The Recruiter's Edge | ERE Blog Network

I guess recruiting is still a "job", huh?

Tue, 6 May 2008 08:15:01 PST

It is funny sometimes when I read through my favorite blogs every week. I hear a lot about how great recruiting is, and how many 'big billers' there are, and how everyone in recruiting is a rockstar (at least in in their own mind). I shake my head and laugh. Come on people, let's not always look at this profession through rose-colored glasses!

There are a lot of aspects about our job that really bite the big one. I am part of a discussion forum where certain individuals actually publicly post that they hate recruiters. Hate is a strong word, but wow! I know my dad always told me you can't make everyone happy, but geez, I can't think of a profession I 'hate'. We get abused by sales reps, candidates, and clients. People outside of our industry don't understand what we do. And then there is the whole 'human element' that we deal with - it can be fun and make work interesting, but at the same time make me want to open my window and hurl myself out of it. Ever feel like you just got hit by a hundred fastballs when you leave work at night? And don't give me that 'no, never, I love 100% of my job' crap, because if that is the case, it's time to wake up!

Sure, don't get me wrong, I love my job. I love it enough to get up every morning and perform at the best of my ability. We get compensated well, and let's face it, there is no better feeling than closing a deal.

I got burned twice this week on two deals that were suppose to close, can you tell? Am I bitter? Today perhaps, but tomorrow will be better. Is recruiting my career? For now, but not forever, I know that much. Is it my job? Yes, to pay the bills, help my firm grow, and hopefully (when the stars align correctly) place some very talented people in great positions that will improve their skills and increase their self-satisfaction...

Robert Stanke

http://www.robertstanke.com

The Need to Be Productive

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:22:01 PST

Parhaps you have heard of the old saying that in the construction business it is not uncommon to see one guy digging a hole and three guys standing around watching him do it. Well, I have been a witness to this everyday out of my window here at work for the past couple of months. See, right across the parking lot from our office building, there is a huge construction project going on that is going to add several high-rise office buildings and an outdoor mall-type center to wonderfully block the open view I currently have. While it will be good to see the new development completed and have a couple of more dining options close by, the noise and view has been distracting. But it was something that caught my eye the other day that got me thinking about productivity...

See, I am not a construction expert by any stretch of the imagination. I have no idea why they moved that one pile of dirt six times and now it is back where it started a month ago. I also don't understand why those big beams need to be nailed into the ground during prime phone time, but I trust they know what they are doing. After all, I sit in an office building that was constructed by teams like those out my window. But what I do understand is that I have seen a lot of guys standing around watching another dig a big hole and then fill it in with dirt. So the other day I was thinking that if we handled our recruiting efforts that way, three of us would be let go!

See, our performance is measured by productivity, or as I like to think of it, as throughput. In our industry, it is pretty much every individual for him/herself. We don't have time to stand around and watch others make calls. We need to be constantly moving people through a process to produce a sale. Productivity is such a soft word now-a-days. Look, every industry is different and how they measure production is different. In recruiting, it might be measurements like sendout-to-placement or in sales it might be something like sales cycle measurements. But not every industry requires hands-on work to be productive. A teacher, for example, might sit in his or her desk for an hour, just watching the class work on an assignment. Are they being unproductive? Perhaps not. Who knows - maybe those three construction workers are serving a purpose I am not aware of. Maybe it is required production (output) for them.

I think of my desk a lot like a manufacturing plant. I need to have inputs, a process, production, efficiencies, and output - all while keeping a close eye on operational expenses and inventory levels. If I can balance all of these on my desk, I end up being very productive. But while I manage these dependent events, as every recruiter knows, what makes us successful is our ability to deal with statistical fluctuations (market conditions, unexpected roll-offs, etc.) and adjust our process accordingly.

Productivity is a fine line to evaluate in most industries. Not in recruiting, that is for sure. Either you produce or you hit the bricks...

- Robert Stanke

http://www.robertstanke.com

PUT DOWN THE PHONE!

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:09:01 PST

What you are about to read could very well shock you. You may want to write me hate mail (or 'hate email' in this day in age, I guess). You may wonder if I am completely crazy. But here goes anyways...

Fellow recruiters, please end your call that you are right now, put down the headset, and roll your chair back from your desk. It is time to leave the 'dialing for dollars' mentality behind...

Okay, maybe I am a little off the beaten path with this one, but I really think we need to stop being strapped to our 10-keys and stop looking like we work in a call center for some Fortune 500 company. It is possible, and in fact, might even be crucial to your existence in this industry.

See, the market is ever-changing, and right now the competition is EXTREMELY tight. We need to explore guerilla recruiting tactics, and we need to start now.

Don't get me wrong, the phone is never going to go away. We are still going to have to look for those 200+ minutes a week of quality new candidate recruiting phone calls (on top of the 100 other things we do to keep our pipelines rolling and placements coming). The phone still needs to be our friend since it is the fastest, cheapest, most effective way to reach numerous candidates in an hour, day, or week. But maybe, just maybe, we could hit the phones hard for four days, and use Friday for new approaches that will have higher pay-outs a year or two from now. Here is what I am thinking...

Spend Monday through Thursday attacking your job orders that you can fill this week (or within the next 4-6 weeks). Hit it hard, do your sourcing and prospecting, pound the phones, qualify those candidates. Keep tabs on the time you spend on the phone and how many you can make. Then, on Friday, try different recruiting approaches outside of using the phone. Maybe it is blogging or hitting some discussion boards. How about going to some local networking events? You could probably get two or three in during the course of one day (check the Business section of your local paper to see all the events that are going on that day). How about going to play a round of golf or a couple sets of tennis with a candidate you know is placeable, just not right now. Don't you think they would remember something like that next time they come available and are looking for a job? I bet they would. How about holding a 2-hour session on some career-related topic and invite candidates you want to build relationships with. Pitch to them that they can learn something and network with a handful of others in their related field. You can keep the cost low (or to even nothing) if you hold the session at a local community center and make it free to attend. Hand out your flyers, business cards, etc.

I could go on and on and have countless ideas in my head. I just think the most important part is to get out there - show your face around town. Build your brand! Think of your recruiting strategy being similar to your 401(k) plan - start banking your relationships now for further down the road. Your Monday through Thursday work will pay your bills now... Your Friday work will keep you employed years from now.

Robert Stanke

http://www.robertstanke.com

Recruiting for… the next Big Ten championship?

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 21:14:01 PST

I know a wide portion of the audience reading this blog are probably not from the Minneapolis, Minnesota area, but I thought the topic in general could relate to everyone… but especially sports fans.

For the last six months, there has been much talk around the Twin Cities about our beloved University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. See it is not that we have a Heisman Trophy contending quarterback or a wide receiver that could go first in the 2008 NFL draft. Nope – none of those things. You know the normal things that get Division 1 teams deep press coverage. Actually it is our coach. I’m not kidding.

See, about six months ago, Tim Brewster was announced as our new football coach for the U of MN. He is not known for his West Coast offense or great 3-4 defense… he is actually known for his great recruiting skills. In fact, that is all we have heard about here since his press conference announcing he was our new coach. At first, I looked past it and thought to myself, “Self, let’s just wait and see what happens on the field in September.” But then I got to thinking, what Coach Brewster is looking to do is no different than what I strive to do on a daily basis at Talent – recruit for future talent to join our organization. I am no different than Coach Brewster (except in salary, of course).

So then I spent some time researching Brewster’s background and why people think he is a great recruiter. I didn’t do extensive research or anything, but did find national sports articles about Brewster. Before joining the U of MN, Brewster was a tight end coach for the Denver Broncos. His reputation stands on his ability to create relationships through trust and willingness to do his best to advance his players careers on the football field. He has a great coaching staff around him who spend hundreds and hundreds of hours sitting in the stands on rainy Friday nights watching high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors grid it out on the field, trying to effectively “source” future members of his college team. Upon finding these high school stars, Brewster then hits the phones, drives hours, and flies all across the country to interview, recruit, and ultimately try to get these potential stars to sign the “offer letter” (letter of intent is what it is referred to in college football terms). No different than what any of us try and do on a daily basis.

However, you know what really makes Coach Brewster effective at his job (although we Gopher fans have yet to be proved this)? He has what every great recruiter is made of… personality. If you listen to Brewster on radio interviews, and I managed to track down several and listened to them, you can hear in his voice how passionate he is about his team and his goal to continue building his talented young players. And that is just to radio audiences. Think of what he does in front of candidates, er, I mean high school recruits!

I wish the best for Coach Brewster and the Golden Gophers this year. And Coach, I’m not sure if you cruise around the ERE website, but if you are reading this and are looking for a recruiter to join your team, I would gladly take your phone call.

Robert Stanke
Senior Recruiter

Throwback Recruiting!

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:40:01 PST

For the last couple of weeks, I have really been focusing on going back in time and putting some emphasis on recruiting with a little more personal touch. For example, after a phone call with a new candidate, the first thing I do is drop them a letter in the mail. Now, this is not just some form letter that gets spit out of my ATS, but rather a personal, typed, relevant-to-our-conversation type letter. Sometimes I hand-write it and sometimes I type it out. I always include a copy of my bi-monthly newsletter, and of course a business card. While I was not sure what kind of response I would get or if people would even notice, I had the support of our owner here at Talent, so I thought I would give it a try.

It didn't take long to get feedback... about two days.

After my first letter went out, two days later I got a phone call. My candidate stated that she had never gotten a letter in the mail from a recruiter before - let alone one that included very detailed information we shared together on the phone. Before I knew it, I had built a very quick personal relationship with a strong candidate in the Twin Cities. While timing might not be right now, she assured me that she will always take and return my calls because I took the time to deliver that type of communication to her.

Now all of us know that as recruiters and sourcers, we are often under time crunches to deliver qualified candidates, and one might think they don't have the time to hand-write a letter to a candidate. This is indeed the case for me, and it is true that you can't do this for everyone, but the few select candidates you do send letters too will pay off. Ten minutes. That is all it takes to get a letter out, but it will be the best ten minutes spent when a candidate gets it. Heck, it takes ten minutes to write a quality email, why not just give a little extra effort?

So take the time and try it for a week if you are not doing it already.

After all, look at it from a candidate's perspective... it beats getting nothing but bills in the mail.

By the way, that reminds me... I better start working on my holiday cards...