You don't have to be a whiz to hire great people or find a great job. This site is about recruiting made simple. Find who you are looking for with tips from a whiz!
People tell me that they have a LinkedIn profile, but it doesn’t really do anything for them, or they don’t really “get it,” or it’s just too overwhelming to complete and they’re not really sure where to start. Other people say that they don’t have a LinkedIn profile because they’re not looking for a job.
I can tell you LinkedIn is for much more than jobseekers! Salespeople actively review their contacts and extended connections via LinkedIn for potential sales leads. It’s much easier to make a warm sales call based on a mutual connection! LinkedIn is also a fantastic resource for connecting and conversing with people in your industry. For many recruiters, LinkedIn is one of their top resources for learning about hiring trends, connecting with new client companies AND identifying new talent. Tech-savvy hiring managers often use their profiles to advertise the open positions and/or network with potential future employees.
In order to maximize the benefit you get from LinkedIn, you need to have a complete and informative LinkedIn profile. It explains who you are, what you know, what you have to offer and why you’d be interested in connecting. After your profile is complete, you need to CONNECT. Connect to friends, family, co-workers (both current and former), people you meet at tradeshows – almost anyone! More connections means more conversations. The next step is to look at LinkedIn Groups. There are groups for almost everything on LinkedIn; professional associations, alumni chapters, personal interests, sports fans, news channels, etc. Find a few that work for you and join the conversation or simply read about what’s happening in your areas of interest. If you don’t have a lot of connections, groups are a great way to build your network.
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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.
According to a recent study by SHRM and the Wall Street Journal, employers “might need to brace themselves for an upcoming surge in voluntary turnover.” Unfortunately, the previous options of offering high performers additional perks or bonuses in order to retain them may not always be available given today’s market. Instead of focusing only on how to avoid losing your top performers, perhaps it’s a good idea to identify super-stars in the market right now that you could bring into your organization later, if needed.
Before the problem of turnover strikes, there will be a LOT of people who are just waiting for their phone to ring to talk to a recruiter or HR about a company where they might like to work. Now is the perfect time to start connecting with these people! Obviously, a recruiter can easily help you build and manage your candidate network, but this can also be done by internal HR departments. If a top performer applies to a job or comes to you through a referral, take the time to have a real phone interview with them – even if they’re not a good match for any open positions! Get to know them and invite them to learn more about your company, possibly through additional conversations or an on-site visit. Keep in touch with them regularly and establish a professional relationship that keeps dialogue open to discuss new roles as soon as they become available – better yet, be able to call them BEFORE you’ve even posted the job!
This is especially effective with sales teams. Most salespeople are willing to talk/interview, even if they’re not looking for something new immediately, and welcome the opportunity to broaden their network of potential employers. Additionally, these bench candidates may help you fill jobs that are currently open by offering referrals and directing other top performers to your organization.
In time, you’ll have a short list of top performers you could call at any time to discuss great, new opportunities available with your company. The investment is small, but the returns are fantastic! I think it’s safe to say that if you’ve built a place where top candidates want to come to work, it’s likely your own top performers will want to stay.
Hi! I'm Jessica. I believe that recruiting (when done correctly) is about creativity, minimizing limitations and applying new methods to make the whole hiring & job search process a little more efficient for everyone. In this blog, I will focus on recruiting and how HR, jobseekers and recruiters can make the hiring process a little smoother – and maybe a little more fun!
