5 ways to maximize your recruiting efforts

Simply put, your job is to hire people. But for you to do your job well means you have to hire the right person for the right job. This is where your job gets difficult. Oftentimes, the people that respond to your posting in a newspaper or online aren’t the ideal candidates. These people are cold calling a million other places and put little thought into where they’re actually applying. You need to find the person for the job you’re filling; the right person isn’t going to find you. Consider these five tips on better recruiting:

1. Extend your network. This is a common adage for the job seeker, but it works just as well for the employer. Contact local colleges and universities and speak with their career counselors. This is a great way to tap into a talent pool of young, educated, and eager people just hitting the job market. Career counselors know what type of candidates they have through interviews and are usually excellent judges of talent.

2. Look in-house. If you have a position you need to fill, who better to turn to than someone who already knows what you’re looking? Before advertising a job listing to the public do so internally. A current employee looking to advance in the company will know how the system works and will be more easily trained. It also builds employee morale when you hire within because it makes current employees feel valuable.

3. Look for experience. This sounds like a no-brainer, right? But going for someone who simply graduated from a top college doesn’t always translate into success. Look for people that have performed a similar job to the one you’re looking to fill and have done so successfully. This will make the transition easier and they’ll already know the professional landscape.

4. Advertise your benefits. Given the current economic landscape prospective employees want to know what you’ll give them beyond salary. Sure a competitive salary is crucial, but if you offer comprehensive healthcare then let it be known. Have a free health club? Have a great retirement plan? Sell it.

5. Tap your employee’s networks. Your employees know what type of person fits in the company and they can cut down some of the sifting through of resumes if you ask for their help. Offer a referral bonus and you’ll see your employees step up to the plate with viable candidates. They won’t risk putting forward a candidate if it’s going to reflect badly on them.

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who is an industry critic on the subject of how to become a nurse. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.

Lost Messages, Lost Opportunities

A Recruiter Shares Some Job Search Tips
As a third party recruiter and headhunter it is one of our obligations to our client, the employer, not only to locate and pre-screen qualified candidates but to assess their interest levels and follow-up skills. The reality is that the recruiter  becomes an extension of the client, closely following and professionally scrutinizing the actions of the candidates we represent–prior to and during the course of all interview activity.
If a recruiter places a call to set up interview with a prospective candidate and does not hear back within a reasonable time, the recruiter may assume the candidate either has lost interest or has poor follow-up skills. Since the bulk of our recruiting centers on sales and sales management it is expected that a job seeker will sell themselves to an employer during the interview process.Timely follow-up to phone calls, emails, faxes, and letters is critical. Unfortunately, unforeseen communication problems can derail a job seeker’s interview process and send the wrong message to both recruiters and employers.

Not too long ago I had two final candidates interview for a regional sales management position.We were near the final stages of the interview and our client called at the end of the day, a Friday, to schedule a flight early Monday.I called the candidate and left a voicemail on Friday night. I called again Saturday and left a message with a family member. By late Saturday I believed that he had lost interest.He had apparently never received either of the messages I had left for him. By the time he called me two days later another candidate was placed in that position. His unintentional lack of follow-up cost him a great opportunity. 

Job seekers must ensure that the contact information they provide on their resume is reliable. Your resume should be updated regularly.In response to one of our postings this week, one of our recruiters received a resume from a job seeker who had a disconnected phone number listed in the resume.The telephone is still a crucial part of the recruitment process; there have been other cases in which individuals are on the phone when we call, do not answer call waiting and allow the phone to continue to ring. Remember–if someone can’t leave a message for you, then they cannot offer you an interview or a position.
So how can a job seeker be better prepared if they believe that they are at risk of missing opportunities like some of the people I just mentioned?I have located a few Web sites that may provide solutions for the above-mentioned scenarios. Still, they should be used in conjunction with traditional communication services.There are many companies that provide free email services, but sites like uReach.com provide users with a simplified communications service including free email, voicemail, and fax services. Users can receive a free toll-free phone number that allows customized greetings and lets callers leave voicemail messages in the subscriber’s email inbox. Users can then either sign in online or call in and retrieve these messages remotely just as they might with their home answering machines. How simple and convenient! You can also activate the call forwarding feature that allows the toll free number to ring on any phone you desire. Web sites offering similar services are constantly emerging but some of our favorite picks are uReach.com, OneBox.com, One Red Cube, and Yahoo! By Phone. 

Communication is key, and the way you interact with recruiters and potential employers speaks volumes about you as a professional. If you are serious about your job search, don’t let small details derail your efforts.

 

Mark Yawitz
President, Search 180

Mark Yawitz is the CEO of Search 180, a Phoenix based executive search firm specializing in the placement of mid-senior level executives throughout the Internet and Technology industries. To contact mark you can email mark@search180.com or stop by the Search 180 websites http://www.search180.com