Winning, Losing, and Recruitment Karma

by Veronica Blatt

image of shooting star representing recruitment karmaToday’s guest blogger is Meri Laird Jones of Davidson Laird, Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky with a remote office in northern Michigan. Meri is a current member of NPA’s board of directors. Davidson, Laird Inc. places technical, operations, sales and manufacturing professionals, primarily in the renewable energy, automotive, paint, plastics, chemical and processing industries.

Anyone in the recruiting business has probably heard: One thing for sure, candidates lie and clients lie. 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 »


5 Resolutions for Independent Recruiters

by Veronica Blatt

orange-white-starsIt’s the start of a new year and if you’re like most people, you’ve at least THOUGHT about making a resolution or two. If you’re looking for some ideas on how to improve your recruiting performance, here are 5 resolutions for independent recruiters:

  1. Use the phone more. Resolve to spend more time on the phone TALKING to your clients and candidates this year. You’ll be rewarded with deeper, richer connections than you can possibly achieve via email. As the electronic landscape continues to change, real human interaction becomes more and more valuable. With the increase in email, texting, and automated delivery of messages, independent recruiters who rely primarily on the phone may find out they ‘stand out’ from their competitors.
  2. Grow your network. Independent recruiters, especially sole proprietors, often find themselves working in a vacuum. It can be lonely, and it can also be difficult when you don’t have a peer group where you can share questions, concerns, and best practices. Cultivate a peer network that you can lean on for advice, benchmarking, or other best practices. Joining a formal network is one way to do that, but there are plenty of other options!
  3. Invest in professional development. Everyone, including independent recruiters, needs to sharpen their skills. NPA members can attend our global conference for peer networking and industry training. There are other conferences, professional associations, and a variety of online learning resources. Whether you’re learning about social media, new recruitment technology, or getting ‘back to the basics,’ make sure you devote some time to professional development this year.
  4. Mobilize your website. Even if you don’t expect to attract candidates via your website, understand that mobile browsing is expected to surpass desktop browsing THIS YEAR. Visitors who come to your site via a mobile device will run away quickly if they have a poor experience.
  5. Consider adding split placements to your business mix. Split placements can help independent recruiters level out revenue fluctuations, offer economical business expansion, and serve clients faster and more effectively. Investing in split placement relationships now will serve you well when business conditions change.

What resolutions have you made this year?

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Changing Times Demand New Approaches: Part III

by Veronica Blatt

image of recruiting trainer Mike RamerMike Ramer, CPC, CSP, is a highly-rated recruiting industry trainer, known for his innovative techniques and interactive, hands-on style. He has 20+ years in recruiting and managing his firm, Ramer Search Consultants (www.RamerGroup.com), in the New York/New Jersey area. He has trained 2,500+ recruiting professionals at 60+ industry events and conferences including NAPS, ASA, Fordyce and IPA. Mike will be a featured speaker at NPA’s Global Conference in New Orleans, March 6-8, 2014.

In Part I and Part II of this post, I wrote about the risks of contingency recruiting and gaining exclusivity from clients and candidates.

Successful recruiters know that gaining exclusivity and making placements starts with building credibility and trust with companies and candidates. After a first contact/conversation, people might look you up online. If a prospective client or candidate googles your name, what are they going to find out? Here’s the good news: You can manage what people see about you online. Read the rest of this entry »


Mobile Recruiter Websites

by Dave Nerz

image of man using mobile recruiter websitesNPA is a global recruitment network. We frequently survey our members for insight into the recruitment business from a practical perspective. This month we asked our member firms about their preparations and actions regarding mobile recruiter websites. The results reported by those responding to our survey of 400 member locations:

  • 37% currently have a mobile-compatible web presence
  • 50% of those that do not have mobile-compatible sites will have that addressed within about 12 months
  • That means in 2 years, about 30% of recruitment sites will still not be mobile-compatible

Things to note: Since NPA is a recruitment network, some members do not seek direct relationships with candidates. They have other member firms working the “candidate side” of recruiting on their behalf. Still others are what NPA calls pure “exporters” and of that collection of members, some do true “headhunting” and do not look for candidates to find them.

So, for your recruitment business, does it make a difference if your focus is on candidates versus clients? Does your audience make a difference in your approach to “mobilize” or not?

Here are some facts that point strongly toward a need to engage candidates with mobile recruiting:

Do employers want to have a mobile connection to you as a recruiter also? Do they search for new recruitment relationship via mobile services too?

Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Top 5 Recruiter Blog Posts of 2013

by Veronica Blatt

fireworksNPA’s Independent Recruiter blog is going on hiatus until early January. Best wishes to all of our readers for the holiday season as well as a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2014!

In case you missed any of these, here are our five most popular recruiter blog posts of 2013:

5 Reasons Independent Recruiters Don’t Return Candidates’ Calls
Candidates are often surprised to find out that recruiters don’t work for them; recruiters work for clients. This post outlines 4 other reasons why you may not have heard back from recruiters. Read the rest of this entry »


Developing a simple marketing plan

by Veronica Blatt

Mel-Kettle-PhotoMel Kettle is a communications and social media consultant, speaker, blogger, educator, coach, bookworm, obsessive foodie and eatie, and a budding photographer. She blogs on marketing and social media at www.melkettle.com.au. Mel is passionate about working with organisations to show them how to communicate effectively so they can develop communities, share their stories and raise awareness. She particularly enjoys working with people who want to make a difference to other people’s lives. In her spare time Mel writes a food blog, The cook’s notebook.

Marketing can seem overwhelming to many business owners, but it’s actually not that hard.

Only undertaking marketing activities when business is slow catches out many small business owners. It is crucial that your marketing is regular and consistent through the good times and the bad – this way you won’t be caught out during slower times. Read the rest of this entry »


Recruiting Budgets and Hot Chocolate

by Veronica Blatt

image of hot cocoaToday’s installment was submitted by Jeff McGraw of The Callos Companies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jeff serves as the chair-elect of NPA’s Board of Directors, and has been a member of the network since 1994. The Callos Companies provides a broad range of human resource services including recruiting & search, temporary staffing, and PEO services.

Hot chocolate or hot cocoa, whatever name you give it, is a heated beverage of melted chocolate, milk and sugar. A rich and creamy drink fit for gods, warriors and kings. A drink that was first introduced by the Mayas over 2,000 years ago. Hot cocoa was an essential part of the Aztec culture and was used medicinally to treat stomach ailments. Today, hot chocolate is consumed throughout the world and enjoyed by the young and the old…except in my office! Read the rest of this entry »


Changing Times Demand New Approaches: Part II

by Veronica Blatt

image of recruiting trainer Mike RamerMike Ramer, CPC, CSP, is a highly-rated recruiting industry trainer, known for his innovative techniques and interactive, hands-on style. He has 20+ years in recruiting and managing his firm, Ramer Search Consultants (www.RamerGroup.com), in the New York/New Jersey area. He has trained 2,500+ recruiting professionals at 60+ industry events and conferences including NAPS, ASA, Fordyce and IPA. Mike will be a featured speaker at NPA’s Global Conference in New Orleans, March 6-8, 2014.

In Part I of this post I asked:  “How can recruiters manage risks today and make more placements?” My answer was: “Control what you can control. If you don’t like the risks, then move on.” Read the rest of this entry »


Recruiting Resources: How Lowball Offers Hurt Your Clients

by Veronica Blatt

frustrated-womanI’ve written before about how lowball offers (among other things) can contribute to turndowns and what agency recruiters can do about it. I continue to be amazed by the stories I hear from NPA members about their clients who make below-market offers in today’s candidate-short recruiting environment. Today, I read another great blog about how lowball offers are harmful to clients in the long run. If you are in need of some recruiting resources to help educate your clients on why it’s a bad idea to make below-market offers, keep reading: Read the rest of this entry »


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