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How to Convert Cold Calls into Hot Candidates
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Jim is the best recruiter at LNM, a division of a Fortune 500 company. Karen is a strong marketing manager who is not looking for a job. Jim found Karen’s name on ZoomInfo, and he is now cold calling her to explore the possibility of considering her for the position.
The Opening Jim: Hi Karen. My name is Jim Howard. I’m a recruiter with LMN and I’m leading a search for a senior-level marketing executive. Your name was brought to my attention as someone I should contact regarding this assignment. Since I have you on the line, let me just ask you very openly, would you personally be open to exploring a new career opportunity if it were clearly superior to what you’re doing today?
Opening Scenario One: No reluctance. Karen: Yes! Of course. (75% of candidates say this without qualifications.) Jim: Great. Before we get too serious on this, let me ask you a few short questions about your background. Then I’ll give you a quick overview of the position. Based on this, if it makes mutual sense to proceed, we’ll schedule a convenient time to talk later in more detail. (Here, Jim will start to conduct the work history review below. Very few candidates will object.)
Opening Scenario Two: Some reluctance. Karen: Yes, but tell me a little about the job first. Jim: Great. Telling you about the job could take some time, though. We have a very unusual selection process at LMN. As part of this, we conduct a formal job matching process to ensure every offer includes significant job stretch and job growth. This marketing position is a very important position for us, and job matching makes sure that both of us make the right decision. Why not give me just a two-minute overview of your background? I’ll then give you a two-minute overview of the current job, and if it makes mutual sense to talk further we can schedule another call later today or this evening. (Here, Jim will start to conduct the work history review below. Very few candidates will object.)
Conduct Work History Review After conducting a quick work history review (titles, companies, education, compensation, size of team), which usually takes about six to eight minutes, you’ll know whether the candidate is in the game or not.
Moving Forward And Getting Referrals If the person is not qualified, use the following technique to get referrals. Remember, at this point in the conversation you have not told the person much about the job. If the person is a good fit, you’ll want to arrange another call. See Scenario Two for how to do this.
Scenario One: Overqualified for the job. Get referrals. (If underqualified, just reverse this process.)
Jim: I’m very impressed with your background, but I think this job is not a big enough move for you. As part of our job matching process, we like to see at least a 10%-15% stretch for new hires. This makes it worthwhile for you to make the move. Regardless, I’d like to review your background with a few marketing executives and make sure that if something bigger develops, you and I can reconnect. However, someone who worked for you at a prior employer might actually be worth networking with. Let me give you a quick overview of the position. (Provide quick compelling elevator pitch about job and its importance. Then get two or referrals by asking the following.)
Jim: Is there someone you worked with in the past who you think would be qualified for something like this? I only want to target passive candidates who are not looking. We want to be able to offer 10-15% job stretch and growth, so we want to target people who need to be recruited. I’ll even talk with people who might know the right person, just to build up my network. Who are some of the best people you’ve worked with in the past? (Interact.) Who would you like to hire someday if you could? (Interact.) (The point of all this is that, in order to get names of top people, you need to first establish a professional relationship with the candidate. You do this by being vague about the job so the person doesn’t opt out, by conducting a work history review, and then by proactively asking for names of top people. If you restrict your phone calls to only top targeted people, you should be able to find three or four great candidates in a few days.)
Scenario Two: Qualified. Set up for next round. Jim: Karen, your background is very impressive. Let me tell you a little about the job and our unique job matching process. (Provide longer elevator pitch about the job, describing two or three areas of obvious stretch, like team size, budget, scope, scale, or complexity.) On the surface, does this seem like something worth evaluating in a little more depth? (Interact. If you conducted the work history and screening properly, 90% will say yes.) Jim: Let’s set up a phone call later today or tonight. What’s your cell phone or home number? (Get both!) I’d like to review your background in more detail during this call, and give you a thorough overview of the job. I also want to describe our job matching process. (Introduce candidate to job matching. You’ll use job matching to maximize the close rate of top candidates, minimize counteroffers, reneges, and no-shows.) Jim: I think we’re one of the few companies that formalizes the career selection process to make sure our candidates make the best long-term career move for them and that we select the best person for the job. Assuming everything goes smoothly, we both recognize that the only way you’ll accept an offer from us is if it’s a great career move. We’ve found ten factors top people use to decide whether they’ll accept a job or not. As I review each factor, could you tell me how you’d rank your current job? We’ll rank the new job the same way. If an offer is eventually made, this way you’ll clearly see if a move is worth making.
Job Matching: How to Compare Two Different Jobs
As Jim reviews the ten factors below with Karen, he asks her how she’d rank her current job on each of the following factors. You can do the same with your candidates. As the candidate learns more about the current opening during the interview and selection process, she’ll be able to determine if the new job is a strong career move. You can also use the idea of getting more information about the job as a way to keep the candidate interested in the job and coming back. At the end of the process, this will increase the likelihood of acceptance and minimize the chance of her taking a counteroffer or another offer.
Imagine how much useful information you’ve just obtained from the candidate conducting this type of evaluation. What do you think the candidate would think? Now all you have to do is deliver a better overall career opportunity and you’ll never lose another candidate. If the hiring manager embraces a similar approach, you’ll be able to convert the dull and boring interview and selection process into a remarkable experience. As a result, candidates — whether they’re hired or not – will start referring others. Soon you’ll have more referrals and stronger candidates then you ever imagined. Differentiating the hiring experience is something great recruiters and hiring managers have been doing for years. You can start today on your next cold call.