Dear Barb:

I am a new owner and need to begin hiring recruiters. Can you provide me with a profile of individuals who do well in our profession? Should I look for someone who already has a book of business?

Susan E., Milwaukee, WI

Dear Barb:

I’m having a hard time convincing my recruiters that the recession is over. I keep hearing business is improving, but that is not the case in my office. We’re struggling to keep the doors open. Many of our clients are not hiring and when they do, they often find their own candidates by using Job Boards and Social Media. I’ve never seen it take so long to obtain job offers. When we do finally get a job offer, often our candidates are no longer interested. I need to turn this around before I lose my business. Any suggestions you may have are greatly appreciated.

Sheila M., Memphis, TN

Dear Barb:

What are your feelings about attending conferences? I attended the Fordyce Forum last year and I’m sad to admit that I have not changed one thing. So, am I going to get an ROI on the investment – the answer is NO. I wasted my time and money and I’m more frustrated now than I was before I attended. Too many speakers talked about trends vs. giving me ideas I could implement in my business. I know you often speak at these things, so maybe you can’t give me an objective answer — or can you?

Anonymous Fordyce Forum Attendee

Dear Barb:

Do things normally pick up early in the year? Which quarter of the year is historically the best for our profession? I keep hearing different answers to this question and felt if anyone could provide an accurate answer, you could.

I also wanted to thank you for the free webinar you recently did “What can you expect in 2012?” We have already implemented many of the ideas you shared.

Mary Jane R., Austin, TX

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

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

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

Dear Barb:

I have a very unique situation. One of my top clients has put an internal recruiter in place who happens to be the wife of the CEO. She has never recruited a day in her life. The first thing she told me was that I need to reduce my fee to 15% including the current searches I’m working on, which I refused to do. She is delaying hiring decisions and I’m losing very qualified candidates.

She wants to listen in on my calls so she can make sure I have the pitch right. This is after they’ve hired seven of the last ten candidates I presented. How do I get her to see the light that she is doing more harm than good? This company is growing and will do extensive hiring this year. I talk to the CEO often, which also complicates this situation.

The biggest problem is I can’t talk to the hiring managers and she is providing me with little or no feedback. Should I just try to work around her and go directly to the hiring managers I’ve worked with for years?

Rachael Z., New Orleans, LA

Dear Barb:

My friend participated in your Executive Retreat and said you had them fill out a Gap Analysis and a SWOT sheet.  I’ve been in business for over twenty years and have never heard of either of these forms.  Are you willing to share these with people who did not attend your Retreat?

He said they really got him to think about the changes and actions he’s going to take to grow his business in 2011, which is also my intent.  Thanks in advance.

John S., Colorado Springs, CO