Independent Recruiters, How About a Little Candidate Love?

by Veronica Blatt

There’s been some lively discussion among the NPA ranks this week about the perils of neglecting candidates. While many (most?) recruiters say they work for the client—and I don’t disagree, because that’s who pays the bills—it seems timely to remind independent recruiters not to forget about the candidate. Especially in the candidate-short market recruiters are facing today.

Candidates have options. Lots of options. You’re not “doing them a favor” by helping them take important steps in their career. Independent recruiters and clients who aren’t responding to candidates in a professional, timely manner will lose out to those who do.

Qualigence International, the largest recruitment research firm in the US, recently conducted a survey on what recruiters and hiring managers consider their primary focus in 2013. The most shocking detail? ZERO said “making sure the candidate is satisfied.” Take a look at the other results in the [INFOGRAPHIC] below:

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What are YOU doing as an independent recruiter, to show your candidates a little love?


Work “Coopetively” to Make More Split Placements

by Veronica Blatt

hands-blurred-tug-of-warToday’s guest blogger is Rick Corey with OpticsProfessionals, LLC in Rochester, New York, USA. OpticsProfessionals specializes fields of optics, photonics and imaging technology. OpticsProfessionals, LLC assists employers in staffing key talent, while helping individuals with career transition and growth opportunities. Rick is the immediate past chair of the NPA Board of Directors.

As a recruiter, do you ever work cooperatively with recruiters from other firms to make split placements?

I have done this a number of times, reaching out to someone who may be viewed as competition, but who could also be a trusted partner. It can be a recruiter I ask for assistance with if I’m having a problem coming up with appropriate candidates, or a recruiter I know that has some great connections into a company and I’ve got the perfect candidate.

In any case, it’s a recruiter with a good, ethical reputation; someone I feel I can trust. We make an agreement as to how we will work together on the split placement (usually a 50/50 split).

Years ago, I kept hearing of a recruiter working in the same field I do. I would call a candidate with a job order and find out the “other recruiter” had already called him. And it turns out he was hearing the same about me. He called me one day and left a “stinging” voicemail. I called him back and invited him to lunch. We met, and our respect for each other greatly increased.

From that day forward we worked on a number of split placements together, and to this day are the best of friends (he retired from the business a couple of years ago).

A client of mine once coined the term “coopetition”… working with a competitor for the betterment of both companies. That’s what I like to think when I’m closing deals with other recruiters: coopetition.

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Mobile and the International Recruitment Agency

by Dave Nerz

hand holding smartphoneSocial media and social recruiting have been a part of the global recruiting lexicon for a few years now. It seems that mobile recruiting is on the verge of surpassing social recruiting as the red hot topic for 2013 if you work for an international recruitment agency.

The average international recruitment agency is lagging far behind other professions and industries in leveraging mobile technology to improve the user experience. Many ATS systems consider mobile the ability to shrink the full website to a size that fits on a smartphone screen. Users of mobile technology are not apt to accept that solution as on par with the overall market’s expertise. The benchmarks are in sectors like banking, retail, restaurants, publishing, news, and travel. The handset is a powerful tool to navigate what is new and needed in all of these sectors. Most recruitment sites scream, “I dare you to use me!”

LinkedIn has provided a tool that is getting greater use and holds promise for mobile interface sessions with candidates. The “LinkedIn Apply” feature creates a great way for candidates to send details via mobile applications without connecting their PDF or Word resume via a handset session. I’m guessing that many candidates would not have the know-how or patience to cut and paste a Word resume into a mobile app or into a more traditional site viewed via a Smartphone handset. But they certainly have the ability and comfort using their LinkedIn profile to introduce themselves to an employer, recruitment company or recruiter.

When recruiters moved into social media it was a continual challenge to find ways to engage candidates with information they wanted. With mobile, it is not about what candidates want to do via mobile—because they will do anything and everything you allow. It is about playing catch-up to other sectors that have moved far ahead of the average recruiter in an international recruitment agency. Banking allows you to take pictures of checks and make a deposit electronically. I’m looking forward to a recruitment site that allows you to take a picture of your resume and submit that as an application for an opening.

So for all of us that have pushed mobile aside to focus our attention on social media, wake up and smell the smartphones! Social media has morphed itself into a mobile discussion. Get ready to take on the challenges that 2013 will provide to anyone running an international recruitment agency!

Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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7 Recruiting Resources for Great Training

by Veronica Blatt

wooden blocksAs independent recruiters, it can be tough to take time away from your desk to seek out training and other recruiting resources. Keeping your skills current is always important; it’s critical when talent is short and competition is high. There are many great options for recruitment training. Here is a list of 7 options for training, in no particular order, that are worth a look (note: the first 5 will all be speaking at the 2013 NPA Global Conference).

  • Recruiter eLearning, Doug Beabout – As with so many things in life, the “fundamentals” are the key to success. Doug is a big believer in the fundamentals of recruiting. While there are lots of recruiting resources that offer more flash and glitz, you can’t go wrong with Doug’s rock-solid methods.
  • Next Level Exchange – Next Level Exchange offers a variety of affordable online training options ranging from free previews of NLE TV episodes up to monthly subscriptions. There is a wide variety of trainers and topics suitable for everyone from a brand-new recruiter to an owner and everyone in between. Next Level Exchange is a tremendous recruiting resource that delivers high value for the money spent.
  • Bullseye Mentor, Greg Doersching – Greg is a hands-on, works a desk every day, practical trainer. He has great reference materials, samples, forms, etc. for anyone who purchases his training products.
  • Adler Concepts, Lou Adler – Follow Lou on LinkedIn where he publishes a lot of articles about hiring, HR, and recruiting. Lou is perhaps best-known for promoting performance-based hiring. Among other things, I enjoy reading his thoughts about writing more effective job descriptions.
  • #tru, Bill Boorman – I first learned of Bill on Twitter, and I am really excited to meet him at NPA’s Global Conference later this month. He really understands social media as a useful, effective tool for recruiting and recruiters. If Twitter isn’t your thing, you can always follow Bill’s blog.
  • NAPS (Disclaimer: NPA is a member of NAPS and holds a seat on the NAPS Board of Directors.) – NAPS, the National Association of Personnel Services, along with other state and national associations, are some of the best and most affordable recruiting resources available. Not only does NAPS offer certification and myriad educational opportunities, members also have access to legal advice.
  • The Savage Truth, Greg Savage – Greg is an Australian recruiter, speaker, and trainer who also frequently blogs about recruiting and staffing issues. I like Greg’s “tell it like it is” style and global perspective.

There are plenty of other excellent recruiting resources. Who or what are some of your favorites, especially outside of the USA?

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3 Reasons Small Employers Hire Independent Recruiters

by Terri Piersma

tulipsWhen you are a small employer, you should search for candidates yourself, right? Not according to an Inc. article I read recently by Vanessa Merit Nornberg called These Days, Recruiters are Worth the Money.

Like most small employers, Vanessa had been searching for candidates herself. She believed her reasoning was sound because she assumed the following:

  • Working with recruiters was a waste of time,
  • Reviewing resumes for the “right candidate” should be done by her as she knew best who to interview, and
  • Hiring a recruiter was too expensive for her small budget.

However, the reality of her hiring situation was that it was taking her a very long and frustrating time to find the “right candidate” even though she searched a variety of ways including placing ads on large and specialized job boards as well as on local university boards.

Then, one of her senior staff members suggested she contact a recruiter she knew. Reluctantly, Vanessa met with the recruiter. In the end, she decided to try something different. She signed a contingency recruitment agreement. She would pay the recruiter only if she hired a candidate presented by the recruiter.

The results surprised Vanessa. Within one month, Vanessa hired the “right candidate” from the group of candidates presented by the recruiter. Her experience working with a recruiter changed her hiring strategy. She concluded the following about the experience:

  • She filled the position faster.
  • She spent less money considering the overall cost of hiring which included the cost of her time to search for candidates.
  • The recruiter was able to find the “right candidate” for the position.

While the above is compelling, Vanessa discovered something even more interesting. She asked the candidate she hired why she worked with a recruiter instead of posting her resume on job boards. The candidate replied, “because recruiters make sure your resume gets seen, while submitting via the Internet is like sending your resume into oblivion.”

Bottom line: even small employers benefit from working with independent recruiters to find the “right candidate.”


Death of Recruitment

by Dave Nerz

tombstoneAccording to many, the end is near for independent recruiters. The reason…technology. The predictions indicate recruitment as we have known it will cease to exist because employers will get what they need from the new breed of technology tools being created. Some call this Recruitment 4.0.

I am not a believer in the death of recruitment. Here are a few of the reasons I think recruitment, independent recruiters, recruitment networks, and headhunters of various types are here to stay:

  1. The end has been predicted about every 5 years for as long as I remember. The predictions have never been fulfilled. The death of independent recruiters was predicted 50 years ago with the creation of national agencies like Kelly and Robert Half. Death to independents did not come. The demise was signaled more recently with the onset of job boards…in fact, Monster had the intention of replacing the independent recruitment business as a goal when it was created. In spite of intentions, death did not come. Social Media, LinkedIn, in-house recruitment, or anything else you want to add to the list have been unable to dislodge the independent recruiter from the mix that makes the market for employer and job seeker succeed.
  2. New jobs require personal intervention by a recruiter. Firebrand’s CEO, Greg Savage offers an example of why recruiters will continue to be a part of the solution. Mr. Savage recently indicated that in his business, 50% of the roles he recruits for didn’t even exist 3-5 years ago. New jobs and new markets require the guiding hand of a recruiter. Recruitment evolves effectively and efficiently to solve new challenges in a way that electronic tools and social networks cannot. The business model shifts, but it does not dissolve or die.
  3. Global needs are growing and again require the expertise that only a recruiter can offer. Recruiters act as translators, market researchers, and match-making consultants for global jobs. An employer based in North America wouldn’t even know the right job boards to use for a search in China, Australia or in Vietnam. Employers armed with the great social media tools of the day could spend 6 months becoming expert in the local market just to fill one job…not an effective model to run a business. In the NPA network, in excess of 10% of all business done was a “cross-border placement,” meaning the candidate, the employer and the job were in different countries. Those roles will continue to grow as a percentage of placements for the industry.
  4. Contracting and short duration project teams or on the rise. These are positions and work types best suited to a recruitment agency. Employers don’t want to become expert in finding talent for a short duration project team. They will continue to hire an independent expert to do that work.
  5. Highly specialized positions and true headhunting require a recruiter and are not able to be accomplished by social media and a LinkedIn connection alone. Top performers that are fully employed and satisfied do not change companies based on an email or a social connection. Only the real work of a seasoned recruitment professional will cause a top quality candidate to take the required leap of faith into a new employment situation. When you find the computer program that does this, please share your secret.

Independent recruiters continue to evolve and migrate into new niches and new ways of adding value. Tools are more likely to come and go than the recruitment profession itself. My current concern is not survival, it is whether there will be enough independent recruiters available to handle the talent shortage that is inching ever closer. As Baby Boomers retire and employers seek talent to replace the science, engineering and management talent that is exiting, the death of recruitment will remain a threat still unfulfilled.


A Simple Facebook Checklist for Independent Recruiters

by Veronica Blatt

These days, social media “experts” are everywhere. Every time we turn around, there has been a platform update that negates all the hard work you’ve been doing to keep your social media channels up to date. Independent recruiters have the opportunity to work through several different social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Some recruiters use a combination of these three, depending on their goal, and some have decided to use just one. It can be a nightmare to keep your company pages up to date on each platform. There are so many rules and best practices it might be more of a hassle for you than anything else. Hubspot recently put together A Simple Checklist To Help You Evaluate Your Facebook Page. After reading through it, I think independent recruiters can use it to double-check their Facebook page is generating the best results. Read the rest of this entry »


New Year, New Start for Recruiting Networks

by Veronica Blatt

union-jackToday’s guest blogger is Liz Longman, the Managing Director of TEAM (The Employment Agents Movement), and has been involved in recruitment for 20 years. She previously headed up a region for a generalist agency before joining TEAM some nine years ago. TEAM is an NPA partner that extends NPA’s reach into the UK and in return offers TEAM members access to NPA affiliation. Each of these recruiting networks offers unique value to members.

It’s safe to say that over the last few years, businesses of all shapes and sizes – including recruiting networks – have had a tough time. With the economic downfall and several changes to UK legislation, the recruitment sector has been on a real roller coaster ride, which many couldn’t see the end of. The words ‘doom and gloom’ were prevalent across the media throughout last year and the outlook for the UK economy was pretty bleak.

However, as we enter 2013, I think it’s time to move onwards and upwards! We can all take our own lessons from the recession, but it’s time we left the past behind us and looked to a positive future. After all, how else will we move closer to success than with a motivated, optimistic attitude? Recruiting networks are poised to capitalize on some of the positive changes happening.

The situation in UK recruitment now is much better and reports from the end of last year are real proof of this. The Office of National Statistics reported in November that the UK economy was growing slowly but surely, finally pulling us out of recession. The Autumn Evenbase Quarterly Report also showed a few positive signs, with a 40% rise in contract and temporary recruitment roles being advertised and an 11% increase in proactive jobseekers sending CVs.

This positivity is reflected across many of the recruitment agencies we speak to at TEAM. As the recruiting network continues to grow and share activity, we are seeing more members reporting an improvement to their business. Fees are improving and in general the outlook is much better than it has been in the past few years.

There’s not just high growth in the UK market though. Positively, we are seeing an increase in interest in overseas markets from both our members and international partners within NPA, The Worldwide Recruiting Network. This focus on growth also extends to individual industries. Some of our member agencies are now moving their businesses into different specialist areas of recruitment, and are using TEAM members’ expertise to fill vacancies in new areas.

On the candidate side, we have noticed that, despite the new technology available to recruiters and the benefits which come with using social media, many recruiters are looking to be more personal. While using online opportunities to attract and manage candidates, recruitment is a people business and we need to maintain that personal touch that you can’t always get from an email or Tweet. It will be interesting to see how this pans out throughout the year, but I imagine we’ll see more agencies striving to be innovative in talent attraction, particularly as clients’ expectations are high.

Looking forward to this year, we’re expecting to see the focus on candidate attraction and expansion into new industries and markets continue. There are a lot of positive signs for 2013 and I personally would love to see a continuation of the optimistic attitudes we’re noticing. It won’t be easy though and I expect recruiters will be forced to work harder to come up with fresh ideas in order to compete in the market.


Decision-making and Democracy in a Recruiting Network

by Veronica Blatt

ballot-boxOver the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working on distributing proxy authorizations to NPA’s voting members for our upcoming annual meeting. It’s a great reminder for me of the member-ownership aspect of our recruiting network. As a member-owned cooperative, NPA is run democratically. Voting members who attend our annual meeting cast their votes in person. Those who are unable to attend assign a proxy to NPA’s secretary/treasurer, who ensures each vote is cast in accordance with that member’s wishes.

During the annual meeting, audited financial statements are reviewed and discussed, elections are held for the Board of Directors, bylaws changes are voted upon, and members have the ability to bring up new business from the floor. Every member firm of our recruiting network has an equal say in how NPA is run, regardless of the size (or success) of each firm. As with any election, members may not be satisfied with the outcome, but they are certainly an integral part of the process.

Last year, NPA members voted to adopt brand-new bylaws. The old bylaws, adopted in 1981, had become out-of-date, and needed to be “modernized” to fit today’s business environment and the global nature of our recruiting network. Already this year, NPA’s Board of Directors is proposing two amendments to the bylaws based on member feedback. The changes will be discussed and debated, and members will vote on whether or not to adopt these changes. Next year, it’s conceivable there will be further revisions.

While it’s tough to get excited about bylaws (unless you’re like me), this process is an important distinction between NPA and other recruiting networks or recruiting franchises. It’s what makes us different from our competitors. Other recruiting organizations are owned by individuals. While members or franchisees may be able to offer feedback about how those organizations are run, they do not generally get to participate in business and financial decisions that may impact their own businesses. By contrast, NPA’s president and staff do not establish policy; we implement the programs, services, and policies developed by our members.

If you are considering joining a recruiting network, is member-ownership important to you? Or are you more comfortable paying someone else to make decisions? There is no wrong answer, but it’s a point that deserves careful consideration. Click the link below for a checklist that helps you compare NPA to other recruiting networks.

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Starting a Recruiting Business

by Dave Nerz

sticky-notesIf 2013 is the year you will start a recruiting business, here is a very high level look at some things to consider.  The steps may be spelled out for you if you are buying a recruitment franchise.  I would strongly suggest you consider formal and informal network membership as an alternative to purchasing a recruitment franchise.  Here are the high level actions required to get going with your business:

1. Pick a name

Think ahead. Maybe someday after you start your recruiting business you will want to sell it and retire. Do not name the recruitment business after yourself. There is less value to a business called “John Jones Recruiting” when there is no John Jones in the business. At the same time, don’t let name selection paralyze you. The name might help, but look at Google: who would have picked that name? I think they are doing just fine with a crazy name.

Make sure your company name is not already taken with the  U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the appropriate service in your location.

2. Register a domain name

Make sure that the name you selected has available the domain that you want. Even better, think about how people might find you via an online search and see if there is a way you can incorporate your top keyword into your domain name (as well as your company name).

Go for the .com extension. If you must give in, consider .net or .jobs. Try to avoid the dreaded hyphen! Check domain names at Network Solutions. There is nothing worse than a thriving business working on a @gmail.com, @yahoo.com or @aol.com address.

3. Arm your recruiting business with tools

Business cards – Vistaprint.com is a great source of cheap cards.

Accounting Software – Quickbooks is a standard. Freshbooks is an online option.

Applicant Tracking System – I like PCRecruiter. They have a low-cost, highly-flexible tool to track clients and candidates. (Disclosure: Main Sequence Technology, maker of PCRecruiter, is NPA’s technology partner.)

Backup system or cloud-based storage area – Dropbox or GoogleDocs are cloud-based, or you can have a scheduled backup from a service like Carbonite.

Mailing/Marketing Service – try Constant Contact or MailChimp.

LinkedIn – buy the best package you can afford. You will be using it all day, every day, so make it your friend.

4. Set up a website

There are many low-cost tools, including godaddy.com, Network Solutions, and Vistaprint. A word of caution: You don’t want your next-door-neighbor’s-kid’s-best-friend to build you a website, unless that person REALLY knows about websites, responsive design, search engine optimization, mobile interfaces, etc. Economical is smart. Cheap is not.

5. Get connected to the industry

Join the industry trade association – NAPS (National Association of Personnel Services) is in the US.

6. Get trained

Look into a service like Next Level Exchange. They provide training on recruiting from many of the masters of industry.

7. Expand your capabilities/make more money/connect to a peer group

Once established, join NPA, The Worldwide Recruiting Network to enable global coverage to your prospects and clients, do more deals, and gain access to fellow entrepreneurs for ideas and coaching.

It is a great time to be a recruiter. It is difficult work, but the demographics are on your side. With millions of boomers retiring each year and companies back into a growth mode, good employees will be hard to find. That’s where you can benefit. Happy New Year and best of luck for a successfully starting a recruiting business.


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