Q:
What are the top three challenges facing leaders today?
A:
- Having someone to professionally confide in and take credence and direction from. Leaders must have an excellent sounding board. They need to have both internal and external people who can be trusted advisors. The challenge is identifying these people – people genuinely interested in your success - and then trusting and empowering them to that level.
- Planning for and anticipating the market, their business and the overall business climate. Leaders should look to the future, be visionary and prepare accordingly – financially and with talent. They should also surround themselves with people who will keep them grounded and help them to realize the vision.
- Engagement. Leaders need to keep employees engaged, and they need to stay engaged with their customers. Employees have to be part of and responsible for the success of the company. Leaders need to be aware of their morale and take responsibility for improving it, if needed. It's really hard to uproot a happy employee, so leaders should be cognizant of their employees' perceptions. Regarding customers, organizations should earn the right to be engaged with them. Leaders need to be attentive and learn to truly partner. They need to find ways to be a valued resource to their clients.
Q:
What's the best way to find the "needle in the haystack" when we get hundreds of resumes for every job posting?
A:
The ideal solution is actually not to be in this position in the first place.
Instead of managing a flood of applicants, you should always be 'on the lookout' for key talent that will help your company become more successful. You can cast wide net into the sea to be reactive to needs...or you cast a strategic net to be more focused on wooing the right people to your organization on an on-going basis. (The best solution is likely a combination of both.)
That's the greatest advantage of partnering with a recruitment firm, actually. Because we're always networking and meeting people, we can identify some of the best talent that may not be actively looking, in addition to the talent that is more openly communicating their employment needs.
It's important that we truly partner with our clients; so we're not just recruiting, but we understand your business and goals. When you share your strategy for the next one to five years, it provides us with the right insights to identify the best talent to help meet your goals and objectives. As we're continually talking with people in the marketplace, we can find that "needle" and bring them to you.
If a job posting is required, though, here are a few things I would recommend.
- Know what you're looking for – not just from a skills and experience standpoint, but also from a chemistry, character and culture standpoint.
- Be just as aware of what you don't want, so you can quickly sift through resumes.
- Recognize that the "best" candidate may not come to you via an online job posting. Engaging your network is a key factor in finding the best talent.
- Use an assessment tool as part of the process, once you've identifies the top candidates.
- Ensure – through several discussions -that a position with your company would, indeed, be a win-win situation for both the company as well as the individual.
Q:
How can we ensure we're spending time with the "right" candidates?
A:
Regardless of how a candidate is found – either through an online posting or through networking (and both should be leveraged,) it's important to notice how the candidate is pursuing the position.
Is the candidate just on a fishing expedition? Are they sending their resume to every company for every available position? Are they following up with enthusiasm and a clear desire to be part of your process and success?
It will always be a reciprocal win-win when you've identified the "right" candidate for your company's position. Companies should be asking, "Why would someone want to work for us?" Candidates should be asking, "Why would a company want to pay me?" The responses for each of these should show consistency in their goals.
Q:
How can companies benefit from partnering with us, even with internal corporate recruiters?
A:
This is one of the most critical decisions a company can make, and it becomes a highly effective strategy, because we strategically partner to ensure success.
Companies should clearly understand how much time their internal team is allotted to proactively network, attract talent and recruit. How many meetings and other responsibilities do they have in their role? They're likely not solely focused on being out in the marketplace building relationships, we are.
That said, your internal recruitment team remains an integral part of the process, by sharing what strategies have been attempted and how effective each one has been. Then it's our job to partner with the key decision makers, leadership team and any internal team members to make them more successful – that's our goal.
We share important feedback from both potential candidates, as well as the hiring managers. That also helps refine the process and requirements, so we can accurately identify the best talent for the position.
We also have a distinct advantage when it comes to confidentiality. You may not be able to engage in conversations with competitors or in particular industry organizations. We can discreetly hone our sights and networking efforts to be sure we hit the bulls-eye in terms of the best talent the market has to offer versus simply who is applying.
Perhaps the most critical factor, though, is our ability to assume the position of a middle-man, or a bridge between the company and the candidate. We have a clear understand of both party's needs, and we can be trusted to help close any gap and facilitate a win-win situation. This is key, because candidates may not always fully trust internal recruiters, knowing they are "negotiating" on their company's behalf. We remove that obstacle and help both to come away fulfilled.
Q:
As a job seeker, how can I differentiate from the masses?
A:
You must have a clear understanding of who you are, what your value is and how you display that to someone else. It's just like marketing -- you must know your product (you!) Who may be interested in buying and why?
Be sure you can make a great first impression. This starts with your resume, but it also includes a professional appearance for any networking meetings or interviews.
Remember that people may not remember what you say, but they'll always remember how you made them feel. Do your homework to be able to make them feel special. Know a few details about them – Where did they go to school? What activities do they like? Engage in conversation about these details and be memorable.
The key? Study. Want the position. Show that you want it.
Q:
How can we attract people who will be successful in our company?
A:
You have to create a work environment where people want to be. This doesn't mean you work thirty hours a week and make better money than anyone. What is does mean is that you understand who you are and what kind of people will be successful there.
Each company is unique and sometimes they're even unique down to the department-level of the company. You must understand what that culture is and why someone would value working within that culture. Different people value different things. You have to find out what they enjoy and what they can tolerate to be sure there's a good fit.
Q:
When evaluating multiple job offers, how can I decipher which is the best one for me?
A:
If you left or are considering leaving a position, you must understand why you chose to leave. Also be careful that you're not running away and therefore haphazardly running toward a new position. You must know clearly what you want and what will make you happy.
I would suggest that you spend no more than 80% of your process reviewing the details of the role, title, job requirements and daily activities. Spend a solid 20% of your evaluation on how it might "feel" to go to work there. Will you want to go every day? Will you be allowed to be who you are, versus who they want you to be?
Also, allow others who care about you and know you well to be part of the evaluation process. Let them help you make a good decision based on more than just the numbers.
Lastly, do your homework on the prospective employers – know their cultures. Research, ask questions, find people who work there now or have worked there before. Make sure you understand what they value and what they don't like about the culture. Include all these data points in your evaluation.
Q:
What should be included in a job requisition to get highly qualified candidates?
A:
You must know your company and its need very well in order to write a good job requisition. You don't want it to be too loose and have to weed through more resumes than necessary, and you don't want to be too specific and rule out potential candidates too quickly.
One thing that's key is the language you use. This includes:
- "Must Have" – Tells the candidates don't even apply unless you have this
- "Highly Desired" – If you don't have this, we may still take a look if other things are still in alignment
- "Preferred" – More than Highly Desired, but less than Must Have
Other things to include:
- Salary range (and make sure it's at the right level to attract the right people!)
- What are the things that define your culture?
- Disclose the need and frequency for travel
- Include the overall structure and components of the compensation
Q:
Should a job description double as the job requisition?
A:
Not necessarily so...but a lot of companies try this approach.
A job requisition is what you use to attract highly qualified candidates. It should be the salient, specific requirements for this position. Just the facts, please -- it's what is needed to be considered for and to be successful in this position. You wouldn't want to list something on the requisition that's a small part of the overall responsibilities or that could unnecessarily disqualify or discourage a qualified candidate.
A job description, on the other hand, may include tasks and responsibilities that may not be as critical. It may detail the job's day-to-day activities. Some of these tasks may easily be things that people can learn, and it would have been unnecessary to include these in the requisition or posting.
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