This article originally appeared January 17, 2007.

Agency folks tend to see the corporate world as bureaucratic and slow to make decisions; more specifically, they see most corporate recruiters as lacking the requisite skills and bare-knuckle tactics required to make things happen.

On the other hand, corporate recruiters tend to see agency people as mercenary, often unable to be trusted, and as slick salespeople who just want to close the deal.

As someone who has been on both sides, I smile as I write this, as I can assure you that both perceptions are, to a great degree, correct.

Many corporate recruiters want to compete with their agency brethren, but this lofty achievement is akin to losing weight; so very optimistic for the first few days but ultimately not doable because losing weight is so very hard to do.

Sadly, so is competing with agency recruiters, because you have to think differently if you want to be different, and most corporate recruiters will have to be very different to make this transition.

For openers, I urge you to consider the following concept as it relates to money, the ultimate driver of our behavior. If it makes you shiver to the bone, consider it your introduction to the agency way of thinking and doing business.

Forget the comfortable paycheck. There is no meaningful check to speak of, so let’s think on terms of a pay-cut to the tune of 75%. You must close deals to get paid, because you are no longer in the business of trying to make hires; you are in the business of getting it done, because that’s how agencies make money. No deals equals no money; no money equals no food. (See “Eat What You Kill: Using the Sales Model to Improve Your Recruiting” for further insight.)

Now that compensation is out of the way, consider the following tenets, presented as two categories, Attitude/Mindset and Action/Task, as tools for the change required if you really want to make this transition to more effective recruiting:

Attitude/Mindset: Change How You Think

• Push hard. If you want to compete, come to work on fire every day and be the driving force behind moving every deal forward as far as possible; every? single? day because a deal that sits is a deal that dies. If you are not making a hiring manager a bit crazy, you are probably not pushing hard enough. (Believe me, they will not fire you for getting people hired, but they just might if you don’t! Agency people make placements first and friends second! If hiring managers are not responsive, see “8 Secrets to Dealing with Non-Responsive Hiring Managers”.)
• Reject “I don’t know.” Hiring managers must know, because you can’t do your job of getting people hired without their direction. An “I don’t know” means no forward progress, and that is not good. If you want to compete, find out what the candidate is thinking as fast as possible, and then do the same with the hiring manager. Catch them both right after the interview; they are busy but so are you. I often wonder why recruiters act as though the time of the hiring manager is more important then their own. (See “Recruiters as Business Builders”.) Ask the hiring manager, “Can the candidate do the job?” If the candidate can do the job, you should be talking with the hiring manager about moving forward. If the candidate can’t do the job, determine why and adjust your recruiting as it relates to future candidates.
• Turn “I don’t know” into “I do know.” Some hiring managers simply do not know and never will until it is too late, so these folks need your help. (Ever have one come to you a few weeks after a candidate has practically died of old age asking if they can make them an offer?) Not knowing is incongruous with the reality of business, as they are managers and as such they are running a business and making decisions is part of their job. (Think Gates or Jobs can make decisions, or do you think they just mull things over for a few weeks?) However, if they really do not know, help them. Use the line I use: “Ok, let’s go through this together.” Sit with them for awhile and go over the requirements they laid out in the position profile, asking whether that person has that skill and to what degree. Next, look at the experience they requested and go over the candidate’s background from that perspective, one type of experience at a time. Lead the hiring manager in this way and you will help them to think things through in terms of what they really need, and help them to come to a decision on what to do with that candidate. Don’t be surprised if you end up with a totally different search profile, but do not be disturbed either, as it might be the first time anyone helped the manager to think through what they really need in the candidate you are trying to locate.
• No sleeping. The answer, “I just need to sleep on it for a few days” makes me nuts. There’s little to gain from sleeping on it. On the other hand, if the hiring manager needs more information to make a decision, that’s acceptable. Have they used JAVA Beans in financial applications? Did they design comp packages in a team or alone? Can they speak Chinese? What version of SAP do they use? It does not matter what they need to know; get it and get it fast. Before you run out the door, ask the hiring manager, “When I get you this information, will you be prepared to make a decision as to a next step?” If the answer is yes, get the information. If the answer is no, ask the hiring manager, “What other information do you need such that when I come back from my conversation with the candidate, you will be able to make a decision on the next step?”
• When talking to candidates, understand that “no” simply means “maybe.” This bullet alone can fill multiple articles and most books on sales will back up my statement. No is a normal reaction to the unexpected call from the recruiter. No is simply what the candidate says when they have no idea what else to say. Frankly, no is not a word I can relate to. How can you decline if you do not even know what you are saying no to in the first place? “No” is an invitation to listen, probe, and continue the conversation. Getting to “yes” is part of every salesperson’s job and the first “no” is just the starting point in the process of meaningful dialogue and the presentation of a great opportunity.

Action/Task: Change What You Do

• Ask pointed questions. It is the job of an agency person, after an interview, to find out whether the candidate is “up” or “down.” Up is ready for the next step; down is no longer under consideration. Let’s assume that the interview is over, you have spoken to the candidate, and they are interested in moving forward. That means the candidate has made a decision and now it is the responsibility of the hiring manager to do the same. To determine the next step as it relates to the candidate, ask about their reaction, the next step, and what you should tell the candidate. If they do not have the answers right after the interview, that is okay, but they need to have them within a day or two. John F. Kennedy once said, “Not to decide is to decide.” Please do not let this be your fate.
• Play take-a-way. At times, the managers will simply not be able to make a decision, and as a result, you are stuck. To get unstuck, tell the hiring manager, “I have an idea: let me give the candidate a call and tell them you are not interested.” Then get up and head to the nearest phone. If the manager agrees, you have saved a ton of time and grief. If the manager balks, there is your decision. It may be forcing a decision, but at times, it simply must be done.
• Send fewer but better candidates. In my days in the agency business, you sent three qualified candidates. More is not better, because the hiring manager begins to forget which candidate did what and loses the ability to put a face with a name. Give a hiring manager 20 great candidates and it will be a long time before you see a decision or a placement. Provide three great candidates who can do the job, and be done with it.
• Get on the phone. I know you’re tired of hearing how in the old days we had no shoes and ate catsup sandwiches without bread. But trust me, there was no Internet and no computers. As a result, we became great on the phone or we left the business. Agency recruiters are running and gunning all day long, and the phone is a big part of how to make things happen. You connect on the phone, form relationships, share a laugh, convey urgency, and establish trust. Your phone line is your life line and link to the candidates you need to reach. That will never happen in an email.
• Learn to source passive candidates. It is hard to get on the phone if you have no one to call so I strongly suggest you take a workshop to become a Certified Internet Recruiter.
• No more meetings (almost). In my days in the agency business, aside from weekly training, we had two meetings per week totaling approximately 60 minutes. First, we met Monday mornings to discuss who on the team was going after what new accounts. Then, on Wednesday afternoon, we discussed candidates in play and next-step strategies. (Heaven help the agent who had nothing new to report.) Of course, it is good to spend time with hiring managers in short meetings, but the rule of the day is simple: if the time spent in the meeting does not support coaching on recruiting issues or closing deals, you should be using your time on things that support filling positions.
• Do a great interview. Read “10 Things Recruiters Should Know About Every Candidate They Interview”. The more you know about the candidate you are representing, the more things will fall into place.
• Forget active or passive candidates. Learn to think in terms of candidates who are qualified or not qualified. Your job is to find the best candidate for the job and close the deal; great candidates come from many different places.
• Give great service. I tell clients they can call me anytime, and I do mean anytime. Respond instantly to hiring managers, always knowing the when and what of the next step in the process. Then, make that next step happen.
• Know the process or develop one. Everything goes better if there is a process in place because it removes the unknown for the candidate, gives the hiring manager a road map to follow, and helps you maintain some degree of control. According to Scott Weston, author of HR Excellence, “Having and articulating a hiring process means the recruiter needs to act as a project manager; be able to establish a rough timeline with a series of milestones for each stage of the process. This makes the process clear for everyone involved, sets reasonable expectations, and encourages joint accountability with hiring managers.”
• Sell the company. Agents start selling the opportunity and company as soon as they see that the candidate is viable. You need to do the same because if you do not create a dramatic value proposition, there is no reason for the candidate to change jobs. Read “Selling the Company” for more information.
• Be up on changes in the candidate’s life. If you think that the candidate will always volunteer this information because you have a “great relationship” with them, you are in for a surprise. Read “What Has Changed Since Last We Spoke?” for more information.
• Control the offer. Pre-close the candidate before the offer is made, and do all that you can to be the one to make the offer. If you can’t actually make the offer, try to understand what the offer is before it is made. Hiring managers will, for reasons that are all over the board, do things such as lowball candidates or change titles. This might not bother you, but to those who are sensitive to these considerations, it can kill the deal really quickly. You have probably worked far too hard to lose a deal in the 11th hour. Control the offer and you increase your chances of a successful placement. (See “Close the Deal and Land the Candidate” for added insight.)
• Prepare for counteroffers. There are few things more painful than getting that phone call on a Sunday night from the candidate declining the offer. It is even worse when you know that you did not fully prepare for the counteroffer. Honestly, it is a debilitating event that can send you spinning. Read “What Great Recruiters Do to Prevent Counteroffers” to get the full story.
• Say you’re sorry. If you are as successful as the best agency people, you will at times step on some toes in your attempt to make things happen. In the event that anyone might be miffed, tell them you are sorry if you drove them crazy. Explain that making hires can be stressful. Soon, the new candidate you hired will begin to do great work and make the hiring manager so happy they had you to make this hire happen. Bottom line? They will get over it.

The reality is that not all corporate recruiters will be able to make all of these changes. If I were not an agency recruiter in the days when my kids needed shoes, I might not be able to do it either.

However, all of us can become better to one degree or another, and I do believe it is worth a try if you really want to compete with those in the agency business. Besides, if you get good at this, you can always go over to the agency side and at times, double your income.

Regardless of where your career takes you, it is nice to know you can compete at a higher and more effective level.

This is where up-front operating agreements come in to play. When properly used, an up-front operating agreement/contract will help a recruiter mitigate the tangles that will inevitably develop throughout the evaluation and hiring processes. Up-front operating agreements are quite simple and should be used early on in a candidate relationship. The first agreement I put in place is an agreement about agreements. I always ask a candidate if he or she is the type of person who tends to honor agreements when he or she makes them with other people. Everyone says “yes” to this one; who wouldn’t? But something else is happening. The candidate is also giving you permission to ask for commitments at different points, and at the risk of sounding inconsistent or at worst, psychotic, he or she will tend to stick to these commitments. Then, I always follow up with an out clause which puts people at ease. I ask, “From time to time, I may ask you to commit to something. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, it’s okay to tell me so. One of my biggest fears is a person who says ‘Yes’ to something when he or she actually means ‘No.’ People do this because they are polite and don’t want to be confrontational in most cases. Are you able to come forward to me if something doesn’t feel right, or if you want to halt or slow down our process?” And, you reinforce this contract several times through your process, by asking again, “Are you sure you are comfortable with this?”

You’ve got to let the candidate know that you will not attack him or her if he or she starts to get a funny feeling; you have to explicitly let him or her know that in an emotionally-charged process, he or she will most likely feel uncomfortable, and when this happens, you (the recruiter) are the best person to call. When a candidate gets that funny feeling, wouldn’t you prefer to know about it as soon as possible? You’re essentially letting the candidate know that you will not use pressure tactics. You operate in an environment of truth, and you give the candidate an incentive to be truthful. You’ll be amazed. The candidate will be relieved that he has finally found someone in which he can confide. It’s quite therapeutic for the candidate because all the other recruits will be pushing and shoving him or her to “just go out on an interview and see how it goes.” You, on the other hand, are not only a broker of jobs or a conduit to a new job, but also a confidant.

If you were a candidate, to whom would you be more loyal: someone pushing you though a process, or someone in whom you hold considerable trust because you have facilitated very open lines of communication? Let’s say that one day you’re sitting at your desk, posting an advertisement on one of the major job boards, and your phone rings. The person calling you is a candidate who is about to get an offer from your client. The candidate says, “I’m having second thoughts about leaving this job for your client’s, and I want to discuss it with you. Have you got a minute?” You bet you have a minute. You have all the time that candidate needs. “Remember when you told me if I was not comfortable with something, I should call you to discuss it?” Now, you can fix the problem, if it is in fact fixable. Or, at the very least, you can prevent yourself from looking inept in the eyes of your client. You want all of the what-ifs out in the open, and when you put in place up-front operating agreements, you create a relationship in which revealing these things is not something that causes discomfort in an already uneasy person.

“I’m not concerned that you will accept a counteroffer (you don’t want the candidate to think that you don’t trust them). I just want to make this transition as painless as possible. The way that we do this is through the process of giving notice. The best advice that I can give you is to be very brief when you give notice. If it were me, I’d say, ‘I have accepted another position outside the company. My start date is _____________, so I’m happy to work out my two weeks’ notice. Under no conditions will I accept a counteroffer.’ You do not have to tell your current employer where you are going or what the job is. I strongly suggest that you do not give them any clue about your new compensation package. They will ask you a hundred questions; you do not have to answer a single one. All that’s important is that you are leaving. You don’t want to burn any bridges, so I’d just say that your new employer has asked you to keep this information confidential. Just have a matter-of-fact style and appreciate why they want to know this information (so they can use it to counteroffer you). The less information you give them, the easier this will be. When talking to your current employer, you can add positive things such as, ‘I have had a wonderful experience at this company, and am happy to have had the opportunity to work with you, but the time has come for me to move on.’ But be firm. If you show any kind of weakness or uncertainty in your voice or actions, your current employer will smell it. Most managers have been professionally trained on how to counteroffer employees. Your boss is going to be shocked that you have accepted another position and that you are leaving. The first thing that will go through your boss’ mind is how your leaving will have an impact on him or her. He or she may have to work more hours until a replacement is found; your leaving will lower the morale of the rest of the staff, and your boss may have an extremely difficult time finding someone with your qualifications to replace you. It is much easier and cheaper for your company and boss to try to keep you rather than losing you (especially if it’s to a competitor).

Expect your boss’ boss to get involved as well. Don’t be surprised if both offer to take you out to lunch or dinner. They are going to give you all the attention in the world. Expect a counteroffer. Most counteroffers that I have seen have been anywhere from a 20% to 35% increase in earnings. Enticing, isn’t it? But why weren’t you worth that much to them yesterday? Does it take you leaving to get something you should have been getting anyway? If so, is that the type of company you want to work for? Keep in mind that counteroffers come in many other forms than just an increase in compensation. Promotions are also ways for getting employees to stay.

Once you give notice, you are essentially breaking a trust that you had with your employer. If you are countered and stay, your company may feel that it owns you. You will be known as the one who caused your employer grief by threatening to quit. You’ll no longer be known as a loyal employee. Will this cause your boss to pass you over on the next possible promotion? I’ve heard of stories where companies only counter to get the employee to stay until they find a replacement and then let the employee go. Some companies feel that it’s better for people to leave on their terms instead of their employees’ terms. I promise you that in any research you do on counteroffers, you will not find anything that ever says, ‘Take the counteroffer.’ Please research this on your own, and if you do happen to find anything to the contrary, please let me know.”

I write candidates’ notice letters for them. I ask for their boss’ names and draft the documents. I also send them published articles written about counteroffers and research on what happens with employees who decide to stay. The whole purpose of this is to get candidates to understand what will happen. If you prepare them to expect the counteroffer and how it will happen, the candidates will have a heads-up on how to handle it.

1. “This deal is a slam dunk.” I think not. Fast and easy deals are usually neither. If you think you are working on a slam dunk hire, go back to the drawing board and look at everything that can possibly go wrong. Look at the candidate’s commute, compensation, title, job stretch, and everything else that relates to the candidate, the job itself, and the fit between the two. If you still think it’s a slam dunk hire, have another recruiter grill you on the details. If there is something you are not seeing, it is better to find out before the deal falls apart than after.
2. “I’ll start recruiting now and get the requisition signed next week.” If there is one thing recruiters can’t waste, it’s time. Recruiting for a position that has not yet been approved is a fool’s errand and I suspect most of us have done it at one time or another. I suggest you tell the hiring manager that you would love to help them but that you really must spend your time on what has already been approved and will be more than happy to provide recruiting resources as soon as the requisition has been signed. I suspect they will understand.
3. “Let’s only look at passive candidates.” I’d be very careful here. Passive candidates are great, but when you need to move quickly, or need multiples of the same type of employee, passive candidates should only be a part of the total sourcing strategy, not the whole thing (see my article The Myth of the Passive Candidate for more insight on this topic).
4. “This candidate isn’t worried about compensation, just opportunity.” This is big trouble if ever big trouble existed. Candidates who talk about everything from opportunity to growth to the value they can bring to the organization have probably spent too much time reading books on how to find a job. In my career, I have never had things go smoothly at offer time when the candidate told me they were not concerned about compensation. Everyone is concerned about compensation. I suggest that you consider this line of thinking a red flag and be sure to nail down the compensation issues before you try to take this deal to the bank.
5. “Trust me, I would never accept a counteroffer.” Or so says the candidate. This one is enough to make most experienced recruiters cry. Taking a candidate for his or her word on this issue is the clearest example of begging Murphy to run over your deal with a truck. I suggest that you always prep candidates on counteroffers and be sure to doubly prep the ones that tell you with a calm and professional assurance that they would never accept a counteroffer.
6. “This candidate does not mind a 90-minute commute.” Be very careful of this one. Commutes are quality-of-life issues, and long commutes get old very quickly. Unless it is a very unusual situation, I recommend you have the candidate interview at times that will have them traveling into the office and going home during rush hour. You also might want to look at past commute scenarios, because a candidate with a history of only 20-minutes commutes has no real concept of what a long and difficult commute is all about. The last thing you want is to hire the right candidate and have them leave in six months because the commute was too difficult.
7. “Let’s make Phyllis in accounting a recruiter.” Lord knows I will probably hear from some recruiter named Phyllis about this one, so let me apologize in advance. I am endlessly amazed when organizations that should know better suddenly realize they need a recruiter. They pick a person out of thin air to be the recruiter because they are friendly or have a nice personality. This is not how you choose a recruiter. See my article Hiring the Best Recruiters: An Executive Briefing for more information on how to hire the types of recruiters that build great companies.
8. “This new ATS will change our lives.” Applicant tracking systems can do great things for the organization, but they won’t make your recruiters more aggressive, they won’t make your organization look better to candidates, and they won’t help to close deals. What they can do, according to Scott Schoenick, senior consultant with Taleo, is “empower a staffing function with speed, automation, and decision-support capabilities that are integrated into the real work of staffing.”
9. “I can’t call in there; that would be stealing.” Don’t let this belief limit your success as a recruiter. I hate to open up old wounds on poaching and ethics (I think John Sullivan still has to wear a disguise when he goes out in public), but I will say this: You can’t steal employees, since no one owns them in the first place. This is a free market, and the best people are almost always open to a call that outlines an opportunity. If you know someone who can do the job, give them a call, as this is a great chance to demonstrate the value you bring to the organization. Here is a simple rule of thumb: If your sales force is trying to acquire their customers, you should have no problem acquiring their employees.
10. “My company is not a company you have to sell to candidates.” Wrong. Every company has to be sold. Candidates have many options in terms of places they can work. I do not care what company you’re working for. If it disappeared off the earth tomorrow, all of your people would find other positions, become adjusted to new organizations, and move on with their lives. I suggest that you sell the organization all throughout the interviewing process and have the hiring managers do the same. This way, the hiring decision is also your decision and not just the decision of the candidate.

Becoming a better and more effective recruiter is not as complex as it seems. It is really just about learning how to source and hire great candidates on a consistent basis. We all make mistakes from time to time and those mistakes usually cost us something. Does Murphy play a role? Of course, but he can be held at bay if you cover all of your bases and apply best practices to the recruiting process. After all, recruiting is like any other sales job: Work it easy and it tends to be hard; work it hard and it tends to be easy.