The Hunt

Many of your recruiting headaches can be alleviated with a well-designed process. Similar to following a popular recipe, if you properly prepare and have the right key ingredients, you’ll likely achieve a desired outcome.

“Prep things in advance so that you don’t have to cook everything at the last moment.” – Wolfgang Puck

Here are 10 key ingredients for a successful recruiting recipe:

1. Make sure the candidate experience reflects your brand. Develop a process for handling replies to application, feedback from interviews, milestone dates for the interview process and a fill by date. Reply to EVERYONE, even those who are not a fit.
2. Courtship is important. Many candidates have options in this economy and they will gravitate towards the organization where they feel “Desired” or “Wanted”.
3. Make sure the job description accurately reflects the position and responsibilities. Get consensus with the managers and departments this position interacts with.
4. Confirm compensation is “current”. This is imperative for any organization. If the salary structure gets out of sync with the overall labor market, a company may find itself paying employees too much and needlessly increasing operating costs; or paying employees too little and having difficulty attracting and retaining talent.
5. First impressions are important. Be mindful of your interview process and how it is perceived by your target recruits. Have a brief introductory call to explain what the interview process will look like.  Upon hire, assign a mentor or buddy. Have a checklist of everything they will need on their first day: computer, email, business cards, documents needed for processing paychecks, etc.
6. If possible, choose a title that will attract the right level of experience. Candidates are attracted to opportunities that could lead to the next logical step in their career.
7. Know your niche and likely targets. Look at sites like LinkedIn to identify competitors that employ your target candidates. When looking at profiles, consider their prior employers, look at relevant groups. Look at industry specific job sites like Dice.com or CareerBuilder. You can also consider recruiting firms that support your industry.
8. Follow up. Candidate’s situations frequently change beyond your knowledge. Develop a process to follow up with your target audience to make sure your position is known by as many potential fits as possible.
9. Know your strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses. Ask yourself the question: why would highly qualified candidates want to come here and work? What makes your company any different from your competitor down the street?
10. Avoid an offer rejection. Confirm what the candidate is seeking before you make a “formal offer”. A consultative pre-close conversation can save you time in back and forth negotiations. Don’t forget about counter-offers.

No matter how great your technology and services are, your company will need people to ignite the ideas and passion that can help it reach its full potential. As executive search experts, we’re passionate about helping companies achieve their organizational goals.

Schedule a free consultation to learn how we can assist you.