Jordan Rayboy
on Apr. 5, 2011
The best way to build a high-billing practice is to recruit within a niche and become the absolute best recruiter on the face of the Earth in that niche. You want to own your market. All top billers do it. Regardless of whether they recruit in IT, Accounting, or Healthcare – they are POWER BROKERS in their industry.
Yesterday, we gave you Steps 1-4 of how to dominate your market and own your niche. Today, we bring you steps 5-10.
Jordan Rayboy
on Apr. 4, 2011
I just moved into a house in southern Oregon after traveling the past four years in a giant RV. We love our new digs because we are in a pretty remote area. My wife Jeska won’t even let us get a TV in our house (she’s smart). And honestly, my advice to you as well is this – turn off the TV, and especially, turn off news – it’s usually bad. Get outside. Get Healthy. Most importantly, become grateful for all that you have. If you are in this profession, you have SO much to be grateful for. We make a difference in people’s lives. (usually for the better) We help our clients achieve their goals by solving urgent and critical problems. What we should be most grateful for is this: you, and only you, get to decide what your W2 is at the end of the year. No one is in control of your earnings except you.
Your market sucks? I guarantee there are recruiters out there billing huge numbers in so-called “depressed industries” like construction, automotive, and financial services. Someone out there is getting creative, perhaps jumping into mergers and acquisitions. If you need to, change markets. I saw Jon Bartos start up three different markets in three years and build them each to $1M+ annual billings. But then again, Jon is…well, he’s Jon Bartos. The dude has a mini golf course in his office, and a hockey rink in the empty space next door.
The best way to build a high-billing practice is to recruit within a niche and become the absolute best recruiter on the face of the Earth in that niche. You want to own your market. All top billers do it. Regardless of whether they recruit in IT, Accounting, or Healthcare – they are POWER BROKERS in their industry.
Patty Casey
on Jan. 5, 2011
My name is Patty Casey, and I am the President of Arlington Resources, Inc. in Rolling Meadows, IL, which specializes in the placement of Human Resources professionals for direct hire, contract, and temporary services. We are very supportive of the many people in job transition today – so much so that we have actively made it a passion of ours. We host two professional networking groups at our office, and I run a networking group in the community.
We have two areas of placement, including Human Resources professionals through Arlington Resources, Inc., and Accounting and Finance professionals through Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Over six years ago, we started with our human resources group holding bimonthly meetings specifically to provide networking opportunities for those in transition. We meet so many great people in our profession, and we wanted to help as many people as we can and give back to the human resources community.
Amybeth Hale
on Aug. 3, 2010
William Tincup was featured recently in John Sumser‘s Top 100 Influencers, which is a running series that Sumser is doing on recruiting and HR professionals who have made an impact in our industry. While Tincup isn’t a recruiting agency guy, he is a self-employed professional services guy, just like many of you. Tincup, along with Bret Starr, co-founded their company Starr Tincup in November of 2000. Starr Tincup is a marketing consultancy that serves the recruiting and HR community. He has been responsible for building the company brand, including the website, book (Try Not To F&ck This Up), direct marketing, email marketing, event strategy, social media strategy, and so forth. Tincup has been known (affectionately? notoriously?) throughout the recruiting and HR community for his low-brow sense of humor, colorful language, and yet his approachability and willingness to have conversations about his work and his thoughts on business and marketing strategy.
Recently, he fell out of love with his work and decided to move on.
At this point, you may be wondering “What does this have to do with me? This guy’s a marketer; I’m a recruiting professional!” I promise – there is a good point to all of this.
Falling out of love with one’s work is common. We’ve all had days where we’ve sworn that if we get on the phone with one more rude person or if one more client tries to cheap out on paying a fee, we’re through. Of course, few are the time when we actually follow through on those threats. But that thought is still lingering in the back of our minds – “Is this all really worth it?”
William Tincup’s story struck me because he detailed the reasons he decided to throw in the towel. He stopped believing in the outsourced marketing services business model. He was frustrated with the double standards applied to his efforts vs. in-house marketers’ efforts. He became annoyed that, as an external service provider, his status was constantly being threatened by these ridiculous standards. And the final straw for him, as he states:
“…the realization that over the course of 10 years in the game I might of [sic] been told “thank you” seven or eight times. I (read: my firm) changed lives, changed destinies, built lasting brands, created market share, created real value, got people promoted, etc, etc. Yeah, I know – payment for services rendered was my thanks. Yeah, well, that wasn’t enough.”
I would be very surprised if just about every person reading this article hasn’t struggled with at least one of these issues at some point during your professional recruiting career. Who hasn’t felt like the red-headed stepchild at least once when working with a difficult client? Who hasn’t been held to some crazy standards as an external recruiter that an internal employee would never be held to? And who hasn’t wished that once, just once, someone would thank them for all of the amazing talent they’ve helped shepherd in to an organization?
When you really fall out of love with your work, how do you know when it’s time to say “Enough!” and leave before you become bitter? Is it just a bad case of the Mondays, or is this a recurring gut feeling that just will not go away? How do you get past the rut and fall back in love with what you do? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments below. Sharing your experience might just save someone from calling it quits!
Gary Stauble
on Jun. 2, 2010
Editor’s note: Gary Stauble’s “2 Minute Coaching” gives you quick, easy-to-implement ideas on various subjects.
Topic #1: Should you start a search without a signed agreement?
We were all likely taught that you should never start a search without a signed agreement. This makes good sense for many obvious reasons.
However, what do you do if a hiring manager authorizes you to send people for a search but does not return your agreement promptly?
Ken Selzer
on May 19, 2010
In the world of recruiting, seldom are recruiters good at all aspects. In fact, it is more the exception than the rule, but we continue to think that with the right training, a new recruiter will become an outstanding researcher (thus, an expert in our niche); have the ability to identify and recruit A talent; be adept at marketing; and land wonderful “we need this person now” opportunities.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
Do these people exist? Yes, a few do, but in my experience, they are rare.
They are the big billers we read about and long to become.
elaine.rigoli
on May 11, 2010
Even when other recruiters are dropping like flies, you can easily be one who never goes out of business. Pasquale “Pat” Scopelliti, a writer for The Fordyce Letter and well-known industry consultant, says there is always a need for your service.
Optimistic, perhaps, but it’s this sort of positive thinking that landed him MRI‘s 2009 “Best-in-Class Consultant” award.
We recently chatted with him to learn more about what the MRI award means to him, his background, his views on our industry, his experience coaching recruiters over the years, and more survival strategies.
Geoff Votta
on May 10, 2010
The market is changing for recruiters and you better be prepared.
If you are stuck in the days of selling the fact that you can “find” talent then you are spinning your wheels, or you soon will be. Clients are more demanding and HR leaders need to believe that you can provide value so that they prove ROI.
Everyone is using social media to build their networks and connect with more people in more ways and in more places than ever before. With information so easily available, almost anyone with a computer can become a “recruiter” and throw a resume, or 10, out to an HR manager in need.
But how does this create value?
Neil McNulty
on May 5, 2010
At the risk of sounding naïve, but having been in this business through three recessions, there is daylight at the end of the tunnel and for once, in my opinion, it isn’t a train.
As we all know, the recession was declared on the downward slope several months ago, but hiring never kicked in. The good news of the waning recession means little to us without hiring.
My firm was fortunate; we work in a niche that was affected less severely by the recession: placement of military personnel who are leaving active duty. Yet we felt the sting like everyone else.
We place candidates by geographic targeting, which requires speaking with business leaders and business owners located in specific cities and towns across the USA when marketing our candidates. Up until last month, almost all our placements since 2008 have been for created positions. Business leaders told us they did not have any openings when we contacted them, but they created the job for the veteran. These businesses had not planned on hiring anyone until our call.
From Fear to Optimism
In October 2008, we heard “fear” in the voices of most business leaders. In October of 2009, we heard “fatigue.” Now, we are hearing “cautious optimism.”
Companies are telling us they have actual plans to hire, but do not know when, because of uncertainty about the future. Barring another disaster, I believe that by October of this year, we will be coming out strong from the worst three years in staffing industry history. If human nature takes over, as it always does, employer “fear or hiring” will become “fear of missing out,” which will mean another war for talent, not a war for jobs.
The stock market and housing markets continue their slow-but-steady climbs, layoffs are no longer the main news of the day, and people are buying (American) cars again. As was the geography surrounding Mt Saint Helen’s in Washington state, which was completely flattened and laid waste by the volcano’s eruption, our economy is slowly turning green again. Confidence is climbing.
I joined this industry in November of 1984, at the tail end of the highly recessionary Carter years. My first 60 days on the telephone were characterized by “cautious optimism” from employers, but very little hiring.
Suddenly, in January of 1985, almost overnight, and seemingly without explanation, companies began scrambling to hire people. Our industry experienced its greatest growth ever from 1985 to 1989.
For the same reason economies crash, fear, economies roar back. People who know me know that I’m not the “rah-rah” type. I am a realist. Also, as a former Marine, I believe in these two maxims: “What doesn’t kill us strengthens us,” and “The hottest fire makes the strongest steel.”
Congratulations! If you are reading this, and the recession did not push you out of this business, then you survived probably the toughest period you will ever face in this industry. You were strengthened by adversity, tested, and will be forever stronger to face with confidence whatever comes in the future.
Barbara Bruno
on May 3, 2010
Q. I’ve been producing between $225,000 and $250,000 for the past five years. I hear about recruiters who produce over $1 million themselves and find it hard to believe. I’m working 60 hours a week just to maintain my production. I’d like to break the $300,000 level next year, but there are just so many hours in the day. What would you suggest I do to increase my production?
A. First, you don’t need to work more hours. After five years, you are working on automatic pilot; implement changes that will result in increased production and income. In order to form a new habit it takes 21 working days of repetition, which is why you should never make more than one change each month.
Select from the following ideas:
Segment your day and attempt to make 65% of your planned outgoing calls by noon.
The one common denominator of Big Billers is they arrive at work with their outgoing calls planned. Focus on results-oriented actions, implement any of the ideas above, and you will more than hit your production goal.
Q. I saw you when you spoke in Montreal, and your session changed my life. When others were struggling this year, I have had the best year of my career by focusing on send-outs and identifying new clients for both Direct and Contract business. What happens in the United States definitely affects us in Canada. I was on the verge of quitting and want to thank you for convincing me to “tough it out.”
A. Thank you for your comments. Since June 2009, there has been a steady increase of job orders in the United States in most niches. Many U.S. companies cut too deep and the lack of talent was negatively impacting their bottom lines.
I’d like to share two ideas with you that will help you increase your business:
There will be great competition for top talent in the future so continue to be perceived as an expert in your niche, continue increasing your send-outs, and expect to have a great year!
Q. I’m having a difficult time staying motivated every day. I arrive at work with a positive attitude and it seems to take only minutes until I get a call that ruins my day. It can be someone no-showing for an interview, someone accepting a counter-offer, or one of my clients hiring a candidate who is not mine. The calls we get from candidates are getting nastier and nastier and our clients are not being straight with us. I often feel the job boards are going to put me out of business. Your answers are always so positive and I’d like to know how you never seem to get down? I know I’m not the only recruiter who feels this way.
A. You sound like you may have “quit and stayed.” Our profession is impossible if you’ve lost your passion. A call can’t ruin your day unless you let it! None of us can control what happens each day, but we have 100% control over how we react! You have to adapt the attitude “next” or “so what, now what?”
Problems increase when you are not following systems and let details fall through the cracks. If you want to decrease problems, listen more when you are interviewing to identify the real reason candidates are contemplating a change. When you write a job order, ask for interview times and get a specific target date to fill so you can determine which orders are hot. If your candidate calls are “nasty” you are not being honest with the candidates you can’t place, which represents 95% of your candidate flow. If candidates don’t have skills, stability, and experience, you quite often can’t place them and need to provide them with alternatives.
Job boards will never replace us! Most of our clients want to hire the best person for a job, not the best person on the job boards. They normally want us to recruit a qualified candidate from their direct competition. If you are only attracting candidates from job boards, you need to learn how to recruit.
Clients do not want us to present the same candidates they are surfacing from job boards. They often want us to present “passive candidates” who will consider a change for the right opportunity.
I believe this is the greatest profession on Earth, which is why I maintain my positive attitude.
You need to have an attitude adjustment, you need to get back your passion for “changing people’s lives,” or you need to consider a different career! We hold people’s lives in our hands, so evaluate whether you have indeed “quit and stayed.”
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