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Recruiting in 2022: Is There A Rebirth of the Cold Call?

by Veronica Blatt

Our guest blogger is Roman Duty of Recruiting Services International / RSI in Rushville, Indiana. RSI is a boutique executive search firm that celebrated 50 consecutive years of business in 2020. The firm provides highly individualized recruiting services to clients on a local, regional, and international basis. The firm’s recruiting activities are focused on high-level technical search and managerial placement in many manufacturing arenas. Read his post below about colds calls for recruiting in 2022.

As we end Q1 2022, we remain in the midst of a fascinating, candidate-driven market. Candidates are being inundated by recruiters. As a result of the number of opportunities, candidates are yielding their leverage, but even more so because of vast numbers of remote opportunities. Recently, it dawned on me that because of the number of remote opportunities, businesses have been forced to retool how their talent can be reached. Just last week, I was able to get the cell phones of 10 out of 10 candidates with very minimal effort. But, it begs the question do people really want to receive a cold call in 2022?

  • Can cold calls help recruiters match the speed of the market?
  • Can a cold call still ignite a semi-passive candidate?
  • Texting vs Cold Calling: what are the advantages to each?

As we are finding out, it can be the wild west with active candidates. They are on-the-market and then they are gone…often getting multiple offers at once. Does a cold call, rather than an email, help us gain an advantage? I believe the answer is yes, especially with the number of people working remotely. You gain immediate access. I still believe a properly worded cold call attracts the attention more of a candidate than even an on-target email and the impact is immediate.

It may seem at times that virtually every candidate we are contacting is active. But what about those semi-passive candidates? The ones who ignore the constant emails from recruiters because they are simply too busy to respond, or are relatively happy in their current roles. When recruiting in 2022, wouldn’t a cold call to a semi-passive candidate be worth your while? You don’t have to immediately compete with the candidate vs other opportunities, thus giving you the increased chance of landing a placement. Better yet, cold calls to semi-passive candidates often yield referrals.

In general, what is the appreciate vs disdain percentage of cold calls? Do people appreciate a cold call or do they simply prefer a text? According to a recent poll, 31% of all adults prefer receiving a text message than a call and the percentage is even higher among young adults. If the need for speed is so imperative in this market, I would think a cold call, followed up by a very targeted text message would be an ideal form of communication. After all, the candidate may not ever read or receive the email you send, but he/she likely has her phone within a few feet.

With the speed by which we are needing to reach candidates, and the ease by which cell phones are available, I believe there may be advantages to again making cold calls part of our repertoire.

Drive Revenue - Not Overhead
Posted in: Recruiting Resources

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