Jeff Allen
1 day ago
This is the time of year when recruiters ask me about which industry conference to attend. More specifically, “WHY THE FORDYCE FORUM?”
It’s a really good question. If you’re going to take time from your desk and money from your bank, you deserve to return home able to make more placements than when you left.
Barbara Bruno
2 days ago
Dear Barb:
I’ve heard you say, “When in doubt send them out! Too often we screen out candidates our clients would hire.” Do you have any empirical evidence or data to support your assertion?
Alan T., Sarasota, FL
John Zappe
2 days ago
“Unemployment is expected to remain above 8 percent for the next four years.” That gloomy assessment of the U.S. economy from FedEx Chief Economist Gene Huang is echoed in any number of reports and economic predictions.
“Most predictions,” says an economic analysis by the Society for Human Resource Management, “are less optimistic now than they were when 2011 began.”
What especially worries economists is whether the slow job growth is due to employer cautiousness — in which case growth will accelerate when economic confidence returns — or whether it is structural, meaning some jobs have been permanently eliminated, much the way automation obsoleted elevator operators.
“It is a fair bet that aggregate demand remains the main problem while pockets of skills mismatches persist, despite the high number of job seekers,” says the SHRM analysis.
Debra Wheatman
3 days ago
In an economy of high unemployment and a large pool of qualified candidates, some employers may be under the impression that recruiters are not as necessary. This is untrue. In a market like this, professional recruiters may focus on different aspects of their practice to better support clients and increase revenue.
Keith Newport
4 days ago
As a physician recruiting agency, we have the usual challenge of any recruiting firm—serving our two different constituencies — candidates and clients — and the challenge of working in a specialized industry, healthcare, which has detailed credentialing requirements that vary based on the state, private versus government, and client to client. Additionally, our agency recruits for six high-demand specialties, each with its own set of expertise and requirements.
To help serve our two customer segments, we divided our account executives into two roles: marketers, who deal directly with clients at healthcare facilities, and recruiters, who work with physicians. Also, each of our recruiters and marketers staffs for a single medical specialty.
About seven years ago, we developed our Research Consulting group, a training program for account executives, to accommodate our unique organizational structure. I took over the RC group about five years ago. I started at the company as an account executive, and I had a passion for sales training. When the opportunity to manage and develop my own sales team presented itself, I was very enthusiastic about it. I am an example of the various career-path options that are available to all associates within our organization. This process guides associates through different stages of their career in a very organic manner by giving them the support and training they need along the way.
Michael Gionta
7 days ago
Last week I wrote about what many believe to be the first step in a successful exit plan from this business. That step requires you to have a clear vision for yourself as to a) “what’s next?” in your life and b) how much money you have to have put away to finance that lifestyle.
As I stated last week, the absolute best time to begin an exit plan is five, ten, or more years before you plan on leaving the business. Why? Because it takes time to put in place and then master the right systems and strategies to maximize your firm’s valuation. The more systematic your recruiting business, the more likely you will sell it for the highest amount possible.
What if you are not sure you EVER want to leave the business? Keep reading. Here is what I discovered in building a firm with the objective of maximizing its value to a buyer:
Eric Murphy
8 days ago
Clients who drag out the process of hiring and making an offer to candidates are doing a tremendous disservice to themselves, the potential hire — and you!
I recently had a company take eleven business days to make an offer after a final interview. During the eleven days, the candidate had one on-site interview and two phone interviews with three other companies. This candidate I recruited for my customer didn’t have options when I first contacted him; then suddenly he had several. In the end, he had two offers on the table to consider and was beginning to wonder if he was my customer’s second choice.
Recruiting and hiring is a delicate emotional dance; if your date has to wait too long to be asked to the prom, they will simply go with someone else. In this case, if the company had been quicker with an offer he would have not interviewed with the other companies.
Barbara Bruno
9 days ago
Dear Barb:
I am relatively new to the recruiting business. I am finding no problems obtaining good search assignments. Every training resource that I have used says to never stop marketing. I don’t understand the benefit to continue marketing when you have enough job orders to work. I think it will hurt my reputation to write job orders that I can’t fill. In fact, I would rather focus on fewer searches, than write more that I can’t even work on.
Don T., Bloomington, IN
Michael Gionta
2 weeks ago
Most of us dream of the string of days where we won’t have to deal with clients and candidates ever again. The day where we sell our firm for millions, buy a small yacht, and tour the Caribbean.
The problem is that most recruiting firm owners are ill-prepared for anything close to this reality for several reasons. In this two-part article I hope to share some insights to help you prepare an exit strategy for your business even if your time horizon to leave this business is a decade or more out.
As a matter of fact, the longer your time horizon the better off you are simply because you have time to implement the right systems and structure into your business that will make it the most attractive to a potential buyer. Additionally, you have time to really do some introspection on what life will be like after you leave your firm.
In part one of the series, I will tackle helping you define the next steps AFTER you transition out of this business, and in part 2, next week, I will outline the things you can do NOW to begin to maximize value of your firm and some ideas on structuring the deal.
Barbara Bruno
2 weeks ago
Dear Barb:
I was wondering what goals to set for the coming year? How many placements per month is a good goal to go for? What goals do you set for the recruiters who work for you?
Harry D., Charlotte, NC
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