Your Recruiting Career Begins With A Great Recruiting Process

Recruiting is an attractive career because it offers a high income, and the freedom to work independently. Once one knows the recruiting process and develops the necessary skill sets, she can choose to work on contract, as part of an agency, as a high level corporate recruiter, or create unique arrangements tailored to the individual needs of a client (volume assignments).

A good recruiting program, in my opinion, is one that provides an overview of the placement process and then breaks down the process into easy to manage steps. During each phase a recruiter should know what to do and say to optimize results and keep the process moving ahead. There are countless decisions to make all day long in the life of a recruiter and it’s very easy to waste time on tasks that don’t generate revenue.

A sound recruiting method helps one to work efficiently and stay focused. Every day a good recruiter will:

1.     Send a candidate out on an interview

2.     Find a new search assignment

3.     Discover a qualified candidate

4.     Or Close a deal, and set a start date for a new hire

It’s easy to over complicate recruiting however the best recruiters keep life simple. They don’t tolerate distractions. They know their role and equip themselves with the tools and tactics to run the show in a productive way.

During the recruitment process common situations arise repeatedly. One must memorize proven statements and when the time is right, use those statements in a manner that conveys authenticity and sincerity.

Too often new recruiters get hired by less-than-ethical agencies and are duped (only for awhile) into sitting at a desk with a phone and without training. They are told to ‘find candidates’ or 'Get a new search'. They may as well have been told, “There’s the wall, start pounding your head against it until you find a candidate”. If you're going to cold call then you should have training, guidance, and knowledge of what to do and say.

The way to survive and thrive as a recruiter is to get recruiter training and find a mentor. It’s one thing to learn the mechanics of how to recruit and another to manage the process with finesse. Recruiting takes practice. After feeling like a deer in the headlights a few dozen times, the motivation to access the correct tool in the moment is so strong, success happens.

If there's no one to mentor you, pay for recruiter coaching. This small investment will lead to hires and help you refine your style. Recruiting is only fun if you’re making placements. A coach will get you to the next level. Be prepared with questions and if a strategy does not resonate with you, push back and ask for another.

The right recruiting method, powerful tools, insightful strategies, and practice combine to create results quickly and keep placements flowing. Keep developing your recruiting skills. Each day review the activity and think about how you can tweak your phrases and improve your process. This is the way to become a better recruiter and the way to love your career.

by Kimberly Schenk, Executive Recruiter, Trainer, Author

Become A Recruiter: Find A Recruiting System That Resonates With You! by Kimberly Schenk

Executive Recruiters are contingency fee recruiters. We only get paid if our candidate is hired. Employers surveyed give contingency fee recruiters, or headhunters, the highest marks for delivering top quality candidates. Good recruiters are in demand. If you want to be a recruiter pick a recruiting system that will train you like executive recruiters have been trained.

Whether you choose to work on contract, as a corporate recruiter, alone, or in an agency setting, the top-notch methodology headhunter’s use will allow you to work efficiently and find the exact candidate needed for every search.

Contingency fee recruiters focus on passive candidates. I believe passive candidates are the easiest to place. They're not desperate for a job because they already have one. They're not looking for a job so their responses to qualifying questions tend to be genuine. Their motivation to switch employers should be sincere for an ideal match.

If a candidate feels their everyday work life will improve with a shorter commute, better management, more responsibilities, or an attractive culture, then everyone wins. In my experience, a good candidate with strong motivation to make a career move can be found in 13 – 17 conversations. One needs to be able to trust their recruiting methods to achieve results quickly.

Because recruiting involves people each recruiter must have a recruiting system to manage their candidate pipeline. Time is a precious commodity for us all however if a recruiter wastes their time on unproductive tasks it’s a career killer. Recruiting can be brutal for recruiters who don’t feel they have any control over how the process unfolds.

If you wish to be a recruiter, follow a well-defined process. Learn your craft. Equip yourself with techniques, skills, phrases, psychology, and a systematic method to manage interviews, find new search assignments, negotiate well, handle resignations, rebuff counter offers, close effectively, and get paid promptly.

Avoid sweatshop agencies. If an agency promises training, make sure they don’t define training as handing you a phone and telling you 200 phone calls a day will make you successful. The only thing 200 calls a day creates is depression. Ask your prospective employer when was the last time she made 200 calls? Don’t be anyone’s fool. Take charge of your own training. Calling without process and technique will get you thumped in the head all day long.

Will your sweatshop show you how to conduct a One-Call Close? Why not? Walk away from scumbag operations. Can you tell they make me mad? The recruiting profession has a ton of turnover. Crappy training is one reason for high turnover. Ruthless agency practices hurt people. Don't be victimized. 

Spending 4- 5 hours a day on the phone is draining so make your efforts pay well. There’s a great deal of thinking, strategy, asking questions and listening that;s necessary to succeed as a recruiter. You’ll increase your success rate by 1000% if you know what to say and do during any phone call made. While this sounds like common sense, don’t trust your career to a stranger without asking them some tough questions first.

What words do they use to initiate a conversation with a candidate? Listen carefully. How would you respond to those words if that person called you? Candidates in high demand industries get calls from recruiters multiple times a month. How will your call be different? How will your introduction establish rapport, create trust, and engage a candidate who is busy working?

Recruiting is a soft sell. One needs a proven recruiting system to work effectively. With the right method a new recruiter can quickly build a pipeline of commissions. Getting started is the hard part. There will be mistakes made and frustration because in addition to trying to do your job well, there’s a lot to learn. Learning to recruit is similar to learning a new language. With repetition comes mastery.
Is recruiting worth it? You better believe it.

A no-fluff, step-by-step recruiter training program on how to recruit will take your production to the next level within months. We stand ready to place this process in your hands. Kimberly Schenk has recruited in multiple industries for 20 years and has been coaching recruiters and business people for 10 years. Schenk cares about your success and over 1100 professionals have benefited from her programs.

 Programs: Top Recruiter Secrets, Cold Call Therapy, How To Recruit Loan Officers

Recruiting Coach: Take Your Recruiting Career To The Next Level! by Kimberly Schenk

A recruiting coach provides one-on-one support. If you’re new to recruiting, transitioning from corporate recruiting or staffing to contingency fee work, then a mentor can facilitate by helping you adjust your thinking. Expanding your capabilities begins with defining your new role.

All change comes from within. Your ideas of what service you provide, how you provide it, and what that service is worth to your clients has to shift within your mind in order for you to successfully assume any role. Titles alone are meaningless. To be a top recruiter one must first embrace the value they provide.

When you believe in what you have to offer, others will believe you. The next step is to make sure the words you choose, mannerisms, behaviors, and thoughts are professional. As a consultant, all your relationships with business people depend on your ability to talk with ever level of management as a peer. Your mindset determines how others treat you.

You set the tone of discussions with your demeanor, tone, questions, and intention to reach your goals. If a client attempts to demean your role either consciously or unconsciously, you have the option of challenging them, and/or not accepting what has been presented. Saying, “No” takes practice.

Example: As an in-house recruiter you may be conditioned to send a hiring manager 4 – 10 resumes of prospective candidates. In your role as an Executive Recruiter that behavior is counter productive and wastes time. When you’re clear about your role when a hiring manager tells you to send over all the resumes you have before he’ll schedule an interview you must be able to explain how you work.

“That’s not how I work. We’ve reviewed in detail what you’re looking for in a candidate. You’ve explained to me what you require in a candidate’s background in order for you to extend an offer. My job is to screen candidates and send only the most qualified individuals to you to interview. You’re paying me a substantial fee to save you time and money. Let me do my job. The first person I send you will be an exact match. I’m very good at what I do and sending a pile of resumes to you wastes your time and mine. It slows down the process. What times do you have open next Tuesday for an interview?”

When you understand the principles of recruiting, the words you use may vary to fit the situation at hand, but the essence of the content will establish you as someone they can trust to deliver the candidate they’re after. You are relieving them of a burden and freeing them to do what they do best. There’s value and power in what you provide above and beyond presenting qualified candidates.

When you work with a recruiting coach prepare your questions so your time together delivers the maximum benefit. Ask yourself better questions. Write down your answers and compare them to the answers your coach voices. The key is to find the answers that resonate with your core. While you’re gut instinct may not be eloquent, it could be correct. Grow your intuition and judgment muscles by stretching your imagination.

A good recruiting coach provides insights, tips, wording, and strategy. The objective is to close more deals, make more money, manage your time efficiently and be happy. Ask yourself what you want from your coaching sessions. Let your coach know and she’ll help you accomplish your goals quickly.

Bio: A no-fluff, step-by-step recruiter training program on how to recruit will take your production to the next level within a few months. We stand ready to place this process in your hands. Kimberly Schenk has recruited in multiple industries for 20 years. She’s been training recruiters and coaching for 10 years. Schenk cares about your success and over 1100 professionals have benefited from her programs.

Loan Officer Recruiting - Fast Track To Dominating local Markets

If you’re the CEO or VP of Production of a medium size mortgage company, defined as 200 – 2500 employees, the recent rebound in the housing market is prime time for beginning your next growth spurt. As an Executive Recruiter and trainer it’s been wonderful to watch many companies chip away market share from the Big Banks. Recruiting loan officers now will accelerate your momentum.

The industry changes over the past five years were overdue. Prudent, financially solid mortgage operations have been gathering steam and re-shaping the mortgage landscape. Some companies have added in-house recruiters to their roster; also a smart move. As a rule in-house recruiters tend to be over burdened with search requests from all factions of the company.

Take your company to the next level by training all branch managers to recruit. Most mid-size mortgage companies expect team leaders and managers to recruit but how many actually know how to recruit? As business picks up, sure you’re going to close more loans because you’ve worked hard to put all the pieces in place to handle the influx of loans. What’s your strategy to continue on the same trajectory?

Don’t stop growing. Take this opportunity to side-step inertia and grow exponentially. A handful of your competitors are arming their front lines with the same tools the best headhunters use. Those managers will recruit more efficiently and effectively with recruiting principles in hand. For a small investment in recruitment training, your production goals will all be exceeded.

As a recruiter, today if I picked up the phone and left messages with five branch managers, three would call me back. We’d talk about their goals and company culture and I’d accept two search assignments. There are not enough good recruiters in the market to fill the need for loan officers. Put your company's future in the hands of 'recruiters' (branch managers) who are emotionally and financially invested in your success.

Recruiting training will have your branches avoiding common mistakes and hiring loan officers every quarter or every month. For example, most managers are oriented to the bottom line (one of the reasons I love them as clients). Their direct style and urge to state the highlights of a company immediately when ‘pitching’ an offer to a candidate is a strategy that most often fails. What’s the best way to engage a candidate? You need to know.

What would happen if you proposed marriage on the first date? A healthy person would turn you down. Good recruiters use sound principles to attract, engage, build a little rapport, and establish some trust all within their first phone call. They withhold their strongest, best company tidbits until the candidate is emotionally and mentally ready to buy the information that will close the deal.

Recruiting takes practice, but one can be successful during the first recruiting call IF they know the process and what to say and what to do in the proper order. While candidates typically react in a handful of predictable ways, how a recruiter manages the process is crucial to not wasting precious time thwarting their own efforts.

Find a recruiting mentor for your all your branches (pick me, pick me) and whip your new-hire strategy into shape within twelve months. Recruiting looks easy but it can be brutal. What does not recruiting cost your company? If there were a simple solution (training) would you be interested in buying it?

Ask yourself: What’s the biggest challenge and frustration surrounding complacency of branch managers when it comes to recruiting? Is the answer a lack of recruiting skills? Loan officer recruiting  is the path to rapid expansion. This investment will pay dividends for a lifetime. The best way to meet all your production and market growth goals is to empower local markets to capitalize on recruiting loan officers they hear about every day.

***A no-fluff, step-by-step recruiter training program on how to recruit loan officers will take your mortgage production to the next level within 12 months. Kimberly Schenk has recruited in the mortgage industry for 20 years. She’s recruited in multiple industries and has been training recruiters and business people for 10 years. Schenk cares about your success and over 1100 professionals have benefited from her programs.