Tuesday's early morning TV news shows were discussing the "post-vacation" blues. Schools are back in session and it's the end of the unofficial "summer season." They mentioned how difficult it can be for folks to "get back into the groove." For those who have been in recruiting for any length of time, you know this can also be a very busy time during the year. Hiring managers are also back from vacation and ready to get back to business.  The window of time between now and thanksgiving is often the busiest hiring time of the year. There are 08 goals to be accomplished and projects to be completed.  If managers don't get people hired, there is fear of headcount being cut for 09. 

With this said, it is extremely important for you to understand and determine your hiring priorities as you head into the fall season. 

What open positions are very critical to fill?  What vacancies are urgent but not critical? 

Managers never want to hear their position is not at "the front of the line," but with most corporate recruiters carrying 25+ requisitions, there has to be some order of importance to filling them.  Qualifiers include:

• Cost of Vacancy (are they revenue producing positions)?
• Is the vacancy/position critical to an important business objective that must be completed?

Another non-scientific, thought provoking way to qualify when a position needs to be filled is by asking a different question.  Instead of asking, "when do you want this position filled . . ." (they will always say "yesterday" or ASAP"), ask them . . .

• "You will really be impacted and extremely upset with me if we don't have this position filled by __________ (when)?"

It is amazing what type of responses you will get when you pose this question. While many managers will still stick with the ASAP/yesterday answer (of which you can then council them regarding average time-to-fill, etc.), many of them will put some thought to your question and provide logical reasons for when their openings need to be filled.  Often times, it is not as soon as you think! 

Again - this is a non-scientific approach to setting priorities (Cost of Vacancy, etc. are the best drivers of qualification) but this question can be a helpful tool when taking the "pulse" of your clients.

It can also help define the most important service level agreement.

Heavily recruited professionals:

I am currently reading Brian Tracy’s book, Million Dollar Habits (great book by the way!). Among many great points, here are a few I thought compelling:

“In effective selling you position yourself as friend, adviser and a teacher"

As a friend you make it clear you are more concerned about helping a customer solve a problem and or satisfy a need than you are about simply to make a sale…

…as an advisor in the sales presentation, instead of trying to overwhelm resistance, you present what you are selling as a solution to a problem, or as the satisfaction of a need.

…as a teacher by educating your customer in how he or she can most benefit from what you are selling.�

Doesn’t the same hold true for effective recruiting?

As a friend, we are clearly more concerned about a candidate’s motives (wants/needs) and exactly what they look for in a new opportunity. We want to know how we can match up those motives with the opportunities in our organization. If there is a fit, we precede to “recruit/sell� them. If not…we don’t force a “square peg in a round hole!�

As a trusted advisor, once we understand their career motives, we confidently present our opportunity based on the facts of what we have to offer.

As a teacher, we are knowledgeable about the labor market, our competition, etc. This knowledge allows us to objectively quantify (link back to blog on career comparison) how our opportunity could be a wise career move for our candidate.

The dictionary defines “recruiter� as:

• To strengthen or supply with new members (as in armed forces)
• To enlist members

I don’t know about you but that is the EXACT reputation I am trying to avoid! But unfortunately, too many hiring managers perceive recruiters as…recruiters! They think we only care about “filling req’s,� putting “cheeks in seats,� or, “collecting a fee.�

Of course, this isn’t necessarily a new thought. Just like good sales professionals, good recruiters are (and always have been) respected consultants, counselors, friends, advisers and teachers.

It was just a good reminder of what makes a good recruiter effective!

I don't know about you, but recruiting can be one of the best, most wonderful jobs I can think of (we change people's lives) or it can be a thankless, monotonous position that seems to never end!

Your ATTITUDE each day is critical to your success. 

With that said, many experts on personal achievement discuss the power of starting your day reading motivational/educational materials. 

I subscribe to a number of these e-newsletters and try to plan time before each day to read for 15 minutes (that�s it - 15 minutes!). It really helps me to stay motivated, focused, and energized. I find when I am reading on a regular basis, it has a big impact on my day! 

Some Examples:

Recruiting:

 - ere (of course)

 - JobMachine Shally Steckerl�s blog

Sales (recruiting is sales right?) 

 - Jeffrey Gitomer (he is great to get you pumped up for call sessions)

Motivation (we all can use it in this crazy world of recruiting)

 - Brian Tracy (I love his style/content)

 - Napolean Hill (someone I feel is one of the all time motivational/achievement experts!  Think and Grow Rich is a must read!)

Please feel free to comment and post what your motivational/educational materials are.

My partner is reading a book by John wooden entitled, "Wooden, A Lifetime Of Observations & Reflections On And Off the Court" and found this quote. I LOVE IT.

I think it really applies to recruiting!  How easy is it to stay busy performing activities, returning emails, doing paperwork, reviewing resumes from the net, etc., all day long? 

But are you confusing activity for accomplishment?

Are you performing the right tasks at the right time?

Have you prioritized your to-do list?

Are you checking off calls on your to-do list to say you made the call, or . . . did you actually contact the person and get the results you wanted/expected?

Since I didn't plan my Perfect Day today, I have been responding to emails that are not urgent and/or not very important.  It has sucked about 1.5 hours of my day so far.

During this time, I have set 1 appointment, and confirmed one business opportunity, while the most critical task I have to accomplish today (presentation for training next week) is being pushed aside AGAIN (this happened yesterday as well).

With that said, if you are reading this blog, I encourage you to revisit your daily schedule and your to-do list RIGHT NOW!

Do you have critical, urgent tasks PLANNED into your daily schedule?

Are you accomplishing important tasks today?  Or, are you confusing activity for accomplishment?

Now that I got that off my chest, I am off to a productive day.

Memorial Day is coming up. Many people (the fortunate ones) will be taking extended vacations around this weekend. But the majority of people will not!

Fortunately for us recruiters, the folks that do NOT take time off before the holiday (Thursday/Friday) will probably be in "pre-holiday mode."

You know the mode. We've all been there or are there now. What are the signs of this "mode"?

• Wishing the holiday (or holiday weekend, in this case) had already started.
• Less focused on work, more focused on other things
• Thinking that "I can get it done" after the holiday. It won't be a big deal.

When folks are in this mode, IT IS THE BEST TIME TO MAKE CONTACT WITH PASSIVE CANDIDATES! This is the time that they are most likely to respond to your emails, return voice mails and/or take time to talk if you catch them live.

Now the counter argument to this logic is that "many people will NOT be in". That is true. You will need to make more contacts to reach someone. But for those folks you do reach, the reception can be amazingly better.

For those of you that will be working before the holiday, and have req's that you need to find high quality candidates for, try these things that have worked for me (and our team) in the past.

• Develop a target list of passive candidates and do a "networking" email blast followed up by a phone call (concurrently or within a few hours). Volume is the key, get your message out to as many people as possible.
• Misery loves company. Hold a contest between your fellow recruiters on Thursday and Friday. Track # of emails sent, # of responses, # of people you talk too, etc. Having fun with this activity a day or two before the holiday is critical to actually staying out of "Holiday mode".
• Follow up with everyone you contact on Wed./Thursday (48 hours) after the day they come back. Again, a good % of folks were out of the office, this is a chance to connect with those that probably deleted your email/voice mail. You can say something like: ". . . I reached out to you before the holiday. I wanted to follow up to discuss . . . . "

Most People go into "pre-holiday" mode. Take advantage of it or . . . take the day(s) off! 

Am I confused or maybe I’m just not that bright.

From all the articles, recruitment advertisements, blogs, etc. I read you would assume there are two types of candidates:

ACTIVE: Someone looking for a job. Someone that is unemployed and/or unhappy with their current situation. Someone that has their resume plastered on every career site and/or ready to shoot it over to you at a moments notice.

PASSIVE: Someone that is passively looking for a new opportunity.

From my understanding, recruiters are sick and tired of vetting through unqualified active candidates that do not fill their open positions.

These same recruiters are searching for new ways to identify and recruit the PASSIVE candidate. That elusive, high quality candidate that they believe will fill their positions.

What about the third type of candidate; A NOT-LOOKING candidate?

A person that is completely happy, that has not been to CareerBuilder, Monster, or other job board. A person gainfully employed, happy and . . . NOT-LOOKING.

Is this the same thing as a passive candidate?

Here is where I get confused.

When I hear the term PASSIVE, I assume that means the candidate is passively looking.

But having recruited for close to 20 years, I think there is a BIG difference between what I define as a PASSSIVE candidate and a NOT-LOOKING candidate.

Or are they one in the same?

I like how Staffing.org defines candidates (don’t quote me on this, go get their staffing report!):

• Serious/active seekers
• Casual seekers (those that spend a few hours now and then looking for new opportunities
• Passive candidates
• Not-looking candidates

I understand these definitions! This is how I’ve always categorized candidates. The only difference was that I called PASSIVE candidates . . . LISTENERS. That is, if you contacted them with your opportunity (since they were passive), they would listen.

So are there four candidate types or just two or maybe three?

When someone (or some recruitment tool) claims they can help you find “passive candidates,” find out which group they’re referring to.

Do we need to update our definitions so we are all on the same page?

Or am I the only one confused?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Why does the greatest golfer in the world have a golf coach?  

What is a coach going to teach him? Tiger is a better golfer than his coach, for god’s sake!

The reality is that no matter how good you are, you can always get better. Tiger Woods knows this.

He also knows you can’t be your own coach. It is very difficult to observe & critique your own performance.

You often need another set of “eyes” to help you understand your strengths and weaknesses; understand what you do well and what you need to improve.

To this point, when was the last time someone observed you (your):

1. Performing an intake session with a hiring manager?
2. Email solicitations?
3. Leaving a voice mail?
4. Trying to solicit referrals from prospects.
5. Overcoming objections?
6. Doing a phone interview?
7. Prepping a candidate for an interview?

These are all vital steps in our recruitment process. The folks that execute these well are usually the best recruiters within any organization. The best recruiters I know are not the best because they are doing something different, they are the best because they do everything well.    

With that said, when was the last time you had someone observe you do the processes listed above?  When was the last time you taped yourself and then critiqued your performance?

NO ONE GETS BETTER AT ANYTHING unless they continually observe performance, identify areas for improvement, develop an action plan to get better and … Execute.

If you want to be the Tiger Woods of recruiting, I suggest you seek out a coach!