Technology

Mission Impossible: Fill this job! (this req, should you choose to accept it, will explode!)

With the holidays fast approaching and year-end around the corner for many of our clients, our office is abuzz with recruiters making calls, sending email blasts-trying to fill as many open roles as possible before the end of the calendar year. Our company spends time, money and resources to give our recruiters the best tools and analytics needed to determine whether a job we’re recruiting on will be filled. When a particular role is starting to get stale- even after countless recruiting calls, job ad / script tweaks, and candidate presentations to our clients -- we have to ask ourselves if a particular role is turning into an “impossible-to-fill” job. Sometimes the issue has NOTHING to do with our recruiting efforts or lack of good talent... it's the role.

Hiring managers, before you start to blame your internal team or your agency recruiters, take a look at some things you can improve:

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...

Having Trouble Hiring and Keeping Sales Engineers??

In today’s tech world, the Sales Engineer, aka Pre-Sales Engineer, Solutions Consultant, Solutions Engineer, or whatever new fancy title you want to use, has become more and more important in the sales process and success of a territory. Everyone has recognized it. I hear that in some cases, the “SE” is more of an influencer in the final decision-making than the Sales Executive!  Not surprising at all. 

It has become a bloody war when it comes to hiring SE talent, due to the increased difficulty in finding and retaining them. I’ve been placing these types of professionals for 14 years and must say-- it’s great to finally see this role get its due justice and recognition!

If you’re a technology company looking to find some good SEs, here are some steps to help you win the battle:

Great Products Don't Sell Themselves, Great Salespeople Do

I call BULL$HIT on that. Sure, you need to start with a great product in order for your company or startup to get off the ground. But, you will also need phenomenal salespeople to reach and appeal to buyers who won’t be swayed by just product features.

Sales, along with Marketing, are there to show prospects just how innovative your SaaS product truly is, and why it’s worth paying for. The best sales reps do this with ease — however they’re not the majority. And of course, as a sales leader, you’re always looking to spot these top sales reps who can take your company to the next level.

So who are they? The product evangelists of the world. Those who can “sell ice to Eskimos”. As a software sales recruiter who talks with talented (and sometimes not-so-talented) people every day, let me tell you what I’ve seen…

4 Things You Need to Know When Interviewing for a Tech Sales Job

So, you’ve decided to make the leap and start interviewing for a new sales job with a tech company or start-up... We’ve got tips to get you from square one to job interview to offer, courtesy of siliconrepublic.com

Do your research

Hiring managers and recruiters can tell within just a few seconds who did their homework before an interview and who didn’t. That’s why, to get ahead of other candidates in the interview process, you need to do more than a quick Google search.

So, beyond reading a company’s mission statement, some things to consider: have you read any customer case studies? Are there free tools you could sign up for? Did you search for product reviews online? Digging into more resources will make you more prepared and it won’t go unnoticed.

Hiring: The More Human Way

As a technology recruiter, I have found that many of my clients rely so heavily on screening and assessment tools that they are doing themselves something of a disservice. You see, as great as modern hiring tools are, do you ever stop and wonder if they are taking the humanity out of the hiring process, causing you to lose out on great untapped talent?

Although there are the obvious boxes to be checked relative to training, aptitude, and skills for any position—there are some things you can do to instantly improve your interview process and hire kick-ass talent...the more human way:

Where’s the Urgency?

A week ago I posted that the Unemployment rate hit a 16-year low. That means there is major opportunity for companies that can get and keep great people. So why aren’t we seeing more urgency around hiring!?... In a nutshell: There is a caution in this economy that was not in place during the last boom. Maybe it’s a ‘Great Recession’ hangover or hedging the next downturn. I don’t know, but as they say, “these ARE the good old days”, so let’s get at it!

Don’t let the “Perfect Candidate” syndrome slow down your organization's growth. Have the guts to hire by “gut feel”. It will save you a ton of time and produce some great results.  If you recall the action and reward impact: It’s not the leader who makes the fewest mistakes that gets promoted. (When was the last time you saw a “mistakes avoided” section in a resume?)

Since hiring is the only part of this economy I’m technically qualified to talk about, here are my suggestions to add some urgency to your hiring process:

Why Candidates Want to Work at Your Sizzling HOT Startup

Startups are still hotter than ever. When it comes to VCs, 80% of capital last year went to just three states: California, New York and Massachusetts. And with cities such as Los Angeles, Miami and Nashville with growing startup scenes, no matter where you live there is most likely an emerging company near you.

If you’re one of these startups and want to get great people on your team, make sure you’re doing the following things to become the hottest place in town to work:

Can We Predict the Future of Recruiting?

What’s next for recruiting?  If you were to ask any business what their top challenges are for the future, odds are high that retaining talent and recruiting are on the list. Smart companies know that they are only as good as their best employees, and make it a priority to seek out solutions to find the ‘best of the best’.

Another thing these companies know is that technology will continue to evolve and play an increasingly important role in how they recruit talent. Below are some important changes to business operations I predict are on the horizon: