Comments on: The Hiring Manager’s Guide to Working With Recruiters http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/ Recruiting intelligence. Recruiting community. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:18:04 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Lona Dion http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/comment-page-1/#comment-1556 Lona Dion Mon, 10 Apr 2006 07:37:00 +0000 http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/#comment-1556 Hi Howard, Great article! I like that you took a pro-active approach in putting together a letter for the hiring managers. This not only establishes your role as a 'team', but clearly explains 'why' you need what you need from THEM! I find that putting things in writing is smart. I think most people appreciate PROCESSES and I have found that most people respond better than one might expect. There are a lot of 'unspoken' fears associated with many account executives in handling account teams. These unspoken fears seem to provoke the very thing they fear the most...a break down in the communication of expectations all around that effects the bottom line...getting a qualified candidate HIRED. This of course, puts the account in danger...their greatest fear! Your approach lets clients know that you have a process, establishes you as a professional, and clearly asks your clients to assist you in producing the results they hired you for in the first place. Early in my career I had a boss who taught me to never be affraid to fire an account that wasn't working with me. In fact, I wasn't permitted to release a position to the recruiting team until I had every little piece of information required. The basics of recruiting are still the basics, even when things are so fast moving and competitive. In fact, these are the very things that can keep you ahead of the pack. I also like that you point out how important it is for the clients to SELL their company! So many hiring managers are so busy being selective about what they want, they fail to consider what the candidate may be looking for. I do consider this to be the job of the recruiter to uncover this and relay it to the hiring managers, but the hiring managers need to be responsive to what a recruiter has to say. This is why I like your bullet that refers to asking them to communicate with you quickly. I haven't read the article yet that you referred to (I will!), but I do believe if more recruiters would simply ask at what point (salary-wise) the candidate would walk away from a potential offer, and keep them 'warm & fuzzy' daily during the process, it would help. So many factors interfere with this in the real world, like simply moving on to the next position needing coverage, which we are all too familiar with. Thanks again for a great article! I will look for more from you! Hi Howard,

Great article!

I like that you took a pro-active approach in putting together a letter for the hiring managers. This not only establishes your role as a ‘team’, but clearly explains ‘why’ you need what you need from THEM! I find that putting things in writing is smart. I think most people appreciate PROCESSES and I have found that most people respond better than one might expect. There are a lot of ‘unspoken’ fears associated with many account executives in handling account teams. These unspoken fears seem to provoke the very thing they fear the most…a break down in the communication of expectations all around that effects the bottom line…getting a qualified candidate HIRED. This of course, puts the account in danger…their greatest fear!

Your approach lets clients know that you have a process, establishes you as a professional, and clearly asks your clients to assist you in producing the results they hired you for in the first place.

Early in my career I had a boss who taught me to never be affraid to fire an account that wasn’t working with me. In fact, I wasn’t permitted to release a position to the recruiting team until I had every little piece of information required. The basics of recruiting are still the basics, even when things are so fast moving and competitive. In fact, these are the very things that can keep you ahead of the pack.

I also like that you point out how important it is for the clients to SELL their company! So many hiring managers are so busy being selective about what they want, they fail to consider what the candidate may be looking for. I do consider this to be the job of the recruiter to uncover this and relay it to the hiring managers, but the hiring managers need to be responsive to what a recruiter has to say. This is why I like your bullet that refers to asking them to communicate with you quickly.

I haven’t read the article yet that you referred to (I will!), but I do believe if more recruiters would simply ask at what point (salary-wise) the candidate would walk away from a potential offer, and keep them ‘warm & fuzzy’ daily during the process, it would help. So many factors interfere with this in the real world, like simply moving on to the next position needing coverage, which we are all too familiar with.

Thanks again for a great article! I will look for more from you!

]]> By: Thomas Brindisi http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/comment-page-1/#comment-1551 Thomas Brindisi Fri, 07 Apr 2006 07:24:00 +0000 http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/#comment-1551 I believe that the content of the advice for hiring managers is valid. I take issue with the manner that each of these points are conveyed to the hiring manager in Howard's article. The advice comes across as 'smug' at times, and dogmatic at others, creating the unintended effect of 'we are smarter than you, so just please do what we tell you to do, and stop fouling things up'. There is no sense of consultative service being provided, but more a sense of dictating the rules to hiring managers, and scolding them for their inadequacies and lack of understanding. In modern organizations, the HR function uses influence, consultative approaches, and value driven tools to provide solutions for general management. Coming across as superior, smug, or dogmatic does not build strong relationships, and often alienates operators from using the function to its fullest capability. There are probably better ways to approach the internal clients that one serves to make the points that the article recommends. Rather than demanding and commanding, I believe that 'selling' these insights, and helping hiring managers to see the effectiveness of the 'suggestions' provided in the article might provide a smoother path to building a working partnership. As a third party retained consultant focused on the HR and recruiting functions within leading corporations, I know that we screen very aggressively for these 'soft', consultative and influencing skills in every search. When one is managing up within an organization, tact and relationship end up being the currency of the realm. I believe that the content of the advice for hiring managers is valid. I take issue with the manner that each of these points are conveyed to the hiring manager in Howard’s article. The advice comes across as ’smug’ at times, and dogmatic at others, creating the unintended effect of ‘we are smarter than you, so just please do what we tell you to do, and stop fouling things up’. There is no sense of consultative service being provided, but more a sense of dictating the rules to hiring managers, and scolding them for their inadequacies and lack of understanding.

In modern organizations, the HR function uses influence, consultative approaches, and value driven tools to provide solutions for general management. Coming across as superior, smug, or dogmatic does not build strong relationships, and often alienates operators from using the function to its fullest capability.

There are probably better ways to approach the internal clients that one serves to make the points that the article recommends. Rather than demanding and commanding, I believe that ’selling’ these insights, and helping hiring managers to see the effectiveness of the ’suggestions’ provided in the article might provide a smoother path to building a working partnership.

As a third party retained consultant focused on the HR and recruiting functions within leading corporations, I know that we screen very aggressively for these ’soft’, consultative and influencing skills in every search. When one is managing up within an organization, tact and relationship end up being the currency of the realm.

]]> By: Lynne Powell-Butler http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/comment-page-1/#comment-1550 Lynne Powell-Butler Fri, 07 Apr 2006 05:08:00 +0000 http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/#comment-1550 The article was on point. Often the very simple and common sense things go by the wayside when trying to recruit qualified employees. This is definitely an article that will go out to the managers at my organization, just as a reminder, 'Teamwork' is essential to make our company the Employer of Choice. The article was on point. Often the very simple and common sense things go by the wayside when trying to recruit qualified employees. This is definitely an article that will go out to the managers at my organization, just as a reminder, ‘Teamwork’ is essential to make our company the Employer of Choice.

]]> By: Claudia Faust http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/comment-page-1/#comment-1547 Claudia Faust Thu, 06 Apr 2006 05:14:00 +0000 http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/#comment-1547 Howard, you?ve crafted a great template for what is often an uncomfortable dialog for recruiters with hiring managers. The devil is in the details, isn't it? Poor candidate experience is rarely intentional, but it happens all the time. And even the most brilliant employment brand strategy can be shot down in flames when the promise and the experience don?t match for the job seeker. A recent study of customer experience by Wharton University said that when it comes to a bad encounter, one person in three will complain to a friend or colleague; however, each of them will tell an average of four other people about the experience, and *all* of them are 5 times as likely to tell someone other than the company about it. Bottom line is that in order to get better hires, employers simply must know how they are perceived by the talent they are trying to attract. Ignorance may be bliss, but it's also an arrogant response with a heavy price tag for the business in terms of talent AND customers. Howard, you?ve crafted a great template for what is often an uncomfortable dialog for recruiters with hiring managers.

The devil is in the details, isn’t it? Poor candidate experience is rarely intentional, but it happens all the time. And even the most brilliant employment brand strategy can be shot down in flames when the promise and the experience don?t match for the job seeker.

A recent study of customer experience by Wharton University said that when it comes to a bad encounter, one person in three will complain to a friend or colleague; however, each of them will tell an average of four other people about the experience, and *all* of them are 5 times as likely to tell someone other than the company about it.

Bottom line is that in order to get better hires, employers simply must know how they are perceived by the talent they are trying to attract.

Ignorance may be bliss, but it’s also an arrogant response with a heavy price tag for the business in terms of talent AND customers.

]]> By: Sunil Brara Sbrara@hotmail.com http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/comment-page-1/#comment-1546 Sunil Brara Sbrara@hotmail.com Thu, 06 Apr 2006 03:14:00 +0000 http://www.ere.net/2006/04/06/the-hiring-managers-guide-to-working-with-recruiters/#comment-1546 Howard Very well written,to the point,using common sense(which is rare today) which even a 'rookie' like me can understand and make use of it(in time) In recruiting all must be winners(the trio that you mentined) I also loved your idea of promoting the company at all times. You have made me want to read all your articles from 17th Oct 2002( I joined ERE in Nov 2005) and I will and learn from them. thankfully yours,sunil Howard

Very well written,to the point,using common sense(which is rare today) which even a ‘rookie’ like me can understand and make use of it(in time)

In recruiting all must be winners(the trio that you mentined)

I also loved your idea of promoting the company at all times.

You have made me want to read all your articles from 17th Oct 2002( I joined ERE in Nov 2005) and I will and learn from them.

thankfully yours,sunil

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