5 Secrets to Being a Good Recruiter

In order to be a top Executive Recruiter it's crucial to get sound, proven training. Recruiters must learn the process. Next they must follow and trust that process day by day. Successful Recruiters all use a method and make hour by hour decisions based on the question, "What will help me make a placement this week?"

High level recruiting is an art. Top Recruiters focus on those tasks that will place a good (or great) candidate in front of an employer who has a desperate need to fill a position. If the Recruiter has qualified the employer client and the candidate, the odds of an offer being extended increase dramatically. Top Recruiters have prepped both the decision maker client and candidate, to ensure the interview goes well.

Don't waste precious time tossing resumes at an employer. In my opinion, that's the weakest strategy recruiters use. It's not even recruiting, in my opinion. Any employer could have an administrative assistant sort through a stack of resumes and pull out a few they like. People are not pieces of paper. Decision makers who need a position filled love to work with a professional who saves them time and provides exactly the kind of candidate they want; they want their Recruiter to do all the work except interview. By the way, once you've proven yourself to a client, interviews often turn into a 'stamp of approval', because the trust is so strong.

A high level Recruiter controls and manages the entire placement process. They never stand on the sidelines wringing their hands, wishing their employer client would look at the three or four resumes they have supplied. Recruiters who focus on resumes, give away their power and their success. Frankly, they are asking their client to do too much of the work!

Hiring new people is a necessary evil to many hiring managers. If they are understaffed, these managers may have more crisis to handle. They may procrastinate, postponing time consuming interviews. When a company client works with a smart, effective Recruiter, that Recruiter chooses two potential hires (possible three), presents those candidates in a desirable light, makes sure the interview takes place, debriefs both parties, and ensures one of the candidates gets hired.

Top level Recruiters make hiring effortless and easy for their clients. That's why their clients continue to use them and that's why these clients are willing to pay the big bucks for an Executive Recruiter's service. It doesn't matter if you're a Contract Recruiter, Contingency Fee Recruiter (Headhunter), in-house Corporate Recruiter, or part-time Mom Recruiter; if you want to make more placements, have more credibility, more fun, and make more money, learn the recruiting process and implement that process every day.

Seeking for headhunting or want to become a corporate headhunters,  visit Recruitplus today.

HR Applications of Job Competency Models

There are many possible applications and uses of competency models. Unfortunately, a lot of organizations go to the trouble of developing models, use them for one purpose and put them on the shelf. Here are some ways in which you can take full advantage of job competency models. Use them to:

o Integrate all HR processes using a common framework to select, train and reward people.

o Assess internal and external candidates using assessment exercises, interviewing and instruments.

o Develop a model for high performing teams. Select and train team members, and use for team building.

o Expand hiring and succession pool. Models may challenge assumptions about required competencies and identify alternative sources of talent

o Retain key employees. Target the retention of top performers. Employees who see expanded opportunities for growth are more likely to stay (also impacting morale).

o Redesign jobs. Analysis of a job during model building can reveal ineffective job design plus suggested improvements from focus groups and expert panels.

o Certify competence levels. Design certification programs to develop and reward competency development.

o Design 360° feedback instruments and other developmental tools.

o Determine staffing of merged organization. Keep the top performers in the key positions.

o Create the learning organization. Use the models as templates to guide development.

Creating models quicker for less cost through technology

Competency technology has evolved to the point where you can now buy software programs to help construct competency models. These programs contain competency dictionaries, i.e. lists of competencies that can be used to analyze jobs. Some companies have designed their own customized programs for the same use. Virtual resource panels can be conducted for panel members from diverse geographical locations. As we move closer to computerizing all paper transactions and making greater use of the intranet and internet, this seems to make sense. The more we can use technology to simplify our lives, the better.

However, the process of developing competency models remains basically a human process. It requires interviewing, collecting and analyzing data, observing behavior, skillful facilitation of a focus group (aka an expert panel or resource panel) and drafting a model document. Judgment, ability to react and adapt to situations, to deal with conflict and resistance and uncover unexpected opportunities to improve an organization's performance increase the benefits of job modeling.

Using automated tools to assist in the application of competency technology is a good idea. Employees who can access competency models and developmental opportunities through a computer terminal feel more empowered and more in control of their destiny. Just be careful to not put the cart before the horse. Remember GIGO (garbage in, garbage out)? Develop good models and good systems before computerizing. Concentrate first on practicality and fit, not on technical sophistication.

Facing staff attrition situations? Talk to our talent management & HR consultancy in Singapore. Visit here. A marketing strategies article for smes by Scotts digital.

Recruiting Tips For Reliability Engineers

Reliability engineering is a niche industry; this can make job searches for reliability engineers difficult, and recruiting processes for employers equally challenging. With reliability engineer career advice in rare supply, engineers looking to start a new career frequently do not know how to make themselves visible to employers; making necessary connections between reliability engineers and reliability engineering employers looking to recruit new hires is infrequently an easy task. For industry employers, recruiting a reliability engineering professional who fulfills all of the necessary requisites for a particular position can undoubtedly be a demanding, expensive, and time consuming endeavor. For reliability engineering advice on how to find and recruit the right hire, follow these useful, technologically savvy tips.

Maximize Virtual Prospects:
Searching online communities, especially those that are specific to, or have a high volume of users in the reliability engineering industry can be a very helpful tool in locating the right person for the job. When embarking on an employee search using social media sites, use the largest, most prominent sites available. Since one of the greatest advantages to recruiting reliability engineers online is the great number of professionals that are connected through these venues, it is important to use online sites that can offer you (the employer,) a wide array of reliability engineering candidates to choose from. This is a matter of simple probability: the larger the network, the more reliability engineers you will have to choose from to appropriately fill a job opening.

Be Selective:
Although the large size of many professional social media networking sites is one of the inherent advantages of online candidate searches, it's important to still be discriminating about which sites will be best suited to your needs as an employer. The value of using more niche sites is often underrated, especially for specified vocations like reliability engineering. Using social media sites that are solely intended for use by reliability engineering professionals and employers will more accurately focus your search according to industry-specific skills that you may be looking to recruit in a reliability engineer for your company.

Resume Load:
Most job-related social media communities provide users with the opportunity to post their resume, and information regarding degree of education they have acquired in a given field, along with a wealth of other useful information. This kind of virtual library is an efficient and relatively inexpensive way to review a large number of resumes, and sift through those professionals who do not have the specific reliability engineering expertise that you are looking for as an employer. In browsing online networks in search of reliability engineering candidates, select sites that offer a large number of resumes to maximize the likelihood of finding the best suited engineer for your company needs. This rule of thumb also applies to those professionals looking for reliability engineer career advice; if you post your resume on larger networks, you can maximize the probability of a prospective employer noticing you, since these sites tend to draw more attention from industry employers looking to hire.

Candidate Screening Process:

Don't be put off by a daunting number of resume prospects; online communities frequently provide advanced search options that allow employers to specify search criteria to efficiently filter out resumes that do not fit the bill; these engines can isolate reliability engineering candidates' resumes based on things like industry specialization and quickly present them to you for review. This means that online networks with a larger volume of resumes do not necessarily require more work on behalf of recruiters in the terms of the process of reviewing job candidates. On the contrary, technology can facilitate the resume screening process; therefore, more resumes translates to more options in terms of identifying the best-suited reliability engineers for a specified position.

Online Recruiting Tips:

There are a number of online resources that offer suggestions to reliability engineering recruiters regarding how to most efficiently and effectively complete the hiring process. These suggestions range from blog posts to forums on social media sites. Many reliability engineering-specific professional networking sites offer helpful advice to professionals and employers. Don't hesitate to take the time to read what other reliability engineers and industry recruiters have to say in terms of vocation-specific wisdom regarding working with and hiring people in the field. This can help you narrow down what kind of work experience and personal characteristics you should be looking for in a well-qualified candidate for a specified reliability engineering company need. It may also open your eyes to what professionals in the industry are looking to receive from potential employers, in terms of salary, benefits, and overall work environment.

Seeking for headhunters or want to become a headhunter Singapore, visit Recruitplus today

The Art of Recruitment

"Hire people, who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it...;
Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine."

- David Ogilvy

Why Companies fail to recruit potential performers? Recruitment is an art as well as science. A good recruitment process is the foundation for any company. Intelligent recruiters always see to it that the company should get good performers to meet the organizational goals. World class infrastructure, ergonomically designed seating arrangement, availability of small perks like usage of internet during working hours and excellent employee engagement policies will attract potential performers to any company. Then why Recruiters could not sell their company to attract right talent?

Cost effective thinking or ineffective thinking: Every company has to spend most of its earnings inevitably on salaries of the employees. In any industry, major part of profits goes towards salaries of employees. Equal opportunity and equal salaries for equally qualified and experienced employees should be the success mantra of the day for any company. If companies will not follow this ethical policy, it is really difficult to attract right talent. Recruiters will forcibly, cunningly and manipulatively convince fresher or experienced in the same manner to take them on board, if they find right talent without exposing them to the facts about the company. Many of the companies use their websites only to highlight their mediocre achievements and hide their adversities. This will enhance attrition rate of the companies and decreases retention rate to the amazement of the Management as they compromised on the quality of the candidates and also hide the balance sheet from the piercing eyes of experienced employees.

Referral Recruitment attracts relatives; not talent: It is the latest fad encouraged in the name of another cost cutting measure to attract right talent. This policy also effective only to some extent which has helped employees to bring their relatives on board only to spoil the team spirit and team building efforts of the Companies in which they are working. Recruiting Manager has to take all precautions to avoid mediocre talent to enter the company by not just verifying certificates and should scrutinize like 360 degrees feedback through verifying four sides that is from external resources like private detectives, friends and relatives of the candidates. Some companies are asking astrologers also to find out the compatibility of the candidate and his staying capacity in their company, based on his sign of zodiac and behavioral patterns.

Gap between job description and job advertisement: Many companies write theory in their job description when they give advertisement in the media for the positions required to be filled. There is a gap between job description i.e. job to be performed and the advertisement which they give based on the theory they read during their days of education. For example, a HR Manager's job description is advertised, which is not based on the expected performance, but it is about the general functions of particular position. This will attract thousands of applications from the experienced as well as fresh job seekers, but nobody will be selected finally to the utter dismay of the unemployed who attended the interview. This is more disgusting during the situation like recession where very few companies recruit without much sincerity and honesty. Finally, the candidates are confused about why the companies recruit or why they leave candidates in the lurch only to force them to abuse the system, which is weakening the processes which have to be fool proof especially as far as the basic activity like recruitment is concerned.

A Recruiting Manager must be honest and understand the needs of the organization before starting the process and also understand the sincere needs and requirements of the candidates. Recruiter must be shrewd and impartial in selecting the candidates to help realize the goals of the organization. He should help the company to shrink the gap between expected performance and delivered performance. This will help Management to understand the roles and responsibilities of positions which they wish to recruit. This is the real art of recruitment which enhances the value of the balance sheet of any Company.

Finally, as John W.Gardner said, "When hiring key employees, there are only two qualities to look for: judgement and taste. Almost everything else can be bought by the yard."

Having talent attrition problems? Talk to our talent retention & HR consultancy in Singapore. Visit here. A marketing strategies blog for smes by Scotts digital.

When Recruiters Are Just Not That Into You

You call but hear no answer. You leave a message but get no reply. You email but receive nothing. You send a letter or even call again but you never hear back. You know they're interested, and you know it would be a great match. So why don't you ever hear back?

Face it. Recruiting Directors just aren't that into you. If I've heard one common lament from anyone looking for a job it's this - they rarely hear back on time or at all for the jobs they apply for.

Why does it happen? Why do you get the cold shoulder, and why do they play hard to get? Here are three reasons:

A. Sheer volume.

Most companies, and especially the large ones, get flooded with resumes. When I worked at Leo Burnett, it was not uncommon to get upwards of 500 to 600 resumes for one job opening. The sheer boundaries of space and time do not allow the typical recruiting director to personally get in touch with each and every candidate. To make matters worse, you've all been told to send your resume and then follow up in a week. Don't expect a call back if you do contact a company. There just simply isn't time.

B. There is no job.

Could this be true? Yes, it is. Companies often post jobs when they don't necessarily have an opening. Here's why:

*They want to collect resumes, so when they do have an opening, they have people to consider.

*They have to post the job for governmental or legal reasons

*They forgot to take the posting down from the last opening they had (happens more than you'd think).

In these instances, you will likely never hear back from a recruiting director.

C. Bad business

At some companies, recruiting becomes one of the last priorities. There are client demands, meetings, emails, co-worker issues, etc. Companies then relegate recruiting to the bottom of the list. The fact is recruiting should be the top priority since we all run on brain power - but not every company thinks that way. As a result, you send the resume, you even interview, but you never receive a response.

I have heard stories of candidates going on two rounds of office interviews, and then they never get a response. To me, that's bad business.

So given that most recruiting directors are not that into you, how do you deal?

1. Don't take it personally. It's going to happen. Assume no one will get back to you, and then you can be pleasantly surprised when one does. Don't get discouraged; rejection is just part of the game.

2. Let your friends do the dirty work. If you have a friend or acquaintance working at the company, don't be afraid to have them check in for you. It will seem like less of a nuisance to a recruiting director if his own employee checks in.

3. Be persistent, not a stalker. If you're applying for a job by sending your resume online or in person, make the call after a week to check in to see if they received it and to see if they want to talk. Don't expect a response, and don't follow up again.

If you've actually interviewed for a job, you can be more persistent. After every interview, ask when you can expect a reply, and then feel free to follow up if you have not heard back. I'd call, then email, then call again. Feel free to contact them every 3 or 4 days, but switch up how you reach out.

4. Know when to take a hint

Just like the guy or gal who never calls, there is a time to move on. You need to think to yourself, "Do I want to work for a company that doesn't have the common decency to even call me back to tell me if I have the job after an interview?" You may wonder how they treat their current employees if this is how they treat their recruits.

The truth is the job search is a lot like dating. You may have to deal with a lot of rejection before you find the right match.

Searching for headhunter or want to become a headhunter in Singapore, visit Recruitplus today. Click Here

Sales Recruiters - How to Be an Effective Sales Recruiter

Are you interested in sales? If you are trying to enter into the job market then you might be aware of the kind of competition present in this market. If you want to survive in this competition then you need to make sure that you are the best in your field.

One of the most popular fields these days is sales. Lots of people are showing interest in this field. To be in the sales field you need to have certain qualities.
If you have been given the duty of sales recruiters then you must make sure that you know what the qualities that you need to look for in the sales representatives are. There are various companies present which require sales representatives. Medical companies require these sales reps for selling their medicines as well as devices.

Medical device sales recruiters must make sure that these sales people know different medical terms and they are well equipped with different kinds of medical devices. If you are the sales recruiter of a medical company then first of all you must select the resumes of people who have an idea about sales.

The resume must include the skills that are required for sales. The recruiters must also check for any kind of experience in sales. Pharmaceutical sales recruiters should check whether the applicant has an idea about the medical terms. Pharmaceutical sales recruiters must have an experience in direct sales.

If you are looking for sales jobs then you can search for them on the internet. The recruiters usually choose the candidates from the internet. There are various websites which offer a list of companies where you can submit your resume.

It is very important to find out the websites which offer the best jobs. If you want to be an effective sales recruiter then you must make sure that you are capable of choosing the best candidate for your company sales.

First of all you need to check out the track record of the applicant. If the sales person is good then he must have a strong track record. You must even ask for these records during the interview. Secondly you need to find out whether the applicant has a good amount of energy.

The person must have passion as well as energy regarding his work. Thirdly as sales recruiters you also need to check whether the applicant is focused. A good sales person will always be dedicated as well as focused in their job.

You must also make sure that these sales applicants are well trained. If they are not well trained then they might not be able to perform their job properly. As sales marketing recruiters you must be capable of reviewing different kinds of resumes written by the applicants.

Good sales reps will also have a proper outside network. He must also be interested in outside activities. Medical device sales recruiters must have all these qualities to get recruited in the best pharmaceutical companies present in the country.

Seeking for headhunter or want to become a headhunter in Singapore, visit Recruitplus today

Revamping Company Recruiting Strategies to Attract Top Female Talent

Developing an effective strategy for the recruitment of top female talent is incredibly beneficial for businesses. Women make up approximately 51 percent of all workers in upper management and professional occupations. Currently, there are more women in management positions than men for the first time in American history with projected increases in the total world labor force by 2018. They are projected to account for 51.2 percent of the increase in total labor force growth by 2018. Many new start-up businesses are operated by women. Women make up 66% of the university population receiving the majority of college degrees. More women are attending and graduating from universities than ever before changing the make-up of our current workforce. These trends will greatly affect recruiting and hiring practices for businesses and organizations in the future. Companies that want to stay competitive should actively develop strategies or change their current one to help attract top female talent.

The first step toward marketing and recruiting women to work at your company is to review your company's strategy. A comprehensive recruiting plan should include retention, diversity training and community involvement. As you review your recruiting plan, it is probable that you will see very traditional elements focused toward hiring male candidates. You might even find assumptions built-in to your verbiage expecting employees to work traditional hours; eight-hour days and forty-hour work-weeks with bonuses and vacations. Several recent hiring surveys show that when women look for positions, they look for different benefits than men. Flexible work arrangements have been listed as a main factor in what attracts women to a company and why they would stay with a company. Many companies are now developing female specific and targeted recruiting plans. Top companies with the best record of promoting women, outperformed competitors on average from 41 to 116 percent. In a study conducted by Pepperdine University. Another study indicated that companies with the highest representation of women in their senior leadership had better financial performance as a group than those with the lowest number of women. Sounds like a no-brainer to me?

Other research suggests however that men and women use the same search mechanisms to find a job. This leads us to believe that it is how we market the job that will become critical. Be considerate as to where you post your job advertisement. There are specific websites that cater to certain groups or types of professionals. Universities and Colleges are also great places to find candidates from relevant disciplines as are professional groups or affiliations. What about the tools that are used to screen applicants? In 2006, approximately 80% of companies listed that they used some type competency-based-selection in their hiring process. The competencies however, were based on traditionally male associated behaviors. When interviewing, have the candidate give you specific examples of what they did in a particular situation, not just a certain skill that they have listed in the job description. Surveys have also indicated that even your website can be designed to appeal to men or women. Maybe a focus group may be able to help to see if your site is on the right track? The point is to be aware of simple items within your process that may alienate potential new-hires. What about looking within for existing employees? Many recruiters and hiring managers do not actively seek out female talent already working in the organization. Talk to board members or senior leaders in your organizations. They may know potential candidates already working in your company that may not be actively seeking positions. Internal hiring and development of women are critical to support and advertise your brand image which will help you attract more candidates.

A company's brand can also make a difference when marketing to women. Few organizations take the time to review how their public image is viewed by women in the market. Women often feel underserved by recruiters and organizations. This fact makes it very important to think about how your message can appeal to women. You will want to reflect that your company is a wonderful place to work and employees are valued. Specific items that women look for in job ads or during the interview may include job sharing, telecommuting, flexible work hours, and options for child care and elder care. IBM Intranet highlights over forty different examples of flexible work-arrangements in the recruiting packages. Microsoft offers the opportunity to choose what parts of flexible work arrangements they would be interested in as part of their yearly benefit allocation. Deloitte has offered changes in paternity leave and an emergency childcare plan for working parents under six-years-old. Fujitsu offers 120 percent of a mother who has returned to work after maternity leave until the child is fifteen months old to keep valuable employees.

Companies that provide collaborative work environments also seem to be good at attracting female talent. Being a socially responsible organization and demonstrated diversity practices by management may also be important factors to attract female applicants. Consider how your image reflects women in a variety of roles. Recruiters have to understand how women contribute to their organization and their communication styles. Consider using testimonials and interviews that showcase what you are doing and reinforce how work is rewarded and appreciated.

Training for your recruiters to understand the specific needs of female candidates is invaluable especially in hard-to-fill positions. Adapting your company standards and recruiting practices to be reflective of your diverse workforce might be the difference in attracting more female high potential employees. Fujitsu Services redesigned their recruitment literature for job fairs. The company feels that it has doubled the number of applications from women for their graduate programs since re-doing their brochures. The recruiters also describe what they do at their job instead of just saying they are technology consultants. This simple communication style change when delivering the message has made a huge impact. Another important aspect to include in interviewing is to explore the transfer of knowledge by asking for real-life examples. This will help find quality candidates who may have been out of the work force at different intervals in their career. Even widening the range of college degrees that qualify for a certain job may provide you with more candidates in the pool. Some computer companies have added Latin, Philosophy and Law as potential backgrounds in one IT company. They have seen a 46% rise in female applications for their company. The point, one size might not fit all.

When reviewing and developing your own strategy, consider what your company's needs are when you create your advertisements. Thoughtfully place the job posting strategically on sites or in publications that meet your placement needs. Factor in flexibility and other work benefits that will be attractors instead of detractors. Carefully review your processes to see if they alienate certain candidates from the process. Even the competencies that are used to screen applicants should be carefully reviewed for bias and fairness. Ensure that your recruiters are trained to effectively work with female applicants and meet their needs. Finally, don't rule out looking in non-traditional places for unexplored talent like internal employees, other fields of study, or employees that are returning to work. The main thing is awareness. As the work force changes and more and more women are the managers and leaders within your companies, the methods and recruiting practices that you use to attract them will have to change if you are going to stay competitive.

Facing talent attrition challenges? Talk to our talent management & HR consultancy in Singapore. Visit here.