I heard on the news last night that certain types of flowers are already blooming and spring is expected to arrive a couple weeks early this year. In lieu of that very comforting thought, it’s the perfect time to do some “spring cleaning”. I recently read a blog post by Greg Savage titled “Keeping it real. Six tactics for hard-core recruiters in 2012” and I think he’s on to something. It’s time to identify the things that keep us moving in the right direction and the things that we do because we are “supposed to” but are not yielding any positive results. I’ve included a few ideas below for you to get started on weeding out the “time-wasters” and “money-makers.” Read the rest of this entry »

As the global economy rebounds from the depths of the Global Financial Crisis it seems recruitment businesses are poised to return to the days of a talent short market. Even in the worst days of the recession, there were employers with job orders for tough-to-fill openings. Those tough-to-fill openings are now being joined by the merely difficult to fill as well as the roles that are always being filled. This makes recruiting and starting a recruiting business look appealing to many who chose to wait until now to take the risk of starting a search firm.

If you are making the leap into a new business you are faced with options. The two options that those starting a recruiting business most frequently consider are the “Go It Alone” model and the “Recruiting Franchise” model. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the weekend, I had a conversation with my fiancé’s grandma who asked me “what do you do for a living?” I hate this question because I always have difficulty describing it, but after I explained “I am the Associate Director of Membership for a global recruiters network”, she immediately retorted with “oh, headhunters?” I don’t know why, but I felt the need to explain that they were not headhunters, but independent recruiters. For some reason, I associate the word “headhunter” with someone who solicits candidates for paid services. I’m not sure why I think this, or if it is even justified. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the definitions for the two words are as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

Do you remember working on a strategic plan for your recruiting business? Typically, this process involves hours and hours of research and meetings. Did the final document result in differentiating your firm from your competition? Increasing your firm profit?

Recently, I read an interesting book entitled Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee’ Mauborgne. The authors suggest that creating a strategic plan is a Red Ocean Strategy. In this strategy, companies vie against their competitors either on price or differentiation. In the end, though, as more competitors enter the marketplace, a company’s share of the market decreases. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you belong to a recruiting association? If not, how do you build a network of recruiting partners? What recruiting resources do you use for professional development? Or, have you decided that the recruiters you “know” through social media are enough?

It’s my favorite time of year at NPA. Our members-only Global Conference is just a few weeks away, and the excitement and anticipation are killing me (so is the workload, but I digress…). The Global Conference is where the magic happens. I love sitting back and watching what happens when smart, engaged recruiters get together in person: Read the rest of this entry »