How to recruit without a headhunter?

How to recruit without a headhunter?

Just as the economy is slowing down, there may be positions that still need filling. If you are employer, you know the pain of having a vacant position, especially if it is a key one – typically you are doing the work yourself or are having to overburden your staff to get the job done. Here is my response, albeit changed a little, to a similar question on Linkedin:

Recruit through associations and industry organizations

First thing that comes to mind when an employer is looking to recruit is to advise that they go directly to the associations or industry organizations that these type of candidates are members of. Depending on who you are looking to recruit, there will be whole membership lists online if you look carefully. Also, sometimes they have meetings and you can attend, sometimes you can advertise – it is worth getting involved as much as possible with these professional organizations as you will no doubt pick up a ton of leads from working with them.

Ask for referrals

Do you know at least one person that works within the area you are looking to recruit from? If so, you can build upon that. You can this person for referrals within and outside the company – sometimes if you take the time to discuss the opportunity with them (preferably after hours), they will open up more and be willing to help you out especially in the event that they are not the right fit for the position. I find that people are looking to share their knowledge and if you give them the opportunity, they will talk – both about themselves and about others, their company and the industry as a whole. (And don’t be put off if you are new to the particular area they specialize in – many people actually enjoy educating you about their career and specialty!) Then of course keep that relationship alive – how I like to do it is by calling them after a week or so and give them a few names of people I have found and who I think may be a fit – and I and ask their opinion. Not only will you learn about the individual you are talking to as well as the people you mention, but you may be on the way to getting business from them as a client (since you are so thorough and professional with them, why not give you some business?) Ph, and one more thing about getting referrals – when asked, some people respond with “I don’t know anyone who is looking.” If you hear this, don’t just say OK – tell them “I understand…what I would like to know is who does this kind of work within your organization?” Most will say AH, I understand as people assume you are looking for someone who is actively looking for their next opportunity…

Find one phone extension and you can start recruiting

To continue reading>>>

How employers can recruit and hire the most talented candidates proactively

How to be proactive when hiring

I have had a few emails from employers asking when I will start writing for them, so here goes! This is for Dave who is trying to recruit and hire the best Senior Financial Analyst.

The best way to hire

The best way to find the best talent in my experience is with a proactive approach. Let me explain. Searching for resumes that have been posted on job boards (such as Monster or CareerBuilder) or on employment forums will guarantee that dozens of other companies (some may just be your competitors!) will want to pursue the same candidates you will find online, thus creating scheduling conflicts and a challenge when trying to get the person to accept an offer.

What about a newspaper ad or an ad on Monster?

These methods are known as traditional recruiting methods and they are hit or miss at best. Placing an advertisement in a newspaper or on a job board such as Monster will guarantee is a huge number of mostly unqualified individuals responding to your post, so the result is hundreds if not thousands of resumes that need to be read, inputted into your HR system if you have one, and called for a phone or face-to-face interview only to discover the majority of candidates have either just accepted another position or are not the right fit for your organization. Also, a point that many employers don’t take into consideration when running an ad on Monster or in the newspaper is that if you want to maintain your general positive brand image with candidates (who may also be customers or potential customers), you will need to draft, mail or email some sort of “thanks but no thanks” letter to each one which will take endless hours – believe me, I have done it and it is not fun. I am not trying to be overly negative, but the reality is that the economy is bad so most candidates will plaster their resumes to every posting even remotely fitting their background (if this is you, please read Secrets of a Headhunter as listed on the side bar of the Seattle Jobs Examiner page!)

How to recruit and hire proactively

Continue reading>>>

Obama’s administration preparing to use headhunters to fill key positions

Barack Obama has been notoriously tough in hiring lobbyists in Washington and therefore, headhunters have been retained to search for hard to fill positions.

Obama’s administrators have reportedly interviewed large search firms Korn/Ferry International, Russell Reynolds Associates and Heidrick & Struggles.

Obama administration faces frustration

Bob Cusack writes in his recent article in The Hill called, Obama administration works with headhunters to fill out key positions.

Continue reading>>>

Green jobs for Earth Day – check out these online green job resources

In honor of Earth Day here are some green jobs resources and green jobs listings!

As the world becomes more green, there are an increasing number of green jobs for everything from scientists, to IT to everything in between – so if you consider yourself an environmentalist, a sustainability advocate or someone who appreciates green business practices, there is something for you!

Here are some Green Jobs resources:

Continue reading for list>>>

Watch Susan Boyle’s incredible audition – video here

Please go HERE to see Susan Boyle’s incredible performance on Britain’s Got Talent!

Interesting notes about Susan Boyle:

• She is the youngest of 9 children.
• She was called “Simple Susie” as a child.
• She is still teased by local children.
• She has a cat named Pebbles.

Susan Boyle – unexpected hero

Britain’s Got Talent’s Susan Boyle, who has stunned viewers with her performance and her story is a phenomenon around the world, thanks to YouTube and stars like Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher who have posted on Twitter how moved they are by her performance and story.

Susan Boyle was brain damaged at birth

Continue reading>>>

How recruiters can trap unsuspecting candidates

A fellow career consultant named Rita Ashley from Job Search Debugged recently wrote this great piece called 7 Tricks recruiters use to trap unsuspecting candidates and with Rita’s permission I am publishing it for our Examiner.com readers. Enjoy!

One estimate of job openings filled by recruiters is over 35%. The percentage is higher for executive-level positions in the $100,000+ salary range. Clearly, cultivating a professional relationship with a recruiter or two is an excellent career development strategy. But how do you avoid exposure to the wrong ones? I believe knowledge is power. The more you know about how and why recruiters set traps for you, the easier you can avoid getting caught.

A crafty recruiter or a representative from a ‘resume mill’ can entice you to send your resume because they are trained to handle any objection you can produce. Unless you verify an actual search for a real company, don’t send your resume.

1. Vet the recruiter immediately. Ask for the recruiter’s company name and contact information. If the recruiter is vague or unresponsive to your direct questions, they are bogus and up to no good. Request the hiring company name and the job description. If they can’t supply all this information, there is no reason to go forward. If they can, offer to get back to them after you have a chance to think about the opportunity. Use that time to ascertain the validity of the recruiting company, the company with the open req and the job. If you still have doubts, call the company in question and ask if they work with that recruiter. If the recruiter cannot supply the information or objects to giving you time, run away.
2. Protect your contact information. Resume mills are or sell your resume to resume aggregators. These resumes are then used to cull contact information which is subsequently sold to the highest bidders. Don’t include your home address and use a public email such as gmail. If you submit a resume, it is lost in space and you will never hear from the recruiter again no matter how terrific the match to that imaginary job.
3. Job boards are not your friend. The recruiter submits your resume to job boards. Resumes are stripped of your name and contact information and the recruiter’s contact information is substituted. If someone is interested in your credentials, they have to go through the recruiter and split fees.

Continue reading>>>

Check out the finalists in The Best Job in the World slideshow

The Great Barrier Reef advertised a few months ago for The Best Job in the World and got thousands of video entries

Today the Great Barrier Reef announced their finalists for Caretaker of the Islands, so here is a slideshow of some of the finalists – enjoy!

Finalists:

Anjaan RJ – India, Ben Henry – France, Ben Southall – UK, Cali Lewis – USA, Clare Wang……

Continue reading>>>

Recruiters rejecting candidates based on their LinkedIn profile?

Recruiters rejecting candidates based on their LinkedIn profile?

This piece is a continuation from Recruiters rejecting candidates based on their LinkedIn profile?

My third reason to reject this recruiting approach

The third reason I disagree with recruiters who are rejecting candidates unless they have at least 2 LinkedIn receommendations (AKA references) opublicly displayed on their LinkedIn profiles is that, as a Manager, if you are presented with candidates who pass these recruiter’s narrow qualifications, doesn’t this just cause problems when it is time to present an offer?

Competition for top talent intensified

Continue reading>>>

Breaking news Barack Obama speaks about jobs and job creation at The London Summit

Breaking news Barack Obama speaks about jobs and job creation at The London Summit 2009 with the theme Stability, Growth and Jobs.

At a press conference at The London Summit 2009, President Barack Obama focussed on what the summit means for jobs, the economy and the world’s fiscal future. He also speaks about the struggling company Caterpillar and the reason why it is facing financial difficulties.

Here are some of the highlights. The London Summit…

Continue reading>>>