I Can't Take It Anymore!

"Invaluable Resource"

How many times have I heard from a recently displaced executive, "I wish I had taken all those Headhunter calls over the years.  I would have a built-in network and wouldn't be starting from scratch now that I need them"?

The facts are simple: It's to your benefit to have relationships with good executive recruiters.  If you are in a management position, a good recruiter will demonstrate value and trust in order to win your business. The recruiter's presence in your life can shine light on obstacles and can offer staffing solutions if you involve ( I didn't say ENGAGE) that person.  In a like manner if you are in a management position but it is your own career that is of immediate concern, the recruiter who is already "part of your life", will be an invaluable resource!

Is there anybody out there who buys your favorite headhunter a cup of coffee even if you are not giving him business or looking for a job?  Let me know who you are because you and that coffee treat are certainly not the everyday JOE?

Its all about the FIT.

Remember President Clinton's #1 and his now classic, "It's all about the economy stupid"  Well there is a similar mantra in executive recruiting that many don't get, "its all about FIT stupid"  Beautiful shoes are worthless if they don't FIT That great outfit in a store window doesn't look so good if you try it on and it doesn't FIT A little too much stuff in your carry-on and the airline makes you check the bag because it doesn't FIT A resume viewed on a job board Is nothing more than those pretty shoes or that good looking outfit.  A retained recruiter who knows his client and understands the culture is the difference between FIT and Unfit!  Remember if it's pretty and doesn't FIT you wasted your money.

Recruiting and Executive Job Hunting.

Follow-Up is a very important part of recruiting and executive job hunting.  I'm always hearing about the lack of follow-up on the part of recruiters as they handle candidates and on the part of internal talent teams who usually don't do as good a job as Executive Recruiters.  Anxious candidates usually do too much of it and busy recruitment professionals usually forget that follow up reflects on their own work their company and those who they represent

"YOU MUST NOT COMPROMISE!"

I can't tell you how many times clients list their "Musts" when I begin a search and by the way that's a good thing because there's nothing better than a focused client.  But how do you transmit "Musts" to a job board!

Must be employed!

Must have a personality

Must have a good reason for being available and unemployed Must fit with our culture.

There aren't enough KEYWORDS in the universe to do this properly! Funny, how saving a few bucks on a search eliminates the MUSTS.  At the end of the day, you just need one MUST to hire a great candidate!

YOU MUST NOT COMPROMISE!

Let's do some networking.

If Robinson Crusoe came back from a long respite on a desert island and he were to return as the Human Resource Person responsible for recruiting executives, I think his first day would go something like this!  "Well folks since we have 3 important positions to fill, let's do some networking, look internally and call our best executive search firms and let's get going.  And by the way NO NEWSPAPER advertising...at the executive level it rarely works, takes a lot of time and it’s an endless use of time to go through all those off-spec resumes!  His entire staff responded in unison!  "Oh you've been gone to long!  We don't use newspapers anymore Job Boards do exactly the same thing as newspapers and you get even more resumes"

"Shady"

Job Boards have an intrinsic conflict of interest.  Many if not most, charge the candidate to post the resume and then they charge the recruiter (in house or otherwise) to view the resume or post the job!  As a recruiter, if I charged the candidate to show their resume to my client I would show up every time someone searched on the Keyword. "Shady"!

 

Job Boards are like White Bread.

I've often wondered what the world would be like if we could eliminate the things in our lives that were really useless:  If White Bread were eliminated people would be forced to use a more nutritious alternative for their sandwich.  If cars that gave 10 miles to the gallon were eliminated people would be forced to use autos that were more fuel efficient.  If "Cliff Notes" were eliminated my kid in college would have no option but to actually read the book that was assigned.  If Job Boards were eliminated people might have to really concentrate on how to look for a job, get a job and fill a job!  Job boards are like White Bread...you think its filling something but the ingredients are no damn good!

Recognizing the Job Board.

A client of mine was recently tempted to try to fill a job on a very reputable and recognizable Job Board....the Board advertises itself based on price, quality of candidates, speed and variety of disciplines and management levels of the candidates.  My client found out that the Board's claims were all true!  A posting was put up on Monday morning for a Vice President of Finance requiring the following MUSTS: 

Must live in the Chicago land area.

Must work in the Food Industry

Must be at a Vice President level in their last position

Must be willing to travel.

WITHIN 3 DAYS THE CLIENT HAD 1,730 responses!!!Here's a sample of some of the better ones.

1) I don't really know what you consider Chicago land but I live in Philadelphia and will move

2) I am your perfect candidate having spent 17 years in the automotive industry, the only industry, I've ever worked in!

3) I am very happy and secure in my job but I've been a Director for 4 years and I'm ready to become a VP

4) I work in Marketing but your company sounds so right a fit for me that I thought I should respond to this Finance job and maybe you will pass it on to the marketing department, I am a wonderful employee and can only think of one personal negative, I have a fear of flying!

On Friday of the same week my client sent me the other 1,726 resumes, gave me the search and added a little note, "I don't think these resumes will have our candidate but maybe you can use them for another search"!

The Job Board delivered on their advertised promise they just didn't deliver the candidate!

Insanity

We all know that old definition of insanity...doing the same thing and expecting different results..

Funny, how this applies to the hiring process.

So many responsible for hiring, will do exactly what they've always been doing even though the process was a failure.  Stop posting on the Job Boards that yielded the failed candidates, stop using the recruiter who didn't turn up a superstar...if you do it once and it didn't work why would you do the same thing again...some think the mistake was a fluke I think the fluke is the mistake.