Recruiting

Prospecting in the Wild!

I’m a big animal lover. I have a dog, a Cavalier King named Murphy, who is smart, good looking and can hunt down food like no one else… from tables, gym bags, backpacks, you name it. Murphy is most notably known for once devouring a whole five pound box of Godiva dark chocolates, wrappers and all, and lived! He is also an expert at pulling tablecloths down when no one is around.

Speaking of hunting, today my colleague discovered that a ‘critter’ has been eating his peanut butter crackers. The critter apparently completed said task twice this week, successfully getting into metal desk drawers and carefully creating a round hole in the package and feasting on his catch!

If Murphy or our office critter were in sales, they would KILL their quotas! They’re true hunters who “eat what they kill”.  

Trust, Respect & Realness: Taking Them All the Way to the Bank

Getting customers and employees to trust you can be complicated, but it is critical for success – at times even more important than sales. If you gain people’s trust and respect, it's easier to grow and nurture your business and give everyone superior service. But trust is a very delicate thing. Tough to gain and even harder to restore.

Here are some ways to build trust, respect, all the while being yourself:

5 Factors Impacting Hiring Trends in 2018

Glassdoor recently revealed five trends in the job market that will disrupt the way organizations attract, hire and retain employees in 2018, as well as the biggest job trends that impacted 2017 – from the power of whistleblowers to the demand for informed candidates. The list of major 2018 disruptions, include the impact of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), on HR and finance; the sectors that are driving job creation; and how mobile is changing the way people find and apply for jobs.

“The U.S. economy experienced a landmark year, despite two major hurricanes and political challenges in Washington, D.C.  – 1.9 million new jobs were added in 11 months and stock markets reached an all-time record high. The nation’s unemployment rate plummeted to a 17-year low, fueling a talent war in tech, healthcare, e-commerce and professional services,” said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor’s chief economist. “Although the nation’s labor market is strong heading into 2018, average wages for many remain stubbornly flat and a stark divide remains in who benefits from continued job growth, with tech skills earning a premium and many other jobs facing significant changes with the rise of AI and automation.”

Here are the trends you should keep your eye on in 2018:

5 Things I’ve Learned Working at a Top Search Firm

Not too long ago I was a starving college student and intern, and today I work as a Business Development professional at one of the country’s top search firms--working to align our company’s value to the needs of companies who are looking for critical talent. How did I get there? Well, let’s just say it’s been one hell of a journey and I’m only getting started. Here are five lessons I’ve learned along the way...

The Job Market Is Fierce. That’s Why You Should Hire a Recruiter

The job market is the hottest it’s been in over 20 years…

And the data backs it up: The Bureau of Labor recently reported the national unemployment rate at 4.1%.

What Does That Mean for Employers?

That statistic certainly does not benefit companies who need to grow their teams and/or hang on to talented employees. Many skilled positions are even harder to fill than the national average--especially those in engineering, technology, education, and medical fields.

When competition for talent is fierce, bringing in a knowledgeable and specialized recruiter can be the secret weapon you’ve been needing to win against the competition. A recruiting partner can bring you value by recruiting passive candidates (those who have their heads down, not looking for a new job) and by helping share your story, such as company culture, which is essential when recruiting top professionals. The best recruiting firms also use data and analytics—to pinpoint the best way to find and recruit exactly who you need—and to reproduce those results time and time again, even when talent is hard to find.

Recruiting specialists such as Hobson Associates happen to be pioneers of recruiting data and analytics, giving you:

It’s OK to Ask for Help

This morning at 2:14 a.m. our house alarm started going off, and wouldn’t stop. First problem: we DON’T HAVE an operating house alarm! (yet)… After 5 minutes of carelessly pounding any button I could see, I sought backup from our local PD. Within 15 minutes of the officer's arrival, we were dumbfounded--and he suggested we call the alarm company’s customer care line. The first rep was of little assistance, but could a) hear the alarm, and b) verify we didn’t have an account, but offered NO solutions on how to make the now continuous 45 minute alarm to stop. She proceeded to get her supervisor on the phone, and that person, after another 10 minutes of troubleshooting, suggested we disconnect the power. The officer and I went downstairs to the breakers, found the power source and voilà, alarm off!

Three people couldn’t figure out the simple solution of disconnecting the power, but the supervisor, who handled these kinds of escalations, was able to provide a temporary solution that allowed us to retreat back to bed for a couple more hours of shut eye...Today’s lesson, taught to me by my close friends “Bags-Under-the-Eyes” and “Sleep-Number-Decrease”, is that it’s OK to ask for help. 

And, oh my gosh, yes, this applies to my professional life and career as well! 

Listen up Recruiters!

In today’s job market there are more available positions than there are qualified candidates, and this pretty much applies across all industries. In the recruiting world, this means that we're in what we call a “candidate crazy market”. It pretty much means that top performers are being inundated with recruiting calls, LinkedIn messages and emails about new jobs. Some of these jobs are stellar and can be awesome opportunities to move forward in your career, while others plainly suck. Not knowing which is which, and constantly taking or dodging these calls can be pretty annoying for a candidate!

Because of this, recruiters like myself, have to take on a whole new approach to recruiting top talent:

Fresh Mindset

As my firm takes on a new fiscal year, I can’t help thinking of this time as being reminiscent of the start of a new calendar year. You know the feeling… That first-week-of-January-feel, when you have it all figured out how you’re going to improve as a person…You talk about getting in better shape by actually using your gym membership and eating real food that doesn’t come in a cardboard box… You’re going to make a better effort at keeping in touch with friends and family you’ve become distant with, or just flat out earn more money…. All those things are great, and achievable – but what gets you there before all that? A new mindset.

I’m not implying you should become a totally new person, but making minor tweaks to the way you approach your day-to-day life, and sticking with them, can change your personal and professional life. I write this from the point of view of a headhunter, but the following can apply to EVERYONE – including my clients and candidates...

Crashed and Burned

Have you ever been burned by someone? Really burned? The kind of burn that leaves a mark? Have you envied a coworker who continually lands the big deals and sets sales records? Have you ever wished you were #1 in the office?

What do being burned and being #1 have in common? They usually go hand in hand. In fact, being burned and being in sales are usually mutually co-existing concepts. Most everyone who has been in sales for any period of time has been affected by either a dishonest candidate or client. In my opinion, the hardest one to take is being burned by a client.

The Night I Drunk Dialed the Candidate Who Took a Counter Offer

You shouldn’t mix. Business with pleasure, dance beats with ballads from the 90s, and definitely not schnapps, mediocre champagne and beer…My colleagues wanted to make me feel better after my candidate took the counter offer. We totally intended to have one drink. But they had half off on shots, Justin bought the first two rounds and that NEVER happens, and they had open mike night and pre-season football, one of which I participated in, it’s kind of fuzzy, and I really, really didn’t want to go home and feel sorry for myself. So I drank way too much. I would like to report that I used Uber, endangered no one and got home responsibly. I would like to report that. I don’t know how I got home. Or where my car is. And I ended up feeling sorry for myself anyway.