It’s no secret that we are in a candidate-short employment market. Globally, employers are reporting significant difficulty finding the talent for their most crucial openings. With the employment market stronger than it has been in quite some time, more employees are open to new career opportunities. In fact, 45% of SATISFIED workers say they would consider a career change. Anecdotally, our member recruiters are reporting more counteroffer and multiple-offer situations than they have for a number of years. Great candidates have an increasingly short shelf-life and are typically off the market in a matter of a few days or less. Read the rest of this entry »
Improve the Candidate Experience in Your Recruitment Efforts
by Veronica BlattSpecialist Recruiters or Generalist Recruiters: Which is Better?
by Veronica Blatt
Today’s guest blogger is Liz Carey, network coordinator for NBN. NPAworldwide and NBN merged in September 2014, and our two networks are working toward a full integration effective January 1, 2016. We’re happy to have Liz on our blogging team.
As a recruiter, do you prefer to be a specialist, or a generalist? As the name implies, a generalist recruits for a wide range of job functions and industries. A specialist recruits within a particular niche or industry, usually on higher-level jobs with particular skills. Read the rest of this entry »
Which Standard Job Boards are Best?
by Sarah Freiburger
While some independent recruiters argue that they do not start their searches for clients with job boards, I have seen many successful placements come from our job board to know that it not only helps with those mass searches for 5-10 sales managers, but specialized positions as well. Candidates may post a resume out of frustration on those job boards or it may just hit a search alert that sparks their interest. It is amazing how many job board there are right now, and in an effort to best use your recruiter budget, here are some of the best out there, using data gathered by Software Advice with the help of the Recruitment Process Outsourcing Association (RPOA) and the National Human Resources Association (NHRA). Read the rest of this entry »
15 Sources for Recruiter Training
by Veronica Blatt
From time to time, our members ask for recommendations for recruiter training. Whether you’re a brand-new recruiter or someone with a lot of experience, investing in professional development is always a smart choice. Recruitment is changing so fast that it’s hard to keep up with the latest developments. And everyone can benefit from an occasional refresher course. If you’re looking for recruiter training, here are 15 solid options, in no particular order. DISCLAIMER: Some of these trainers have been paid speakers at NPAworldwide events or have ongoing sponsor relationships with us. Read the rest of this entry »
Why Using More than One Recruiter is a Bad Idea
by Veronica Blatt
Today’s guest blogger is Jason Elias with Elias Recruitment, specializing in placing lawyers throughout Australia. Jason is a longtime member of NPAworldwide, a previous director, and recipient of the 2014 NPAworldwide Chairman’s Award.
Many employers believe they’ll get a better result and widen the pool of candidates by briefing more than one recruiter. But that’s simply not true for so many reasons.
I know what you’re thinking, of course he’d say that. He wants the commission all to himself!
But forget about trying to find any ulterior motive: using an exclusive recruiter is better for businesses. Here’s why.
5 reasons using multiple recruiters is bad for businesses
- Your recruiters will do less work. Recruiters usually get paid on commissions. On contingent assignments, if they don’t make a placement they’re paid nothing. They’re also usually very busy – at least if they’re any good. Put these two factors together and you can be sure that when you brief multiple recruiters each will spend less time and effort – not more – on filling your position than if they get the job exclusively. After all, no one likes wasting time on work they’re unlikely to be paid for. Many recruiters also end up tripping over candidates who have already been interviewed for other roles so it wastes the candidate’s and the recruiter’s time and reflects poorly on the hiring company.
- You won’t see the best candidates. If a recruiter has “rockstar” candidates they will reserve them as a reward for their loyal clients who have engaged them exclusively in order to cement the relationship and get ongoing exclusive briefs. Furthermore, if a candidate is uncovered during an exclusive brief, the recruiter will hold them for that client whereas for non-exclusive briefs, the candidate may be “shopped around” to several firms so bidding wars and delays become inevitable.
- The focus will shift from quality to speed. While we’re still on the subject, a non-exclusive recruiter’s focus generally shifts from submitting quality candidates to getting things done fast. Many will aim to get their candidates’ CVs registered first so they can lock it in, irrespective of whether their candidates are suitable. This results in more CVs for the hiring manager to review and undermines the value of the recruitment process itself, which is to screen the candidates first. In fact, some less scrupulous recruiters even send CVs without even having interviewed or spoken to the candidate – just so they can log their name first.
- It’s bad for your reputation. Using multiple recruiters can also be bad for an employer’s brand reputation. If candidates hear of the same job from multiple sources it reflects badly on the business, making them seem disorganised or, worse still, desperate and no one wants to work for an employer like that. In the current market, where there is a shift of bargaining power in favour of the good candidates, employers can shoot themselves in the foot and miss out on the top talent.
- You’ll eat up a lot more time in admin. There’s a lot of double handling involved when employers brief multiple recruiters for the same job vacancy. You are better investing time in one recruiter who understands your firm, the culture and what makes a successful candidate. Who needs more paperwork, which just adds time and costs? You will also invariably be dragged in to adjudicate over multiple recruiters claiming to represent the same candidate. This never ends well, with double invoices or, worse still, litigation. The easiest solution can be to pass over the candidate altogether and choose someone else.
Better ways to fill vacancies…
To use an analogy from the legal world, using multiple recruiters is the equivalent of going to five lawyers to draft a shareholders’ agreement and only paying the one you like first.
If you do want the expertise and reach of more than one recruiter on a job there is a solution…
Many recruiters are members of a network where they share their listings with other recruiters. (Elias Recruitment is part of NPAworldwide). In effect, this widens the net for employers without requiring any extra effort on their part. And recruiters with these kinds of arrangements in place are prepared to share their fee to make sure the client gets the best match for their job.
And the best advice is to build a relationship with an exclusive recruiter who is well connected and who has been in the local market recruiting relevant staff for a long time. Also, to protect yourself, select a recruiter who is a member of a peak industry body like the RCSA and must abide by a strict code of conduct to protect both employers and candidates.
Top 10 Reasons to Call a Professional Recruiter
by Dave Nerz
I am a pretty independent and resourceful person. I like a good challenge. I am willing to try almost anything once. Maybe you are the same?
So when something breaks in my house, I will give it go and try to fix it myself. The air conditioner went out last week and I gave it a try. Flipping breakers, replacing filters, oiling fans, etc. No success. The feedback was pretty immediate; no cold air meant sleeping in a house that was near 85 degrees Fahrenheit, so fairly hot and uncomfortable for Michigan. Time to call a professional. Next day, the HVAC professional got us back on the path to cool air and comfortable sleeping. Read the rest of this entry »
Sour Milk and Recruitment Firm Sustainability
by Veronica Blatt
Today’s installment was submitted by T. Jeff McGraw of Callos Resource, LLC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jeff serves as the chair of the NPAworldwide Board of Directors, and has been a member of the network since 1994. Callos Resource, LLC provides a broad range of human resource services including recruiting & search, temporary staffing, and PEO services.
One of my childhood life learning events was being responsible for returning a carton of sour milk to our local grocery store. Don’t stop reading already…trust me, the story of sour milk makes sense! Read the rest of this entry »
Closing on Objections in the Recruitment World
by Sarah Freiburger
“Closing is a process, not an event.” In any industry, objections will be heard and given quite often. In the life of an independent recruiter, this is amplified as objections can be given by clients AND candidates, sometimes over and over again in one deal or conversation. Paul Hawksinson, Publisher of The Fordyce Letter, updated the handbook on overcoming objection for Recruiting, Search, Placement, and Staffing Professionals, and some of his best tips are included below, and helpful to use as a guide or even a refresh when feeling stuck. Read the rest of this entry »
How Long is Too Long to Hire?
by Veronica Blatt
A recent Glassdoor study found that the average hiring process in the U.S. took 23 days in 2014, jumping from 13 days in 2010—the upward trend is also seen in Europe, Canada and Australia.
As many of you know, time can kill a deal for a recruiter. So where is the line drawn between being thorough and taking too much time to fill a position?
There are a number of reasons that cause filling a job order to be prolonged, from a lengthy interview process to the economy. Read the rest of this entry »
3 Reasons for Recruiters to Get on the Phone
by Veronica Blatt
I’m a big fan of Greg Savage and especially enjoy reading his blog. He recently wrote an in-your-face post about recruiters who don’t want to use the phone, and I couldn’t agree more. Phone usage among recruiters has been declining for a number of years, and I believe it ultimately has a negative impact on placement results. Here are three important reasons why the telephone is still a terrific recruiting resource: Read the rest of this entry »