Your optimism is a nice change of pace and I agree with your outlook. Most of the posts that have been going up on this site have been doom and gloom and I normally don’t respond. I work in the construction industry and I’m a pretty big biller and my billings have gone up during these times and not down. It appears people are using the empty space on the ERE site as a means to vent fear. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “perception is reality” and whether the economy turns around or not, if a recruiter is going to continue to grow the focus needs to be on growing, building and thriving and not if and when the economy turns around. The economy is going to do what its going to do. We as recruiters are going to do what we are going to do. I guarantee you this, all recruiters wondering and trying to figure out if and when their is going to be a turn around are struggling now because their focus is on that. This business has never been about the economy being good or bad rather about the attitude towards the business. We as recruiters need to “tune out the noise” and keep going. See you at the top! Best of luck.

To be a successful recruiter you also need to be educated about the job, too many recruiters only know the basics; you need to listen to candidates, they will tell you what is on their mind if you listen closely, read between the lines and listen to what is not said; you need to know what the hiring team really needs so you can make sure that the information that you are passing along is reality (or as close to it as one can get).

You can (and I’m sure will) continue to use the term ‘applicant control’ and I will continue to flinch every time I hear it or read it.

Jim – controlling the individual is critical. Getting the person into the process requires applicant control, even if you feel uncomfortable with the term or the technique. 90% of my candidates are glad that I pushed them to see the light, even if they didn’t take the job. Convincing someone to take a job they shouldn’t is manipulation. Convincing the person to hear all sides requires finesse and an understanding of behavioral economics and pyschology. This often requires asking questions in such a way that they say “yes” even if they normally would say no. Attend our free audit on Jan 16 for some specific techniques.

Cheers,
Keith Halperin keithsrj@sbcglobal.net

* High-touch, high-skill, high-value add, creative work.
** Low-touch, low-skill, low-value add, routine work.

Once you try to ‘control’ instead of influencing, guiding, educating and motivating you are heading in the wrong direction.

Thus my use of the term ‘process control’, this is where you control the entire hiring process – NOT the individual. In that process you must be able to identify issues before they become problems, be aware of the real reasons someone even will speak to you in the first place and tailor your process to meet each individuals needs in order for them to realize that you are not trying to “sell them a bill of goods”. (or in your example a used car)

We are in agreement in what must be accomplished but my intense dislike of the term “applicant control” is what prompted my posts.

The basic concept behind the need for applicant control is recognizing that people initially think short term when first approached about job or taking one over the other. Applicant control involves the idea that you need to get people to think long term, focusing more on the career rather than the compensation. Applicant control allows you to make this shift. Without it, recruiters are selling cars, not careers.

Most good recruiters can influence candidates to think long term, overcoming normal resistance and presenting their jobs as career moves, not just a shift to a similar job with more money. This is applicant control, whether it’s called that or not!

Misrepresenting a job as a career move is not applicant control, that’s manipulation. If the job is clearly not a career move then it’s inappropriate for the candidate to take it. Applicant control ensures the candidate has full knowledge of the opportunity and making the decision to say “no” based on all the facts, not superficialities. Most candidates pull themselves out of consideration long before they have all of the facts. Applicant control ensures they get them.

While things look tough now, there is opportunity abounding for those who are looking forward, rather than backwards. The point of the article is to get ready using new tools, rather than relying on the stuff that didn’t work too well in the past.

Otherwise a timely article and I hope that you are right in your assesment of the current hiring trends. Personally we have not seen much of a drop off in our clients recruiting needs. Even with the downturn in the economy we are still 5 years behind in getting the technical, engineering and management talent needed by many companies, who even with the current economics don’t have the top talent they need to drive excellence.