Don Previti, owner of DVP Partners in New York, shared his review of his time in a split placement network. For him, success meant coming out of his comfort zone.

“Many of us have been recruiters for years and we all know how we can get accustomed to a comfort zone in managing our business. We know what got us here on every business level and we tend to revert to what feels comfortable and what has worked in the past. We focus on the same market sectors in the same business discipline in the same type of positions. I am no different than you. When I started my business I was focused on financial services and hedge funds in the NY area. That was where I made my living so that is where I spent my time. Read the rest of this entry »

When an independent recruiter makes the decision to join a split placement organization, or is considering adding splits to their business model, they usually will go through a fantastic plan to make the most of their membership, or make the most money on deals they are going to do with other firms. Over time, as the desk and email fill up, this plan gets buried, and then one day the firm gets frustrated with their lack of return on investment to a network, or of time to building up those partnerships. Here are five quick reminders to get back to the top of your head for making split placements.

1. Do those entries; Make the matches. Simply and easily put, no one knows your positions or candidates unless you share them! In a network, log into your profile and see how many jobs or candidates you have listed. If the answer is slim to none, your partners, especially new ones to the organization, have no idea what you do or specialize in! Take the next thirty minutes to add in your job you need help on, or even 5-10 candidates in your primary specialty.
2. Do that follow-up; and, do it quickly.  Fast, responsive communication is the key to making those placements. If you are seeing your partners email you candidates or ask for assistance on a role and you are telling yourself you will wait to respond at the end of the week when you have more time… the candidate could be gone! More than that, your partner will grow impatient waiting for feedback and move on to a more responsive partner. In 2017, our phones and email are attached to us at all times, so taking the 15 seconds to review a resume and send back a “yes/no” is increasingly important to build relationships.
3. Do you expect half a fee but don’t want to do half the work??  Remember when agreeing to a network placement fee percentage on a successful placement or with a partner that the percentage does not only equal the money you will receive, but the effort you should be putting in. On a 50/50 deal, make sure you are pulling equal weight as your partner in terms of either sourcing the appropriate candidate or building up information from the hiring manager. If you prefer to do less work and more business development, maybe giving your partner a larger percentage would keep their happiness when they believe you to be slacking.
4. Read placement reports to see who is making the deals! This is relevant to those in an organization, but do you know where to look to see the placements reported for the year? These should be available readily and able to be used as a tool to use as a directory of who is making money, aka, who you want to be connected with. As a generalist firm, also asking for information on the most placed industries and job titles could steer you towards the money if you are feeling your talents are too broad or the amount of search results received too wide.
5. Business just does not come to us, we have to make it work, make it happen!  Stay visible. This is true for any avenue that is available to you whether it be online posting, picking up the phone, logging onto trading group calls, and most importantly, adding meetings. Check the events calendar in your network to see what ways you could be making yourself visible, and work on learning some new partners, or getting more active in your current trading groups.

If you read through these reminders with a groan because you are doing all you can, fantastic! More likely than not, these have caused you to not necessarily learn any new information, but remind you to get back to the goals you had in regards to placements for the year. The year is quickly approaching the half way point, so it is a great time to check in and revamp!

A story from NPAworldwide’s engagement coordinator, Kelsea Bischoff.

Teamwork, according to the dictionary, “is the combined action of a group of people, especially when effective and efficient.” Many times working together is much more efficient from a time and effort perspective than working alone. For contingent recruiters, the goal is to make placements.  Close calls do not pay well!  The more deals you make the better for you, your clients and your candidates.  If done right everyone wins.  So, why not add a teamwork option to the recruiter tool box you work from?  Maybe it will result in a few more wins for your clients and candidates. Read the rest of this entry »

In addition to providing access to trading partners outside of a firm’s geographic area or specialty area, a recruiting network can help hook a recruiter up with a peer within their own market. Just because you work the same territory or niche doesn’t automatically make them your “competition.” Below is a great split story of forming an alliance with your supposed enemy. Read the rest of this entry »

As we approach the end of the year, it is time for independent recruiters to start thinking about how to

succeed in the new year. Here is a New Year’s resolution for recruiters to get you started on the right

foot and networking:  Read the rest of this entry »

Because it’s a competitive market for job seekers, recruiters can find it tough to find the right candidate for a role they’re trying to fill. This can be especially true when there is a very specific requirement or  the pipeline of potential candidates has dried up. The longer a position stays open, the costlier the open position becomes due to the time, energy, effort, and productivity expended to hire a candidate. If it’s been days, weeks, months, and that job order is still open, it might be time to change up your approach and use a different method to find that needle in the haystack. Read the rest of this entry »