Welcome to The Fordyce Letter:

The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Amybeth Hale

Amybeth Hale began her career in recruiting working for Jon Bartos as the sole researcher for his award-winning MRI-affiliated executive search firm in Cincinnati. She then served as the Manager of Internet Research for SearchPath International out of Cleveland, OH. She is currently the Editor for The Fordyce Letter and manages the Fordyce Forum annual conference for big-biller recruiting. Amybeth is affectionately known as the "Research Goddess." You can connect with her on Twitter at @researchgoddess.

Articles by Amybeth Hale

Editor's Corner, Industry News

The Push and Pull of Recruiting: Who’s in Charge Here?

by on Jul. 20, 2011


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It’s a never-ending battle. We are at opposite ends of the table from our corporate recruiting counterparts when it comes to what we want:

Us: Biggest fee for least amount of time investment (particularly for those who are strictly contingent)

Them: Most amount of effort invested by third-party recruiters for the smallest fee (hence the frequent “cattle calls” for searches)

…don’t forget the Candidates: Damn — they just want a job!

Supply and demand often dictate who is at the helm in these relationships. Everyone involved takes turns. being “in charge.” That’s why we’re all so interdependent on one another and why good relationships are so important to maintain.

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Cold Calling, Webinars

Webinar: The New Rules for Cold Calling in 2011

by on Jul. 14, 2011


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According to a recent Expertise Marketing Research Report, “of 30 possible marketing tactics… [cold calling] rose to the top as the most effective.”

A Marketing Sherpa survey found 45%-53% of the executives interviewed stated a cold call helped vendors get on the shortlist for purchase.

Cold Calling is Proactive – Productive – Profitable… it gives you instant gratification… and when you know how to do it right it is the most powerful skill in your sales arsenal.

Join Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling™, for this webinar and get:

  • IMMEDIATE RESULTS: Take what you see and hear in the webinar and put it to work for you on your very next dial. It’s like flipping the switch “on”… suddenly you are a master at business by phone.
  • 6 NEW RULES: Make your phone the most powerful, most productive, most profitable business tool you own.
  • #1 QUESTION: I’ll tell you the #1 question you must answer and show you how to answer it so your prospects want to hear more.
  • THE NEW REALITY: You can’t afford to let the misconceptions and myths about cold calling lead you to missteps that cause failure. I’ll show you what works and how to get results now.

Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Time: 2:00 pm ET
Duration: 60 minutes
Cost: FREE

Click here to register for this upcoming webinar.

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1 comment

For Managers, The Business of Recruiting

Podcast: Catching Up With Greg Savage, Founder of Firebrand Talent Search

by on Jul. 14, 2011


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Last fall, I chatted with Greg Savage, founder and Global CEO of Firebrand Talent Search, about some recent changes in his professional career. Savage is the former International CEO of Aquent, and at the time of our talk, the company had recently transitioned Aquent’s permanent placement business to Firebrand while Aquent retained its temp, contract, freelance, and temp-to-perm placement business. We discussed the thought process behind this decision as well as some of Savage’s thoughts on the importance social media would play in the development of the new Firebrand name and image.

Now, over half a year after this transition, I caught up with him to see how things were going. During our chat, Savage talked about some of the challenges as well as the rewards that he has seen during this transition period. When I asked him if it has been worth it, he responded with, “It’s like asking that question of someone on mile 15 of running a marathon.” But the change has been well worth it for him, as well as the rest of Firebrand’s 100+ person global workforce.

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How-To, The Business of Recruiting

Hiring an Internet Researcher For Your Recruiting Business

by on Jul. 11, 2011


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One of the most common questions I get asked by recruiting firm owners is, “What should I look for when I want to hire a researcher?” Since so many of you appear to be looking for good sourcing talent these days, I would like to go through some details of what I believe to be good qualities an excellent researcher might have so that you can select the right one for you. This will not be a complete list, however I think that as you conduct your search, you will find that your most qualified candidates will possess several of these particular skills.

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7 Comments

Editor's Corner

My Confession: You Need R&R To Be Effective

by on Jun. 29, 2011


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Dear Fordyce readers:

As we approach a holiday weekend, I know many of you are scrambling to finish your work weeks — whether to wrap up deals so that you can enjoy the weekend with friends and family, to plan in advance for your return to the office next Tuesday, or some combination of the two. I would like to remind you of one more thing that you cannot forget to do:

Take time to recharge yourself.

I recently learned this lesson the hard way, and from my own personal experiences, I hope to help you avoid some of the same pitfalls I encountered.

And I promise: this has EVERYTHING to do with recruiting, placing candidates, and collecting fees.

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Industry News

Korn/Ferry Launches New CEO Succession Service

by on Jun. 24, 2011


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Earlier this month, Mike Gionta delivered a great presentation at the Fordyce Forum on succession planning for your recruiting business. He stressed the importance of planning your business for the future and building it today to make succession or retirement easier down the road.

Thought Gionta’s presentation was geared toward planning for the future of your recruiting business, succession planning most certainly seems to be a topic at top of mind for many in this industry, as earlier this week Korn/Ferry International announced the launch of Korn/Ferry CEO Succession, a new global offering that provides boards and CEOs with an innovative approach to executive succession.

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Editor's Corner, Technology, TFL archives

The Sourcing Bull’s-Eye — Are You Using Your Resources or Wasting Money?

by on Jun. 22, 2011


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Whether or not you want to admit it, we all use some paid resources for our recruiting efforts. This could include any of the following products: job boards, resume databases, information gathering resources (like Jigsaw or ZoomInfo), ATSs, the list goes on and on. Yes – I am talking to you! I know you post jobs on Monster, CareerBuilder, or at least some niche sites from time to time. I know you have purchased an applicant tracking system (that most likely is simply used as a repository for resumes with very little, if any, data organization). If we are spending money on these resources, why, then, do we so adamantly preach and train against using them when conducting candidate searches? If we’re paying for them, then why not justify the cost of using them by actually using them? And if we are not using them, then why continue to pay for them???

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Industry News

Korn/Ferry 4Q Profit Doubles

by on Jun. 15, 2011


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Executive recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International said Wednesday in a live webcast to investors that its profit more than doubled in its fiscal fourth quarter, a positive sign that more companies are hiring, at least on the executive level.

The company also offered first-quarter guidance above expectations, and its shares climbed 7 percent in midday trading.

While the country is still struggling with high unemployment levels, Korn/Ferry, which focuses on executive-level employees such as chief financial officers or board directors, has bounced back. The results mark the third straight quarter that its net income has more than doubled from a year earlier since it returned to a profit in the first quarter of the year.

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Editor's Corner, Jeff's On Call!, Social Media

LinkedIn and Third-Party Recruiters

by on Jun. 10, 2011


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I received the following email recently, forwarded from Jeff Allen (Jeff’s On Call!) by an upset recruiter:

Hi Jeff,

I’m a fan of yours and a subscriber to Fordyce. Like most…subscribers, I also spend a small fortune on LinkedIn every year. (Probably $3k-$50K depending on the size of the group). It appears that the sales folks at LinkedIn are aggressively going after our customers and trying to dis-intermediate us. I believe this is infuriating and unethical. Is there anything we can do as a group?

Please see the letter that one of their sales people sent to one of my clients. 

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Fordyce Forum

Video: Fordyce Forum Experience

by on Jun. 6, 2011


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We hope those of you who attended the Fordyce Forum last week had a wonderful time! For anyone who was unable to attend, below is a video for you to experience some of what went on in Vegas — we can’t show you everything because, well, you know that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas! (Just kidding… sort of.) And for everyone who was there, we hope that the video brings back some fun memories and leaves you wanting more, which of course you can find here on www.fordyceletter.com and also by planning to join us again next year!

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