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.
Showing posts with label Talent Source. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Talent Source. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
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!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
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.
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.
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!!!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Honing Talent
Retail wants employees with the right soft skills
Sanjay Jog, HR head, Pantaloon Retail
“ Recruitment is no problem. The problem is the necessary attitude.”
The cash registers are ringing, but it’s har-dly music to the man behind the counter. The annual entry-level median salary in the sector ranges from Rs 1.5 lakh in the South to Rs 3.11 lakh in the North. If we count out the salaries in the North, the entry-level median salary in the sector is the lowests among all the 12 sectors in the survey. The wide variance between the South and the North can be attributed to the higher number of lifestyle stores in the North where front-end employees need more spit and polish, and, hence, are paid higher.
As in manufacturing, 80 per cent of the employees in retail work on the front-end and get paid low salaries. The sector is considered the last refuge of the unemployed, since a high educational qualification is not a necessary precondition; in fact, most of the employees currently in retail are not graduates.
Recruitment is not a problem for the sector; most of the brands in the sector are well known, so walk-in interviews are the norm. “Recruitment is no problem,” says Sanjay Jog, chief people officer at Pantaloon Retail. “We get enough people. The problem is the attitude which is a necessary thing in a service industry like ours.” Employees require rigorous training, particularly in soft skills, given their poor education and low socio-economic background. This creates some unique problems for the companies. “Most of the employees in the sector come from a lower socio-economic background, and their encounter with consumption economy creates a problem of self-esteem,” says the human resources (HR) head of a large retail group.
Since most companies in the sector are doubling their employee strength every year, training becomes a key HR operation in a company. As retail is a new industry, it is investing a fair amount to provide diplomas and degrees in retail management to its management staff.
For retail, expansion is an opportunity as well as a challenge. Currently, a substantial part of the revenues of the retail chains is coming from the top 10 cities, but they are slowly and steadily moving towards tier II and tier III towns. Here they will face a new challenge of training their employees. Companies also have to recruit employees from the local community, as they want their employees to reflect the language skills of the community being served by the stores.
The sector is generous with its benefits but it does not provide stock options across all levels, nor does it provide leave travel allowance or house rent across the industry.
Sanjay Jog, HR head, Pantaloon Retail
“ Recruitment is no problem. The problem is the necessary attitude.”
The cash registers are ringing, but it’s har-dly music to the man behind the counter. The annual entry-level median salary in the sector ranges from Rs 1.5 lakh in the South to Rs 3.11 lakh in the North. If we count out the salaries in the North, the entry-level median salary in the sector is the lowests among all the 12 sectors in the survey. The wide variance between the South and the North can be attributed to the higher number of lifestyle stores in the North where front-end employees need more spit and polish, and, hence, are paid higher.
As in manufacturing, 80 per cent of the employees in retail work on the front-end and get paid low salaries. The sector is considered the last refuge of the unemployed, since a high educational qualification is not a necessary precondition; in fact, most of the employees currently in retail are not graduates.
Recruitment is not a problem for the sector; most of the brands in the sector are well known, so walk-in interviews are the norm. “Recruitment is no problem,” says Sanjay Jog, chief people officer at Pantaloon Retail. “We get enough people. The problem is the attitude which is a necessary thing in a service industry like ours.” Employees require rigorous training, particularly in soft skills, given their poor education and low socio-economic background. This creates some unique problems for the companies. “Most of the employees in the sector come from a lower socio-economic background, and their encounter with consumption economy creates a problem of self-esteem,” says the human resources (HR) head of a large retail group.
Since most companies in the sector are doubling their employee strength every year, training becomes a key HR operation in a company. As retail is a new industry, it is investing a fair amount to provide diplomas and degrees in retail management to its management staff.
For retail, expansion is an opportunity as well as a challenge. Currently, a substantial part of the revenues of the retail chains is coming from the top 10 cities, but they are slowly and steadily moving towards tier II and tier III towns. Here they will face a new challenge of training their employees. Companies also have to recruit employees from the local community, as they want their employees to reflect the language skills of the community being served by the stores.
The sector is generous with its benefits but it does not provide stock options across all levels, nor does it provide leave travel allowance or house rent across the industry.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
How to attract top talent…and keep it!
How to attract top talent…and keep it!
As a recruiter I have seen plenty of great creative agencies in a bind searching for top-notch talent, and not being able to keep them. What gives??????
The issue might be in the entrance interviews where all the bells and whistles are released. Potential employees know there is more than just a list of prestigious awards, a fun culture, and great accounts. Many candidates really are smart enough to look beyond the first 6 months, and want to know what an advertising agency can offer them down the road.
Among the most important aspects is that of great leadership, which will in-turn produce great leaders. Candidates want a great mentor who can discuss their career path in complete honesty and with genuine interest. As it turns out, the quality of leadership at any company, both within the advertising industry and beyond is a make or break quality for candidates.
Don’t shy away from long-term goals and take a potential employee as seriously as they are taking you. Respect is a two way street and its much easier to keep candidates than it is to continuously cycle through them.
As a recruiter I have seen plenty of great creative agencies in a bind searching for top-notch talent, and not being able to keep them. What gives??????
The issue might be in the entrance interviews where all the bells and whistles are released. Potential employees know there is more than just a list of prestigious awards, a fun culture, and great accounts. Many candidates really are smart enough to look beyond the first 6 months, and want to know what an advertising agency can offer them down the road.
Among the most important aspects is that of great leadership, which will in-turn produce great leaders. Candidates want a great mentor who can discuss their career path in complete honesty and with genuine interest. As it turns out, the quality of leadership at any company, both within the advertising industry and beyond is a make or break quality for candidates.
Don’t shy away from long-term goals and take a potential employee as seriously as they are taking you. Respect is a two way street and its much easier to keep candidates than it is to continuously cycle through them.
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