New Ideas for Independent Recruiters

Effective independent recruiters need to stay current on the trends, tools and ideas being used by the competition.  With the growth of competition locally and from international recruiters looking to expand their coverage areas, it’s wise to be on top of all the ideas that might be used to maximize success.  Everyone uses the traditional tools of recruiting like referrals, LinkedIn, Twitter and all the other more traditional sourcing methods.  Here are a few off the wall ideas for the open-minded and aggressive independent recruiter to find and close new candidates:

• The Buddy System.  When you find a good candidate, find out who their best friend in the workplace is and make an offer to both.  You will hopefully get a strong and effective team of new hires and instead of just one your client will get two.  Your fee?  That’s up to you but maybe this offers an opportunity to show the client a savings?
• Push News and Openings.  If you are not sharing with the best candidates the placements you have made and the best opening you have, you need to start doing this.  A simple email list and newsletter can get it done quickly and effectively.
• Create Skill Challenges and Contests.  If you hire accountants, create a contest that will challenge their knowledge and experience.  Offer a $500 to the best response to a question or problem.  You will engage many that are employed and top thinkers.
• Create a Talent Space.  If you can create a space on social media like LinkedIn for people with the skill you seek to gather and connect, you will get a stranglehold on those in your targeted profession or skill area.
• Experiment with Traditional Media.  No one is doing so any more so you will stand out.  Include direct mail in your efforts, now a days it is a unique way to capture those you seek.
• Offer Interview Options.  Make the interview easy to do.  Offer interview outside of work hours, do it in casual setting on a Saturday morning, do it by Skype, do it at a location your candidate selects…you will learn something about them from each of these options.
• Side-by-side Comparison Worksheets.  Create a sheet that describes what the new employer is offering…upside, benefits, market share, working conditions, hours, etc.  Let the candidate complete how the existing employer stacks up right in front of you.  It lets you know where the issue are in an instant.
• Know Why They Said Yes.  As an independent recruiter are you doing ‘post-mortems’ on successful placements to see what were the 3 to 5 most influential things said or done to get a yes out of the candidate.  If you know what works for one the process may be more repeatable for many.
• The Diminishing Offer.  I personally love this one.  Because you know candidates will string you out to get as many active offers in before deciding do this…make the offer tiered.  If they accept within 24 hours of the offer it comes with a signing bonus of X.  If they take from 24 to 72 hours it is X – 25%.  And if it is more than 72 hours it is X – 50%.  If it is more than a week it is X – 75%.  You will quickly know how serious the candidate is and they will be explaining the issues holding them back with greater urgency.  It is a gimmick but it is hard to create urgency particularly when the candidate is employed in a border-line acceptable existing situation.

Independent recruiters need to try new things. The competition from other recruiters including international recruiters is certainly not going to get much easier.