As independent recruiters, it is difficult to keep up with the rapidly changing industry and not get caught up in the standard pitfalls that come with the territory. In order to stay ahead of the competition, it is easy to make promises you can not necessarily keep, take on more than you can possibly handle, or let those tasks on your list fall off without completion.

It is important to stay true to your brand, and most importantly to treat each client and candidate with the same respect to keep your reputation of integrity. Below are some common recruiter mistakes that seem to happen when times are busy:

1. Stop working dumb. This is another way of me telling you to find the smartest strategy to manage time and a full desk. Jeremy Sisemore speaks on how to build a $1 million dollar recruiting desk, and his strategy starts with planning. Use your time on clients who will give you full fees and fire those clients that won’t accept your competitive fees. Learn to walk away from low fees, and strive more towards getting exclusivity from those clients who have proven to be good clients.
2. Strive for high level searches. Have influential hiring managers introduce you to other hiring managers within the same organization. On these, Jeremy Sisemore gives the advices to offer a performance guarantee if you are granted a retainer on the search. Tell your client that they will get the retainer back if you fail to deliver X amount of qualified candidates within a specific timeframe.
3. Under-promise and over-deliver. In any aspect of life, always remember to only promise what is realistic. This will gain respect and clients will value your honesty. Once you begin to let people down by not being able to deliver, your reputation will be tainted as that is what you will be remembered by.
4. If you don’t like them, your trading partners won’t either. If you happen to be in a split placement network such as NPAworldwide, have respect for your partners when asking for help filling a position. If you hate working with a particular client, chances are high that your trading partner will also be frustrated by the long wait, uncertain decision making, and unstable fees. Be upfront with trading partners as to how difficult a position may be to fill, and let them make an honest decision if they want to help you with the search. Same with candidates. If you have had difficulty placing a candidate due to several concerns that arise, do not place them in front of a trading partner in hopes of them having any better luck.
5. Have a healthy desk. A desk should have about 20-30+ assignments and job opening with clients at any given time. If you have much more than that, you are probably not able to devote the appropriate time to the searches, and if you have less, look to adding split placements to your business model to build your business.
6. Keep the relationships you have. With technology making things less personal, and the pressure to grow and quickly accomplish searches building, it is easy to forget about those clients that have been loyal and have made you successful. Strive to visit those key account or local clients on at least a yearly basis, quarterly if you are able.

If you have an interest in adding split business to your independent recruiting firm, feel free to contact me.

I recently saw an infographic called The Job Seeker’s Bill of Rights. It was a well done piece on what a candidate should expect or demand when working with a recruitment firm or recruiter. Some of the more controversial items were a right to:

• Know your recruiter’s opinion on how you compare to others put forward for the job.
• Register with as many recruiters and recruitment agencies as you want.

Many of the items were common sense items with no real impact on the recruiter, the candidate or the way the recruitment process normally flows.

It got me thinking about what should a recruiter expect and demand from a candidate? Here are a few…maybe you can add your favorites???

RECRUITER’S BILL OF RIGHTS (What recruiters can expect of candidates)

1. Recruiters have the right to respect and civility when contacting prospective candidates. It is OK for a candidate to say they have “no interest in being recruited”…no need to be rude or hostile.
2. Recruiters have the right to work with truthful candidates. Candidates should never say “yes” when they mean “no.”
3. Recruiters have the right to work with candidates who honor commitments. If a candidate says they are ready to interview, and an interview is offered…take the interview.
4. Recruiters have the right to speak the truth to candidates. If a candidate is not a good fit or is not at the right experience level, a recruiter can be direct and honest with a candidate.
5. Recruiters have the right to timely feedback. Candidates need to call the recruiter with feedback immediately after an interview.
6. Recruiters have the right to a motivated candidate who does not make excuses when they do not act in the best interest of gaining an offer. If a candidate is asked to do company research prior to an interview or send a thank you note following an interview, they do it. No excuses.
7. Recruiters have the right to ask for exclusivity on a candidate’s search. The candidate can say “no” and the recruiter has the right to lower the priority of the candidate’s search if it is not exclusive with that recruiter.
8. Recruiters have the right to know all the other potential jobs and opportunities a candidate is pursuing. Since most recruiters are working free of change until successful deal is done, they need to know what else is in consideration, so they know the potential for success.
9. Recruiters have the right to assign action steps and hold candidates accountable for completing assignments. A candidate should complete the resume as requested, talk to spouse or partners about a potential move, do research on the company before an interview and anything else they are assigned to do.
10. Recruiters have the right to “fire” any candidate that fails to live up to the expectations listed above. Many recruiters work on a contingent basis and only get paid if a deal is done…so it is only fair that they do not waste the precious resource of time on a candidate that is less than committed to being fair.

What would you add or change???

Recruitment organizations are being challenged from all sides. Employers and candidates are looking for alternate ways to locate talent or to seek employment. Specifically, as it relates to employers, the age-old recruitment model is being threatened by in-house recruiting functions, recruitment technology tools, off-shore sourcing models, and low-cost posting options. All of these tools, methods and services are about the “finding” component of recruiting. These options are all based on the premise that “finding” is the key to a successful new hire for employers. While this can be true for lower level and entry level jobs, the facts are that for the more mission-critical types of roles at the key contributor, manager, director and above levels, finding is the easiest component of the recruiting process. The key to success in these competitive and mission-critical roles is in the “selection and persuasion” of candidates. That is where the value of a recruiter is greatest. Read the rest of this entry »

Every independent recruiter or entrepreneur has had one of those days, weeks, or even months where the road to success can be full of bumps and dead ends, and ultimately seem like a lonely game. Especially here, where the end of the year is coming close, and holiday gatherings with family and friends will start taking you away from work, and it may seem easy to write off time, thinking that you will regain momentum next year.

I encourage you to keep going. I challenge you to pull out the business goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year, and if you have not hit them, realize you have over two months left to crank out some results, or set up your business to perform better in the upcoming year. If you have a running list of vendors, marketing programs, or recruitment networks you planned on checking out, invest the time now. If you had plans to hire more staff, or devote more time to certain tasks, invest in that planning now.

It will take many failed attempts to eventually hit the business model that fits in with your vision and goals, as well as lifestyle. When I find myself struggling in business or lacking motivation, I turn to inspirational quotes to regain focus and change my mindset to positive. Here are my some of my favorites:

• “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” ~ Henry Ford
• “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” ~Warren Buffett
• “You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” ~ Steve Jobs
• “People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves, they have the first secret of success.” ~ Norman Vincent Peale
• “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
• “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.” ~ Swami Vivekananda
• “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” ~ Henry Ford
• “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” ~ Thomas A. Edison
• “The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” ~Mark Zuckerberg
• “Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” ~ Frederick B Wilcox
• “If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents. Value what you know and start charging for it.” ~ Kim Garst
• “Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you’re not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.” ~ David Rockefeller
• “Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.” ~ William Durant
• “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” ~Warren Buffett
• “If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.”~Jeff Bezos

Do you have any that I did not include that you turn to personally? Share them in the comments!