Arm Your Recruiter!

“Just look at our online job posting and start sending us candidates” is one of the least favorite phrases a headhunter wants to hear from a company they’re recruiting talent for. You might as well ask me to clean your house and just hand me a rag. Where’s the mop? The Windex? The OxiClean? (Or for those of you over 40, the Pine-Sol?)

Don’t get me wrong-I understand that recruiting may be a small part of your job, but how well (or poorly) you hire can surely account for a percentage of you and your company’s success, so why not do it right?

Put yourself in a candidate’s shoes for a moment: A recruiter calls you (the 4th call you’ve received this week from one), introduces him/herself, and says they have a fantastic opportunity that would be a perfect fit for you. They then proceed to tell you to visit the company’s website and let them know if you would be interested in applying for the job. Not exactly enticing or inspiring.

The best way to get someone’s attention and figure out if they are a fit, is to be armed with a blend of facts as well as a story behind the job and company. In order for your headhunter to craft and deliver this story to the market, I suggest investing a little time with them at the front end so that they’ll have the ammo they need to be successful.

Information job descriptions don’t provide:

How many employees in the company?
Which Venture Capital Firms have invested in your company and how much? Plans for any future rounds?
What has been the revenue stream from the past 3 years?
What is the problem that your product is solving?
Which competitors do you run up against?
Who are some of your customers?
Why is this position open? If a replacement, why did the last person not work out?
Why did you join this company?
What is your management style?
How would you describe the company culture?

These are just a few ways to “arm” yourself and your recruiter to be able to properly educate the target market and separate your opportunity from all the others out there.

Bottom line: Recruiting is no different than any other investment. You can’t expect a return without expending capital upfront.

-Larry