I recently filled this job in two different regions for our client! It’s their standard field sales position, so it’s something I’ve worked on several times in the past and where I feel I’ve got my strongest network of potential candidates.
This time was especially exciting because one of the roles was filled by a candidate I first talked to TWO YEARS AGO! Our client met with the candidate shortly after my initial call with him, but nothing was available at the time, so we agreed to keep in touch. He and I emailed and chatted quite a few times during that period – I found out I was pregnant, went on maternity leave and returned to work before anything became available! Thankfully, when you’re connecting with individuals who are already happily employed, they’re very patient. When the client said they were ready to start a confidential search, I called him again and we re-engaged him with our client. Things moved fast this time!
This is another fantastic testament to the power of hiring a retained recruiter to build a bench/pipeline of candidates for a typical position (w/multiple FTE’s) within a company. We can even do this for our clients using a short-term contract. We’ll identify great candidates for the role, make the introductory conversations, then turn over all contact info to the client at the end of the contract. Of course, at that point, relationship maintenance is up to the client – and that is the key to this long-term success! Building a network of qualified individuals at the right level and having those introductory conversations will fast track the hiring process to the final stages of interviewing when a position becomes available! In this instance, the client was able to hire our candidate before their current employee left, resulting in ZERO gap between the new and exiting sales consultant.
If I’ve connected with you regarding this job, thank you for your time! I appreciate both the opportunity to learn more about you, as well as the chance to introduce you to our client. As I told you when we spoke, let’s keep in touch! You never know when something might become available.