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.
Showing posts with label candidates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label candidates. Show all posts
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
You're going to do WHAT?
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.
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.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
There IS enough room for everyone. I promise!
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!
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!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Do I have to control everything around here?
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....
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....
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