Recruiter Training By Barb Bruno, CPC

Our clients want us to provide results by sending them the best talent for their openings. As a result, the recruiter with the candidate WINS! The market is slowly turning to a candidate driven market so it’s important that you position yourself to take advantage of this trend.

I believe in Candidate Rapport not Control. You need to establish a working relationship with your candidates and gain their trust. A first interview is like a first date. Your candidate is only going to be as honest as they can be with a stranger they don’t trust. During your first conversation they must sense you care and are listening to them, but again it takes time to develop trust. This is why it is critical to re-ask pertinent questions throughout the entire placement process. Answers get more accurate as the level of trust increases.

The following will help you establish rapport:

* How you present yourself – as a knowledgeable professional
* Your paperwork – showing them the benefits they will experience by completing your paperwork
* How you schedule the interview – offering them specific options and not saying “when is it
convenient for you?”
* How you conduct a general interview to uncover their hot buttons vs. interviewing for one
specific assignment, contract or search

You should also accomplish the following:

* Established yourself as a trusted agent
* Attempted to gain their trust – pre-closing as you interview giving them pride
of authorship
* They have confidence in your abilities
* They trust YOU to do their salary negotiations
* They know NOT to call you during prime time, but rather after 4:00 PM
* If you have an appropriate opportunity, they will agree to go on the interview
* You have reference information
* You can close this candidate and you understand their hot buttons

Additional suggestions:

Use all means of communicating, phone, text, email & instant messaging but attempt to have a conversation every third contact.
Learn a personal fact about your candidate during conversations.
Always focus on the candidates WIIFM (What’s In It For Me).
Remember people want to buy, but don’t want to be sold. You must understand all details of the position and show your enthusiasm to your candidate
If your candidate feels you will “understand”, you did not establish candidate rapport. They should view you as an employment expert.
Stay in touch with your entire candidate every other month with an article of interest.
If you don’t have a current job or assignment that is appropriate for your candidate, market their skills. Candidates like to have a choice. If you don’t provide one, they will interview on their own.
Share testimonials – this is the best way to develop trust and shows you have provided other individuals with results.
Join their Associations and write for their publications
Don’t tell them what you know – until they know that you CARE.
Be honest and provide alternate resources for candidates you won’t place! If you don’t have one, review www.candidatenextstep.com (Do it before February!)
Lastly, I want to stress the importance of you becoming the best LISTENER in the lives of your candidates. You are not listening to them to SOLVE or JUDGE, you are listening to understand where they are coming from. Their credentials show you who they WERE and ARE, but not necessarily who they WANT TO BE. Become the best listener in their life and you will become the Recruiter of Choice. You will also present the best talent to your clients the fastest – so you will be the Recruiter who makes the fill or placement!

Last week we experienced a rare date on the calendar 01.11.11. Could that be a sign that this is the year that you finally decide to be #1? According to a quote by Ben Stein “The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.”

I used the word decide because it is not easy being decisive. In fact one of the greatest challenges faced by Corporate America and Government is attracting decisive leaders. Unless you decide with clear certainty what it is you are going to achieve, you will end up accepting less than you deserve!

Why do some recruiters become big billers while others barely hit minimum standards of performance? The profound differences between what one recruiter and another achieves often depends more on goal choices than on abilities.

You know you can produce and earn more, but will you? Your owner doesn’t write your paycheck you do. Is this the year that you jump out of your comfort zone and commit to “whatever it takes” to achieve the goals you set? Is this the year you add the difference between the goal you set each month and your actual production to the following month’s goals?

Once you have decided on your goals for this year, you need to back up your decisiveness with focus. Where you focus your efforts is where you will enjoy results. If this is the year you want to achieve a higher level of success you need to know what results you need to commit to daily. The results you need are based on your individual numbers, ratios and stats.

Make this the year you are not afraid of failure. Successful recruiters fail more, because they try more, but they also succeed more. You fine tune your abilities when you have failed and then learn from the experience.

Surround yourself with good people who possess solid experience. There is no replacement for solid, proven knowledge and experience to inspire confidence and action. Identify an accountability partner, coach or mentor to help guide your journey to a new level of success. Stop listening to anyone who is negative or tells you that what you want you can’t achieve.

I want to share Frank Lloyd Wright’s definition for the price of success: “I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.” In order to achieve a higher level of success you need to consistently do more of the actions that provide you with results. You need to stop doing things that waste your time and consistently implement changes.

Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal and does not happen overnight or without additional focus and effort. An “ideal” is an idea you love. If you need motivation to set your goals higher ask yourself the following question…“How would your life and the lives of the people you love change, if you doubled your income next year?”

There is something memorable about being #1. You never remember who were the runner-ups during the Olympics or the Superbowl – but the winners are remembered throughout history. Why not make this the year you refuse to be the “runner-up?”

Barbara J. Bruno, CPC, CTS
Good as Gold Training
HR Search, Inc

Happy New Year Everyone!

Yesterday, in Chicago the windshield was -2 degrees – brrrrrr. A little too cold for comfort!
However, checking the weather in Austin Texas it is a balmy 60 degrees – perfect!

January 14th I’m headed to Austin Texas for a half day of training and some incredible weather. Won’t you join me?

Join CCAPC (Capital City Association of Professional Consultants) and Barbara J. Bruno CPC, CTS for a half-day of training:

Date: Friday, January 14th, 2011
Location: Better Business Bureau, 1005 La Posada Drive, Austin, TX 78752
Contact: Nad Elias, President CCAPC – (512) 345-9300 – nad.elias@htstaffing.com

NETWORKING: 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
RECRUITER SESSIONS: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
When you look at your year-to-date income, is there room for improvement? If you want to increase your production, income and profits – join CCAPC and Barb for this amazing half day session! Barb Bruno is all about responsible recruiting. She is known for the wealth of information she shares in her sessions and this program is no exception! You will not know which idea to implement first. Her common sense, responsible approach to our Profession is reflected in her training. Her high energy and enthusiasm are contagious and she makes learning fun!

Members: $49.00 per person
Non-Members: $69.00 per person

To register for the Jan 14th Training Session with Barb, contact:

Nad Elias, President CCAPC
nad.elias@htstaffing.com
512-345-9300

Hope you join us,

Barbara J. Bruno, CPC, CTS

One process that can greatly assist matching is the use of Percentages.

When you take a job order, define what percentage of time is spent on various functions of the position. When you interview a candidate, ask them to break down how they utilize their time using percentages over a 90 day period.

When you review how they currently spend their time never assume that is the percentage they want to perform each responsibility in their next job. Often doing too much of one function is why candidates have given you their resume!

The use of percentages helps a recruiter make great matches which result in hires!

When it comes to problems and issues, it’s not a question of if they will happen; it’s more a matter of when! We are dealing with human beings on both sides of our sale which guarantees inevitable problems.

Think for a moment of how you react to the following scenarios:
* Fall Off
* No Show
* Counter-Offer
* Offer Turndown
* Low Ball Offer
* Fee Negotiations after a Final Interview

Each year I speak at a minimum of 26 Conferences. It always amazes me how uncomfortable my Staffing and Recruiting audiences become when I bring up the question of how they handle problems. It’s almost as if no one wants to admit they ever have one!

Approximately 30% of my speaking engagements are to corporate audiences. The perception of these corporate executives is that we are not doing a great job when problems occur. In fact, many clients and candidates feel we disappear when issues surface. Whether you agree of disagree with them, this is their perception – which of course is their reality! If you truly want to attain the status of Trusted Advisor to your clients, this perception must be changed.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. How often do you follow up with candidates AFTER you place them in a new job or assignment?

2. How often do you follow up with clients AFTER you place a new person in their company?

3. Do you track these follow ups?

Most individuals in our profession realize “communication” can make or break a working relationship with our clients or candidates. We are great communicators before and during the placement process; where we drop the ball is after the placement is made. If you don’t have a follow up process, you need to develop one. If you don’t follow up with both the client and candidate, the perception is you don’t care!

I’ve had recruiters admit that they do not want to know if there is a problem. That is extremely short sighted. Often, you can solve a minor problem before it becomes an uncontrollable issue and as a result save your placement.

When problems do exist, these need to become your Top Priorities. You must not dwell on problems but switch immediately over to possible solutions. The end result of addressing problems is happier clients and candidates which always results in you making more money!

Barbara J. Bruno, CPC, CTS