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The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Articles tagged 'candidatesourcing'

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Follow These 5 Tips to Place An Unemployed Candidate

by 3 weeks ago


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EmploymentSmall75Nobody wants to hire an unemployed person. It’s a problem that most recruiters — whether here in the U.K. or elsewhere — face. On several occasions, I’ve actually had clients request that I seek somebody already in work.

The increasing scarcity of jobs puts us in a tricky situation where:

  • Employers can be pickier about who they hire;
  • There are more jobless candidates (who nobody wants);
  • People are reluctant to trade in a secure job for a new one.

Clients are demanding high caliber candidates while refusing to consider the talent that is actually available to us and them.

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Ask Barb

Why Would A Client Pay You To Source From A Job Board?

by on May 1, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

I just lost a major account because they said we provide them with the same candidates their internal recruiters find on the job boards. We have had great luck surfacing qualified candidates off job boards, I’m now wondering if the job boards are going to replace us? 

Charles S.

Syracuse, NY

Dear Charles:

To not be replaced by job boards, it is important you change the way you are attracting top talent. Clients expect us to recruit passive candidates who are working, although, they would consider a new job if the opportunity represented their next career move. You can use job boards to lead you to these candidates, or you can complete daily networking and recruiting calls.

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Industry News

Bullhorn Report Finds LinkedIn Dominates Social Media Use By Firms

by on Apr. 30, 2013


Bullhorn social media power users

Bullhorn social media power usersIf you’re beginning to think every one is using LinkedIn to source candidates, you’re close to right.

Nearly every survey on source of hire or use of social media by recruiters shows LinkedIn to be a key part of the mix; often it leads all the listed social media sites. The company itself reported adding 2,400 customers in just the last quarter of 2012, bringing the total to 16,400 organizations under contract.

Now comes a Bullhorn survey to report that of the 160,000 registered users on Bullhorn Reach, 97% use LinkedIn to source candidates. That’s not as surprising as it might seem at first glance. Bullhorn Reach is a freemium site specifically for managing a social media program and posting jobs to the sites and to some job boards. Bullhorn Reach users, a large number of them staffing firms, search, and independent recruiters, are all committed to at least some level of social media interaction.

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How-To, The Business of Recruiting

Thou Shalt Succeed With These Commandments… And Accountability

by on Apr. 23, 2013


Danny Cahill

Note: Danny Cahill’s most recent “According to Danny” newsletter carried this item. Between the list of ‘commandments’ and Danny’s advice, the post offers much of value for every recruiter in the business. Especially note Danny’s observations about commandment three.

Hi Danny,

What do you think of our 20 commandments?

1. Thou shall have a written plan every day.

2. Thou shall have 50+ dial outs every day (always a mix of marketing + recruiting calls).

3. Thou shall interview 10+ headhunted candidates every week (headhunted candidate = a candidate who is working, is not expecting your call, and is only passively seeking a job — not on job boards).

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Closing

Treat Actives Like Passives and You’ll Close More Candidates

by on Apr. 23, 2013


candidate hiring concept

candidate hiring conceptOften we see articles about recruiting passive candidates. The perception is that active candidates are not as desirable as their working counterparts.

Allyson Doyle, contributor tr About.com wrote, “Employers often actively seek passive candidates for employment, especially when they are seeking candidates with very specific skills and experience.”

Does that mean that active candidates are no good? Before making a premature judgment, read on; you may not want to discount active candidates.

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Ask Barb

Build Your Rep, Show Your Smarts and Talent Will Find You

by on Apr. 17, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

It’s getting harder and harder to fill our orders. I place in IT and we are only filling 30% of our orders. It makes me crazy that we’re leaving so much money on the table. Do I start a new niche or do I continue to struggle to find candidates that everyone seems to be having a hard time finding?

Frustrated in San Francisco

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Industry News, Social Media, Technology

LinkedIn Adds A Recommendation Feature

by on Apr. 10, 2013


Previous look
New LinkedIn Recruiter

New LinkedIn Recruiter

Sporting a new look and with some new features — including a recommendation engine that ‘learns’ the kind of people a recruiter most want — LinkedIn Recruiter is getting an official relaunch this morning.

The redesign itself is an updating the classic LinkedIn Recruiter look to make it more consistent with the LinkedIn homepage redesign that was introduced last fall.

Parker Barril, Linkedin’s Talent Solutions head of product, unveiled the fresh, new LinkedIn Recruiter at a live and webcast user event — ConnectIn – in San Francisco. As he put it, “the consumerization of the enterprise,” the trend toward making products and services easier to use, “is influencing a new generation of products.”

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Cold Calling, How-To

Important Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Phone Sourcer

by on Mar. 29, 2013


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die-hard phone jockeysEditor’s Note: If you’ve ever hired a sourcer to help with a particularly thorny search, you undoubtedly discovered that not only are they all not alike, but the range of services they provide is vastly different, as are their rates. Maureen Sharib is a phone sourcer who, with her husband, runs TechTrak. A phone sourcer is different from one who primarily sources via the Internet. Both provide a valuable, if different type of service for recruiters. In this post, Maureen offers guidance on hiring a quality phone sourcer.

What is your definition of phone sourcing? If they say they call companies to “check” on information they find on the Internet (“Is she still there? What’s her title now?”), keep looking. You haven’t found a real “phone sourcer.”

If they tell you they find names of people who hold specific titles inside specific organizations that you provide you probably do have a phone sourcer on the line but you need to dig deeper.

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Cold Calling, How-To

You’ll Get More Referrals If You Prime the Pump This Way

by on Mar. 1, 2013


Bill Radin

Here’s a technique I’ve found to be helpful, especially when I’m in search or sourcing mode and I want to stimulate referral activity.

The conventional wisdom when making a recruiting or sourcing call is to ask for the names of people who either have the background you’re looking for, or for people who might be in a position to make a referral.

So, if you’re describing a job to a prospective candidate, you ask the question, “Who do you know who can do the job?” or “Is there anyone you can think of who might have an interest in this sort of opportunity?”

Naturally, the more colorful your description of the job, or the more “sizzle” associated with the company, the more likely it is to get a referral. Unfortunately, some candidates are either tight-lipped by nature or develop a brain freeze when thrown a question they might not have anticipated.

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Ask Barb

Up-Front Interviews Keep You Focused and Selective

by on Jan. 30, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

I heard you talking to someone at the cocktail party at the Fordyce Forum; I wanted to clarify what I thought I heard. Do you get interview times up front from clients? If you do, what do you do when you can’t surface any candidates? How far in advance do you request interview times? It just seems very risky to me because often we do not surface anyone for some of our orders. It would seem that this would ruin my reputation in the long run.

JD, Dallas, TX

Dear JD:

I think it hurts your reputation more to write orders that you don’t fill. When you know you are going to ask for interview times, you stop writing mission impossible and become more consultative in your discussion with hiring authorities. It forces you to take workable orders and represent clients you know your candidates prefer.

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