Sourcing Candidates: Email or Calling Direct? by Kimberly Schenk

Full cycle recruiters who work on commission quickly become experts at cultivating new searches and finding great candidates. The fastest way to qualify an ideal match for a search is by cold calling passive candidates. Social media sites are helpful for building lists of contacts however direct conversations close deals. 

Recruiting requires good to great communication skills. 

The ability to ask intelligent questions during each phase of the process is central to success. When a candidate does not meet the parameters of the search, switch gears and ask for referrals. People are willing to help and supply names. The best referrals come with phone numbers and a little background. Learn how to ask for contacts and keep asking.

Headhunters are organized. They categorize candidates by skill sets, location, years of experience, etc. Friendly business-to-business relationships are not the same as friendships but they are authentic none-the-less. Recruiters build strong networks quickly by connecting via the phone!

For every 50 recruiters relying on LinkedIn or online resume pools, there’s only one headhunter directly calling candidates. Five minutes in conversation can change the course of your day. Direct calls lead to qualified candidates. A well designed phone call leaves a lasting positive impression that’s personal.

Most happily employed candidates don’t float their resume online. 

While many receive frequent contacts from recruiters, the best recruiters distinguish themselves with sophisticated techniques and engaging questions. Top recruiters establish some trust and rapport within minutes. It takes less than ten minutes to determine if a candidate is warrants an in-depth interview.

Great recruiters spend their day rejecting multiple candidates who don’t specifically match the hiring criteria that’s needed immediately. Many of those candidates may be outstanding and there will come a time to reconnect with them for a position that meets their career and emotional needs.

Mass emails are a turn off. It’s easy for candidates to ignore or delete these messages. No one likes to feel they’re part of some giant herd. Calling can be tedious. The biggest challenge is reaching candidates who send their calls to voice mail. Take heart! Keep dialing and believe you’ll connect to the right candidate.

If a candidate’s not willing to have a five minute conversation or able to offer proof of performance, move on. Skip emails until they’re meaningful. Serious recruiters don’t allow frivolous distractions. The truth is great recruiters can track down a great candidate within 13 – 18 conversations in one or two days.

Is recruiting easy? No, it’s not, until one develops basic skill sets. 
When one understands the process they’ll persevere because experience proves success is certain. We are detectives, hunters, problem solvers, psychologists, decoders, and confidants. Recruiting is challenging and far to many good recruiters give up and leave the industry too soon. Far too often new recruiters find themselves in a no-win situation with unethical organizations. Training can cure ignorance.

If a headhunter seriously wants to earn 15k - 80k a month they’ll pick up the phone. I have a friend who owns physical therapy clinics. He receives up to 20 emails a week from recruiters. He deletes them. About every three months he gets a call from a recruiter and takes a few minutes to talk. When one calls they get answers and spend less time wondering if a candidate has potential.

Cultivate your phone sales skills, phone presence, and format for contacting passive candidates. Call passive candidates directly for two weeks and see for yourself how advantageous this single skill proves to be for your recruiting career! Social media is a tool. Direct contacts create placements.

Note: If you're new to the profession please get yourself relevant recruiter training. Your career will soar and you'll be happier in your job.

New Blog Location!

Hi. For several years I've had several blogs. This week a new, easy to navigate version of the website Top Recruiter Secrets has launched. From now on, all my blog posts will be at this website.
Thank you for reading and please let me know what topics matter to you most.
Kimberly Schenk

Recruiting Passive Candidates by Kimberly Schenk

Fewer than 20% of Recruiters know how to skillfully recruit passive candidates. Passive candidates are not actively looking for a new position. They are employed. These candidates are busy doing the job in front of them and headhunters extricate them from those positions by introducing a better opportunity.

Contingency fee Recruiters work on commission. Their paychecks depend on effective skill sets and results. The ability to successfully approach passive candidates and engage them in a productive discussion consistently sets them apart from in-house or contract recruiters.

One must eliminate multiple candidates during the search process. This requires focus and a dependable strategy. Cold calling reaps the fastest, and greatest rewards. Most big biller Recruiters cold call. Calling passive candidates gets the job done faster and more effectively than sending emails all day long.

Executive recruiters are able to gain a candidate’s attention, create interest and intrigue, within 45 seconds. They are headhunters. Seasoned pros cultivate their skills and flow with the natural decision-making process candidates’ follow when making a job change.

How do they do this? They understand and follow each step in the recruiting process. They introduce themselves as an Executive Recruiter with an opportunity to discuss and ask if a candidate can talk privately. Great Recruiter’s qualify first then zero in on a candidate’s motivators to make a move.

“Ben, in order to make a move, and feel like you’re advancing your career, what would have to be place?” Not many people shut down a discussion that’s all about them.

The best Recruiters master specific skill sets. They learn from others. While conversations may seem natural and casual, they are strategic and crafted to produce results.

Successful Recruiters know the strongest matches are when clients hire a qualified candidate who is eager to make a change for reasons other than money. Recruiters must ask questions about skills, work history, goals, personal attributes and challenges. Good Recruiters are not afraid to halt conversations once they know a candidate is not right for the present search. They tactfully back away and leave the door open to talk again in the future.

Recruiters change lives. The best Recruiters create an atmosphere that makes all parties feel their Fairy God-Mother has stepped into their lives. Recruiters solve problems and close deals. They are consultants who manage the process through intelligent questions. They listen carefully and make tough, analytical decisions. They follow the process and are not swayed by misplaced sentiment. They challenge misguided conclusions.

When recruiters coerce or pressure a candidate to do what’s best for the recruiter vs. what’s best for the candidate and employer, deals fall apart. That type of recruiter does exist. Recruiters who are ignorant about recruiting best practices tarnish perceptions and jade interactions. If they continue to use unprofessional practices they hurt themselves most.

I prefer to think their behavior reflects a lack of skills vs. ill intentions.  Recruiters who choose to operate with integrity last longer and enjoy their career. Investing time and energy to master the best methods and techniques has a ROI that never diminishes.

The only self-serving agenda a Recruiter should have is to do what’s best for their client and candidates. This is the way to grow professionally and feel proud of every success. Headhunters who work ethically out-perform other recruiters and earn the most money.

Kimberly Schenk is a Headhunter, Trainer, and Author

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.