It’s a tough realization to make, but at some point in your HR career, it may be time to change jobs. And if you know what to look for, your workplace just might give you signs that it’s time for you to move on.
After all, satisfied employees who work in a positive environment are much more productive, not to mention more valuable to the company. And if you find yourself at a workplace that’s just the opposite, it will not only affect your output; it could derail future opportunities, too.
So how do you know when it’s time to leave? Be on the lookout for these 5½ clues that indicate it’s time to search for a new job.
Company doesn’t value employees. Company culture is an important factor not just for productivity, but for a company’s overall success. And if you don’t feel valued by your company, you’re much less likely to go above and beyond when it comes to completing your responsibilities and tasks.
Bad relationship with manager. Your manager is your go-to source for information and feedback. If you don’t have a good relationship with your manager, you’ll likely feel that you don’t have anywhere else to turn for guidance. You don’t necessarily need to be best friends with your supervisor — in fact, it’s best to keep the relationship professional. But if the rapport is non-existent — or worse, combative — then it may be a sign that it’s time for you to move on.
Company financial health in question. Few things make employees more anxious and distracted than knowing that their company may be at financial risk. After all, if a company can’t afford to pay its debt, can it afford your aspirations?
Poor communication culture. Understanding the vision and direction of the company you work for is important. Companies that are transparent and effectively communicate build trust with employees. If, as an employee, you find yourself frequently left in the dark when it comes to new policies, procedures and other pertinent information, you may begin to question your value at the company, or how best to proceed with future work.
Unchallenging work. At some point in your career, you’re likely going to have to dig in and tackle a number of mundane tasks. But if you fail to receive opportunities to challenge yourself and go outside of your comfort zone, you run the risk of becoming apathetic toward the job as a whole. After all, the point of a career is to continue to grow and develop your skills and expertise. And if that’s not happening at your current workplace, it may be time to find a better fit.
Salary. Your pay is undeniably important — it’s what allows you to support yourself and your family. And although your salary alone isn’t a reason enough to quit (which is why it’s a half, not a full reason), it may be a deciding factor when combined with other catalysts.
Navigating the path of your career can, at times, feel daunting.
All above 5½ signs would help you framing your career transition plan. So calculate and decide - "Is this the Time" :)
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
29 Reasons!!..Stopping you moving ahead..
Today I want to share some of the truths we experience that stop us moving forward in life.
Do any of these ring true for you?
Perfection – Perfection does not exist. If you accept that everything can be improved upon then perfection cannot exist. Give up the concept of being perfect and get on with your life as best you can.
Waiting for the right time – The right time is now, why put it off. If you’ve been waiting for the right time for something and haven’t taken action yet, it’s going to be difficult to start.
Being stuck in the past – If you focus on the past, you stay in the past. Moving forward is about acknowledging the past, but gently let the invisible cord of the past go, and move toward a better future.
Lying to yourself – Honesty with yourself and others will do wonders for moving you forward in life. Start with yourself and be as honest as possible about who you are, what you’re doing and where you’re going. If you’ve been a bit of an arse, admit it, and resolve to change.
Staying on the ‘Poor me’ train – The ‘Poor Me’ train never reaches it’s destination, because there is no destination, it’s just a train full of whiners and moaners. Jump off at the next station and resolve never to go back on the ‘Poor me’ train again.
Befriending the vampires – Vampires suck the life force out of you. It’s those people who bitch, moan, complain and generally suck the energy out of you. Drop them as quickly as possible, if you can’t drop them avoid them as much as possible.
Keeping a tight comfort zone – If you’ve got a tight comfort zone then you’re not pushing yourself hard enough. Push the boundaries of your comfort zone little, and as often as you can. If you only do things you feel comfortable doing you will stop growing, mentally, emotionally and intellectually.
Saying ‘I can’t do that’ – As soon as you utter this phrase your brain will take it as fact that you cannot do it, and give up trying to look for a solution. If you replace ‘I can’t’ with ‘I’m getting better….’, your brain will re-engage with you to look for ways to help you become better at something.
Comparing yourself to others – when you compare yourself to others you will ultimately fail. If you work on exceeding your own expectations you will fair much better in life.
Moaning – we seem to live in a world of moaners, and it’s easy to get caught up in it. Make it a point to only moan if you’re going to take action on what you’re moaning about, which should help cut down 99% of your moaning.
Multi tasking – Multi tasking is not possible, period! Or rather you can multi task, but because you can’t multitask and give 100% to each activity it’s impossible to do something well without giving it your full attention.
Asking ‘Why’ questions – A lot of the questions we ask ourselves are: Why does this happen to me, why can’t I do that, why is he better than me. Most why questions cause you to focus on the past and gives your brain a reason to look for reasons why you can’t do something. Instead you could ask ‘How’ questions, which are outcome oriented: How can I become better at that, how can I become the best I can be.
Trying to be in the circle – People in the circle want to be the same and conform into a group. You’ve got around 70 years on this earth, spend it finding yourself and break free from the crowd, or at least find yourself and decide if you want to break free from the crowd or not.
Not spending enough time with yourself – When was the last time you spent time alone and really loved it? Being happy with your own company is a good indicator of getting the right balance in life, as long as you’re not alone all day every day
Trying for the quick fix – Get rich quick, Lose weight fast, build up muscle quickly. Going for the quick fix in anything, usually doesn’t work in the long run. Anything worth doing, is worth taking the time to enjoy the journey of achieving.
Being a control freak – Another thing that is impossible to do is to control life. Life has a tendency to twist and turn when least expected. Planning ahead is good, but trying to control what’s in front of you can only lead to frustration.
Thinking you never have any luck – Samuel Goldwyn said ‘The harder I work, the luckier I get.’ Luck comes to those who put themselves in the path of it, to do that you must get out there and be the best you can be.
Watching the news – watching the news only perpetuates, in your mind, that the world is a bad place. The world is an amazing place with some bad people in it. If you watch the news you’d think every second person is a murderer, rapist or paedophile.
Wishing well thinking – It’s great to wish for things in your life, and sometimes it can be a nice daydream to dream of winning the lottery, but if you are banking on your wishes coming true, you’re not going to go far. Better to have wishes and work toward them than sitting around wishing.
Thinking the world owes you – Nobody, nothing or anything owes you a favour in life. We all have to take action toward the things we would like in life, it’s not coming to knock on your door.
Watching TV – TV is another energy drainer unless used for educational purposes. Watching soaps and reality TV actually gets you emotionally involved in someone else’s life, even though, in the case of soaps, they are fictitious. You’re essentially giving away your energy to a box in the corner of the living room.
Blaming others – There’s are always others who hurt us, physically, mentally and emotionally, but blaming them for not moving on with life will stunt your growth, emotionally and mentally. Accept that some people in your life have hurt you, and let them go mentally.
Not deciding what to do in life – A lot of people are unhappy in their jobs, not because they can’t get the job they want, but because they don’t know what job they want. Decide what you truly, madly, passionately, want to do with your life and start taking small steps to get there.
Not finding a reason to smile – We all have reasons to be grateful in our life, even if it’s just for the fact that you have access to a computer to read this post. Counting your blessings daily is a great exercise to improve the quality of your life.
Chasing others – If someone truly wants to be a part of your life they will make the effort to do so. You don’t need to chase someone to be in your life, and waste energy trying to do so.
Giving up too quickly – If you fail at something, learn from it and try again, if you fail again, learn some more and try again, if you fail again, learn some more……………
Not taking risks – Life is inherently risky and you’ve made it this far. Risk more in your life, as the rewards will far outweigh the thought of never having risked at all.
Not forgiving yourself - There’s not a single person on this planet that has not made mistakes in their life. Forgive yourself for your mistakes and free up your emotional energy for the things that matter.
Not enjoying the little things in life – Stop for a while to enjoy the little things in life, 30 years from now those little things will mean everything.
I hope you enjoyed this article!!
Do any of these ring true for you?
Perfection – Perfection does not exist. If you accept that everything can be improved upon then perfection cannot exist. Give up the concept of being perfect and get on with your life as best you can.
Waiting for the right time – The right time is now, why put it off. If you’ve been waiting for the right time for something and haven’t taken action yet, it’s going to be difficult to start.
Being stuck in the past – If you focus on the past, you stay in the past. Moving forward is about acknowledging the past, but gently let the invisible cord of the past go, and move toward a better future.
Lying to yourself – Honesty with yourself and others will do wonders for moving you forward in life. Start with yourself and be as honest as possible about who you are, what you’re doing and where you’re going. If you’ve been a bit of an arse, admit it, and resolve to change.
Staying on the ‘Poor me’ train – The ‘Poor Me’ train never reaches it’s destination, because there is no destination, it’s just a train full of whiners and moaners. Jump off at the next station and resolve never to go back on the ‘Poor me’ train again.
Befriending the vampires – Vampires suck the life force out of you. It’s those people who bitch, moan, complain and generally suck the energy out of you. Drop them as quickly as possible, if you can’t drop them avoid them as much as possible.
Keeping a tight comfort zone – If you’ve got a tight comfort zone then you’re not pushing yourself hard enough. Push the boundaries of your comfort zone little, and as often as you can. If you only do things you feel comfortable doing you will stop growing, mentally, emotionally and intellectually.
Saying ‘I can’t do that’ – As soon as you utter this phrase your brain will take it as fact that you cannot do it, and give up trying to look for a solution. If you replace ‘I can’t’ with ‘I’m getting better….’, your brain will re-engage with you to look for ways to help you become better at something.
Comparing yourself to others – when you compare yourself to others you will ultimately fail. If you work on exceeding your own expectations you will fair much better in life.
Moaning – we seem to live in a world of moaners, and it’s easy to get caught up in it. Make it a point to only moan if you’re going to take action on what you’re moaning about, which should help cut down 99% of your moaning.
Multi tasking – Multi tasking is not possible, period! Or rather you can multi task, but because you can’t multitask and give 100% to each activity it’s impossible to do something well without giving it your full attention.
Asking ‘Why’ questions – A lot of the questions we ask ourselves are: Why does this happen to me, why can’t I do that, why is he better than me. Most why questions cause you to focus on the past and gives your brain a reason to look for reasons why you can’t do something. Instead you could ask ‘How’ questions, which are outcome oriented: How can I become better at that, how can I become the best I can be.
Trying to be in the circle – People in the circle want to be the same and conform into a group. You’ve got around 70 years on this earth, spend it finding yourself and break free from the crowd, or at least find yourself and decide if you want to break free from the crowd or not.
Not spending enough time with yourself – When was the last time you spent time alone and really loved it? Being happy with your own company is a good indicator of getting the right balance in life, as long as you’re not alone all day every day
Trying for the quick fix – Get rich quick, Lose weight fast, build up muscle quickly. Going for the quick fix in anything, usually doesn’t work in the long run. Anything worth doing, is worth taking the time to enjoy the journey of achieving.
Being a control freak – Another thing that is impossible to do is to control life. Life has a tendency to twist and turn when least expected. Planning ahead is good, but trying to control what’s in front of you can only lead to frustration.
Thinking you never have any luck – Samuel Goldwyn said ‘The harder I work, the luckier I get.’ Luck comes to those who put themselves in the path of it, to do that you must get out there and be the best you can be.
Watching the news – watching the news only perpetuates, in your mind, that the world is a bad place. The world is an amazing place with some bad people in it. If you watch the news you’d think every second person is a murderer, rapist or paedophile.
Wishing well thinking – It’s great to wish for things in your life, and sometimes it can be a nice daydream to dream of winning the lottery, but if you are banking on your wishes coming true, you’re not going to go far. Better to have wishes and work toward them than sitting around wishing.
Thinking the world owes you – Nobody, nothing or anything owes you a favour in life. We all have to take action toward the things we would like in life, it’s not coming to knock on your door.
Watching TV – TV is another energy drainer unless used for educational purposes. Watching soaps and reality TV actually gets you emotionally involved in someone else’s life, even though, in the case of soaps, they are fictitious. You’re essentially giving away your energy to a box in the corner of the living room.
Blaming others – There’s are always others who hurt us, physically, mentally and emotionally, but blaming them for not moving on with life will stunt your growth, emotionally and mentally. Accept that some people in your life have hurt you, and let them go mentally.
Not deciding what to do in life – A lot of people are unhappy in their jobs, not because they can’t get the job they want, but because they don’t know what job they want. Decide what you truly, madly, passionately, want to do with your life and start taking small steps to get there.
Not finding a reason to smile – We all have reasons to be grateful in our life, even if it’s just for the fact that you have access to a computer to read this post. Counting your blessings daily is a great exercise to improve the quality of your life.
Chasing others – If someone truly wants to be a part of your life they will make the effort to do so. You don’t need to chase someone to be in your life, and waste energy trying to do so.
Giving up too quickly – If you fail at something, learn from it and try again, if you fail again, learn some more and try again, if you fail again, learn some more……………
Not taking risks – Life is inherently risky and you’ve made it this far. Risk more in your life, as the rewards will far outweigh the thought of never having risked at all.
Not forgiving yourself - There’s not a single person on this planet that has not made mistakes in their life. Forgive yourself for your mistakes and free up your emotional energy for the things that matter.
Not enjoying the little things in life – Stop for a while to enjoy the little things in life, 30 years from now those little things will mean everything.
I hope you enjoyed this article!!
Friday, October 21, 2011
HR Day after tomorrow
Unprecedented customer expectations and alternatives, global competition, time compression, complexity, rapid change, and increased use of technology would be the vista of the future.
With high end technology empowering and ruling the future HR practices, I being from HR wittingly do not rule out the scope of Human involvement into the system. However HR practices would rather be more virtual, with process-automation prominently driving the results as just-in-time query resolution, one touch logins, eco/solar-offices, biometrics-attendance systems (flying robot-scanners continuously trawling in air for any miss).
With computers thousand times faster than now with the size of small chips, we may be exploiting reflex-intelligence computer systems taking instructions directly from our brain, We all at different locations virtually attending the meetings, virtually appear to be seating in the same room together. Further on, we may be able to do mind sharing as similar as time sharing for multitasking.
Here is a idea how Recruitment function may look like-
Candidates across the geographies may be able to apply for any job thru access cards-type CV formats. One has to show their unique CV (UCV) card before their screens and the application system will auto-scan the code and extract your CV.
The system will automatically check for relevant skills-keywords in Resumes, It will filter the best out of total applications, giving best evens with highest accuracy and that’s without any human involvement.
Behavioural, Personal & Functional Interview process will also get benefited from technology; with specially programmed computer systems, with built in visual and audio sensors assisting in pre-screening the candidates concomitantly on various factors & skill sets. Recruiter would be able to check the confidence level, communication skills thru candidate’s voice and audio variations. Thus will catalyst the results tremendously; parallely saving cost & time, which generally skim into the process now,. And HR could concentrate more on strategic works and engagement Actions.
The technology will be aiding engagement initiatives by continuously monitoring employee’s satisfaction/motivation levels thru visual (webcam) sensors based systems observing the body language, behaviour and tone of employees (Picking stress points) and then be offering the improvement areas, identifying focus groups and suggesting the type of reliever required to deploy by HR.
The future may be different from the world we are in now. Possibly, will be flying from place to place rather than driving vehicles. Computers will fit into a person’s pocket and be thousand times faster than the ones we have now. We all will not speak aloud, just text, email, and instant message each other. We may be communicating thru telepathy. Hopefully, world hunger and poverty will end. We all will belong to the same nation as world peace was founded. I will be the CEO of some worlds top MNC;)
Only time will tell what the future will hold. But it’s true that our present can only shape up our future. And being HR we hold the ability to inspire people to change in the favour of our mother earth.
Save Trees!! Save Future!!
Best Wishes!!
Abhinav Mishra
With high end technology empowering and ruling the future HR practices, I being from HR wittingly do not rule out the scope of Human involvement into the system. However HR practices would rather be more virtual, with process-automation prominently driving the results as just-in-time query resolution, one touch logins, eco/solar-offices, biometrics-attendance systems (flying robot-scanners continuously trawling in air for any miss).
With computers thousand times faster than now with the size of small chips, we may be exploiting reflex-intelligence computer systems taking instructions directly from our brain, We all at different locations virtually attending the meetings, virtually appear to be seating in the same room together. Further on, we may be able to do mind sharing as similar as time sharing for multitasking.
Here is a idea how Recruitment function may look like-
Candidates across the geographies may be able to apply for any job thru access cards-type CV formats. One has to show their unique CV (UCV) card before their screens and the application system will auto-scan the code and extract your CV.
The system will automatically check for relevant skills-keywords in Resumes, It will filter the best out of total applications, giving best evens with highest accuracy and that’s without any human involvement.
Behavioural, Personal & Functional Interview process will also get benefited from technology; with specially programmed computer systems, with built in visual and audio sensors assisting in pre-screening the candidates concomitantly on various factors & skill sets. Recruiter would be able to check the confidence level, communication skills thru candidate’s voice and audio variations. Thus will catalyst the results tremendously; parallely saving cost & time, which generally skim into the process now,. And HR could concentrate more on strategic works and engagement Actions.
The technology will be aiding engagement initiatives by continuously monitoring employee’s satisfaction/motivation levels thru visual (webcam) sensors based systems observing the body language, behaviour and tone of employees (Picking stress points) and then be offering the improvement areas, identifying focus groups and suggesting the type of reliever required to deploy by HR.
The future may be different from the world we are in now. Possibly, will be flying from place to place rather than driving vehicles. Computers will fit into a person’s pocket and be thousand times faster than the ones we have now. We all will not speak aloud, just text, email, and instant message each other. We may be communicating thru telepathy. Hopefully, world hunger and poverty will end. We all will belong to the same nation as world peace was founded. I will be the CEO of some worlds top MNC;)
Only time will tell what the future will hold. But it’s true that our present can only shape up our future. And being HR we hold the ability to inspire people to change in the favour of our mother earth.
Save Trees!! Save Future!!
Best Wishes!!
Abhinav Mishra
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Steer your thoughts, Worry no more..
We don’t function well when we worry. Worry hinders our work and spoils our health. Being a habitual worrier, I decided to solve my problem and found for myself; three ways in which I can make my tensions disappear just by steering my thoughts in a particular direction.
Consider the following examples:
A cell of my body dies, another is born – does it make any difference to me? I will not even be aware of this death or for that matter, the birth.
In my lifespan, a second, a minute hardly matters; these are insignificant in the context of my lifetime.
Similarly, compare one’s self to the universe. A person is not significant enough to constitute even a speck of this universe, so huge are its dimensions. Even if I was no more the next minute, it will go on just the same.
Where is all this discussion heading? What has all this got to do with worry?
-When you are worried about your job, some work place problem, a family quarrel, obstinate kids, the thoughts like the above will help you put these issues in perspective. You will realise that events like these are not of prime importance. They are trivial, a very tiny part of your life. Happy occasions and worries, victories and defeats keep occurring in everybody’s life. They are just one of the thousands of things which have already happened or will happen in the future and should be treated as such.
- When the worm called ‘worry’ starts eating into you, make some time to ponder over whether the worrisome incident will continue to bother you tomorrow, whether it would make a difference to your life a year from now. Why, ten years hence you may have forgotten this incident and if you do remember you may be having a good laugh over it. I surely have no idea about what worried me even five years ago. Deal with the problem at hand in the best way possible but don’t fret over it.
-“I complained that I had no shoes, then I met a man who had no feet.”
When I am upset over issues with a family member, I try to think of those people who have no families to speak of, orphaned children with no home and I am thankful that at least I have a family. If you have a problem with a colleague, don’t let it ruin your day. Spare a thought for the unemployed – desperate for work but unable to find one. Aren’t you the lucky one? When you worry over the size of your neighbour’s bungalow knowing very well that you cannot afford a bigger house yourself, think of the homeless who have made the pavements their home. And mind you, don’t gloat over these people for them, in spite of their problems may be happier than you. Instead think over what you can share with them.
I have successfully done away with my worrying habit by using any one of these ways. Good luck to you too!
Consider the following examples:
A cell of my body dies, another is born – does it make any difference to me? I will not even be aware of this death or for that matter, the birth.
In my lifespan, a second, a minute hardly matters; these are insignificant in the context of my lifetime.
Similarly, compare one’s self to the universe. A person is not significant enough to constitute even a speck of this universe, so huge are its dimensions. Even if I was no more the next minute, it will go on just the same.
Where is all this discussion heading? What has all this got to do with worry?
-When you are worried about your job, some work place problem, a family quarrel, obstinate kids, the thoughts like the above will help you put these issues in perspective. You will realise that events like these are not of prime importance. They are trivial, a very tiny part of your life. Happy occasions and worries, victories and defeats keep occurring in everybody’s life. They are just one of the thousands of things which have already happened or will happen in the future and should be treated as such.
- When the worm called ‘worry’ starts eating into you, make some time to ponder over whether the worrisome incident will continue to bother you tomorrow, whether it would make a difference to your life a year from now. Why, ten years hence you may have forgotten this incident and if you do remember you may be having a good laugh over it. I surely have no idea about what worried me even five years ago. Deal with the problem at hand in the best way possible but don’t fret over it.
-“I complained that I had no shoes, then I met a man who had no feet.”
When I am upset over issues with a family member, I try to think of those people who have no families to speak of, orphaned children with no home and I am thankful that at least I have a family. If you have a problem with a colleague, don’t let it ruin your day. Spare a thought for the unemployed – desperate for work but unable to find one. Aren’t you the lucky one? When you worry over the size of your neighbour’s bungalow knowing very well that you cannot afford a bigger house yourself, think of the homeless who have made the pavements their home. And mind you, don’t gloat over these people for them, in spite of their problems may be happier than you. Instead think over what you can share with them.
I have successfully done away with my worrying habit by using any one of these ways. Good luck to you too!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
How Recruiterrs locate talent
In the modern world you will have to be spot on to find out the best man to serve your company. There exist a lot of ways that recruiters all over the world adapt to take people. The methods vary company to company and from recruiter to recruiter. But there is one thing that is same with all the recruiters all over the world. That is how they find out people to recruit. How they locate potential candidates is the same thing everywhere. They use different types of networking. Their own networks and the networks of the people they know. They use both online and real life connections. They might use sites like Linked In to locate potential job seekers.
This will be very helpful for people who are seeking an employment. So many of us would go around saying “how am I supposed to get in touch with the recruiters?”. Well here is the answer. You don’t have to or you can’t get in touch with all the recruiters. You will have to be in touch with the recruiters those seek qualifications that you have. So you need to find out people who are actually looking for you.
The simplest way to do this, is networking. The recruiters will go and seek for people in their networks. Have a good network through proper channel so that whichever way they go they find you. If you have a strong network and the recruiter hears your name more than once then he is highly likely to consider you seriously.
As far as choosing the perfect network goes look into the type of job you seek. If it is a marketing job then you better build your network with people who are related to this ground. Or build a network with companies that are related to marketing firms. This way you can actually make your name heard by the recruiters once they spread their networking wings looking for you.
This will be very helpful for people who are seeking an employment. So many of us would go around saying “how am I supposed to get in touch with the recruiters?”. Well here is the answer. You don’t have to or you can’t get in touch with all the recruiters. You will have to be in touch with the recruiters those seek qualifications that you have. So you need to find out people who are actually looking for you.
The simplest way to do this, is networking. The recruiters will go and seek for people in their networks. Have a good network through proper channel so that whichever way they go they find you. If you have a strong network and the recruiter hears your name more than once then he is highly likely to consider you seriously.
As far as choosing the perfect network goes look into the type of job you seek. If it is a marketing job then you better build your network with people who are related to this ground. Or build a network with companies that are related to marketing firms. This way you can actually make your name heard by the recruiters once they spread their networking wings looking for you.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Managing the Sourcing Function
Improving the effectiveness of your sourcing organization
The following are some learnings around how to make your sourcing more effective, especially if varying levels of experience exist within the team.
Understanding the fit: You may be reading this and go "no kidding", but the reality is this step is commonly skipped over in the process. Understanding the fit has to do with a solid working knowledge of the industry, the business group supported and how the role fits into what that leader is trying to accomplish. Where this usually breaks down is in one of the following areas:
If the sourcer is working through the recruiter, there is an expectation that the recruiter will ask all of the right questions when meeting with the hiring manager.
If the sourcer/ recruiter meets with the hiring manager and there is a lack of preparation coming into the meeting. This includes the sourcer / recruiter not presenting industry knowledge and using the meeting time to validate assumptions around expectations.
If the Recruiter is the Sourcer, the focus is more on the skills, versus the business goals the hiring manager is trying to accomplish. As a result, the recruiter finds the right skilled person, but the applications of the skills are misaligned.
Solutions: The key is planning, planning and communication. Assume nothing and talk about everything. Wikipedia.org can be a super tool when seeking to understand an industry, a position, a skill set. Interestingly enough, wikipedia if leveraged appropriately provides some good data points that can be used during a hiring manager discussion.
Secondly, have all of your recruiters / sourcers go in prepared to a hiring manager discussion. Again you might say no kidding, but 9 times out of 10 it does not happen, unless it is an Executive Search. Prepared means one or more of the following: Understand the industry; Have a prior discussion with the HR Gen of that business unit to understand any nuances that may positively / negatively impact the search efforts; Look on Linkedin, Spoke and your own ATS system to bring some profiles to calibrate against. People are visual, if you give them something to look at and respond to, you are more likely to get closer to the desired outcome at the very beginning of the search effort.
Duplication of Effort: Recruiters workloads are not getting any lighter, so therefore it is easy for individuals to go to the path of least resistance. However this path, especially if multiple people or vendors are assisting can be costly and unproductive. At SourceCon, Rob McIntosh presented a sourcing channel checklist. He broke this checklist into roles and activities. I took this channel sheet back to my organization, as well as peers, and began to ask questions, here is what I found:
Recruiting and sourcing teams that do not work from a plan perform duplicate work efforts. This lack of planning typically results in overlap when searching resume databases, contacting the same resources or networking through the various social networking sites
Continue to manage from the plan. Use the plan as a management tool to understand how the recruiting team is using each of the sources.
Don't pay sourcing vendors to do the same work performed internally. Face it, recruiters like the job boards. If you are using a resume mining and screening vendor, so do they. Pick one..
Not all sources generate results, so stop using the source and move on. Time is not a commodity in the recruiting business. Leverage your ATS data to begin understanding how your organization fills a particular type of role best and build from there.
Solutions: I truly believe that duplication of effort is something that requires constant monitoring. Now with that being said, I would also recommend the following:
Create the channel plan.
Create a channel plan that supports the sourcing strategy. A high volume, low complexity, localized plan will look very different from a high complexity, low volume, national search. Know what it takes to execute both and build a quick project plan to maximize time and resources.
Keyword Sets: Create sets of keywords that can also be divided by channel.
Manage to the sourcing plan. Conduct a review with the team on their activities and the results generated. Immediately seize activities on sources that are not generating the desired results and get the team to move on.
Prioritization: Not all sources generate results. Not all of the easiest sources will generate the results for the position that is being searched for. The concept of What source will generate the best results first requires sourcing knowledge, industry experience and reviewing the metrics to better understand what works inside your organization Activity for activity sake, still does not result in a hire. This only causes ill will, especially if there is segmentation between the recruiters and the sourcing team.
Solutions:
High Volume / Low Complexity: These are processing related sourcing plans. This requires activities that may leverage recruitment marketing, resume mining, job posting, radio advertisement, creative employee referral campaigns and drip market efforts leveraging contacts within the ATS. This plan may require the assistance of a resume mining vendor, an experienced sourcer/ recruiter as well as some good recruiting administrators. Each have there own role in getting the desired outcome accomplished. Know what works to execute a plan.
Low Volume / High Complexity: These are more strategic sourcing plans. This will include market research, competitive intelligence, employee referrals, cold calling and industry networking. Depending upon the type of role will determine which of these activities goes first.
The reality is, prioritization of a sourcing strategy may require someone who can serve as the organization's sourcing strategist. This person must be able to turn around a project execution plan quickly and articulate clear directions to multiple stakeholders in the process. This person must be a data jockey, who can pull reports from the ATS and leverage data to identify those activities which have a higher possibility of generating results first and baking this into the plan.
The following are some learnings around how to make your sourcing more effective, especially if varying levels of experience exist within the team.
Understanding the fit: You may be reading this and go "no kidding", but the reality is this step is commonly skipped over in the process. Understanding the fit has to do with a solid working knowledge of the industry, the business group supported and how the role fits into what that leader is trying to accomplish. Where this usually breaks down is in one of the following areas:
If the sourcer is working through the recruiter, there is an expectation that the recruiter will ask all of the right questions when meeting with the hiring manager.
If the sourcer/ recruiter meets with the hiring manager and there is a lack of preparation coming into the meeting. This includes the sourcer / recruiter not presenting industry knowledge and using the meeting time to validate assumptions around expectations.
If the Recruiter is the Sourcer, the focus is more on the skills, versus the business goals the hiring manager is trying to accomplish. As a result, the recruiter finds the right skilled person, but the applications of the skills are misaligned.
Solutions: The key is planning, planning and communication. Assume nothing and talk about everything. Wikipedia.org can be a super tool when seeking to understand an industry, a position, a skill set. Interestingly enough, wikipedia if leveraged appropriately provides some good data points that can be used during a hiring manager discussion.
Secondly, have all of your recruiters / sourcers go in prepared to a hiring manager discussion. Again you might say no kidding, but 9 times out of 10 it does not happen, unless it is an Executive Search. Prepared means one or more of the following: Understand the industry; Have a prior discussion with the HR Gen of that business unit to understand any nuances that may positively / negatively impact the search efforts; Look on Linkedin, Spoke and your own ATS system to bring some profiles to calibrate against. People are visual, if you give them something to look at and respond to, you are more likely to get closer to the desired outcome at the very beginning of the search effort.
Duplication of Effort: Recruiters workloads are not getting any lighter, so therefore it is easy for individuals to go to the path of least resistance. However this path, especially if multiple people or vendors are assisting can be costly and unproductive. At SourceCon, Rob McIntosh presented a sourcing channel checklist. He broke this checklist into roles and activities. I took this channel sheet back to my organization, as well as peers, and began to ask questions, here is what I found:
Recruiting and sourcing teams that do not work from a plan perform duplicate work efforts. This lack of planning typically results in overlap when searching resume databases, contacting the same resources or networking through the various social networking sites
Continue to manage from the plan. Use the plan as a management tool to understand how the recruiting team is using each of the sources.
Don't pay sourcing vendors to do the same work performed internally. Face it, recruiters like the job boards. If you are using a resume mining and screening vendor, so do they. Pick one..
Not all sources generate results, so stop using the source and move on. Time is not a commodity in the recruiting business. Leverage your ATS data to begin understanding how your organization fills a particular type of role best and build from there.
Solutions: I truly believe that duplication of effort is something that requires constant monitoring. Now with that being said, I would also recommend the following:
Create the channel plan.
Create a channel plan that supports the sourcing strategy. A high volume, low complexity, localized plan will look very different from a high complexity, low volume, national search. Know what it takes to execute both and build a quick project plan to maximize time and resources.
Keyword Sets: Create sets of keywords that can also be divided by channel.
Manage to the sourcing plan. Conduct a review with the team on their activities and the results generated. Immediately seize activities on sources that are not generating the desired results and get the team to move on.
Prioritization: Not all sources generate results. Not all of the easiest sources will generate the results for the position that is being searched for. The concept of What source will generate the best results first requires sourcing knowledge, industry experience and reviewing the metrics to better understand what works inside your organization Activity for activity sake, still does not result in a hire. This only causes ill will, especially if there is segmentation between the recruiters and the sourcing team.
Solutions:
High Volume / Low Complexity: These are processing related sourcing plans. This requires activities that may leverage recruitment marketing, resume mining, job posting, radio advertisement, creative employee referral campaigns and drip market efforts leveraging contacts within the ATS. This plan may require the assistance of a resume mining vendor, an experienced sourcer/ recruiter as well as some good recruiting administrators. Each have there own role in getting the desired outcome accomplished. Know what works to execute a plan.
Low Volume / High Complexity: These are more strategic sourcing plans. This will include market research, competitive intelligence, employee referrals, cold calling and industry networking. Depending upon the type of role will determine which of these activities goes first.
The reality is, prioritization of a sourcing strategy may require someone who can serve as the organization's sourcing strategist. This person must be able to turn around a project execution plan quickly and articulate clear directions to multiple stakeholders in the process. This person must be a data jockey, who can pull reports from the ATS and leverage data to identify those activities which have a higher possibility of generating results first and baking this into the plan.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Best Practices for Screening Candidates
Only one thing is certain about the procedure of screening and interviewing candidates: the huge variation in processes. But, through the years there is one that we have found to be fair, thorough (while being fairly quick), involves the right people, and (most importantly) the end decision will be one that both the company and the new hire are highly likely to be happy with.
What follows are our best practices for screening candidates.
1. Define the interview process.
Who will give input, who will be involved in the interviews, where will they be, and what are the criteria for selecting a successful candidate?
2. Develop good job and person specification.
This has the advantage that everyone knows what this person will be doing and key people in the company can give their input - with the added bonus that this can also be used for assessing performance in the future. For the person specification, are you looking for leaders or followers, someone who is inspired or inspiring?
3. Create a set list of interview questions.
Be fair on the candidates and don't leave important questions to chance. Get input from colleagues as well.
4. Conduct a first round interview.
Do a first-round interview with the hiring manager (or HR representative or consultant) to shortlist who will move on to the next step.
5. Include verbal and numerical reasoning tests and consider other psychometric tests.
These are quick, inexpensive, and can be done online. Unsuitable candidates can be objectively and consistently screened out earlier in the recruitment process. You may also want to include other psychometric tests, for instance an online Occupational Personality test. These will help you to identify for instance natural sales people or strong finishers.
6. Invite successful candidates back for a second interview.
Make sure that the right people are involved: the hiring manager if they have not been involved before, typically at least one senior manager, and one or more peers.
This doesn't just add to the comfort-factor and a democratic selection method, it also means that the people who have given their thumbs up for the candidate will be supportive of him and her in the future (as it is in human nature that none of us likes to be wrong).
This is a great opportunity to discuss the result of the online tests, and also any relevant, work-related tests.
7. Make your informed choice!
What follows are our best practices for screening candidates.
1. Define the interview process.
Who will give input, who will be involved in the interviews, where will they be, and what are the criteria for selecting a successful candidate?
2. Develop good job and person specification.
This has the advantage that everyone knows what this person will be doing and key people in the company can give their input - with the added bonus that this can also be used for assessing performance in the future. For the person specification, are you looking for leaders or followers, someone who is inspired or inspiring?
3. Create a set list of interview questions.
Be fair on the candidates and don't leave important questions to chance. Get input from colleagues as well.
4. Conduct a first round interview.
Do a first-round interview with the hiring manager (or HR representative or consultant) to shortlist who will move on to the next step.
5. Include verbal and numerical reasoning tests and consider other psychometric tests.
These are quick, inexpensive, and can be done online. Unsuitable candidates can be objectively and consistently screened out earlier in the recruitment process. You may also want to include other psychometric tests, for instance an online Occupational Personality test. These will help you to identify for instance natural sales people or strong finishers.
6. Invite successful candidates back for a second interview.
Make sure that the right people are involved: the hiring manager if they have not been involved before, typically at least one senior manager, and one or more peers.
This doesn't just add to the comfort-factor and a democratic selection method, it also means that the people who have given their thumbs up for the candidate will be supportive of him and her in the future (as it is in human nature that none of us likes to be wrong).
This is a great opportunity to discuss the result of the online tests, and also any relevant, work-related tests.
7. Make your informed choice!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
10 hiring tips for startups
Be role specific
Hiring is the most important decision at startup stage. Here are some hiring tips for startups
1. Hire for a specific role and not because you are impressed by the person.
2. Don’t think of the role, write it down along with the skills and experience you’d need the person to have in order to perform well in the role.
Give comprehensive picture of the company
3. Create a clear and interesting script about your company, nature of business, future potential and how that role fits in. Use any recognition, commendation that came your way in the script.
Remember in case of startup jobs, both interviewer and aspirant are evaluating each other. You need to come across as a worthy employer.
4. If you are not sure you can assess abilities, there is no harm asking a known senior or ex-boss to sit through the interview with you.
Learn during the process, he may not come everytime.
Right information
5. Give a clear picture of your current state, strengths and limitations.
Assess the same about the candidate. Right information is key to decision making.
6. Working for startups requires abilities like initiative, selfdiscipline, cost consciousness, multitasking, resourcefulness and risk taking more than subject matter expertise.
Don't be defensive
7. Do not get defensive about your startup status. All big enterprises started out as one. Everyone works for the future; make sure you are able to define bright future loudly.
8. Ask for references and do not limit to two. Take five references, talk to all, get a feel.
Take enough time
9. Hiring is the most important decision at startup stage. Give it your enough time, prepare, read stuff and meet many candidates. Do not delegate hiring.
10. Do not hesitate to headhunt the right guy, no matter how big a company she works for currently. You’ll be surprised how bored good professionals can get working in working big companies.
Your job can give them the freshness they want. Worst she can do is say “no”. There is a high probability that she’ll refer some one else who fits in.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Master the Art of Interviewing
Although your resume is the key to landing an interview, it is essentially the interview that will get you the job. Many job seekers assume that they can rely on their resume and experience to impress potential employers and often make the mistake of not fully preparing for an interview. It is important to take every avenue of opportunity to sell yourself to potential employers, especially in the interview, since this is the most crucial component to your job search.
An interview is the time to let your personality shine and to demonstrate to employers that you would be a valuable asset to their organization. It is essential to do your research before interviewing to learn successful techniques to increase your chances of receiving a job offer. Listed below are some tips on how to effectively handle the interview process:
Do Your Research - It’s important to be confident and prepared. The first step you should take in your job search is to conduct research on companies of interest before applying to a job or showing up for an interview. By understanding and showing interest in the company, you can customize your pitch, demonstrate the value you will bring to the organization and confidently convince employers that you are the right candidate.
Practice, Practice, Practice - Prepare for an interview by running through commonly asked interview questions. Understand that interviewing is a skill and as with any skill, practice makes perfect!
Dress Professionally - When you are on an interview, you are marketing yourself as the best candidate for the job, so it’s important to dress professionally. Appropriate attire and good personal hygiene demonstrates that you are not only willing to take that extra step to look your best but also do your best.
Make a Positive First Impression - First impressions are critical. Arrive early, give a firm handshake and make eye contact throughout the interview. It is important to be confident, but most importantly, be yourself!
Go Beyond the Canned Response - Behavioral interviewing is an ever-growing interview technique. Rather than merely telling the interviewer what you would do in a situation, demonstrate your knowledge, skills, and abilities by giving specific examples from past work experiences. Use this as an opportunity to emphasize the value you would bring to the company by citing a situation where you effectively used your skill set to overcome a difficult situation.
Ask Questions - Express interest and willingness to learn about the company by asking questions and listening to details about the organization. Remember, that you are not the only one being interviewed – you are also trying to determine if the company and position are right for you. This portion of the interview is your chance to shine. Not having any questions for the interviewer can show that you are uninterested and unprepared.
Follow Up - Reinforce to the employer that you bring value to their organization by developing a well-written thank you note. A thank you note is an easy and surefire way to show your appreciation, reiterate you are the best candidate and demonstrate your initiative and follow-through. It is also appropriate to make a follow up call, unless instructed otherwise by the employer.
Prove You Are the Right Candidate for the Job
Regardless of the position you are interviewing for, it is equally important to impress potential employers with your interviewing style and technique. Before your next interview, be sure to brush up on your interviewing skills and remember to be calm and confident to prove you are the best candidate for the position.
An interview is the time to let your personality shine and to demonstrate to employers that you would be a valuable asset to their organization. It is essential to do your research before interviewing to learn successful techniques to increase your chances of receiving a job offer. Listed below are some tips on how to effectively handle the interview process:
Do Your Research - It’s important to be confident and prepared. The first step you should take in your job search is to conduct research on companies of interest before applying to a job or showing up for an interview. By understanding and showing interest in the company, you can customize your pitch, demonstrate the value you will bring to the organization and confidently convince employers that you are the right candidate.
Practice, Practice, Practice - Prepare for an interview by running through commonly asked interview questions. Understand that interviewing is a skill and as with any skill, practice makes perfect!
Dress Professionally - When you are on an interview, you are marketing yourself as the best candidate for the job, so it’s important to dress professionally. Appropriate attire and good personal hygiene demonstrates that you are not only willing to take that extra step to look your best but also do your best.
Make a Positive First Impression - First impressions are critical. Arrive early, give a firm handshake and make eye contact throughout the interview. It is important to be confident, but most importantly, be yourself!
Go Beyond the Canned Response - Behavioral interviewing is an ever-growing interview technique. Rather than merely telling the interviewer what you would do in a situation, demonstrate your knowledge, skills, and abilities by giving specific examples from past work experiences. Use this as an opportunity to emphasize the value you would bring to the company by citing a situation where you effectively used your skill set to overcome a difficult situation.
Ask Questions - Express interest and willingness to learn about the company by asking questions and listening to details about the organization. Remember, that you are not the only one being interviewed – you are also trying to determine if the company and position are right for you. This portion of the interview is your chance to shine. Not having any questions for the interviewer can show that you are uninterested and unprepared.
Follow Up - Reinforce to the employer that you bring value to their organization by developing a well-written thank you note. A thank you note is an easy and surefire way to show your appreciation, reiterate you are the best candidate and demonstrate your initiative and follow-through. It is also appropriate to make a follow up call, unless instructed otherwise by the employer.
Prove You Are the Right Candidate for the Job
Regardless of the position you are interviewing for, it is equally important to impress potential employers with your interviewing style and technique. Before your next interview, be sure to brush up on your interviewing skills and remember to be calm and confident to prove you are the best candidate for the position.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Ten Common Job-Hunter Types
This is wonderful segmented description of different job hunters by By Lou Adler, I found it intresting and useful for everybody so thought to post it on my blog for my friends and readers....
::If you frequently find top people who are either over-qualified, uninterested, or tell you they've just accepted another job or are close to it, job-hunting typecasting can increase the number of top performers you see.
Adler has defined 10 tyoes of job seekers candidates based on the behaviour psychology of the top performer. Obviously, the more anxious they are about the quality of their current jobs, the more aggressive they'll be in looking for something else. Ten classic job-hunting styles stand out, from those who are simply open to talk about possible opportunities to those who are ready to accept a reasonable offer in a few days.
Knowing the type of person you're seeking can help you develop a targeted sourcing strategy, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach. Segmenting your candidate pool this way will become more and more necessary in order to increase the quantity and quality of top performers you're seeing.
Ten Common Job-Hunter Types
1.Explorers. Explorers are people who are fully employed and quite satisfied in their current jobs. They will be open to explore other career opportunities if presented to them, but they will not proactively seek out something else. Recruiters need to call these people and provide them a chance to evaluate their opportunity with minimal commitment, letting them "just look" at what you have to offer. You can't push too hard when talking to Explorers. If you can get them excited about what you have to offer, you can try to reel them in by conducting an exploratory interview or suggesting an exploratory meeting with a hiring manager. To hire these people your job must offer both stretch and long-term growth. Expect the process to take longer, and don't expect a lot of preparation on their part unless they see your job as offering a significant career move. Explorers are passive candidates, but are open to consider something else if it's far better.
2.Foragers. Foragers are Explorers having a bad day. On these occasions, Foragers will venture into the job market for an hour or so, poke around, and if something stands out they'll check it out. Since their foraging is short-lived, your jobs need to be easy to find and compelling.
Since Foragers will lose interest as quickly as they entered the job-hunting market, you must make informal contact with a credible proposition quickly. Foragers have the same job demands as Explorers, but they're somewhat easier to find since they're looking for you.
3.Tiptoers. Once diminishing job returns set-in, most top performers tiptoe into the market. They'll contact a few former close associates and maybe a well-networked and respected recruiter or two. While Tiptoers represent the shift from passive to active candidates, their job demands are still high. Tiptoers are typically sourced through a very proactive employee referral program, or through a recruiter who's known as a functional or industry specialist. Don't expect a lot of preparation from them or demand they complete an application. If you do, you won't see them again. Tiptoers aren't desperate, and they often appear uninterested, so you'll to need to make your case quickly that you're offering something special.
4.Googlers. Googlers are job hunters who Google for jobs, putting in keywords like "jobs Denver warehouse distribution" into search engines to see what pops up. Your objective is to be on the first page of these searches. Tiptoers become Googlers soon after they establish their initial network, especially if nothing develops right away. To make sure your ads are found by Googlers, you need to use search engine marketing tools like pay-per-click, search engine optimization techniques, and easily found talent hubs that group jobs by function (e.g., all Flash developers). Although they're somewhat active job seekers, Googlers still have high job demands since they've just entered the market. But even if you're offering strong career opportunities, you'll also need to move fast, because the best of the Googlers quickly find other good jobs. Assign Googlers to your most aggressive recruiters, and make sure your hiring managers are available for instant exploratory discussions.
5.Networkers. Top people become Networkers when the easier job-hunting tactics don't pan out. Networkers are top people who aggressively go out of their way to meet respected recruiters, ask their former associates for others they can network with, and start trying to get connected to their 2nd and 3rd degree connections on LinkedIn. While their job demands soften a bit by this stage, these people won't take superficial jobs or lateral moves. Don't force Networkers to formally apply for jobs before talking to them, since they're still looking, not yet buying. In addition, companies need to expand their employee referral programs so that their employees are easily found by Networkers. Line managers also need to be more open to meet with Networkers just to discuss current and potential future opportunities.
6.Top-downers. Good people don't hunt and peck for requisitions when looking for new career opportunities. If nothing turns up quickly through networking, they'll proactively enter the job market conducting a top-down industry and company study, seeking out the best opportunities. Once a few companies stand out, Top-downers seek out some people in these companies to network with. These could be secondary LinkedIn connections, or just contacting the hiring manager or functional VP directly. Under no circumstances prevent this from happening using some legal rationale! HR should promote the idea of allowing hiring managers to hear directly from good candidates, since they'll often hear about good people through their networks weeks before they turn up in the recruiting department.
7.Aggregators. If none of the above techniques pan out, job-hunters become more aggressive as they look for something at least somewhat better then they now have. They're also more likely to make a quicker decision based on tactical criteria, like compensation, title, and location. However, these folks still won't spend much time on the major job boards; instead they'll become meta-searchers starting with job board aggregators like SimplyHired. To be seen here you'll need to reverse engineer your job ads and make sure they come out on top when an Aggregator goes to SimplyHired and searches on "your job title" "your city." SimplyHired will scrape your job board at no cost to ensure you're in their system, and they'll even provide a free evaluation of where you stand against the competition. While Aggregators start with sites like SimplyHired, they'll also search around on the more promising niche sites. SimplyHired will push your ads to these and any other free sites as well, for what seems to be a modest fee.
8.Socializers. Sometimes these job-hunters are also referred to as Joiners, but their aim is the same – meet people either online or in person who can help them find a new job. There's a lot of physical activity involved in the live events, so you know these people are serious. They'll also start sending emails to 3rd and 4th degree contacts, call every recruiter listed on a relevant Google search, update their MySpace and Facebook pages, Twitter and blog every day, and send out resumes to their Plaxo connections. While the majority of the best people have been picked up by this stage, there are still some good people in the Socializer crowd who just didn't find something sooner. So keep an open eye out for top performers who contact you, but move fast, because if they're any good, someone else will quickly recognize this diamond in the rough.
9.Posters. These are the people who finally decide to post their resumes online in all the best known places. People in this category will keep their resumes updated even after they've found a job. In this case they move back into the Explorer category open to accept your inquiry, but probably not willing to move too soon unless the opportunity is "just right." DO NOT CALL these people; it takes too much time since you don't know their current status. Instead, send a compelling email inviting them to consider your opportunity. Make sure your job description is creative and interesting, and suggest that if they're interested they should send you a resume with a half-page write-up of an accomplishment most closely related to real job needs. A performance profile should be used as the basis of creating this compelling email.
10.Hunters. Rarely will top performers become Hunters. These are candidates who will hunt and peck through the major job boards and company career sites to find something. They'll even apply online, sign up for numerous job agents, and do whatever it takes to find a job. So don't expect many top performers in this group; most of what you'll find are the Leftovers. These are the people who everyone else ignored. However, now and then you'll find a strong person here who somehow got overlooked. Unfortunately, by the time you've found them, often they'll tell you they just got an offer somewhere else.
If you're not seeing many good people from your sourcing efforts, or those good ones you do see tell you they've just accepted something else, you can assume you have a Leftover sourcing strategy. This is the default strategy most companies fall into when they don't implement workforce planning in combination with the targeted early-bird sourcing programs described above.
While job-hunter typecasting offers a good foundation for developing sourcing programs, the real key here is to recognize that the best people have different needs whenever they enter the market. A good sourcing strategy has to take these into account, rather than assume that the latest sourcing tactic presented at some conference will wind up being the universal solution.
Sourcing strategy development is an important part of the sourcing process, and it's based on using the latest consumer marketing ideas, technologies, and messaging. Few companies have adopted this concept wholeheartedly, but those that have are starting to see impressive results. It's not too late for everyone else to join in.
::If you frequently find top people who are either over-qualified, uninterested, or tell you they've just accepted another job or are close to it, job-hunting typecasting can increase the number of top performers you see.
Adler has defined 10 tyoes of job seekers candidates based on the behaviour psychology of the top performer. Obviously, the more anxious they are about the quality of their current jobs, the more aggressive they'll be in looking for something else. Ten classic job-hunting styles stand out, from those who are simply open to talk about possible opportunities to those who are ready to accept a reasonable offer in a few days.
Knowing the type of person you're seeking can help you develop a targeted sourcing strategy, rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach. Segmenting your candidate pool this way will become more and more necessary in order to increase the quantity and quality of top performers you're seeing.
Ten Common Job-Hunter Types
1.Explorers. Explorers are people who are fully employed and quite satisfied in their current jobs. They will be open to explore other career opportunities if presented to them, but they will not proactively seek out something else. Recruiters need to call these people and provide them a chance to evaluate their opportunity with minimal commitment, letting them "just look" at what you have to offer. You can't push too hard when talking to Explorers. If you can get them excited about what you have to offer, you can try to reel them in by conducting an exploratory interview or suggesting an exploratory meeting with a hiring manager. To hire these people your job must offer both stretch and long-term growth. Expect the process to take longer, and don't expect a lot of preparation on their part unless they see your job as offering a significant career move. Explorers are passive candidates, but are open to consider something else if it's far better.
2.Foragers. Foragers are Explorers having a bad day. On these occasions, Foragers will venture into the job market for an hour or so, poke around, and if something stands out they'll check it out. Since their foraging is short-lived, your jobs need to be easy to find and compelling.
Since Foragers will lose interest as quickly as they entered the job-hunting market, you must make informal contact with a credible proposition quickly. Foragers have the same job demands as Explorers, but they're somewhat easier to find since they're looking for you.
3.Tiptoers. Once diminishing job returns set-in, most top performers tiptoe into the market. They'll contact a few former close associates and maybe a well-networked and respected recruiter or two. While Tiptoers represent the shift from passive to active candidates, their job demands are still high. Tiptoers are typically sourced through a very proactive employee referral program, or through a recruiter who's known as a functional or industry specialist. Don't expect a lot of preparation from them or demand they complete an application. If you do, you won't see them again. Tiptoers aren't desperate, and they often appear uninterested, so you'll to need to make your case quickly that you're offering something special.
4.Googlers. Googlers are job hunters who Google for jobs, putting in keywords like "jobs Denver warehouse distribution" into search engines to see what pops up. Your objective is to be on the first page of these searches. Tiptoers become Googlers soon after they establish their initial network, especially if nothing develops right away. To make sure your ads are found by Googlers, you need to use search engine marketing tools like pay-per-click, search engine optimization techniques, and easily found talent hubs that group jobs by function (e.g., all Flash developers). Although they're somewhat active job seekers, Googlers still have high job demands since they've just entered the market. But even if you're offering strong career opportunities, you'll also need to move fast, because the best of the Googlers quickly find other good jobs. Assign Googlers to your most aggressive recruiters, and make sure your hiring managers are available for instant exploratory discussions.
5.Networkers. Top people become Networkers when the easier job-hunting tactics don't pan out. Networkers are top people who aggressively go out of their way to meet respected recruiters, ask their former associates for others they can network with, and start trying to get connected to their 2nd and 3rd degree connections on LinkedIn. While their job demands soften a bit by this stage, these people won't take superficial jobs or lateral moves. Don't force Networkers to formally apply for jobs before talking to them, since they're still looking, not yet buying. In addition, companies need to expand their employee referral programs so that their employees are easily found by Networkers. Line managers also need to be more open to meet with Networkers just to discuss current and potential future opportunities.
6.Top-downers. Good people don't hunt and peck for requisitions when looking for new career opportunities. If nothing turns up quickly through networking, they'll proactively enter the job market conducting a top-down industry and company study, seeking out the best opportunities. Once a few companies stand out, Top-downers seek out some people in these companies to network with. These could be secondary LinkedIn connections, or just contacting the hiring manager or functional VP directly. Under no circumstances prevent this from happening using some legal rationale! HR should promote the idea of allowing hiring managers to hear directly from good candidates, since they'll often hear about good people through their networks weeks before they turn up in the recruiting department.
7.Aggregators. If none of the above techniques pan out, job-hunters become more aggressive as they look for something at least somewhat better then they now have. They're also more likely to make a quicker decision based on tactical criteria, like compensation, title, and location. However, these folks still won't spend much time on the major job boards; instead they'll become meta-searchers starting with job board aggregators like SimplyHired. To be seen here you'll need to reverse engineer your job ads and make sure they come out on top when an Aggregator goes to SimplyHired and searches on "your job title" "your city." SimplyHired will scrape your job board at no cost to ensure you're in their system, and they'll even provide a free evaluation of where you stand against the competition. While Aggregators start with sites like SimplyHired, they'll also search around on the more promising niche sites. SimplyHired will push your ads to these and any other free sites as well, for what seems to be a modest fee.
8.Socializers. Sometimes these job-hunters are also referred to as Joiners, but their aim is the same – meet people either online or in person who can help them find a new job. There's a lot of physical activity involved in the live events, so you know these people are serious. They'll also start sending emails to 3rd and 4th degree contacts, call every recruiter listed on a relevant Google search, update their MySpace and Facebook pages, Twitter and blog every day, and send out resumes to their Plaxo connections. While the majority of the best people have been picked up by this stage, there are still some good people in the Socializer crowd who just didn't find something sooner. So keep an open eye out for top performers who contact you, but move fast, because if they're any good, someone else will quickly recognize this diamond in the rough.
9.Posters. These are the people who finally decide to post their resumes online in all the best known places. People in this category will keep their resumes updated even after they've found a job. In this case they move back into the Explorer category open to accept your inquiry, but probably not willing to move too soon unless the opportunity is "just right." DO NOT CALL these people; it takes too much time since you don't know their current status. Instead, send a compelling email inviting them to consider your opportunity. Make sure your job description is creative and interesting, and suggest that if they're interested they should send you a resume with a half-page write-up of an accomplishment most closely related to real job needs. A performance profile should be used as the basis of creating this compelling email.
10.Hunters. Rarely will top performers become Hunters. These are candidates who will hunt and peck through the major job boards and company career sites to find something. They'll even apply online, sign up for numerous job agents, and do whatever it takes to find a job. So don't expect many top performers in this group; most of what you'll find are the Leftovers. These are the people who everyone else ignored. However, now and then you'll find a strong person here who somehow got overlooked. Unfortunately, by the time you've found them, often they'll tell you they just got an offer somewhere else.
If you're not seeing many good people from your sourcing efforts, or those good ones you do see tell you they've just accepted something else, you can assume you have a Leftover sourcing strategy. This is the default strategy most companies fall into when they don't implement workforce planning in combination with the targeted early-bird sourcing programs described above.
While job-hunter typecasting offers a good foundation for developing sourcing programs, the real key here is to recognize that the best people have different needs whenever they enter the market. A good sourcing strategy has to take these into account, rather than assume that the latest sourcing tactic presented at some conference will wind up being the universal solution.
Sourcing strategy development is an important part of the sourcing process, and it's based on using the latest consumer marketing ideas, technologies, and messaging. Few companies have adopted this concept wholeheartedly, but those that have are starting to see impressive results. It's not too late for everyone else to join in.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Bring Talent to Your Team this New Year....
One of the most basic elements of teamwork is this: Be good at what you do.
Teams need talent. The more of it you bring to the group, the more you can contribute. Build your skills, and, in a very real sense, you are building the team.
You can't have a high-powered team with low-talent people. And sometimes the weakest link in the chain sets the limit on what the group as a whole can achieve.
So keep stretching. Polish your skills and perfect your moves. Master the fundamentals of your job.
Strive for continuous improvement—the Japanese call it kaizen—so the team never stops growing. Keep getting better at your craft, and you can do more to help the team chalk up higher scores. Any time you level off in your learning, the potential of the overall group flattens out a little more. And teamwork always takes a hit whenever people start to lose their touch.
Also keep this in mind—unless you're competent, people really can't afford to count on you. You're best positioned to build a high trust level in the group when you bring talent. Individual ability.
Give teammates good reasons to believe in you. Keep getting better at what you do.
Have the Best Team and a New Year 2010!!!
Abhinav....
Teams need talent. The more of it you bring to the group, the more you can contribute. Build your skills, and, in a very real sense, you are building the team.
You can't have a high-powered team with low-talent people. And sometimes the weakest link in the chain sets the limit on what the group as a whole can achieve.
So keep stretching. Polish your skills and perfect your moves. Master the fundamentals of your job.
Strive for continuous improvement—the Japanese call it kaizen—so the team never stops growing. Keep getting better at your craft, and you can do more to help the team chalk up higher scores. Any time you level off in your learning, the potential of the overall group flattens out a little more. And teamwork always takes a hit whenever people start to lose their touch.
Also keep this in mind—unless you're competent, people really can't afford to count on you. You're best positioned to build a high trust level in the group when you bring talent. Individual ability.
Give teammates good reasons to believe in you. Keep getting better at what you do.
Have the Best Team and a New Year 2010!!!
Abhinav....
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Recruiter 10-Factor Evaluation
# 1: Delivers Result
- Consistently fills most jobs on time, often with top people. Responsible –
Recruiters must be able to hit their numbers. This means consistently filling all of the reqs assigned to them month-after-month. If the backlog is increasing you have a problem. You can’t be passive.
# 2: Knows the Job
- Has solid understand of real job needs. Confident. Gets clarification –
Good recruiters must know the job, and not rely on the Job Description. Recruiters need to know what the person holding the job needs to do to be considered successful. Otherwise, you’re just guessing and box checking.
# 3: Finds best active candidate
- Strong with basic systems and uses a variety of other good techniques –
Recruiters must be able to find the best active candidates quickly. This means writing great ads, knowing what boards to use, and using all of the latest searching tools to mine through resumes quickly and accurately.
# 4: Finds best less active and passive candidates
- Always obtained good candidates through referrals. Assertive –
If you’re only sourcing candidates, you’re not really a recruiter. Recruiters must be able to build instant networks of top people and convince them to consider your jobs even when they say “no”.
# 5: Manages the process
- Can manage multiple assignments using a variety of tools. Well organized –
Recruiters have too much to do and things always go wrong. Managing all of these issues is a critical skill. Hiring one person is tough enough. Keeping everything moving while staying on top of it all is the essence of an exceptional recruiter.
# 6: Knows the market
- Quite knowledgeable about industry, trends and employment issues –
Recruiters must be on top of all of the issues in their area of expertise. This means knowing compensation ranges, the best places to find top people, and what’s happening in their industry. This is how you convince candidates and clients you’re an expert.
# 7: Influences the hiring decision
- Adds much value. Understands candidates and job needs. Respected –
Recruiters must exert influence on their hiring manager clients at every stage. This means haggling about job requirements, candidate competency, and how to negotiate offers. The best recruiters are involved at each step in the hiring process and push their candidates forward despite differences.
# 8: Influences candidates throughout process
- Provides good advice and is seen by candidate as advocate. Influences –
The best people always have other opportunities. Keeping them involved and interested in your job is the core of recruiting. This means knowing the job and presenting a persuasive case as to why offers should be accepted even if they don’t meet salary expectations.
# 9: Conducts professional and accurate interview
- Uses multiple tools to assess. Solid skills. Pretty accurate. Input valued –
Recruiters must be thorough and competent assessors of talent. This means knowing what questions to ask, interpreting the results correctly, and defending your candidate to the hiring team. You know you’re at the top of your game when you lead panel interviews and the debriefing session.
# 10: Works with the team
- Works well with team to improve process. Takes initiative to help others –
Forget the Lone Ranger stuff. In a corporate environment recruiters must work with a wide variety of people, some not so great. Influencing their decisions and keeping the process moving forward is what teamwork and cooperation is all about.
- Consistently fills most jobs on time, often with top people. Responsible –
Recruiters must be able to hit their numbers. This means consistently filling all of the reqs assigned to them month-after-month. If the backlog is increasing you have a problem. You can’t be passive.
# 2: Knows the Job
- Has solid understand of real job needs. Confident. Gets clarification –
Good recruiters must know the job, and not rely on the Job Description. Recruiters need to know what the person holding the job needs to do to be considered successful. Otherwise, you’re just guessing and box checking.
# 3: Finds best active candidate
- Strong with basic systems and uses a variety of other good techniques –
Recruiters must be able to find the best active candidates quickly. This means writing great ads, knowing what boards to use, and using all of the latest searching tools to mine through resumes quickly and accurately.
# 4: Finds best less active and passive candidates
- Always obtained good candidates through referrals. Assertive –
If you’re only sourcing candidates, you’re not really a recruiter. Recruiters must be able to build instant networks of top people and convince them to consider your jobs even when they say “no”.
# 5: Manages the process
- Can manage multiple assignments using a variety of tools. Well organized –
Recruiters have too much to do and things always go wrong. Managing all of these issues is a critical skill. Hiring one person is tough enough. Keeping everything moving while staying on top of it all is the essence of an exceptional recruiter.
# 6: Knows the market
- Quite knowledgeable about industry, trends and employment issues –
Recruiters must be on top of all of the issues in their area of expertise. This means knowing compensation ranges, the best places to find top people, and what’s happening in their industry. This is how you convince candidates and clients you’re an expert.
# 7: Influences the hiring decision
- Adds much value. Understands candidates and job needs. Respected –
Recruiters must exert influence on their hiring manager clients at every stage. This means haggling about job requirements, candidate competency, and how to negotiate offers. The best recruiters are involved at each step in the hiring process and push their candidates forward despite differences.
# 8: Influences candidates throughout process
- Provides good advice and is seen by candidate as advocate. Influences –
The best people always have other opportunities. Keeping them involved and interested in your job is the core of recruiting. This means knowing the job and presenting a persuasive case as to why offers should be accepted even if they don’t meet salary expectations.
# 9: Conducts professional and accurate interview
- Uses multiple tools to assess. Solid skills. Pretty accurate. Input valued –
Recruiters must be thorough and competent assessors of talent. This means knowing what questions to ask, interpreting the results correctly, and defending your candidate to the hiring team. You know you’re at the top of your game when you lead panel interviews and the debriefing session.
# 10: Works with the team
- Works well with team to improve process. Takes initiative to help others –
Forget the Lone Ranger stuff. In a corporate environment recruiters must work with a wide variety of people, some not so great. Influencing their decisions and keeping the process moving forward is what teamwork and cooperation is all about.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Why work or approach a headhunter?
Why work or approach a headhunter?
It depends. You currently could have two years of working experience or maybe five years of working experience. You might have switched companies about two times now. You are wanting to know what is the current market rate of your specialization or skills. Well it all depends.
Why work with a headhunter?
When i tell people that i am a headhunter, the usual response is, ‘oh please find me a suitable job’ or ‘can you get me a new job’? I get that all the time. What the mass does not know is, a lot of headhunters are now specialized and that they work for the disposition of companies. At times the candidate but a lot of times the company. Depends on scenario and the level of the executive.
Well I do not blame them. This is the stereotype of a headhunter, ‘can u please find me a job?’ – Let me take you on a short insight.
Well maybe 30% of ‘can you fine me a job? effect’ might be true, but a lot of times people associate themselves with headhunters because of these few reasons:
Better Opportunity.
Getting a current market rate of their own specialization.
Getting an insight on their current work or career.
Exploring new opportunities.
Seeking new employment/opportunity.
Unhappy with their current employment.
Sometimes they just want more money.
Headhunters are always looking out for the best fit for their clients. Sometimes they refer to the company as the customer and the candidate as the client or vice-versa. You could receive a call from your consultant at anytime if an opportunity arises, that is if you have already developed the relationship with the headhunter. The headhunter now, after spending time with you knows your aspirations, your wants, your Skills and Strengths, your technical knowledge and is able to position you for roles when the opportunity arises hence although you are not looking for a job, you are in the headspace of a headhunter. He knows that you are THERE.
Why work/associate yourself with a headhunter?
When you see a headhunter today, you are not necessarily looking for a job. Quality and competent candidates are not usually looking for a job. A headhunter might have the right opportunity for you possibly in a month, six months or even a year hence when you see a headhunter, you are seeking a service like a very much like a consultation. We take on part advisers and counsellors. Whether or not the headhunter might have the right opportunity for you at that particular moment; cheers and good luck to you!
A lot of times when the right opportunity arises the headhunter will make contact with you thus your one hour spent with the headhunter six months ago has paid-off. The headhunter has identified your ideal opportunity and you are happy with the proposed package – the headhunter has done his/her job and the relationship has been strengthened. The headhunter is now your agent throughout your career from today and you have trust in the headhunter.
When you see a headhunter, be sure to know what you want, what you seek and also keep an open mind. You are sometimes are good at an area which you are blind too. A good headhunter who works with you might be able to pin-point certain strengths which you are blinded to. More often that is always the case. The headhunter usually thinks of the macro picture rather than the micro picture. Suppose today you are in IT and you have good skills and technical knowledge serving customers who are in the Financial Services Industries and tomorrow you could be a Lead IT Consultant within a bank with the help of a headhunter. He has identified an area and knows of a position which is well suited and tailored to your expertise. Two to three years down the road, you will work with the same headhunter and you would possibly be a Senior Executive/Manager in a company which deals with Financial Solutions. Once again the headhunter has customized you to a good job, an agent in your career change.
Keep an open mind. Be mindful about the headhunter you choose to see. The headhunter should be in the same vertical industry that you are in. It could be Financial Services, IT, Manufacturing or even Construction. Most headhunters now are industry-centric specialized.
Keep it open.
You are your worth and value, the headhunter is able to help you.
It depends. You currently could have two years of working experience or maybe five years of working experience. You might have switched companies about two times now. You are wanting to know what is the current market rate of your specialization or skills. Well it all depends.
Why work with a headhunter?
When i tell people that i am a headhunter, the usual response is, ‘oh please find me a suitable job’ or ‘can you get me a new job’? I get that all the time. What the mass does not know is, a lot of headhunters are now specialized and that they work for the disposition of companies. At times the candidate but a lot of times the company. Depends on scenario and the level of the executive.
Well I do not blame them. This is the stereotype of a headhunter, ‘can u please find me a job?’ – Let me take you on a short insight.
Well maybe 30% of ‘can you fine me a job? effect’ might be true, but a lot of times people associate themselves with headhunters because of these few reasons:
Better Opportunity.
Getting a current market rate of their own specialization.
Getting an insight on their current work or career.
Exploring new opportunities.
Seeking new employment/opportunity.
Unhappy with their current employment.
Sometimes they just want more money.
Headhunters are always looking out for the best fit for their clients. Sometimes they refer to the company as the customer and the candidate as the client or vice-versa. You could receive a call from your consultant at anytime if an opportunity arises, that is if you have already developed the relationship with the headhunter. The headhunter now, after spending time with you knows your aspirations, your wants, your Skills and Strengths, your technical knowledge and is able to position you for roles when the opportunity arises hence although you are not looking for a job, you are in the headspace of a headhunter. He knows that you are THERE.
Why work/associate yourself with a headhunter?
When you see a headhunter today, you are not necessarily looking for a job. Quality and competent candidates are not usually looking for a job. A headhunter might have the right opportunity for you possibly in a month, six months or even a year hence when you see a headhunter, you are seeking a service like a very much like a consultation. We take on part advisers and counsellors. Whether or not the headhunter might have the right opportunity for you at that particular moment; cheers and good luck to you!
A lot of times when the right opportunity arises the headhunter will make contact with you thus your one hour spent with the headhunter six months ago has paid-off. The headhunter has identified your ideal opportunity and you are happy with the proposed package – the headhunter has done his/her job and the relationship has been strengthened. The headhunter is now your agent throughout your career from today and you have trust in the headhunter.
When you see a headhunter, be sure to know what you want, what you seek and also keep an open mind. You are sometimes are good at an area which you are blind too. A good headhunter who works with you might be able to pin-point certain strengths which you are blinded to. More often that is always the case. The headhunter usually thinks of the macro picture rather than the micro picture. Suppose today you are in IT and you have good skills and technical knowledge serving customers who are in the Financial Services Industries and tomorrow you could be a Lead IT Consultant within a bank with the help of a headhunter. He has identified an area and knows of a position which is well suited and tailored to your expertise. Two to three years down the road, you will work with the same headhunter and you would possibly be a Senior Executive/Manager in a company which deals with Financial Solutions. Once again the headhunter has customized you to a good job, an agent in your career change.
Keep an open mind. Be mindful about the headhunter you choose to see. The headhunter should be in the same vertical industry that you are in. It could be Financial Services, IT, Manufacturing or even Construction. Most headhunters now are industry-centric specialized.
Keep it open.
You are your worth and value, the headhunter is able to help you.
Understanding - Talent Acquisition Recruitment + 1 step ahead of it = Talent Acquisition
Lets see How!!!!
How is talent acquisition different from normal recruiting efforts? It's a simple but telling question, and one that I hadn't duely considered before. Recruiting can be defined as profiling, sourcing, assessing and hiring candidates. Talent acquisition is defined as profiling, sourcing, assessing, hiring and optimizing this process so that candidates add value to the organization. This may seem like a subtle difference but I think it is not. What counts is the resulting talent and value of the candidate, not the internal process or machinations of the organization. While time to hire and cost to hire are recruiting metrics; quality of hire is the talent acquisition metric.
A similar emphasis on value exists for the definition of all talent practices. "Talent development" is perhaps the most strikingly different than the definition of development by itself. In many organizations, development is synonomous with training. If you want to develop an employee, send them to training. In talent-driven organizations, a fuller definion would be: the ability to develop and unleash "difference-making talent" through developmental experiences, expanding social networks, connecting people to purpose, expertise and resources, communities of practice, action learning, coaching and mentoring programs.
Get Started!!
>> Partner with a Trusted Advisor
Firms that have made the investment and have built a strategic hiring program are more prepared for success than those who are not. When trying to attract mid-to senior level hires, it is in a consulting firm‘s best interests to partner with a search firm.
The right search firm should bring a solid understanding of the firm‘s business and an independent perspective to the process. It is also very important that the search partner has deep industry knowledge and expertise and is dedicated to the passive candidate market. Used effectively, a search partner can positively extend your firm‘s brand, sending a strong message to the candidate market and creating positive PR as they communicate the firm‘s desire to attract great professionals and grow.
>> Audit Your Needs Perpetually
The first rule is to continuously audit your practice to identify your short and long term hiring needs. This can be done by commissioning an internal program or by partnering with a third party with deep market knowledge in the industry. Your audit should identify gaps in talent by functional, industry, or geographical capability. It should also bring insight into what clients want from outside professionals, what the competition is doing and trends in acquiring talent.
When completed properly, an audit will give your firm a solid understanding of the talent portfolio required to meet both client needs and firm growth objectives.
>> Define a Talent Acquisition Strategy
Once a talent auditing program is in place, firms need to define their talent acquisition strategy.
In today‘s talent market, it can take twice as long to acquire the same talent as it did just two years ago.
Firms should align their talent acquisition strategy with their business strategy for the next three to five years. Determine what you want to keep in-house and what part of the implementation you want to give to a talent acquisition partner. At this point, it is productive to involve any external partners in the strategic planning process so they can internalize your business objectives and have greater success early in the execution phase.
>> Execute a Dedicated Implementation Program
Given that the market is very competitive, attracting people has become more of a strategic initiative for consulting firms. To effectively shift talent from competitors and industry, most consulting firms should consider putting a perpetual lateral hiring program in place that rivals their campus hiring program. Firms that have done so have been able to stay ahead of the curve and have been able to hire the talent they need.
>> Stay Dedicated to the Passive Market
The goal in sourcing is to identify everyone capable of doing the job, and 90% of the time those individuals are passive. With the advent of the internet and greater volumes of information easily accessible, clients are seeing mostly active candidates.
To best tap the passive market, We may prefer using a three part sourcing program that leverages independent new research, referrals from industry executives who buy consulting services, and our own network.
When a sourcing strategy is combined with experience, persistence, and good relationships, the chances for success dramatically increase. Often this may also lead to attracting a group or doing a complete lift-out opportunity for our clients.
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Some Basics !! Knowhow
What Do Most Consulting Firms Look For In New Candidates?
They are looking for perfect resumes. Over here the question is this: "We have this problem to solve or this opportunity to seize. Can you help?" And most employers' don't give special effort, how many degrees you have. If you can demonstrate that you can help an employer to acquire more clients or business, but all you have is some vocational training in lion-taming, you still can get the job.
Here are some hiring practices that I've found valuable...
Recruit people who will be slow learners of the corporate dogma ("This is how we do things around here"). If you keep looking for people of "your kind", that is, the same skills and attributes you have, sooner or later you create such level of incest in your firm that you end up wiping yourself out.
Recruit people who are better than you. Yes, you can put together a team in which you are the genius, but then you stand on the shoulders of dwarfs, and the limit of your vision is the tip of your nose. Attract people who are better then you, stretch you with their weird perspectives and oddball concepts, and you stand on the shoulders of giants. To do this you must tame your ego, but in return, you may just see much further.
Recruit people whom you are willing to compensate well. If you pay peanuts you get only monkeys. And since the universal law of attraction says that, "like attracts like", if you attract monkeys then you have a monkey business in which you are the chief monkey. That makes you a five-star imitator. And high calibre people with do their best to avoid you.
Yes, money is not the greatest motivator, but lack of money is the greatest demotivator. Just imagine, you have to live the rest of your life in fear of losing your best people, because a better firm has seduced them with better opportunities, including but not limited to better compensation. And when they go to the competition, they take your deepest secrets and many of your clients with them.
You may say that stealing clients is unethical, but since the professional service firm is the only form of business that is based on one-to-one relationships, many clients automatically move with the professionals with whom they have one-to-one relationships. And, besides swearing and shaking your fist to the high heavens, there is not a sausage you can do about it.
Now you may say your people signed non-disclosure and non-competition agreements. You can't be so naive, can you? There is one more thing here: How can you ask - almost - minimum wage - people to go out and sell your premium services? Minimum wage people develop minimum wage mindsets and minimum wage performance. Potential clients will be able to read this sign and it is very repelling.
Recruit people you don't need yet. Recruiting good people is just like "recruiting" a spouse. Just as you can't go out saying "I must fill the vacancy for a wife by Friday 5:00PM", you cannot find good people that way either. You recruit good people whenever you bump into them. Many firms make the mistake of growing linearly. The idea is to start with the end in mind and working backwards. If your vision is to develop a large multi-national firm, then abandon your small business management practices, that is, let's save money by building our own websites and cleaning our own toilets. If you want to grow, show it.
Also growth starts on the inside. First you have to develop the performance capability within your firm, and then that capability turns into performance and new revenue. It's like farming. First you have to plant and then harvest. You can't start the farming cycle by getting paid 1 million for your corn which you haven't even planted yet.
Use job interviews as idea generation, not only to screen candidates. The fresh perspective of the "ignorant antagonist" can take your level of thinking to a much higher level. Most people in most firms become the big bosses' yes people. Bring in people who dare to oppose you. That is how great concepts are created. You need people who dare to say: The emperor has no clothes.
Encourage your people to be mavericks. This is very hard. Most firm owners, especially owners of small joints are breathtakingly ego-driven, and want to take control without realising a basic fact as Nicole Kidman bluntly put it to Tom Cruise in the movie Days of Thunder: "Control is an illusion, you infantile egomaniac. Nobody controls anything." They have the "My way or the highway" mentality. You can buy people's time, their muscle movements, but you must earn their respect. You can control labourers by prodding them to shovel more horseshit from one pile to the other, but you can't control professionals to provide higher quality services. And one must be an Olympic-grade idiot even for trying. Just accept that your people are good at what they do, and give them freedom to practise their crafts. Focus on that you create an environment of honest, ethical high quality work, and your people will step up to your expectations.
Why Do You Think That Happens?
Consultants know that only very few firms are worth investing a long-term career in, so they grow their own assets within their firms. It is basically their firms' cultures that force them to build their own careers covertly, and when they are ready to jump, they go into competition against their former employers. Who can blame them? Nobody. Their former employers "made" them do it by working in a competitive as opposed to a collegial and collaborative environment.
When you talk about money, watch your candidates like a hawk. Watch both for verbal and non-verbal cues. If, after a boring discussion, their eyes light up, then you had better run very fast and very far, unless you run a consulting whore house and manage by "billable hours" and "making quota."
Focus on people who have never worked in an environment you have. Ignoring this concept can lead you to a collection great - for instance - doctors with amazing content knowledge but with no emotional skills, who cannot work with people beyond giving basic orders: "Bend over!... Next!"
Ignore your firm's past. You can't build your firm's future by constantly looking at the rear view mirror. As the saying goes, you can never discover new oceans until you have the courage to lose the sight of the safe and secure shore.
Here you can ask two questions:
The tactical question is: "What can we achieve through who we are, with what we and by what we do… today." That is, you have some rigid tactics and keep the strategy fluid. This is retarded. This is like a ship's captain saying, "Where can we go by steadily sailing south-east at 5.6 knots." Here the strategy is subservient to the tactics. As Stephen Covey says, "You're busy climbing a ladder but you don't know what it leans against." In this approach "How?" (Tactics) is given and the "What?" (Strategy) is haphazard.
The strategic question is: Who do we have to become and what do we have to do to achieve our objectives? Note that the "What?" (Strategy) is given and the "How?" (Tactics) is flexible.
Discovering Your People's Natural Strengths?
To make the most of your people, you have to make sure they play to their natural strengths. Your strengths are the direct result of the natural talents you were born with. These talents have been honed and sharpened through life experiences, education and the skills you've developed over the years. If you determine your people's strengths, you can really build a strategically focused firm that has a competitive advantage. In order for you to clearly identify your people's strengths it will be helpful to look at what constitutes strengths.
Strengths = Talents + Education + Experiences + Skills
Step 1- Talents
It all starts with your inborn talents. Your talents are the special abilities that you were either born with or developed within the first 3 years of your life. Talent is a consistently recurring pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that can be applied productively. These abilities can take many forms:
Thinking abilities (strategic thinker, a marketing mind, visual or spatial thinking, genius thinking, creative thinking, linear thinking, curiosity, etc…)
Feeling abilities (intuitive, empathetic, passion, confidence, determination, spontaneous, etc…)
Behaviours (working well under pressure, being responsible, ability to focus, being a good listener, good negotiator, good bluffer, eye-hand coordination etc…)
Your talents are the foundations of your strengths. To achieve mastery, to be really excellent at anything first requires that you were born with a foundation for it. If you have the foundation, then you still need to receive the education, experience and skill training to convert the talent into a strength. If all these elements come together you have a strength.
Step 2 - Education
This derives from schooling, working with through mentors, reading, attending seminars, audio programs, and every other way you can bring in information that is already prepared for you in some form or another. This is the result of explicit learning.
Your education can either supportive or antagonistic to your natural talents. Ideally, your education should work in synergy with your talents. If you're a naturally born analyst, then study accounting.
Step 3 - Experiences
What you've learned throughout your life and pulled out as your observations and conclusions on how to do things. As a result of your experiences, your work becomes more and more intuitive. Hint: You can't go to school to become the next Picasso.
Step 4 - Skills
Skills are the steps by step instructions that experts have refined for you to more easily learn specific activities. While learning skills will help you improve your performance in any area, the areas where you have foundational talents will show exponential growth in your ability.
An example might be golf. I would imagine that no one has ever played at a pro level the first time they picked up a club. But some people take lessons for years and while they improve they still kind of lack. Others though show incredible progress from lesson to lesson. The difference between the two is inborn talents.
Before You Are Hiring Your Next Person
Step 1: Define the Position
Purpose: This is the "Why?" you want to hire this person. You must have a better reason than we have lots of projects and need new people. First reach the point of having much more demand for your firm than it can provide, so you can cherry pick your clients. And hire only when you have overwhelming demands for your services at premium fees.
Objectives: This is the "What?" you want to hire this person. What is this person expected to achieve in the new position?
What is this person responsible for? Do you expect this person to achieve results or mark time, be busy and perform pre-defined tasks?
What authority will this person receive to achieve the expected outcomes?
Describe the type of relationship this person is expected to work in both with clients and other associates of your firm.
Describe the environment this person is expected to operate in.
Step 2: Job Performance
The person: Remember, his book, in Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill writes about personality traits to achieve success, not specific skills to master, courses to take and certificates to collect. So, you'd better select this person based on character traits. Everything else can be taught and learnt. Many firms kill themselves by employing apathetic geniuses. What also works against you is that statistically, some 86% of employees hate their jobs and/or bosses.
Rewards: How do you reward this new person? Forget about hourly rates. That's retarded and it rewards incompetence.
Repercussions: How do you deal with people who refuse to act in the in the best interest of the higher good and goes on self-serving crusades?
Step 3: Measuring Results
Expected vs. Actual: Basically you measure and chart your projections against your actual results.
Differences: This gives you your delta, the difference between the projection and actual outcomes.
Corrections: And based on your delta, now you know what to do with it. That is, what sort of corrective action to take to get back on track.
There are two factors you can measure. Does your measurement relate to the process or the outcome? And is the measurement qualitative or quantitative?
So, you measure...
Quantitative Outcomes: These are the numerical changes your firms achieves by hiring this person.
Quantitative Process: This is the measure of progress. In project management these are your milestones.
Qualitative Process: This is about how your new candidates feel about the process of change that your firm initiated by hiring them.
Qualitative Outcomes: This section measures how your new candidates feel about the end result they are expected to create.
Best of luck.
and Emerge Victorious
Abhinav Mishra.
Lets see How!!!!
How is talent acquisition different from normal recruiting efforts? It's a simple but telling question, and one that I hadn't duely considered before. Recruiting can be defined as profiling, sourcing, assessing and hiring candidates. Talent acquisition is defined as profiling, sourcing, assessing, hiring and optimizing this process so that candidates add value to the organization. This may seem like a subtle difference but I think it is not. What counts is the resulting talent and value of the candidate, not the internal process or machinations of the organization. While time to hire and cost to hire are recruiting metrics; quality of hire is the talent acquisition metric.
A similar emphasis on value exists for the definition of all talent practices. "Talent development" is perhaps the most strikingly different than the definition of development by itself. In many organizations, development is synonomous with training. If you want to develop an employee, send them to training. In talent-driven organizations, a fuller definion would be: the ability to develop and unleash "difference-making talent" through developmental experiences, expanding social networks, connecting people to purpose, expertise and resources, communities of practice, action learning, coaching and mentoring programs.
Get Started!!
>> Partner with a Trusted Advisor
Firms that have made the investment and have built a strategic hiring program are more prepared for success than those who are not. When trying to attract mid-to senior level hires, it is in a consulting firm‘s best interests to partner with a search firm.
The right search firm should bring a solid understanding of the firm‘s business and an independent perspective to the process. It is also very important that the search partner has deep industry knowledge and expertise and is dedicated to the passive candidate market. Used effectively, a search partner can positively extend your firm‘s brand, sending a strong message to the candidate market and creating positive PR as they communicate the firm‘s desire to attract great professionals and grow.
>> Audit Your Needs Perpetually
The first rule is to continuously audit your practice to identify your short and long term hiring needs. This can be done by commissioning an internal program or by partnering with a third party with deep market knowledge in the industry. Your audit should identify gaps in talent by functional, industry, or geographical capability. It should also bring insight into what clients want from outside professionals, what the competition is doing and trends in acquiring talent.
When completed properly, an audit will give your firm a solid understanding of the talent portfolio required to meet both client needs and firm growth objectives.
>> Define a Talent Acquisition Strategy
Once a talent auditing program is in place, firms need to define their talent acquisition strategy.
In today‘s talent market, it can take twice as long to acquire the same talent as it did just two years ago.
Firms should align their talent acquisition strategy with their business strategy for the next three to five years. Determine what you want to keep in-house and what part of the implementation you want to give to a talent acquisition partner. At this point, it is productive to involve any external partners in the strategic planning process so they can internalize your business objectives and have greater success early in the execution phase.
>> Execute a Dedicated Implementation Program
Given that the market is very competitive, attracting people has become more of a strategic initiative for consulting firms. To effectively shift talent from competitors and industry, most consulting firms should consider putting a perpetual lateral hiring program in place that rivals their campus hiring program. Firms that have done so have been able to stay ahead of the curve and have been able to hire the talent they need.
>> Stay Dedicated to the Passive Market
The goal in sourcing is to identify everyone capable of doing the job, and 90% of the time those individuals are passive. With the advent of the internet and greater volumes of information easily accessible, clients are seeing mostly active candidates.
To best tap the passive market, We may prefer using a three part sourcing program that leverages independent new research, referrals from industry executives who buy consulting services, and our own network.
When a sourcing strategy is combined with experience, persistence, and good relationships, the chances for success dramatically increase. Often this may also lead to attracting a group or doing a complete lift-out opportunity for our clients.
--------------------------
Some Basics !! Knowhow
What Do Most Consulting Firms Look For In New Candidates?
They are looking for perfect resumes. Over here the question is this: "We have this problem to solve or this opportunity to seize. Can you help?" And most employers' don't give special effort, how many degrees you have. If you can demonstrate that you can help an employer to acquire more clients or business, but all you have is some vocational training in lion-taming, you still can get the job.
Here are some hiring practices that I've found valuable...
Recruit people who will be slow learners of the corporate dogma ("This is how we do things around here"). If you keep looking for people of "your kind", that is, the same skills and attributes you have, sooner or later you create such level of incest in your firm that you end up wiping yourself out.
Recruit people who are better than you. Yes, you can put together a team in which you are the genius, but then you stand on the shoulders of dwarfs, and the limit of your vision is the tip of your nose. Attract people who are better then you, stretch you with their weird perspectives and oddball concepts, and you stand on the shoulders of giants. To do this you must tame your ego, but in return, you may just see much further.
Recruit people whom you are willing to compensate well. If you pay peanuts you get only monkeys. And since the universal law of attraction says that, "like attracts like", if you attract monkeys then you have a monkey business in which you are the chief monkey. That makes you a five-star imitator. And high calibre people with do their best to avoid you.
Yes, money is not the greatest motivator, but lack of money is the greatest demotivator. Just imagine, you have to live the rest of your life in fear of losing your best people, because a better firm has seduced them with better opportunities, including but not limited to better compensation. And when they go to the competition, they take your deepest secrets and many of your clients with them.
You may say that stealing clients is unethical, but since the professional service firm is the only form of business that is based on one-to-one relationships, many clients automatically move with the professionals with whom they have one-to-one relationships. And, besides swearing and shaking your fist to the high heavens, there is not a sausage you can do about it.
Now you may say your people signed non-disclosure and non-competition agreements. You can't be so naive, can you? There is one more thing here: How can you ask - almost - minimum wage - people to go out and sell your premium services? Minimum wage people develop minimum wage mindsets and minimum wage performance. Potential clients will be able to read this sign and it is very repelling.
Recruit people you don't need yet. Recruiting good people is just like "recruiting" a spouse. Just as you can't go out saying "I must fill the vacancy for a wife by Friday 5:00PM", you cannot find good people that way either. You recruit good people whenever you bump into them. Many firms make the mistake of growing linearly. The idea is to start with the end in mind and working backwards. If your vision is to develop a large multi-national firm, then abandon your small business management practices, that is, let's save money by building our own websites and cleaning our own toilets. If you want to grow, show it.
Also growth starts on the inside. First you have to develop the performance capability within your firm, and then that capability turns into performance and new revenue. It's like farming. First you have to plant and then harvest. You can't start the farming cycle by getting paid 1 million for your corn which you haven't even planted yet.
Use job interviews as idea generation, not only to screen candidates. The fresh perspective of the "ignorant antagonist" can take your level of thinking to a much higher level. Most people in most firms become the big bosses' yes people. Bring in people who dare to oppose you. That is how great concepts are created. You need people who dare to say: The emperor has no clothes.
Encourage your people to be mavericks. This is very hard. Most firm owners, especially owners of small joints are breathtakingly ego-driven, and want to take control without realising a basic fact as Nicole Kidman bluntly put it to Tom Cruise in the movie Days of Thunder: "Control is an illusion, you infantile egomaniac. Nobody controls anything." They have the "My way or the highway" mentality. You can buy people's time, their muscle movements, but you must earn their respect. You can control labourers by prodding them to shovel more horseshit from one pile to the other, but you can't control professionals to provide higher quality services. And one must be an Olympic-grade idiot even for trying. Just accept that your people are good at what they do, and give them freedom to practise their crafts. Focus on that you create an environment of honest, ethical high quality work, and your people will step up to your expectations.
Why Do You Think That Happens?
Consultants know that only very few firms are worth investing a long-term career in, so they grow their own assets within their firms. It is basically their firms' cultures that force them to build their own careers covertly, and when they are ready to jump, they go into competition against their former employers. Who can blame them? Nobody. Their former employers "made" them do it by working in a competitive as opposed to a collegial and collaborative environment.
When you talk about money, watch your candidates like a hawk. Watch both for verbal and non-verbal cues. If, after a boring discussion, their eyes light up, then you had better run very fast and very far, unless you run a consulting whore house and manage by "billable hours" and "making quota."
Focus on people who have never worked in an environment you have. Ignoring this concept can lead you to a collection great - for instance - doctors with amazing content knowledge but with no emotional skills, who cannot work with people beyond giving basic orders: "Bend over!... Next!"
Ignore your firm's past. You can't build your firm's future by constantly looking at the rear view mirror. As the saying goes, you can never discover new oceans until you have the courage to lose the sight of the safe and secure shore.
Here you can ask two questions:
The tactical question is: "What can we achieve through who we are, with what we and by what we do… today." That is, you have some rigid tactics and keep the strategy fluid. This is retarded. This is like a ship's captain saying, "Where can we go by steadily sailing south-east at 5.6 knots." Here the strategy is subservient to the tactics. As Stephen Covey says, "You're busy climbing a ladder but you don't know what it leans against." In this approach "How?" (Tactics) is given and the "What?" (Strategy) is haphazard.
The strategic question is: Who do we have to become and what do we have to do to achieve our objectives? Note that the "What?" (Strategy) is given and the "How?" (Tactics) is flexible.
Discovering Your People's Natural Strengths?
To make the most of your people, you have to make sure they play to their natural strengths. Your strengths are the direct result of the natural talents you were born with. These talents have been honed and sharpened through life experiences, education and the skills you've developed over the years. If you determine your people's strengths, you can really build a strategically focused firm that has a competitive advantage. In order for you to clearly identify your people's strengths it will be helpful to look at what constitutes strengths.
Strengths = Talents + Education + Experiences + Skills
Step 1- Talents
It all starts with your inborn talents. Your talents are the special abilities that you were either born with or developed within the first 3 years of your life. Talent is a consistently recurring pattern of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that can be applied productively. These abilities can take many forms:
Thinking abilities (strategic thinker, a marketing mind, visual or spatial thinking, genius thinking, creative thinking, linear thinking, curiosity, etc…)
Feeling abilities (intuitive, empathetic, passion, confidence, determination, spontaneous, etc…)
Behaviours (working well under pressure, being responsible, ability to focus, being a good listener, good negotiator, good bluffer, eye-hand coordination etc…)
Your talents are the foundations of your strengths. To achieve mastery, to be really excellent at anything first requires that you were born with a foundation for it. If you have the foundation, then you still need to receive the education, experience and skill training to convert the talent into a strength. If all these elements come together you have a strength.
Step 2 - Education
This derives from schooling, working with through mentors, reading, attending seminars, audio programs, and every other way you can bring in information that is already prepared for you in some form or another. This is the result of explicit learning.
Your education can either supportive or antagonistic to your natural talents. Ideally, your education should work in synergy with your talents. If you're a naturally born analyst, then study accounting.
Step 3 - Experiences
What you've learned throughout your life and pulled out as your observations and conclusions on how to do things. As a result of your experiences, your work becomes more and more intuitive. Hint: You can't go to school to become the next Picasso.
Step 4 - Skills
Skills are the steps by step instructions that experts have refined for you to more easily learn specific activities. While learning skills will help you improve your performance in any area, the areas where you have foundational talents will show exponential growth in your ability.
An example might be golf. I would imagine that no one has ever played at a pro level the first time they picked up a club. But some people take lessons for years and while they improve they still kind of lack. Others though show incredible progress from lesson to lesson. The difference between the two is inborn talents.
Before You Are Hiring Your Next Person
Step 1: Define the Position
Purpose: This is the "Why?" you want to hire this person. You must have a better reason than we have lots of projects and need new people. First reach the point of having much more demand for your firm than it can provide, so you can cherry pick your clients. And hire only when you have overwhelming demands for your services at premium fees.
Objectives: This is the "What?" you want to hire this person. What is this person expected to achieve in the new position?
What is this person responsible for? Do you expect this person to achieve results or mark time, be busy and perform pre-defined tasks?
What authority will this person receive to achieve the expected outcomes?
Describe the type of relationship this person is expected to work in both with clients and other associates of your firm.
Describe the environment this person is expected to operate in.
Step 2: Job Performance
The person: Remember, his book, in Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill writes about personality traits to achieve success, not specific skills to master, courses to take and certificates to collect. So, you'd better select this person based on character traits. Everything else can be taught and learnt. Many firms kill themselves by employing apathetic geniuses. What also works against you is that statistically, some 86% of employees hate their jobs and/or bosses.
Rewards: How do you reward this new person? Forget about hourly rates. That's retarded and it rewards incompetence.
Repercussions: How do you deal with people who refuse to act in the in the best interest of the higher good and goes on self-serving crusades?
Step 3: Measuring Results
Expected vs. Actual: Basically you measure and chart your projections against your actual results.
Differences: This gives you your delta, the difference between the projection and actual outcomes.
Corrections: And based on your delta, now you know what to do with it. That is, what sort of corrective action to take to get back on track.
There are two factors you can measure. Does your measurement relate to the process or the outcome? And is the measurement qualitative or quantitative?
So, you measure...
Quantitative Outcomes: These are the numerical changes your firms achieves by hiring this person.
Quantitative Process: This is the measure of progress. In project management these are your milestones.
Qualitative Process: This is about how your new candidates feel about the process of change that your firm initiated by hiring them.
Qualitative Outcomes: This section measures how your new candidates feel about the end result they are expected to create.
Best of luck.
and Emerge Victorious
Abhinav Mishra.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Why Use An Executive Recruiter?
Using an executive recruiter is important because he/she can ensure quick responses, one-on-one attention and the highest potential results for their clients. In fact, there are some important criteria that most employers look for in executive recruiters. These include:
· Honesty
· Good communication skills
· Trust
· Accurate information gathering
· Accurate understanding and portrayal of a job or jobs
· The ability to conduct professional client interviews
· The ability to conduct professional candidate interviews
· The use of other recruiting agents to ascertain information and referrals concerning potential candidates
· Ensures confidentiality and integrity at all times in dealing with both clients and candidates
· The ability to represent one candidate at a time in negotiations on behalf of a client
An executive recruiter also should have the ability to handle multiple accounts and varied job positions for one or more clients. They should be willing to enter into lengthy contracts with clients and maintain a structured focus regarding customer/client satisfaction.
Using a successful recruiter is paramount to successfully filling a job opening. This requires that the recruiter remains flexible, allowing for varied options to suit their clients. Other important factors include:
· Quality results at a reasonable price
· Both computerized and paper storage of client and candidate information, always kept separately
· The ability to accurately match their clients' skill sets
· The ability to analyze and suggest the best approaches to suit their clients' needs both in business and the workplace environment
· The ability to bring together both clients and candidates through negotiation and proper research
· The ability to search for the best fit for positions and help achieve a successful conclusion for both clients and candidates
There are many advantages to using an executive recruiter. Generally speaking, an executive recruiter is a highly skilled individual who is able to properly identify the right person to take the helm in a managerial team or head a said team. They are successful managers that keep the welfare of their clients paramount and recognize the importance of superior management in the modern world of business. They will also show expediency, effectiveness and efficiency in all the contracts they undertake. Most importantly though, they will have the keen ability to maintain confidentiality to protect a client's current reorganization of their management, any new initiatives (product, etc.), employee information, stockholder details and who their suppliers are. This ensures that their job does not undermine the ability of the client to run his business.
Another reason most employers prefer to use an executive recruiter is that they can access candidates not only in their own area, but on a global basis. The recruiter's contacts will have virtually no boundaries, not limited by politics or country borders. In this, recruiters are most valued for professional ethics and their mediation skills.
Executive recruiters tap into a global network of contacts. An executive recruiter has a wide network of contacts in comparison to the in-house human resource departments. Good candidates are already employed and many will deal only with an executive recruiter. The third party representation of an executive recruiter is valued. Confidentiality and professional mediation are recognized assets of the executive recruiter.
In conclusion, using executive recruiters is one of the most financially effective methods used by most employers today to find the appropriate fit for their varied job positions. A good recruiter can work with all levels of executive positions and deal with clients that range from the very small to the huge corporations. Ultimately, they save the client money in finding a competent candidate and future employee that will become an asset versus a liability to their client's firm. In fact, they will provide the best candidate that will bring new or refined skills to the employer that will help the client's business grow and increase its reputation in the its chosen industry.
· Honesty
· Good communication skills
· Trust
· Accurate information gathering
· Accurate understanding and portrayal of a job or jobs
· The ability to conduct professional client interviews
· The ability to conduct professional candidate interviews
· The use of other recruiting agents to ascertain information and referrals concerning potential candidates
· Ensures confidentiality and integrity at all times in dealing with both clients and candidates
· The ability to represent one candidate at a time in negotiations on behalf of a client
An executive recruiter also should have the ability to handle multiple accounts and varied job positions for one or more clients. They should be willing to enter into lengthy contracts with clients and maintain a structured focus regarding customer/client satisfaction.
Using a successful recruiter is paramount to successfully filling a job opening. This requires that the recruiter remains flexible, allowing for varied options to suit their clients. Other important factors include:
· Quality results at a reasonable price
· Both computerized and paper storage of client and candidate information, always kept separately
· The ability to accurately match their clients' skill sets
· The ability to analyze and suggest the best approaches to suit their clients' needs both in business and the workplace environment
· The ability to bring together both clients and candidates through negotiation and proper research
· The ability to search for the best fit for positions and help achieve a successful conclusion for both clients and candidates
There are many advantages to using an executive recruiter. Generally speaking, an executive recruiter is a highly skilled individual who is able to properly identify the right person to take the helm in a managerial team or head a said team. They are successful managers that keep the welfare of their clients paramount and recognize the importance of superior management in the modern world of business. They will also show expediency, effectiveness and efficiency in all the contracts they undertake. Most importantly though, they will have the keen ability to maintain confidentiality to protect a client's current reorganization of their management, any new initiatives (product, etc.), employee information, stockholder details and who their suppliers are. This ensures that their job does not undermine the ability of the client to run his business.
Another reason most employers prefer to use an executive recruiter is that they can access candidates not only in their own area, but on a global basis. The recruiter's contacts will have virtually no boundaries, not limited by politics or country borders. In this, recruiters are most valued for professional ethics and their mediation skills.
Executive recruiters tap into a global network of contacts. An executive recruiter has a wide network of contacts in comparison to the in-house human resource departments. Good candidates are already employed and many will deal only with an executive recruiter. The third party representation of an executive recruiter is valued. Confidentiality and professional mediation are recognized assets of the executive recruiter.
In conclusion, using executive recruiters is one of the most financially effective methods used by most employers today to find the appropriate fit for their varied job positions. A good recruiter can work with all levels of executive positions and deal with clients that range from the very small to the huge corporations. Ultimately, they save the client money in finding a competent candidate and future employee that will become an asset versus a liability to their client's firm. In fact, they will provide the best candidate that will bring new or refined skills to the employer that will help the client's business grow and increase its reputation in the its chosen industry.
Recruitment Process in India.
The recruitment process in India is designed in such a way that each candidate gets the desired profile according to its own choice. Place the candidate from the right profile, the best job recruitment agencies, the solution is the end of most Indian job recruitment agencies.
The job recruitment agencies in India involves identifying those posts, preparing the job description and person specification, advertising, management of the response, the prequalification process, organizing meetings, conducting interviews, making decisions, the appointment and action. This means that a lot of time and resources must be invested before the right candidate is selected.
Most recruitment agencies in India follow three stages in the recruitment process, which are essentially short list of application, preliminary assessment and final interview and selection.
The recruiting India process may include a written test to judge the particular skills of a candidate. In this case, the test must be carefully prepared, not to deviate from the subject. Much can be found on the candidate's resume. A good presentation of his resume is in an organized way and refined talk a lot on the individual. His mentality and attitude can be judged according to his resume.
Then the interview, which is an important and crucial part of the recruitment process. The person who takes the interview of the candidate must be well prepared in advance. Concerns such as the location of the interview, the timing, structure of the question of strategy, the style of taking the interview must be decided in advance, so that nothing is excluded, and all subjects properly treated.
In addition, there are a number of things that must be taken into consideration in the recruitment process. Until the final decision about a certain candidate is taken, it is important to keep in regular contact with the candidate. The decision-making process should not take too long to prevent candidates from taking any other occasion. An applicant must be informed once the decision is made. He or she must say the entire process of his appointment clearly with the details of all documents to be submitted. A record should be kept of the candidate file for future reference.
The recruitment process must be strong and justified and shall withstand external scrutiny. Only a good job recruitment agency with a good understanding of the area and the process can execute the same success. In India, most of the recruitment agencies to understand the needs of clients and candidates and they work in a planned way to recruit people.
The job recruitment agencies in India involves identifying those posts, preparing the job description and person specification, advertising, management of the response, the prequalification process, organizing meetings, conducting interviews, making decisions, the appointment and action. This means that a lot of time and resources must be invested before the right candidate is selected.
Most recruitment agencies in India follow three stages in the recruitment process, which are essentially short list of application, preliminary assessment and final interview and selection.
The recruiting India process may include a written test to judge the particular skills of a candidate. In this case, the test must be carefully prepared, not to deviate from the subject. Much can be found on the candidate's resume. A good presentation of his resume is in an organized way and refined talk a lot on the individual. His mentality and attitude can be judged according to his resume.
Then the interview, which is an important and crucial part of the recruitment process. The person who takes the interview of the candidate must be well prepared in advance. Concerns such as the location of the interview, the timing, structure of the question of strategy, the style of taking the interview must be decided in advance, so that nothing is excluded, and all subjects properly treated.
In addition, there are a number of things that must be taken into consideration in the recruitment process. Until the final decision about a certain candidate is taken, it is important to keep in regular contact with the candidate. The decision-making process should not take too long to prevent candidates from taking any other occasion. An applicant must be informed once the decision is made. He or she must say the entire process of his appointment clearly with the details of all documents to be submitted. A record should be kept of the candidate file for future reference.
The recruitment process must be strong and justified and shall withstand external scrutiny. Only a good job recruitment agency with a good understanding of the area and the process can execute the same success. In India, most of the recruitment agencies to understand the needs of clients and candidates and they work in a planned way to recruit people.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Job Hopping: How to make a smooth transition
Job Hopping: How to make a smooth transition
Before quitting your current job and moving on to a new place, make sure you fulfil all the formalities.
The days of lifetime association with one single organisation are long gone. With new opportunities coming up regularly, job hopping is the order of the day.
Here is a check list of things that need to be taken care of before taking up a new job.
Salary account
Most corporate employers credit salaries to the employees’ bank account. To facilitate such transfers, employees are asked to open ‘zero balance’ saving bank account in the same bank which the employer uses.
The trouble is when you quit, the ‘zero balance’ nature of the account ends. In most cases, you need to maintain a quarterly minimum balance, which may amount up to Rs 10,000.
Failing this, the bank debits your account with the minimum balance charges which may range between Rs 150 to Rs 750 per quarter. Besides the risk of incurring charges, there is a possibility that you may have been giving standing ‘payment instructions’ on a salary account.
To avoid such problems, keep your salary account free of any transactions other than credit of salary. Maintain a bank account other than salary account which can be used to make all the other payments . This works best for those who frequently change jobs.
Provisional tax statement
Many employers offer salary projection along with the salary statement, which includes the amount of tax deducted at source in the current financial year.
If such a projection statement is not provided to you, do ask for the amount of tax deducted, as the same is asked for by your next employer.
Loans and other outstanding
Often employees avail of loan facilities provided by their employer. Needless to say, these need to be paid off before the employer gives a relieving letter.
The best way out is to get the employer loan refinanced by a bank before changing jobs. This is because getting a loan in a new job is usually difficult as banks prefer to lend to those with at least one year of employment history.
Insurance and other facilities
If there is a break between jobs, there is also a break in the group health insurance cover provided by your employers.
Hence don’t rely on employer’s insurance and buy some insurance on your own, if you have not done that till date. You need insurance even when you are unemployed.
Also, the terms of many group policies require that the employee work for a certain period, say one year, before benefits can be extended to family members.
If you are dependent on your employer for providing insurance to your dependents, you need to buy insurance to take care of this uninsured gaps.
Provident fund and other dues from the employer
Ensure that you fill up the forms for transfer of provident fund when you join the new company. If you intend to withdraw the provident fund, the process starts 60 days after the separation.
Ensure that you have filled in the withdrawal forms and handed it over to the previous employer along with your bank account details for smooth encashment of provident fund. In case of annuity, do provide your bank account details to your employer, who in turn pass on the information with the insurer and facilitates payment of pension in the bank account.
Change of address
If you have given your office address as the address of communication for your bank account and other money matters, do change it immediately. First, this deprives you of any important communication sent by your banker. Worse is when somebody, who is not supposed to access such information, can misuse it.
Before quitting your current job and moving on to a new place, make sure you fulfil all the formalities.
The days of lifetime association with one single organisation are long gone. With new opportunities coming up regularly, job hopping is the order of the day.
Here is a check list of things that need to be taken care of before taking up a new job.
Salary account
Most corporate employers credit salaries to the employees’ bank account. To facilitate such transfers, employees are asked to open ‘zero balance’ saving bank account in the same bank which the employer uses.
The trouble is when you quit, the ‘zero balance’ nature of the account ends. In most cases, you need to maintain a quarterly minimum balance, which may amount up to Rs 10,000.
Failing this, the bank debits your account with the minimum balance charges which may range between Rs 150 to Rs 750 per quarter. Besides the risk of incurring charges, there is a possibility that you may have been giving standing ‘payment instructions’ on a salary account.
To avoid such problems, keep your salary account free of any transactions other than credit of salary. Maintain a bank account other than salary account which can be used to make all the other payments . This works best for those who frequently change jobs.
Provisional tax statement
Many employers offer salary projection along with the salary statement, which includes the amount of tax deducted at source in the current financial year.
If such a projection statement is not provided to you, do ask for the amount of tax deducted, as the same is asked for by your next employer.
Loans and other outstanding
Often employees avail of loan facilities provided by their employer. Needless to say, these need to be paid off before the employer gives a relieving letter.
The best way out is to get the employer loan refinanced by a bank before changing jobs. This is because getting a loan in a new job is usually difficult as banks prefer to lend to those with at least one year of employment history.
Insurance and other facilities
If there is a break between jobs, there is also a break in the group health insurance cover provided by your employers.
Hence don’t rely on employer’s insurance and buy some insurance on your own, if you have not done that till date. You need insurance even when you are unemployed.
Also, the terms of many group policies require that the employee work for a certain period, say one year, before benefits can be extended to family members.
If you are dependent on your employer for providing insurance to your dependents, you need to buy insurance to take care of this uninsured gaps.
Provident fund and other dues from the employer
Ensure that you fill up the forms for transfer of provident fund when you join the new company. If you intend to withdraw the provident fund, the process starts 60 days after the separation.
Ensure that you have filled in the withdrawal forms and handed it over to the previous employer along with your bank account details for smooth encashment of provident fund. In case of annuity, do provide your bank account details to your employer, who in turn pass on the information with the insurer and facilitates payment of pension in the bank account.
Change of address
If you have given your office address as the address of communication for your bank account and other money matters, do change it immediately. First, this deprives you of any important communication sent by your banker. Worse is when somebody, who is not supposed to access such information, can misuse it.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
10 careers that make employers look for you in 2009
10 careers that make employers look for you in 2009:
If you think looking for a job and finding a career are the same thing, think again. With the US unemployment rate under 5%, almost anybody can find a job.
The bad news is that many of these jobs are low-paying, come without benefits, or offer little in the way of security.
Finding a career where you have the upper hand takes a little more long-term planning than simply finding a job, but it will be well worth in the long run.
These ten careers--in four major job sectors--are likely to be rewarding because employees in these fields are expected to find themselves in an employee's market.
Healthcare workers are in high demand
Healthcare
For better or worse, you can't fight demographics, and those demographics show that the average American is getting older. Healthcare needs increase with age, so as the baby-boom generation enters retirement, healthcare workers are going to be in more demand than ever.
Personal/Home Health Aide:
As people age, healthcare becomes more of a day-to-day issue, which is why personal/home health aides are in such demand. Health aid training will give you enough background to get started in this field.
"Demand for medical assistance is gradually growing!"
Medical Assistants:
Demand for this occupation is growing, but so is the demand for formal training. You'd want to take some medical assisting courses in school--or even consider a medical assisting degree.
Psychologists are always in demand
Mental Health Counselors/Social Workers:
The psychological aspect of healthcare cannot be overlooked. Consistent with the theme of an aging America, Alzheimer's disease is creating more and more mental health challenges, but there are also conditions such as autism which are becoming more common in the general population.
Psychology programs are offered in many schools, and online psychology degrees are also available.
Programmers in IT sector
Information Technology
The big concern with information technology (IT) has been that some programming and customer support functions have been outsourced overseas. However, certain IT functions are more hands-on, and these are the areas where trained workers remain in demand.
Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts:
Mastery of the computer system makes you indispensable to an organization. This takes a high level of training, so a degree in information technology is a must. Experience plus training is even better, so if you are already working, consider earning an IT degree online.
Computer engineers are always in demand
Computer Software Applications Engineers:
Routine programming can be outsourced, but there will never be any substitute for the ability to create new, value-added applications.
A computer programming degree is a good start, or go online to check out other types of computer science degrees.
Teaching is the best option!
Education:
Teaching is another career that is hands-on enough to be immune to outsourcing.
Teacher:
Dedicated teachers are in demand in virtually every part of the country, and with the general population growing, this demand is not going to wane any time soon. You will need a degree in education, and an online teaching degree is one way of meeting this requirement. You'll need teacher's certification as well, so check your state department of education website.
Legal Assitants job is always secure!
Professional Services
The nature of these services is highly-individualized, which is one of the reasons trained professionals are in demand.
Paralegal/Legal Assistant:
These occupations are in demand because they can leverage the time of high-priced lawyers.
There are paralegal schools across the country and online where you can pursue a paralegal degree or legal assisting training.
Auditors job can always be safe!
Financial Services
The heart of the baby boom is entering its peak savings years. Careers in finance can be highly compensated, so an MBA in finance may be well worth the investment. An online finance degree can be a way to give your current career a new boost.
Accountants and Auditors:
These have some of the same characteristics as financial services careers. Training can be found at a variety of accounting schools, or consider an online accounting degree. Specialize in taxes or estate planning or fraud to attract even bigger opportunities.
Be an HR professional
With all the job demand described above, it should be no surprise that this is expected to be the fastest growing segment of the professional and business services sector. Plus, what better way to keep track of evolving employment trends than working as a recruiter or placement specialist? Consider earning a human resource management degree either online or at a traditional school.
As always, check out the relevant accreditation standards for any career training and educational program you choose. As for making that choice, the bottom line is, if you want a job where you'll be in demand, just look at society's trends and follow those trends toward your new career.
If you think looking for a job and finding a career are the same thing, think again. With the US unemployment rate under 5%, almost anybody can find a job.
The bad news is that many of these jobs are low-paying, come without benefits, or offer little in the way of security.
Finding a career where you have the upper hand takes a little more long-term planning than simply finding a job, but it will be well worth in the long run.
These ten careers--in four major job sectors--are likely to be rewarding because employees in these fields are expected to find themselves in an employee's market.
Healthcare workers are in high demand
Healthcare
For better or worse, you can't fight demographics, and those demographics show that the average American is getting older. Healthcare needs increase with age, so as the baby-boom generation enters retirement, healthcare workers are going to be in more demand than ever.
Personal/Home Health Aide:
As people age, healthcare becomes more of a day-to-day issue, which is why personal/home health aides are in such demand. Health aid training will give you enough background to get started in this field.
"Demand for medical assistance is gradually growing!"
Medical Assistants:
Demand for this occupation is growing, but so is the demand for formal training. You'd want to take some medical assisting courses in school--or even consider a medical assisting degree.
Psychologists are always in demand
Mental Health Counselors/Social Workers:
The psychological aspect of healthcare cannot be overlooked. Consistent with the theme of an aging America, Alzheimer's disease is creating more and more mental health challenges, but there are also conditions such as autism which are becoming more common in the general population.
Psychology programs are offered in many schools, and online psychology degrees are also available.
Programmers in IT sector
Information Technology
The big concern with information technology (IT) has been that some programming and customer support functions have been outsourced overseas. However, certain IT functions are more hands-on, and these are the areas where trained workers remain in demand.
Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts:
Mastery of the computer system makes you indispensable to an organization. This takes a high level of training, so a degree in information technology is a must. Experience plus training is even better, so if you are already working, consider earning an IT degree online.
Computer engineers are always in demand
Computer Software Applications Engineers:
Routine programming can be outsourced, but there will never be any substitute for the ability to create new, value-added applications.
A computer programming degree is a good start, or go online to check out other types of computer science degrees.
Teaching is the best option!
Education:
Teaching is another career that is hands-on enough to be immune to outsourcing.
Teacher:
Dedicated teachers are in demand in virtually every part of the country, and with the general population growing, this demand is not going to wane any time soon. You will need a degree in education, and an online teaching degree is one way of meeting this requirement. You'll need teacher's certification as well, so check your state department of education website.
Legal Assitants job is always secure!
Professional Services
The nature of these services is highly-individualized, which is one of the reasons trained professionals are in demand.
Paralegal/Legal Assistant:
These occupations are in demand because they can leverage the time of high-priced lawyers.
There are paralegal schools across the country and online where you can pursue a paralegal degree or legal assisting training.
Auditors job can always be safe!
Financial Services
The heart of the baby boom is entering its peak savings years. Careers in finance can be highly compensated, so an MBA in finance may be well worth the investment. An online finance degree can be a way to give your current career a new boost.
Accountants and Auditors:
These have some of the same characteristics as financial services careers. Training can be found at a variety of accounting schools, or consider an online accounting degree. Specialize in taxes or estate planning or fraud to attract even bigger opportunities.
Be an HR professional
With all the job demand described above, it should be no surprise that this is expected to be the fastest growing segment of the professional and business services sector. Plus, what better way to keep track of evolving employment trends than working as a recruiter or placement specialist? Consider earning a human resource management degree either online or at a traditional school.
As always, check out the relevant accreditation standards for any career training and educational program you choose. As for making that choice, the bottom line is, if you want a job where you'll be in demand, just look at society's trends and follow those trends toward your new career.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
What is a "headhunter" or "recruiter"?
Job Headhunters And Recruiters
What is a "headhunter" or "recruiter"?
A headhunter is actually a professional placement specialist or executive recruiter. What they do is they get a request, typically from a client company, and the company will say, "We're looking for an executive or a professional who can do XYZ. Please help us find this individual." The executive recruiter at that point will either go into their database of candidates and/or they will actually recruit or headhunt at other companies to find the most appropriate individual or individuals they can introduce to their client company, and hopefully get them placed.
How does a headhunter or recruiter get paid?
Typically a headhunting company will be paid by the client company, and that's always the way that you want to go if you're an applicant. So if you are thinking of using an executive recruiter or headhunting firm to help you with your job hunt, be sure to ask them, "Are you employer paid or are you applicant paid?" And the most reputable headhunting firms are going to be company paid.
What are guidelines for working with a headhunter or recruiter?
With job headhunters and recruiters, the most important thing to remember about working with a headhunter is that they are in the business of sales. Headhunters make their money by every placement that they make. Most reputable executive recruiting companies are the ones who have good relationships with high quality client companies and who are looking to recruit top level people. Therefore it's very, very important when you're interviewing with those types of companies to find out what their track record is and what types of companies they typically work with. Do they have areas of specialization that they place? It is very important because obviously if you're in accounting, you don't want to be recruited to be working with an executive recruiting company who places people in the healthcare field. So you must ask recruiters a lot of questions.
What are guidelines for working with a headhunter or recruiter?
A good head-hunter or executive recruiter is going to spend the time to really get to know you and what your needs, goals and objectives are; not just for the short term, but also for your long term career plans. The last thing that an executive recruiter wants to do is place a candidate with the client company (remember that the client company is the one paying the bill) and then have one or both parties be unhappy after a few months. They are really looking for that long term win-win relationship, between the candidate and the client company. So, if you paint a very honest picture for the recruiter you're working with, he or she can then take that picture of you to the client company and that's going to ensure that long term success for you.
How do I find a headhunter?
With job headhunters and recruiters, the best way to find a really good headhunter is through referral. Find some other people who have worked with a headhunter and get the name of the specific recruiter that they have worked with. Additionally, you can also call around to other employment agencies and find out what types of relationships they might have with executive recruiters. Certainly you can go to the internet but you might not always get an honest picture of who this company is going to be, so your best bet is to contact recruiters armed with a lot of questions. And be sure that those recruiters answer your questions to your satisfaction.
-------------------------------------
What is a "headhunter" or "recruiter"?
A headhunter is actually a professional placement specialist or executive recruiter. What they do is they get a request, typically from a client company, and the company will say, "We're looking for an executive or a professional who can do XYZ. Please help us find this individual." The executive recruiter at that point will either go into their database of candidates and/or they will actually recruit or headhunt at other companies to find the most appropriate individual or individuals they can introduce to their client company, and hopefully get them placed.
How does a headhunter or recruiter get paid?
Typically a headhunting company will be paid by the client company, and that's always the way that you want to go if you're an applicant. So if you are thinking of using an executive recruiter or headhunting firm to help you with your job hunt, be sure to ask them, "Are you employer paid or are you applicant paid?" And the most reputable headhunting firms are going to be company paid.
What are guidelines for working with a headhunter or recruiter?
With job headhunters and recruiters, the most important thing to remember about working with a headhunter is that they are in the business of sales. Headhunters make their money by every placement that they make. Most reputable executive recruiting companies are the ones who have good relationships with high quality client companies and who are looking to recruit top level people. Therefore it's very, very important when you're interviewing with those types of companies to find out what their track record is and what types of companies they typically work with. Do they have areas of specialization that they place? It is very important because obviously if you're in accounting, you don't want to be recruited to be working with an executive recruiting company who places people in the healthcare field. So you must ask recruiters a lot of questions.
What are guidelines for working with a headhunter or recruiter?
A good head-hunter or executive recruiter is going to spend the time to really get to know you and what your needs, goals and objectives are; not just for the short term, but also for your long term career plans. The last thing that an executive recruiter wants to do is place a candidate with the client company (remember that the client company is the one paying the bill) and then have one or both parties be unhappy after a few months. They are really looking for that long term win-win relationship, between the candidate and the client company. So, if you paint a very honest picture for the recruiter you're working with, he or she can then take that picture of you to the client company and that's going to ensure that long term success for you.
How do I find a headhunter?
With job headhunters and recruiters, the best way to find a really good headhunter is through referral. Find some other people who have worked with a headhunter and get the name of the specific recruiter that they have worked with. Additionally, you can also call around to other employment agencies and find out what types of relationships they might have with executive recruiters. Certainly you can go to the internet but you might not always get an honest picture of who this company is going to be, so your best bet is to contact recruiters armed with a lot of questions. And be sure that those recruiters answer your questions to your satisfaction.
-------------------------------------
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Know Why Recruiters Are Worth What They Charge !!
>>>
“When I need a heart by-pass, rest assured that I won’t select my surgeon on the basis of what he charges.”
That’s what an ailing executive recently opined when he was informed by his doctor about his arterial blockage problems.
Why then are corporate executives so tightfisted when dealing with what is so commonly thought of as the “heartbeat” of their companies . . . top-talent?
Companies think very little about paying the often excessive fees charged by their outside accounting and legal firms . . . or even to the gaggle of consultants who promise cost-cutting and streamlining miracles in other areas of operations.
Yet, when faced with brain drains, talent deficiencies or the need to replace one employee with a better one, their thoughts too often turn to parsimony. This K-mart mentality belies and contradicts their stated objectives to “hire the best,” especially at pecking order levels below the “big picture” executive suite inhabitants.
Of course recruiting fees can vary from firm to firm but, when they do, you will almost always find that those on the low side are sure to exclude some very key ingredients of the process, all of which are vital to providing the indispensable services necessary to satisfy the needs of the employer.
So why are recruiters worth what they charge? Just a few of the often unspoken reasons are:
Expertise - Nobody knows the employment marketplace better than a professional recruiter . . . nobody! In-house human resourcers, no matter how effective, view the marketplace through an imperfect or misrepresentative prism and tunnel vision is their occupational hazard.
Just as physicians are cautioned against treating members of their own families, so too is it folly for an in-house H/R professional to believe that they have an undistorted and unbiased picture of the employment landscape. They are vulnerable to the pressures of internal politics and cultural dimensions which do not hinder the outsider.
Street-smart recruiters already know the neighborhood, including the unlisted addresses so often overlooked by the insiders.
Cast a wider net - A professional fisherman will always have more to show than a weekend angler. Recruiters are in the marketplace day in and day out. They know the unfished coves, reefs and inlets that are unknown to others. The job-hunter bookshelves are filled with lore about the “hidden job market.” The same holds true for professional recruiters who have a detailed roadmap to the hidden talent sources which will never be accessed by newspaper ads, alumni associations, applicant databases, job boards or any of the other more familiar sources of people.
There are occasional pearls through these sources (and someone inevitably wins the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes too) but you have to shuck an awful lot of smelly oysters to find them. Recruiters only give you oysters proven to contain pearls. Your only job is to determine which pearl is the best.
Want to catch what you’re fishing for? Hire a guide!
Cost - There is a misconception among employers that the cost of a hire equals the cost of the ads or Internet postings run to attract the person hired. Nothing could be further from reality.
Try adding these to the true cost and you’ll see just how cost effective an outside recruiter can be:
Salaries and benefits of the employment/recruiting staffs plus those of the line managers involved in the hiring activity (who are not productive in their normal job pursuits when they’re out recruiting); travel, lodging and entertainment expenses of in-house recruiters; source development costs; overhead expenses including but not limited to telephone, office space, postage, PR literature, applicant database maintenance, reference checking, clerical costs to correspond with the hundreds of unqualified respondents, etc.
Unbiased third party input - Contrary to what some believe, recruiters don’t try to put square pegs into round holes. A recruiter’s stock-in-trade is their integrity and their reputation for finding someone better than a company could have found for themselves.
For a mid to senior-level executive, the average recruiter may develop a “long list” of a hundred or more possibilities. Each must be called and evaluated against the position specifications as well as the personality “fit” with the company and the people with whom they will ultimately work. Once this is winnowed down to the “short list,” an even more intensive interviewing process begins to narrow the search to a panel of finalists for review by the client.
This process is not, as some believe, simply romping through the file cabinets, harvesting from the Monster lookalikes or putting the job opening out to others on the recruiter’s network with crossed fingers that someone good will show up.
It is highly unlikely that a professional recruiter will be plowing new ground with your opening. They deal within spheres of influence far more familiar with your needs than any internal recruiter and, more often than not, view the finalists as people who are competent to solve client problems rather than just fill an open slot in the organizational chart.
Because they want to do business with you again and again, they are looking for (and challenging you to excellence by hiring) the “truly exceptional” rather than the “just satisfactory” so often settled for by in-house hirers.
Confidentiality - Advertising or otherwise publicly proclaiming an opening, aside from its cost and demonstrated ineffectiveness for sensitive senior level openings, often creates anxiety and apprehension among the advertiser’s current employees who wonder why they aren’t being considered or worry about newcomer transition problems. Just as often it alerts competitors to a current weakness or void within the company.
Speed - The recruiting process is always faster through a search professional who is continually tapped into the talent marketplace than one having to start the process from scratch. For every day that a key opening remains unfilled, a company’s other employees must grudgingly do double duty. And this doesn’t factor in the profit opportunities or competitive advantages lost to a company because a position remains unfilled or is done on a part-time basis by others less qualified.
Post-Hire Downtime - Not only is speed an essential part of the professional recruiter’s process, the ability to locate a person who can immediately “hit the ground running” with a minimum of “ramp-up time” saves time after the hire. All too often, a hire selected through less effective sources offering a smaller talent pool requires several months of expensive training and orientation.
Reality - Professional recruiters often recognize and have a duty to inform clients that they may be mistaken as to the type of person sought, the salary required to attract them or the possibilities that the solution might just lie in areas outside the traditional target industries . . . something an internal recruiter is politically disinclined to do. Too many hirers fail to understand that a professional recruiter’s primary function is not necessary to fill a slot but to provide the right candidate to solve a problem.
Negotiation - As Master negotiator Herb Cohen had says that, “negotiation is the analysis of information, time and power to affect behavior . . . the meeting of needs (yours and others’) to make things happen the way you want them to.” As a buffer and informed intermediary, the professional recruiter is better able to blend the needs and wants of both parties to arrive at a mutually beneficial arrangement without the polarizing roadblocks which too frequently materialize in face-to-face dealings.
Prioritizing company resources - It is often amazing to see how much of a company’s revenues are squandered on non-productive perks for existing high-level employees while they penny-pinch on what is every company’s lifeblood . . . talent acquisition.
Club memberships and the like may be fine, but no one with an IQ higher than Forrest Gump’s believes that these expenditures substantially contribute to a company’s profit margin. But one well-placed employee can be the cause of a company’s profits skyrocketing. And the fee for having hired these people pales to insignificance when compared to the contributions they make to the bottom line.
The next time you think a recruiter’s fees are too high, put them in the proper perspective before asking for that Blue Light special or spinning your wheels thrashing about trying to fill vital openings with less effective (but not necessarily less expensive) pedestrian methods. Savvy executives learned long ago that the fee paid to a recruiter is a shrewd strategic investment, not an extraneous expense. They also know that the “best” is far different from the “best available.”
Once you have a handle on these ?closes’ you’ll have a much better chance of turning a prospect into a paying client.
Courtesy: Fordyce Letter
I find this wonderful article (by Paul Hawkinson) and thought to share it with u all.
Thanks!!!
“When I need a heart by-pass, rest assured that I won’t select my surgeon on the basis of what he charges.”
That’s what an ailing executive recently opined when he was informed by his doctor about his arterial blockage problems.
Why then are corporate executives so tightfisted when dealing with what is so commonly thought of as the “heartbeat” of their companies . . . top-talent?
Companies think very little about paying the often excessive fees charged by their outside accounting and legal firms . . . or even to the gaggle of consultants who promise cost-cutting and streamlining miracles in other areas of operations.
Yet, when faced with brain drains, talent deficiencies or the need to replace one employee with a better one, their thoughts too often turn to parsimony. This K-mart mentality belies and contradicts their stated objectives to “hire the best,” especially at pecking order levels below the “big picture” executive suite inhabitants.
Of course recruiting fees can vary from firm to firm but, when they do, you will almost always find that those on the low side are sure to exclude some very key ingredients of the process, all of which are vital to providing the indispensable services necessary to satisfy the needs of the employer.
So why are recruiters worth what they charge? Just a few of the often unspoken reasons are:
Expertise - Nobody knows the employment marketplace better than a professional recruiter . . . nobody! In-house human resourcers, no matter how effective, view the marketplace through an imperfect or misrepresentative prism and tunnel vision is their occupational hazard.
Just as physicians are cautioned against treating members of their own families, so too is it folly for an in-house H/R professional to believe that they have an undistorted and unbiased picture of the employment landscape. They are vulnerable to the pressures of internal politics and cultural dimensions which do not hinder the outsider.
Street-smart recruiters already know the neighborhood, including the unlisted addresses so often overlooked by the insiders.
Cast a wider net - A professional fisherman will always have more to show than a weekend angler. Recruiters are in the marketplace day in and day out. They know the unfished coves, reefs and inlets that are unknown to others. The job-hunter bookshelves are filled with lore about the “hidden job market.” The same holds true for professional recruiters who have a detailed roadmap to the hidden talent sources which will never be accessed by newspaper ads, alumni associations, applicant databases, job boards or any of the other more familiar sources of people.
There are occasional pearls through these sources (and someone inevitably wins the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes too) but you have to shuck an awful lot of smelly oysters to find them. Recruiters only give you oysters proven to contain pearls. Your only job is to determine which pearl is the best.
Want to catch what you’re fishing for? Hire a guide!
Cost - There is a misconception among employers that the cost of a hire equals the cost of the ads or Internet postings run to attract the person hired. Nothing could be further from reality.
Try adding these to the true cost and you’ll see just how cost effective an outside recruiter can be:
Salaries and benefits of the employment/recruiting staffs plus those of the line managers involved in the hiring activity (who are not productive in their normal job pursuits when they’re out recruiting); travel, lodging and entertainment expenses of in-house recruiters; source development costs; overhead expenses including but not limited to telephone, office space, postage, PR literature, applicant database maintenance, reference checking, clerical costs to correspond with the hundreds of unqualified respondents, etc.
Unbiased third party input - Contrary to what some believe, recruiters don’t try to put square pegs into round holes. A recruiter’s stock-in-trade is their integrity and their reputation for finding someone better than a company could have found for themselves.
For a mid to senior-level executive, the average recruiter may develop a “long list” of a hundred or more possibilities. Each must be called and evaluated against the position specifications as well as the personality “fit” with the company and the people with whom they will ultimately work. Once this is winnowed down to the “short list,” an even more intensive interviewing process begins to narrow the search to a panel of finalists for review by the client.
This process is not, as some believe, simply romping through the file cabinets, harvesting from the Monster lookalikes or putting the job opening out to others on the recruiter’s network with crossed fingers that someone good will show up.
It is highly unlikely that a professional recruiter will be plowing new ground with your opening. They deal within spheres of influence far more familiar with your needs than any internal recruiter and, more often than not, view the finalists as people who are competent to solve client problems rather than just fill an open slot in the organizational chart.
Because they want to do business with you again and again, they are looking for (and challenging you to excellence by hiring) the “truly exceptional” rather than the “just satisfactory” so often settled for by in-house hirers.
Confidentiality - Advertising or otherwise publicly proclaiming an opening, aside from its cost and demonstrated ineffectiveness for sensitive senior level openings, often creates anxiety and apprehension among the advertiser’s current employees who wonder why they aren’t being considered or worry about newcomer transition problems. Just as often it alerts competitors to a current weakness or void within the company.
Speed - The recruiting process is always faster through a search professional who is continually tapped into the talent marketplace than one having to start the process from scratch. For every day that a key opening remains unfilled, a company’s other employees must grudgingly do double duty. And this doesn’t factor in the profit opportunities or competitive advantages lost to a company because a position remains unfilled or is done on a part-time basis by others less qualified.
Post-Hire Downtime - Not only is speed an essential part of the professional recruiter’s process, the ability to locate a person who can immediately “hit the ground running” with a minimum of “ramp-up time” saves time after the hire. All too often, a hire selected through less effective sources offering a smaller talent pool requires several months of expensive training and orientation.
Reality - Professional recruiters often recognize and have a duty to inform clients that they may be mistaken as to the type of person sought, the salary required to attract them or the possibilities that the solution might just lie in areas outside the traditional target industries . . . something an internal recruiter is politically disinclined to do. Too many hirers fail to understand that a professional recruiter’s primary function is not necessary to fill a slot but to provide the right candidate to solve a problem.
Negotiation - As Master negotiator Herb Cohen had says that, “negotiation is the analysis of information, time and power to affect behavior . . . the meeting of needs (yours and others’) to make things happen the way you want them to.” As a buffer and informed intermediary, the professional recruiter is better able to blend the needs and wants of both parties to arrive at a mutually beneficial arrangement without the polarizing roadblocks which too frequently materialize in face-to-face dealings.
Prioritizing company resources - It is often amazing to see how much of a company’s revenues are squandered on non-productive perks for existing high-level employees while they penny-pinch on what is every company’s lifeblood . . . talent acquisition.
Club memberships and the like may be fine, but no one with an IQ higher than Forrest Gump’s believes that these expenditures substantially contribute to a company’s profit margin. But one well-placed employee can be the cause of a company’s profits skyrocketing. And the fee for having hired these people pales to insignificance when compared to the contributions they make to the bottom line.
The next time you think a recruiter’s fees are too high, put them in the proper perspective before asking for that Blue Light special or spinning your wheels thrashing about trying to fill vital openings with less effective (but not necessarily less expensive) pedestrian methods. Savvy executives learned long ago that the fee paid to a recruiter is a shrewd strategic investment, not an extraneous expense. They also know that the “best” is far different from the “best available.”
Once you have a handle on these ?closes’ you’ll have a much better chance of turning a prospect into a paying client.
Courtesy: Fordyce Letter
I find this wonderful article (by Paul Hawkinson) and thought to share it with u all.
Thanks!!!
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