What Cities Hold Opportunity for Independent Recruiters?

by Sarah Freiburger

“America is another name for opportunity,” stated Ralph Waldo Emerson. As a recruiter working either national or international recruitment, it is important to know which cities in America are currently on the rise in terms of drawing in workers who are looking for higher standards and living and better jobs. Once these areas are highlighted, you are able to secure clients in those areas knowing the candidate pool will be the larger to choose from.

As it has stood for the past decade, the housing market made selling your home near impossible, and with jobs being scarce in many parts of the country, Americans chose to not make moves in relocation or careers. According to Yahoo Finance, these are the 10 cities that have been highlighted for 2014 as the ones drawing candidates and workers. Read the rest of this entry »


Be the Leader of Your Recruitment Firm Rather Than the Manager

by Sarah Freiburger

arnoldhglasow165373As the owner of your independent recruitment firm, in addition to being a recruiter, you may also find yourself as the boss, or manager of a small team of recruiters you have hired to work for your firm. It is common that some of these hires may have had little to no experience in recruitment, and perhaps just had the personality to be successful. Others may have decades of experience in the field and decided to come back and work, and still others may have a couple of years working either independently, or under an owner much different than you. In all of these cases, it is important to view yourself as a leader rather than their manager. Here are the differences. Read the rest of this entry »


What is Important to Job Seekers?

by Sarah Freiburger

See No EvilAs an independent recruiter, your recruiting firm hopes to get those passive purple squirrel candidates to present to the client. While a high salary can start to persuade those candidates that are not currently seeking a new position to consider working with you, most times that is not enough in this highly competitive world to have anyone commit to a move.

This is a good guide as well for job seekers to consider when looking for a new position.

In addition to salary, some other benefits to advertise and negotiate for your position include healthcare plan, vacation time, pay raise, employee benefit, performance bonus, and retirement plan. Read the rest of this entry »


Get Serious About Making Split Placements

by Sarah Freiburger

getseriousaboutsplitplacementsAs an owner of a recruiting firm, you may have often heard the saying that, “half of something is better than all of nothing.” This statement relates to adding revenue to your firm with incorporating split placements in your business model. Having a whole network of recruiters sharing their talents can only bring about a wealth of strong candidates and dedication that is sometimes missing or hard to find in a small independent recruiting firm. The goal with adding split placement revenue is to increase profit without having to increase overheard; you want the network to work for you. Read the rest of this entry »


Closing on Objections: Recruiting, Search, Placement, and Staffing

by Sarah Freiburger

agency recruitingThe book “Closing on Objections” was written in 1984 by Paul Hawkinson and is still a best seller today for independent recruiters trying to convince a prospective business to turn in to a client, or persuade a passive candidate to enter the job market through agency recruiting. These tips are useful for old professionals as well as those starting recruiting businesses that are determined to close the deal.

Recruiting and placement is the toughest sales job for the sole reason that it has two unknowns: the candidate and the employer. Closing a sale in recruitment is simply motivating, instructing, encouraging, and reassuring people that they have made the right decision by doing what you want them to do. Here are some highlights from the book that you might try to incorporate in to your closing practice.

The Tie-Down

These will come at the end of your sentence or presentation. You are able to tell the truth as seen by the client or candidate, thus having them agree with you as a response, which is a small victory because it gives you the “yes.” Read the rest of this entry »


Tips for Recruiter Networking

by Sarah Freiburger

image of recruiter networking eventBusiness networking is a socioeconomic business activity by which groups of like-minded businesspeople recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities. This has been pounded into our minds as a necessary tool for growing business and in general, succeeding in any type of venture. Recruiter networking is a subset of this, and critically important for sourcing candidates and new business opportunities.

Now, there are those people who seem to be the Hollywood actor of professional networking. It is as if a spotlight is cast upon them as they gracefully swagger around the room, kissing babies and shaking hands, causing smiles and laughter as they take on the evening. Read the rest of this entry »


3 Key Differences Between NPAworldwide and BountyJobs

by Sarah Freiburger

As the Director of Membership for NPAworldwide, I occasionally am asked by independent recruiters how our network is different and better than BountyJobs. In my opinion, neither one is necessarily better than the other as they are so very different. As an independent recruiter, deciding which to join will depend on how you like to work.

The following is a brief summary of the key differences between NPAworldwide and BountyJobs:

1.    Organization Structure
NPAworldwide is a member-owned and -run network of independently-owned recruiting firms that work together to make split placements. The network began in 1956 and has grown into a network of more than 400 firms located throughout the world.

Owners of NPAworldwide firms set the strategic direction of the network. The network is led by a Board of Directors of owners of member firms and has a selective membership process. At the end of the year, profits are re-invested in the network to continue and improve services to our members.

Membership gives independent recruiters and small firms a way to compete in a global marketplace without sacrificing the unique qualities that distinguish them from larger competitors. Members rely on our split placement network to build relationships that result in more effective and efficient service to clients and candidates in their own market. Those relationships translate into enhanced revenue-generating opportunities and increased financial stability. In the process, members also add value to their businesses through improved speed, reach, and capacity.

BountyJobs is a privately-owned company so I do not know how profits are spent or distributed. In 2011, BountyJobs was impressively ranked No. 389 on Inc. magazine’s annual Inc. 500. The press release announcing this ranking states that “BountyJobs is the preferred contingent search solution for more than one-third of the Fortune 500 . . .”   The organization appears to be a good solution for large employers managing a high volume of open positions resulting in the need for them to manage relationships with many recruiters.

2.    Work Style
Success in NPAworldwide is a result of the relationships built between recruiters. The quickest way to build trust with potential trading partners is to meet face-to-face at one of our conferences. Of course, if that is not possible, recruiters develop relationships through telephone, Skype, and/or email conversations.

In BountyJobs, independent recruiters only work with employers and have limited opportunities to build a relationship with an employer until much later in the hiring process.

3.    Control
In NPAworldwide, recruiters post jobs and candidates in our private, web-based sharing tool called SplitZone.  Recruiters may work on any job, anywhere in the world. We also have a private Job Board where only NPAworldwide recruiters can post their jobs. Members can post their jobs for free on our Job Board and only pay if they place a Job Board candidate in a job. With NPAworldwide, an individual recruiter is in control of how they work with their trading partners as long as they abide by the Bylaws and operating procedures.

BountyJobs is a one-way street. Employers post jobs through BountyJobs. Then after viewing posted jobs, recruiters may contact employers and request that they be given permission to send candidates to the employers. A recruiter cannot speak with an employer unless the employer authorizes the recruiter to send candidates. After the permission is granted, the recruiter is able to view the full contact information of the employer. Wiith BountyJobs, the employer is definitely in control.

Additionally, NPAworldwide recruiters control the type of guarantee they offer employers. With BountyJobs, recruiters have no control. All recruiters are required to provide a 60-day money back guarantee; no exceptions.

In conclusion, which option is better for independent recruiters to join – NPAworldwide or BountyJobs?  It  depends! NPAworldwide is a relationship-based network facilitating split placements among its members. If you prefer to not build relationships with your trading partners, then you should consider BountyJobs.  Or, if you are undecided, you may want to consider joining both and experiencing them each firsthand.

If you do consider joining BountyJobs as an independent recruiter, I suggest you take some time to understand how candidate ownership is addressed. Specifically, who owns the candidate six months after a recruiter submits the candidate to an employer.

As an independent recruiter, which option do you prefer?


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