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The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


Articles tagged 'timemanagement'

How-To, The Business of Recruiting

Get Control Of Your Time, Your Phone, Your Mail



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This monthly article gives you quick, easy-to-implement ideas on various subjects. This month’s topics have to do with taming your phone and email inbox and outsourcing your admin tasks.

Topic #1: Get Control of Your Phone

The phone may be the best money making tool in a recruiter’s tool box but it still must be used intelligently so that it doesn’t become a time sink. In terms of who has access to me via phone, I have a simple guideline — the more you pay the more access you receive. That is just economics 101.

So if a client has just paid me a $30,000 retainer, of course they have access to me. But, if a candidate is calling who I’ve never spoken to, who hasn’t submitted a resume, and who is not in my primary area of focus, that call will likely go straight to voicemail if I’m busy. You have to remember that 85% (or more) of the candidates you talk to are people you are never going to be able to place.

How-To

Do What You Do Best, Then Hire Someone To Do The Rest. Here’s How



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In one of the discussions in my Recruiter’s Roundtable program a member mentioned a  blog post by Seth Godin that touched a nerve with several people. In the post, Seth talked about why many people don’t succeed using the most popular planning advice put out by productivity gurus like David Allen. He said that most of those strategies don’t work because they lack a key ingredient.

Here’s an excerpt of what Seth had to say:

Getting things done, 18 minute plans, organized folders… none of them work as well as you’d like.

The reason is simple: you don’t want to get more done.

You’re afraid. Getting more done would mean exposing yourself to considerable risk, to crossing bridges, to putting things into the world. Which means failure

You don’t need a new plan for next year. You need a commitment.

Ask Barb

Ask Barb: Time Management Tips



Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

What should I do with a client who has cancelled the last two job orders we worked on after final interviews? Prior to that, they filled three positions internally after we had done extensive work on the searches. They are doing quite a bit of hiring which is why I’m focusing most of my time on this client. How do I convince them that I have the best people for them to hire?

Rebecca K., Tampa, FL

Ask Barb

Ask Barb: Dealing With Burnout



Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

I’m a sole proprietor and I find myself working less and less which of course is negatively impacting my business. When I get frustrated or down, I don’t check my emails or voice mails for a couple of days. With my children home this summer, things have gotten worse because of the added distractions. I’m a single mom which I know you were which should motivate me to succeed. I’m just tired of having my company on my back and if something ever happened to me I don’t know how we would survive. My oldest daughter is a senior this year so I’ll be facing college expenses next year on top of everything else. I don’t want to work for someone else so how do I turn this around?

Meghan S, Harrisburg, PA

Ask Barb

Ask Barb: Setting Realistic Productivity Expectations



Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

I’m expected to make at least 50 calls a day, conduct interviews, check references, write out my recruiting lists, answer emails, answer incoming calls, and do research.  I think it’s impossible to make 50 calls and get everything else done that I’m expected to do.  The owner of my company doesn’t produce which is why I think he’s lost track of what is realistic.  Do you think it’s possible to make 50 calls every day plus do everything else I listed?

Frank H.  New York, NY

Closing, Interviews

Timing Is Critical



image source: Letheravensoar

“As a general rule, you should assume that time is always against you when you are trying to make a deal – any kind of deal.”

image source: Letheravensoar

Robert J. Ringer – Author

These words are as true today as they were when Mr. Ringer wrote them in his best selling 1973 book, “Winning Through Intimidation.”

Daily, I receive calls from recruiters who want to know how they can get their clients to move with a greater sense of urgency throughout the hiring process. A good starting point is to remind them that, state of the economy notwithstanding, the very best employees are always in short supply and in high demand. Companies have to move quickly if they hope to successfully compete for the most sought after talent. As one recruiter stated, employers fit into one of two categories, “… the quick or the dead.”

Entrepreneurship, TFL archives, The Business of Recruiting

Working for Yourself, the Perfect Work+Life “Fit?” It Can Be, But…



Work-Life-Balance

I often present work+life fit strategies to groups of people who work for someone else—a big company, a government agency, or an academic institution. Inevitably, a participant will ask, “So, Cali, what does your work+life fit look like?”

I’ll begin to explain that, “I work for myself, and…” but before I can finish, it’s not unusual for someone to interrupt with, “Uh, see you have the perfect fit. You’re your own boss.” Cracking a knowing smile, I respond, “Yes, working for yourself has benefits, but is it perfect? Not necessarily. Unless you’re careful, there are dangers that can dash even the strongest work+life fit against the rocks.”

Owning your own business does give you more control of how, when, and where you work. But, you’re also the only one responsible for making sure all of that work gets done.  And unless you’re diligent, it’s easy to become the business owner that’s all toil…and no life. So, what do you do to avoid this fate?

Business, The Business of Recruiting

Recruiting Lessons I Learned Managing a Political Campaign



election-day

Editor’s note: today is Election Day in the US. Make sure to go to the polls today and let your voice be heard!

One of the advantages of building a recruiting firm that can manage itself is that it allows me to “step away” for a few days here and there to pursue other interests. For the past few months I devoted about 75% of my time to managing a political campaign for someone running for US Congress in a tightly contested primary. One of my clients asked me recently what parallels I can share from running a successful recruiting firm and running a successful political campaign.

I shared the answers and thought it would be a great topic for an article. I am not going to share the name of the candidate or their party affiliation because how one manages a campaign in a primary would vary little depending on the party.

By implementing the strategies I will share below, my candidate won her primary election and was the ONLY candidate not endorsed by her party to win in the primaries in our state out of nine contested races. These strategies will help you “win” in building your office, hiring and training recruiters, getting clients, recruiting candidates, etc. 

Entrepreneurship, How-To, TFL archives

Time Keeps On Ticking: How To Prioritize It For Maximum Efficiency



photo by Tom Hickey

photo by Tom Hickey

Somebody asked me recently how I get so much done.  I glibly answered that I have a lot of energy and delegate well.  But the question stuck with me — do I really get “so much done” and if so, how?

Anyone who knows me knows that I have the mind of an investigative reporter, so whenever I am posed a question that doesn’t have an obvious answer, I do some digging.  In this case, I decided to do a time study on my own activities for a week (I highly recommend that every recruiter do this occasionally). I recorded everything I did and how much time I spent on it — from the moment I started my work day to the time I “clocked out.” It provided me some insight into what I do well when it comes to using time and, even better, it pointed out some gaps that I can fill in to become even more effective with my time.

Uncategorized

Time Management, Offers, and Client Meetings



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Editor’s note: Gary Stauble’s “2 Minute Coaching” gives you quick, easy-to-implement ideas on various subjects. Here he offers advice on using an egg timer for personal productivity, orchestrating a “yes” within 24 hours, and how to streamline client meetings.


Topic #1: The Power of the Egg Timer

Some of the best ideas are also the most simple, low-tech, and easy-to-implement. With all the advice out there on personal productivity and time-management, it’s easy to overlook this simple tool: the egg timer.

One of the best ways I know to boost my productivity on workdays is to use a countdown timer during golden hours.