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The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Closing, Cold Calling, Entrepreneurship

Laser Focus Leads to Placements

by on May 31, 2011


laser Alejandro Serrano Durán

As demand for our search and placement services started to pick up late last summer, I decided to focus intently on one huge task; increasing the production on my desk.  I established new goals, blocked out all other peripheral responsibilities, and hunkered down to re-create a profitable business. Today I can report that my venture has been a huge success!

Those of you that run a solo practice know we all have the challenging day to day task of managing priorities. We have to determine if we truly have the right searches to fill, once we obtain them, and then must attack each placement opportunity with precision and efficiency. We must qualify diligently and seek immediate results without appearing impatient or testy. This process has required maximum focus, a willingness to learn from the challenges of 2009 and a dedication to what has, and always will, work in this awesome industry of ours.

The attention to detail on each search assignment is where it all starts, but often the other aspects of being a successful practitioner get overlooked. I am here today to say that if and when you put together a string of six months of approximately $50K in billings per as I just have, the resulting financial payoff makes it all okay.

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The Business of Recruiting

What Motivates a Great Recruiter?

by on May 27, 2011


seize the day Nono Fara

Is it the thrill of the chase?

Lots of votes on this one; if you start to read a resume and you start to get an adrenaline rush so strong that you hit yourself in mouth with the phone because you are in such a hurry to call that candidate, you know about the thrill of the chase.

Is it the thrill of the kill?

This one may win the election; there is nothing higher than a recruiter who just closed a big placement and nothing but a snake’s belly is lower than a recruiter who just lost a big one.

Is it that we fall into one of the psychiatric ICD 9 codes?

You don’t understand that? Google it and spend half a day; you WILL find your disorder. All great recruiters are a little crazy — nobody knows which came first, the disorder or a few years in the profession.

Is it that our jobs are different every day so we don’t do well as routine, 8-to-5 pencil-pushers?

If you are a recruiter and you work 8-5, you ain’t great. Don’t waste your time reading the rest of this, go get some certification and get a job taking teller applications at a small bank.

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For Managers

Acquiring Management Skills: Part 1

by on May 26, 2011


Employees Listening to Presentation

The Problem

It’s one of the most common stories in sales. A sales rep starts with a company. He studies, learns, plans, practices, perseveres. After some years, be becomes an excellent producer. As a result of his achievements, he is made a manager. Or perhaps, in our industry, he decides to start his own firm. And soon nothing goes right. Time spent to interview, evaluate, and train new hires reduces his sales effectiveness. His new people produce poorly. When they do produce, they start to argue with him as to methods and strategies. He cannot motivate them beyond adequacy. Turnover is constant, further draining his personal productivity. Frustration sets in. An excellent and happy salesman has become a mediocre and unhappy manager.

“How do you ruin a good salesman?” goes the old joke. “Make him a manager!” is the sarcastic and frequently accurate answer.

Is this a common scenario in our business? You bet it is! 

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For Managers, Fordyce Forum

Podcast: Finding a Management Style That Works (For You!)

by on May 25, 2011


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Not all recruiting businesses operate the same way. Successfully, that is.

Whether you manage multiple offices over many cities, states, or countries, have a small group of employees who work in an office with you, or run your office on your own, management styles are never going to be exactly the same. Managing two employees requires a different approach than managing twenty. Managing one location requires a different strategy than managing multiple locations or a virtual office. If you try to model your management style exactly after another person or office, chances are it’s not going to work.

At the Fordyce Forum next week, we have a panel of successful recruiters scheduled to discuss how to find the management style that works best for you. 

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The Business of Recruiting

“Whats Your Talent? What’s Your Skill?”

by on May 24, 2011


yogabba3

The mind of a parent of children under the age of 4 is quite a study of the subconscious mind. About once or twice every day I involuntarily begin singing the theme song to “The Wonder Pets.” Lately, my lameness has reached a new summit as I can identify every Care Bear not just by their belly badge, but by the sound of the their voice (this is unfortunate collateral damage from owning a vehicle with a DVD player in it). Yes, I have lost any bit of “cool” I ever once had.

My wife and I have found the Noggin Channel to be a tremendous resource for our two little girls, and it’s true that these shows invade your mind — even if you try not to let them. The other day I was taking in a thrilling episode of “Yo Gabba Gabba!,” which is the show that has a skinny DJ in a skin-tight jump suit who carries around a briefcase with three monster-like puppets inside. The puppets come to life, tell stories, sing songs, and dance around. In this particular episode, the little monsters took turns asking each other “What’s your talent, what’s your skill?” They each found something unique to them that they did exceptionally well. Of course, this got me thinking. What’s my talent? What’s my skill? 

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Fordyce Forum, The Business of Recruiting

Life Is All About Choices…

by on May 23, 2011


las-vegas

With my fortieth birthday fast approaching, I’ve been thinking a lot about getting old or, to be more precise, how to avoid getting old. It’s a natural response to a milestone birthday. Well-intentioned friends console me with comments like, “Don’t worry about getting old. It sure beats the alternative,” or “Any day above ground is a good day.” I know they mean well, but that’s sort of a low bar and frankly I’m not convinced. Using the “above ground equals good day” logic, I should be ecstatic when I’m flying. I mean that’s 30,000 times better than just being above ground, right?!

The best advice I received was from a friend who is closing in on seventy. Instead of reassuring me that “40’s not old”, he offered these words of wisdom: “Getting old is a choice. If you stay curious, stay connected and find ways to celebrate, you’ll never be old.”

So, chairing the Fordyce Forum isn’t simply attending a conference for me. It’s an important part of my longevity program. 

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Industry News, Social Media

LinkedIn’s Wild IPO: Is it Really Worth 5 Times More Than Monster?

by on May 19, 2011


LinkedInNYSE

Wall Street investors who were bidding up LinkedIn faster than the last seconds of a hot eBay auction pushed the company’s value to $9 billion.

Not bad for a job board business network that saw its first profit last year.

The stock, which was priced in its first filings with the Security and Exchange Commission at $32-$35, soared to $122.70, before settling back in late afternoon trading to around $96.50 a share.

Trading as LNKD, the stock was the darling of Wall Street. More than 27 million shares changed hands by the time the market closed, several times the 7.84 million share that were part of the initial public offering. More than 200 stories have appeared in the financial trades and online since the stock opened this morning.

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Fordyce Forum, Social Media

Fordyce Forum Presenter Podcasts: Jennifer Knippenberg

by on May 19, 2011


jenn knippenberg - headshot

Meet Jennifer Knippenberg (pronounced kuh-nip-en-burg). Jennifer knows a thing or two about using social media to supplement a traditional recruitment strategy. Notice I said supplement… not replace. In her most recent role, her job was to oversee digital recruiting strategies and lead the development of candidate marketing practices for a large, international recruitment franchise organization. There, she acted as a consultant with both internal and external clients on recruiting strategy as well as developing and executing candidate attraction programs, including job/recruitment advertising, utilization of social networks, and specialized recruiting programs.

Her session at the upcoming Fordyce Forum will focus specifically on her experience helping offices of various shapes and sizes develop social media strategies. Her goal is to provide practical knowledge for attendees to take home regarding best practices for offices that range in industry focus, location, and size. Enjoy the following podcast and get to know Jennifer a little before meeting her in person in Las Vegas at the Fordyce Forum. 

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For Managers, Relationships

Client Relationships: Why Some Succeed and Others Don’t

by on May 18, 2011


DanErwin

In virtually all professional service organizations, clients are the key to success. More and more service professionals understand that  strong, face-to-face-client communication is the antidote to escalating commoditization pressures and the intense competition of the New Economy.

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Fordyce Forum

Some Companies To See at Fordyce Forum 2011

by on May 17, 2011


FF 2011 logo

We are only two weeks away from the fifth annual Fordyce Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada! As such, I wanted to provide you with a list of some of the individuals you should certainly take the time to meet while you are attending the Forum. These folks will be in our exhibit hall and available for you to have conversations with throughout the duration of the conference. And of course, we are most appreciative of these companies as our event sponsors for helping us put on the conference – without our sponsors, we would not be able to bring you all the speakers and networking that you love so much about Fordyce!

Make sure you take the time to connect with the following individuals:

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