This time the phone rang after hours. Lucky for me I was working late and answered the call. It was from one of my favorite students. She was having problems navigating this sluggish economy. She complained that she hardly ever wrote a ‘recruitable’ Job Order anymore and that her main problem was once she had a great JO, she was unable to recruit anyone for it. She was stuck!
We talked about recruiting for a while and it was obvious to me that she had a knowledge deficiency that was leading to an execution deficiency. Yes, she was indeed stuck. The bottom-line was that she had forgotten how to do the “recruiting” part of our business. And so, I began at the beginning…
Robocruiter used to always say that the biggest problem we have in recruiting, other than planning and organization, is working “Can’t Help” JOs as search assignment quality JOs. The ‘qualification’ part of the jigsaw puzzle was missing.
Those of you who read my columns in TFL know that I am a big proponent of qualifying the JO before we start to recruit on it. Just look at the article I wrote for last month’s TFL, and also the 2006 TFL article I wrote with Kevin Franks where we discussed our job order matrix at length (for more information see, TFL, July 2006, “The Job Order Matrix [with Kevin Franks]”, pp. 1-4.). The problem is that in this economy, we compound our weak marketing efforts by selecting sub-standard JOs on which to recruit. Then we can’t put the thing together and we complain about the rotten economy when we were merely conducting our business in a rotten way.
When you are taking The Qualifier JO, and you get to the recruitment column blanks, ask these questions one at a time and in this order*:
This question will separate you from all of your competition. I am still amazed at how few recruiters ask it. But if the HM missed that you were a recruiter at the beginning of your conversation, he will now realize that you are a headhunter because you have asked for a head to hunt. Usually the HM will pause while pondering the answer to a question no recruiter has asked them before. But the HM will realize that this is an important question and may want to think about it before he responds. It is normal for them to call you back with many possible leads. “Who do you want?” is a Big Biller question.
Don’t ask, “Who are your competitors?” First of all, if you are an expert in your niche, you should already know this. Second, they may not want someone from a competitor. And third, they may want someone from a company not in their field of specialization. Now don’t let them try to put you in a corner by replying that you should know the answer, because, you see, you can never know whom they RESPECT and WANT SOMEONE FROM. Only they can know the answer to that question.
If we get to this question, our JO is going down the drain. It probably means that this HM has not put sufficient thought into his hiring process and this opening.
(*Note: More on this technique is available in my article from last week on How to Qualify the Job Order.)
You need to FAB the JO, much like you FAB the candidate, so that you can make a scintillating presentation. Here is where you remind the HM that you are going to attempt to attract potential candidates who are happy, well-appreciated, making good money, and currently working, and you are going to entice them to move for a better opportunity, i.e., the HM’s opening. Thus you need something to sell and that is why you need the company information to build a Feature-Advantage-Benefit presentation. What would cause my candidate to leave their job and come to work with your company? What is unique about your company? You must do this in order to place the client company in the most positive light. Remember, your candidate base has to be motivated to consider new career opportunities. The recruiter must constantly be prepared to answer the prospect’s often non-verbalized question, “What’s in it for me?” — also known by the acronym WIIFM.
I have found over the years that most big billers prefer to begin with the indirect approach (“Who do you know…?”) and then transition to the direct approach (“How about you…? What would interest you in making a move…?”). But you know what? Both approaches work. Use one or the other or both, depending on your comfort level. It really doesn’t matter. Only the results matter.
When you ask whom the prospect might know who is qualified, they will invariably answer that they don’t know anyone who would be interested in making a move. They simply change your operative word from ‘qualified’ to ‘interested’—that change in words you can’t allow and must correct. Tell them that you appreciate them thinking about people who might be interested in making a move, but that you want to speak with those who are qualified. Then you will determine who are the best matches for your JO. Your job is like unwinding a giant ball of string. You will eventually reach the end. You will eventually find the right candidate.
Next, especially if they are interested, they will ask you three questions:
These are all ‘editing out’ questions and you must avoid answering them. Don’t let the prospect make these ‘editing out’ decisions. You will do that. Here are your answers to those three questions:
And finally the last question—and it’s a biggie:
“Who told you to call me?” Or, “Where did you get my name/number, etc.?”
Here is your answer. It is a two-parter:
“You know, I make so many calls on a daily basis that I frankly don’t remember although I keep everything confidential anyway.
“But I can tell you two things. First of all, it was very complimentary about you or I wouldn’t have tried to reach you. And second, it was no one from your company because I have never called your company before.”
They can now breathe realizing that they are not being ‘out-placed’ and that you are not the harbinger of that fate. They will now talk to you.
Bottom-line of the two approaches—Indirect and Direct:
Keeping WIIFM in mind, most big billers find that candidates will move for one (or more) of five major motivators. These can be remembered by using a second acronym, “CLAMS.” And, interestingly enough, they seem to be important in this ranking order with Challenge being the most important, then Location, etc. (Note that Money is the fourth reason why people will move—not the first.)
I. Challenge of the new position
II. Location of the position
III. Advancement potential
IV. Money
V. Stability of the company
Regardless of your recruiting effort results, always call back after 2-3 days with a new piece of information and a condensed re-presentation of your FAB’ed JO. You need to give these folks time to think about what you have asked them. Leads will come to them with time, but don’t expect them to initiate the call to you with this information. You must call them back. You must ask again. When you do this, don’t be surprised if your hit rate improves dramatically.
In closing, I would like to quote President John Kennedy who spoke one summer day in 1962 about why we were accepting the challenge of going to the moon. This is what he said:
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
I too have a challenge. I want to challenge you recruiters, you TFL readers of my columns, to do these parts of our business correctly—not because they are easy, but because they are hard. And, as President Kennedy promises, the attainment of our goals will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. And, at the end of the day, this is how we can evaluate ourselves on the scales of success.
Next week, “The Phone Rang…” series will cover Goal Setting. Until then, go recruit someone!
“The Phone Rang…” by Bob Marshall is a series that defines what we, as recruiters, do for a living. This article series ran in The Fordyce Letter over the past year and we are proud to bring you the series online. To subscribe to the print edition of The Fordyce Letter, click here.
