
This is a blog I posted on my personal site, but I thought it was very relevant for this blog, too. I am reposting it here for all of you wonderful people! Enjoy!

I don't generally talk much about work on this blog and that is for several reasons. First, I don't like to think much about work when I am writing on this blog. Second, the first rule of blogging is to avoid talking about things that can get you fired from your job. Third, most of this time the really hysterical stuff that happens to me at work can't be talked about on the blog because of rule number 2. Lastly, I would like to think I have better things to talk about than work. However, judging from the number of posts lately I may be seriously deluding myself.

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, I am a recruiter. I mostly recruit IT folks and I have been a recruiter for a really, really, reeeellllyyy long time...that means I am either very dedicated or completly insane. Today I was dedicated. Tomorrow I may be insane. You just never can tell. And that? Part of my charm.

I bring this up because with the economy as crappy as it is and with the unemployment rate as high as it is I thought I would share a few little tidbits to possibly help job seekers. Basically, here is a very condensed list of my pet peeves (which means "these are the things that most recently irritated me, but it is by no means a complete list of my pet peeves because I am far more irritate-able than this measly little list").

1. No matter what the completely useless and overpriced "consultant" told you - DO NOT PUT YOUR FREAKIN' PICTURE ON YOUR RESUME. Seriously? Do you really think showing me your whimsical smile and snappy sweater are going to result in my overlooking the fact that your two years of experience selling printer cartridges at Office Depot DOES NOT, in fact, make you qualified for the Senior Network Architect position you just applied for? Really? Ummm...NO.

2. The next time you are driving down the freeway tailgating the car in front of you when they are already doing 5 miles over the speed limit in a work zone and you are honking, swerving, flipping them off and generally making an ass of yourself regardless of the fact that it is rush hour and there is literally NO WHERE FOR THEM TO GO -- I want you to consider that at your next job interview that person is the recruiter. Just think about it. For a second. OK...good. Now. Thank me for my time and go home and remove "Calm under pressure" from your resume. 'Cause you? Aren't getting the job.

3. At your next interview please don't show up an hour early. Cause that? NOT. ON. TIME. It is, in fact, an hour early. And irritating. I know I don't have to go out in the lobby and greet you and interview you right then because you will quite happily wait until the actual scheduled interview time, but that doesn't help. See - I will sit at my desk for that hour thinking about you sitting in the lobby and I will wonder if the receptionist thinks I am a total loser for making you wait there because I must be too good to actually treat my candidates nicely and I will wonder if you are beginning to get irritated at me and if maybe you need to pee and I can't focus on the task at hand and so I end up going out and getting you early and interviewing you early, but I am all irritated and I don't really like you anymore because I was totally going to go to Starbucks real quick for my latte until YOU showed up EARLY and I just really hate you right now because I really need caffeine and YOU screwed up my master plan and you know what? Not hiring you!

I could so go on, but I am ready to go to bed. All the grumpy made me tired. Now go and take your freakin' picture of your resume. Seriously? A picture? Sheesh.

Hello? Remember me? Your candidate?

2008-10-03T10:10:00.000-06:00

All the recruiters who have been given a requirement that is HOT HOT HOT and must be filled RIGHT NOW raise your hand.

OK, put 'em down.

All the recruiters who have submitted rock star talent to that requirement in a flash and then waited two weeks for feedback raise your hand.

OK, put 'em down.

All the recruiters who have then lost the rock star talent to another position only to have the hiring manager call back the very next day and want to hire them raise your hand.

OK, put 'em down. Now slap the hiring manager.

Just kidding about the slapping part, but I know you thought about it. I know I did.

So how do recruiters keep from losing our candidates when the hiring managers are slow on the response? COMMUNICATION. If you are not talking to your candidates frequently and keeping them engaged in the process they are going to move on. Good candidates don't sit around waiting for the phone to ring. They are either working or they are very actively seeking a position and won't wait around for you.

One of the chief complaints from job seekers working with recruiters is, "They submitted my resume and I never heard from them again." Recruiters are notorious for calling a job seeker and telling them how great the job/manager/opportunity/location/etc is and then they interview the candidate and then submit the candidate and everyone is all happy and in love and then....nothing. {insert sound of crickets here}

No feedback from the manager often means no feedback for the candidate. Little tip. Candidates hate that. Not calling a candidate only makes things harder in the long run because they are going to call you at some point and they aren't going to be happy and they are going to leave tons of messages and you are going to avoid them and then they are going to start following you and stalking you and you are going to get all paranoid and...oh wait...maybe that was a movie.

Most of the time the issue is simply a recruiter that doesn't want to call a candidate and tell them they don't know anything yet. They don't want to call and tell them the manager wasn't impressed and doesn't want to interview them again and most certainly doesn't want to hire them. They don't want to call and tell them the hiring manager won't return calls or emails. It is much easier to not call at all.

Bad recruiter. No cookie.

Call your candidates people! Call them and tell them you are doing everything you can to get feedback from the hiring manager, but the hiring manager is extremely busy and has not gotten back to you yet. Tell them you respect their job hunt efforts and while you hope you don't lose them to another opportunity you understand they can't sit around and wait.

I know what you are thinking..."How the hell am I supposed to recruit on 20 positions and get all these new submittals AND keep in touch with all the old submittals? Do you think I never sleep?" The trick is to make it part of your weekly schedule. Every Friday afternoon send an email to each and every candidate you have submitted and tell them that you haven't forgotten them and you will keep them posted, but unfortunately you don't have any information. If you need to you can even do one email and blind copy everyone.

Trust me. Sending a short email on Friday will save you a ton of time on Monday. Why? Because all those candidates aren't calling you on Monday asking what is going on. They have all entered the weekend fresh from an email from you and are thrilled with your personal touch and responsiveness even though you have just told them...well...nothing.

Oh yeah...and don't forget one very important thing. Your candidates? Prefer to know the hiring manager didn't like them rather than sit around and wonder what the heck is going on. Don't be afraid to pass along bad news. Just make sure to package in a non-hurtful, constructive criticism kind of way. It's a far, far better thing to know you didn't get the job than to always wonder how bad it must have been for the recruiter to never call again.

You're going to do WHAT?

2008-07-17T19:34:00.006-06:00

Counter-offers. The bane of any recruiter's existence. Every one of us has had a great deal fall through at the eleventh hour because our candidate got a counter-offer. I vividly remember the first time I celebrated a closed position only to have the candidate call me the next day and say, "My employer gave me a raise to stay so I'm not going to take this position after all. Sorry."

It happens to the best of us and in my experience candidates fall into one of two categories when it comes to counter-offers.

Candidate 1 - This candidate insists they really, really, really want to leave their current position. They list dozens of reasons why they Must. Leave. Now. They happily proceed through the interview process and aggressively pursue feedback and are quick to respond when you call them. They get the offer and give notice. Then they receive a counter and decide to stay with their current employer. It can't be proven, but it seems like this candidate was riding the whole process solely to get the counter-offer and have no intention of changing jobs.

Candidate 2 - This candidate insists through the process they are absolutely ready for a change and their employer certainly wouldn't dream of giving them a counter-offer. They go through the entire hiring process, get an offer, accept the offer, give notice and when the counter comes they are shocked. SHOCKED I tell you! They are also pleased as punch and since they are obviously so appreciated and valued by their current employer they certainly couldn't change jobs.

These candidates may have different starting points, but they end up in the same place. Still working for the same company they started out with.

As a recruiter that is obviously frustrating. Most likely you have stopped seeking new candidates and once the offer came in you probably cut loose anyone else in your loop. You have start to all over with recruiting and that is IF the client doesn't decide you are to blame and pulls the req altogether.

So, how can you maintain some control over the counter-offer and your candidate's response to it? YOU TALK ABOUT IT. Right from the start you address the issue of counters and how your candidate would respond to it. Don't just ask them once. Ask them at each step of the interview process. The more you talk about it the more prepared you are and the more your candidate is prepared to handle the counter-offer.

I generally do several things to determine whether or not my candidate is a fit AND whether or not they are interviewing for the sole purpose of getting that counter-offer.

1. All of my interviews include questions regarding what they like about their current role, don't like about it, would change about it, etc. Why are they looking to leave? What one thing could they change that would keep them there? Would higher pay get them to stay? Would a different boss keep them there? Would a promotion keep them there?

2. In the first interview I ask them if they would accept a counter-offer if they received one. I am interested in how they handle that question. Are the quick and concise? Do they seem unsure? Their response at this point isn't the end of the road for that candidate, but it is certainly something to keep a finger on as you progress through the interview process.

3. After every interview a candidate has with the client you are most likely doing a debrief. In every debrief you need to gauge their commitment and you need to ask them again about a counter-offer.

4. I remind all of my candidates that statistically speaking an employee that receives a counter-offer and accepts it will be gone from that position inside of a year. Their current employer doubts their loyalty. They are wondering if every time they call in sick or show up late or leave early, "Are they at an interview?" The first time the company does lay-offs? They are on the chopping block.

If the company doesn't get rid of them it is likely they will end up taking another job later. Why? Because all those things they told you they didn't like about their current job? Those things haven't changed. Hate your boss? Well, they're still your boss. Hate your team? You guessed it. Still your team. Hate the politics? Still there and probably worse because now? You're a traitor.

5. When the counter-offer comes and my candidate wants to take it? I ask them if their current employer valued them so much why did they have to give notice to get the raise/promotion/pat on the back they deserved? If they are so quick to give it to you now why didn't you get it all along? Don't you want to work for an employer that recognizes your value during the interview process?

You can't guarantee that your candidate won't accept a counter-offer when it comes. You are dealing with a person that is likely to behave in ways you could never even begin to predict; however, if you keep the topic of counter-offers as a regular part of your interview process it will decrease the odds that the last minute counter-offer will throw your deal into a tailspin.

There IS enough room for everyone. I promise!

2008-03-01T19:01:00.006-07:00

Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to work with the same hiring manager at one of my clients. He and I have developed a great relationship - one of my favorite things about him is that he still likes me and still gives me reqs even when I am not exactly on my game. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate that kind of loyalty and understanding.

Why am I telling you this (besides to make sure everyone knows how great I am, of course!)? I am telling you this because my hiring manager accidently put me in a situation where I got in big, big trouble BECAUSE of how much he likes me.

Now...I don't want to wax all philosophical about how agency and corporate recruiters are all recruiters and there really is no need to be rude to one another, but seriously? In the immortal words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

There seems to be a hierarchy in the recruiting world. I have no idea how it got started, but anyone in the industry will tell you it exists. Working from the "bottom" to the "top" it looks like this:

1. Staffing firms that do the whole "work today, paid today" thing with manual laborers.
2. Agencies that do admin and clerical staffing.
3. Technical and professional recruiting firms that do things like IT, Finance, etc.
4. Executive search firms.
5. Internal corporate recruiters.

I must interject that I have been both a corporate AND an agency recruiter. I understand that both have challenges and my intent here really isn't to pick on anyone. Really. I would never pick on anyone. Well...not unless they really deserved it. Anyway - back to challenges:

Agency recruiters deal with a need for speed that most corporate recruiters don't understand. Agency recruiters deal with not always having access to hiring managers and, very often, incomplete job descriptions. Agency recruiters deal with (some) internal recruiters burying their candidates.

Corporate recruiters have to deal with...ummmm...hmmmm...hang on...I'm thinking...

OK - in all seriousness - corporate recruiters who have never worked on the agency side have challenges, but from where I sit the corporate recruiting gig is less stressful for a myriad of reasons. They have access to hiring managers, they work for the company they are recruiting for so they have an edge on culture knowledge, candidates are more likely to call them back, they have more candidates apply directly so they have to do far less actual recruiting.

Maybe that isn't fair and hopefully I don't have a mob of torch-bearing corporate recruiters show up at my door, but once you have been a recruiter in a fast-paced, high-stress agency environment almost anything else seems...well, it just seems easy.

SO...that brings me back to my hiring manager and the hot water.

I have been working on both contract and direct hire positions for this hiring manager and one other in the same department. I have had great success finding candidates for positions that have been "difficult" for the internal recruiting team to fill. My success put me on an internal recruiter's radar and she was not happy about my sudden insertion to her nice, neat corporate recruiter world.

Suddenly I was notified that I was violating my contract with the client because I was **gasp** TALKING TO THE HIRING MANAGER!!! I should be shot! Immediately and without due process! This led to my almost losing the account, but thankfully the internal recruiting team wants to have happy hiring managers and so they let me stay on the vendor list since I make the hiring managers happy. They didn't have to do that and even if I am being a little tongue-in-cheek here I am truly grateful.

There is a lesson in all of this.

If you are an agency recruiter it is hyper-critical to understand the contract parameters. You HAVE to make sure you are following the rules because, unfortunately, the internal recruiters generally hold all the cards. You also have to make sure that the hiring managers understand the rules because they can get you into trouble by calling you when they aren't supposed to and the recruiter can't kick them off a list! You will take the fall.

If you are a corporate recruiter you need to remember that the agency recruiter has the same goal you do - FILLING THE POSITION. They often have a wide network and can present some stellar talent that you would never find. Not because you aren't talented, but you are often sorting through resumes from direct applicants. The agency recruiter is out there finding the people that haven't applied to your company and won't apply to your company and will likely never, ever hit your orbit if not for the agency recruiter.

If internal and agency recruiters can learn how to work together there will be a lot of happy candidates and a lot of happy hiring managers. There really is no need whatsoever for a recruiting hierarchy unless you are talking about a good recruiter vs. a bad recruiter and in that case I am all about hierarchy.

I just want to be at the top of it!! Hee!

I have been a terrible blogger, but I promise to do better!

2008-02-22T11:13:00.005-07:00

When I started this blog it was at the request of my boss. Our company does a lot of work in the Web 2.0 (by the way, I hate that term) space and wanted me to blog as a way to show how Web 2.0-ey we are. Since I already have a pretty active personal site he felt I would be the perfect person to be a blogging maniac.

That hasn't worked out quite so well.

My personal site is clicking along nicely and I get a fair amount of hits. The trick is that it is much easier to think of things to write about over there because over there I can talk about absolutely anything. This site is supposed to be all professional and stuff so that makes it much harder. I try to think of things that are relevant to recruiting and HR. That gets tricky because I am, generally speaking, the kind of person that does my best blogging on completely inane and often snarky stuff. I am not sure HR is supposed to be snarky. At least not in public.

Yesterday I got an email from a colleague that reminded me of a couple of things:

1. The internet? It's forever. Once you put something out there is takes on a life of its own. That is either really, really cool OR really, really terrifying.
2. People do actually read what I write and some of them? They LIKE it! Whee!

So, I have to say a big thank you to Howard for pulling me back into the land of professional blogging. I am going to do my best to post at least once a week on this site. You just have to promise not to form a torch-bearing mob if I don't make it happen Every. Single. Week.

If anyone has recommendations for topics that are of interest please let me know. I may not know everything about recruiting/HR, but what I don't know I can certainly make up! Hee!

Orthopedic Shoes Optional...

2007-11-06T19:39:00.001-07:00

An interesting topic was brought to my attention a few days ago by one of my readers...what agencies are out there recruiting for older candidates? I had to admit that I was stumped. ARE there any agencies out there for an older demographic? I wasn't sure...and I said as much. I guess the upside of not having an answer is that it got me thinking about my approach to candidates in the "older demographic."

What is my approach, you ask? Well, my approach is that I am looking for the absolute best candidate to fill my client's open position and I don't really give two figs how old you are, what brand of shoes you prefer or how you take your coffee. What I care about is:

ARE YOU A FIT FOR THE JOB?

As a recruiter it is important to consider many things during the screening process and your skill set is only one of them. When I talk to my candidates about a job I want to know many, many things and your age...well...let me repeat: I.DON'T.CARE. And any recruiter worth the paper their business card is printed on doesn't.

OK...I'll be me and you be the candidate. I'll ask some questions and you think about the answers:

--- What are you doing in your current role?
--- What do you like about it?
--- What would you change about it if you could only pick one thing to change?
--- What do you want to get out of your next job?
--- If you could go back to school and study for any profession you wanted to then what would it be?
--- If you were in charge (assuming you aren't already) what would you change about the corporate culture specifically?

I bet I know what you're thinking..."What's with all the 'touchy-feely,' 'let's sing a song by the campfire' crap? Pony up some technical questions Ms. Technical Recruiter." I do actually ask questions about the skills you bring to the table, but in my not-quite-as-humble-as-I-probably-should-be opinion, your technical skills are secondary once I get past the resume review part.

What good are your skills if you hate the work environment my client offers? No good at all I tell you. No.Good.At.All. You won't be successful if you prefer a board shorts and flip flops environment and I put you into a boardroom and suit environment. You'd probably rather hang yourself with that tie. Right?

Where does age come into all this you may possibly be wondering right about now...well, it goes hand-in-hand with the environment you prefer. If I know my client has, for whatever reason, a team that is all "down with the man" and you ARE "the man" then you may possibly be heading into a lion's den. If you are someone who has never worn a suit - much less actually knows how totie a tie - well, it is very possible your co-workers could end up hanging you with the tie.

I guess what I am saying is that age is irrelevant to me. I only care that you are going to absolutely love the culture I am hoping to put you into and that you can do the job I am hoping to put you into. My advice to any job seeker is to find a recruiter that feels the same way I do.

I encourage you to identify a recruiter that both specializes in your career field and who you build a positive rapport with. That recruiter is going to see your value and they are going to work hard for you. Ask the recruiter this: "Are you looking to fill your open position with A person or THE person."

When the recruiter talks to you about a job you need to pay attention. Do they ask you about the kind of culture you like? Do they tell you anything about the company with the job opening or just the job itself? Do they ask you what you want to be doing or just what you are doing?

Those distinctions matter...A LOT. So, in answer to my reader's question about whether or not there is an agency out there specializing in an older demographic...well, I still don't know the answer to that one. What I do know is there are a lot of really good recruiters out there specializing in making the best match between their clients and their candidates and those recruiters make age irrelevant.

Do I have to control everything around here?

2007-10-24T16:05:00.001-06:00

Candidate control.

Sounds like a painful thing to acheive, huh? In all actuality it is more painful to live without it. I am not talking about "fetch me a latte" kind of candidate control - I am talking about control disguised as setting expectations. It is the best way to foresee potential problems and close deals.

In the recruiting world it can be very difficult to manage all the moving parts of a placement. You have the recruiter (you), management (yours AND your clients), the specific hiring manager you are working with, the candidate and if you are a really unlucky recruiter then you have to deal with your client's HR department to boot. At any point the deal can get blown out of the water. Setting expectations along the way can help you get your placement more easily. What?! An easier path to revenue? Whee!

You have to set expectations for each and every person through each and every step. No small feat. I know. You don't have to tell me twice. But trust me...it makes a difference. You just have to commit to adding the steps into your recruiting process. It can be time-consuming on the front-end of your deal - again, I get that, but put the work in at the beginning and get an easier, faster close on the back-end.

From the very beginning it is critical that your candidates understand exactly what you will be doing for them and what you expect them to do for you. You have to, absolutely have to, make sure your candidates are on board every step of the way. Ever try to close a deal when your candidate has gone MIA on offer day and you never get them to return your call again? I have and THAT is a party and a half! Whee!

I have found that interviewing in stages is one way to get candidate buy-in along the way and ensure their commitment to the process. I conduct a short phone conversation to pre-qualify the candidate and then schedule a longer phone interview - or an in-person if the candidate is local to me - for later in the same day or the next. I can't tell you how many times the candidate who looked great on paper was the candidate who bailed on the phone interview and therefore, saved me A LOT of time and energy.

After the phone/in-person interview is complete I will either submit my candidate to the client or have the candidate provide me with additional information through written responses to questions pertaining to the job. Those responses are a great tool to get the hiring manager excited about your candidate. It many cases it has allowed me to skip my candidates past a client phone interview and straight to an in-person interview. See! Faster! Hee!

You have to set your candidate's expectations on salary and as the interviews progress you have to make sure your client is on the same playing field. There is nothing more frustrating - or more detrimental to your reputation - than getting to the offer stage and being blindsided by an offer that is never going to lead to a close. I vividly remember working my tail off on one of my first big deals and finally, through blood, sweat and tears, I got the offer. An offer that was about $10,000 less than what my candidate needed before he would even consider taking the job. We spent a few days trying to meet in the middle, but it was an utter disaster. My candidate lost faith in me, my client lost faith in me, I lost the deal and I learned a very valuable lesson.

You.Must.Set.Expectations.

The key to candidate control is to discuss each step of the process as each step is completed. At the end of your first conversation tell them the next step and let them ask questions. At the end of your interview tell them the next step and let them ask questions. What happens when you submit them to the client? What is the interview process at that point?

You have to find out what their concerns are if you want to put together a deal your candidate can't say no to. And let's face it - you want an offer they can't say no to!

See? Piece of cake!

Mmmm....cake....

I have organizational skills...you just don't get my filing system!

2007-10-11T21:28:00.001-06:00

I am messy.

There. I said it.

I am a messy worker.

My desk is a pile of papers and folders and half empty water bottles and pens with no ink and random items buried under the piles of paper and folders.

Don't believe me? Well, take a look:

That's just one half. Here is the second half:

It isn't that I try to be messy, but in the course of an average day I have about 6 seconds that can be devoted to cleaning up the chaos. I tend to use that time to go to the bathroom. Sue me.

Anyway, even thought I am not the neatest person on the planet I do want to point out for all the other recruiters out there that this is not the optimal desk situation. For one thing, if I get hit by a bus, it is unlikely anyone else will be able to decipher my unique filing method. Secondly, it can sometimes make for awkward pauses when a caller asks me a question and I am digging for the piece of paper I scribbled the answer on.

"Ummm...hang on a second...(nervous giggle)...I know it's here somewhere...(tick tock tick tock)...so...how's the weather? (dig dig shuffle shuffle)"

Not always the professional, sharp, prepared, ready-for-anything image most recruiters (me included) like to present to candidates and clients. As an example of a desk that is likely to produce needed documents quickly I present you with Exhibit A:

In my own defense I have to point out that all employee files and other documentation I am responsible for as the HR Director is very carefully filed in a legally compliant manner so all the auditors out there just back slowly away from your "ticket books."

The problem for me is the stacks of things I need to read, edit, review, call about, give to someone else, etc...those items tend to get stacked and stacked and stacked.

Last week my admin actually drove me from my desk and closed my door. When she let me back in my desk was spotless. It was beautiful and shiny and I think I actually heard angels weep. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a dang thing and in the 6 seconds I would normally use to go to the bathroom I managed to return it to the original, "threw up on itself" state it is normally in.

Not the most effective or efficient manner for me to operate and I strongly encourage all recruiters to develop a filing system, in/out system that works for them and try and keep their work space as clutter free as possible. I promise to try and practice what I preach.

I am sure my admin will thank me.

You want me to manage TIME, too?

2007-09-28T17:29:00.000-06:00

Recruiting is a challenging job because there is always something changing. A new requisition, a new client, a new technology or skill, a new candidate, a new problem to solve…it seems the “new” never ends. When I first started out I remember being horribly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff that would fly in from left field throughout the day and that is still an area I struggle with. The biggest challenges are never the requirements and finding candidates, it seems the toughest part is figuring out how to get everything done in the work day. Granted, the work day for a recruiter isn’t 8-5 and we generally work lots of long hours, but even then it seems impossible at times to do it all. That makes time management a critical skill to learn.

One of my early recruiting jobs I worked for a company that made us list out every single phone call and activity we were going to do the following day. It would take an hour just to write it all down and think it all through. I always felt that it was a horrible burden and a waste of what little time I had so I slowly adapted the process to fit my style. Now I spend a few minutes before I leave each day making a short to-do list. It gives me a focus when I arrive at work the next day and focus in the morning is not something that comes easily to me.

I am admittedly not a morning person. I need copious amounts coffee to function. I was a bartender all through college and then went into recruiting – two career choices that require later nights far more often than they require early mornings. Over the years I have learned to never schedule anything before 9 am unless I absolutely have to. I also never schedule interviews before noon if there is any way to avoid it. My brain just doesn’t work early in the day! Since I know that fact, I let it work for me instead of against me.

I schedule my day to allow for responding to email and voicemail first thing in the morning. I can sit with my coffee in front of my computer and not have to interact face-to-face with anyone. I am usually awake and capable of intelligent conversation by 11. After that I will spend the lunch hour making calls to candidates I wasn’t able to reach the day before. I have found that a lot of people will answer their phones during lunch and most of them have had the morning to remind them why they are looking for a new job in the first place. In the afternoon I conduct scheduled interviews and follow up with clients regarding previous submittals and with candidates regarding interviews. Those conversations take brain power and it allows me to conduct them when I am most likely to be on my game. In the late afternoon I source resumes while candidates are on their drive home and in the evening I make calls to schedule interviews for the following day. It is a system that works for me. I don’t presume for a second that it will work for everyone.

My point is that it IS possible to have some control in this crazy, reactive career we have all chosen. We are constantly ping-ponging back and forth on the whims of clients, candidates, co-workers, bosses, etc and that makes it very hard to feel like we can get our job done in a reasonable amount of time. Another trick that helps is to schedule out your work week. For example, Monday is a follow-up day and an administrative day. Since I am the HR Director and the recruiter for my company I use it as a HR day. Obviously, there are HR tasks that arise during the week that won’t wait for Monday, but I can keep the burden lighter by allocating a day to those tasks. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are recruiting days. I am sourcing and interviewing for all the open positions. I am doing submittals and chasing new business. Fridays are administrative days. I generally spend Friday making sure I have everything documented in the tracking system (I know…I should do that as I go. Shoot me.) and sending emails to all my pending candidates regarding status on their req. I send emails to every client with a status on their open positions. That helps to eliminate a lot of the “what’s going on” calls that recruiters generally receive on Mondays. I also spend Friday decompressing from my week. Our team tries to leave early on Friday when we can and that usually means a nice glass of wine at the wine bar that is right downstairs. Ahh…vino…how we love thee!

Time management can also be improved in simple little ways. Here are a couple that work for me:

1. Put a silent timer on your desk and each time you conduct a phone interview try to keep in at thirty minutes or less. It forces you to use your words carefully and to keep the interview on track. I am not suggesting for a second that you don’t take the time to get to know your candidate, but you can do that in a relatively short conversation if you ask good questions and really listen to the responses.

2. Only listen to voicemail or read email during specific windows of time. This isn’t always practical since we are in a very speed sensitive industry, but if you can avoid distracting yourself by responding to every single email or voicemail as it comes in you will find that you are more productive because you are more focused on the task at hand.

Maybe those things will help other recruiters. At the very least it is a place to start. On a side note: I hate it when people tell me to work smarter and not harder and it seems like you hear that a lot in the recruiting world. What does that mean exactly? Does that mean that if you work hard you aren’t smart? Maybe what it means is to manage your time better and you will find that your day goes by a little more smoothly. All I know for sure is that time management in the recruiting industry is beyond critical for your success and the really good recruiters have it down to a science. Personally, I am still trying to master it so any tips you have are more than welcome!

What do you mean "headhunter"?

2007-08-20T19:02:00.000-06:00

It is never easy to take on a new career, but when you make the leap into recruiting you face a particularly difficult task; albeit, a worthwhile one. I am currently working with a new employee who is training to be a recruiter and it has brought back to me all of the trepidation I faced when I started in this industry.

I started in recruiting in 1999. I was a bright eyed and bushy-tailed new graduate with a degree in Communications. I was going to work for a PR firm and I was going to conquer the world. Two months later I was losing hope because I was not prepared for how competitive my chosen field was. Fortunately, I got a call from one of my sorority sisters. She was an HR graduate and had just gotten a job with a recruiting firm in Seattle. According to her, I was perfect for it and should apply. Thus began my career in recruiting.

As a completely green recruiter I was given an area to focus on – in my case, information technology – and instructed to learn as much as I could as fast as I could about technology. Techweb became my new best friend as I sat for hours reading resumes and looking up every term I didn’t know. There were a lot of terms. One spiral bound notebook full of them. Most days I went home with a headache and a sense of complete and utter stupidity. It took only a few interviews with highly talented folks to figure out how much I didn’t know and, at the same time, how much information had actually stuck.

At the same time I was suffering through the eternal vocabulary lesson, I was learning how to find candidates: sourcing resumes, data mining and formulating emails/phone messages most likely to get a response. I was also being trained to call in and direct recruit candidates out of specific companies. I vividly remember sitting in front of a phone with the trainer and a couple of other new recruiters. The trainer would dial a number on speaker phone and each of us took turns trying to get past the receptionist and into a specific department. Our trainer, who was clearly the anti-Christ, always called Amazon.com for these little ego-boosting exercises. The receptionist at Amazon had some kind of freaky 6th sense that a recruiter was on the phone. She would play little games with us like acting like we were being transferred to our target department and then leaving us on hold indefinitely. Looking back I would be willing to bet that the receptionist and the trainer were in cahoots, but I can’t prove anything.

The experience was vicious, but the lessons learned were priceless. To this day I can call anyone, anywhere, about anything…and I can do it without batting an eye.

It wasn’t long before the bottom fell out (thank you dotcoms!). Recruiting firms went out of business left and right, recruiters changed career fields and a few of us diehards hung on through the resulting requisition drought. Years later, I am still in the industry and those early lessons in headhunting help me more now than they did then. I have perfected my technique and lost the nerves. I have figured out what techniques work for me and further adapted them to my personality. I am “old school” and that gives me an edge.

The average burn-out rate for a recruiter is approximately 3 years (up from the 2 years back in the hey-day). That means the majority of recruiters in the field now were hired into firms and trained during a time where jobs were scarce and candidates plentiful. The skills used to match a candidate to a job have been, to a large extent, simple paper shuffling and basic screening.

Times, they are a’changin’.

As our marketplace shifts we find ourselves in a time where requirements are plentiful and truly skilled candidates are scarce. The good candidates are working. They took a package and moved to Tahiti. They certainly aren’t trolling job boards and applying to anything and everything that is remotely close to their skill set. You want the top talent now? You have to find them where they work. That is what us “old folks” know how to do. We cut our teeth on direct recruiting and we are experts at it now.

Thankfully, many of the less ethical recruiters jumped ship and they took their unethical recruiting practices with them. A good recruiter, a tried and true, old school headhunter like me, determines who your competitors are. We ask you which competitors we should leave alone. We call into your competitors and get the information we need without ever disclosing the client or lying about who we are. Good headhunters will get past the gatekeeper politely and ethically. They will talk to your competitor’s employees with respect and will identify those who are truly looking for a change. It is a skill that was lost when the “big box stores” of the recruiting world decided to build their very own assembly line of placements. A good headhunter will never “throw resumes at the wall” in the hopes that one of them will stick.

If you are a hiring manager wanting to work with a recruiter, take the time to find a recruiter you are comfortable with. A good one will meet your needs with great people and they will do it quickly, ethically and with enthusiasm. A good recruiter drops the smoke and the mirrors and they simply find talent so you don’t have to.