It’s tough out there in the commercial contingent recruitment world – I know, I live in it too.  Clients seem to hold regular reverse auctions for fees, playing one recruiter off against another 3 or 4. Candidates swear they are being transparent, then they continually move the goalposts throughout the process and competitors pull out all stops to make the placement – sometimes ethically and sometimes… well…completely unethically.  It can be disheartening, frustrating and bloody…

During the first half of 2011, we saw the hiring demand for Recruiters increase steadily. However, at the end of 2011, we saw the volume of job ads for staffing professionals decline. We were hoping this was a seasonal trend, and that hiring would increase again in 2012. It looks as if it may be starting. In January, more than 6,100 jobs were advertised online – that's a 26% year-over-year increase compared to January 2011.  It is also close to the 2011 high which was seen in August 2011…

We all use phones all day long, we speak with clients, we talk to friends and loved ones, we call colleagues and suppliers.

We are more than happy to speak with people we know, but when it comes to calling someone we don’t know, even the most hardened sales-people can go weak at the knees.

If this sort of thing makes sales-people nervous, then I know its not…

Obviously, you have to focus on activity, and numbers, but when bringing new recruiters on and during the first few years, what balance works best when asking them to turn in numbers?

I've seen some recruiters so freaked out about not hitting the required number of connects that they decide the job is too stressful.

I've seen other recruiters who don't track the numbers and it's not clear if they are making the desired number of connects either,…

Of course, other background checks may also be a judgment call.  When an employer or staffing group is recruiting candidates, minor criminal records may not necessarily mitigate a candidate's performance or his ability to behave himself on the job.  The previous criminal record, if not too overwhelming, may relate to youthful folly or love gone wrong.  It may relate to the one mistake he made in his life and has since cleaned up his act.  He is now the reputable citizen, has worked hard for…

First impressions are important when it comes to job seeking, and an email address can make quite a first impression. Often times, the email address is the first thing a hiring manager sees – before even seeing your name! Before you send out your next resume, consider what your email address alone might say about you. Do you “appear” professional?

As most job…

Time to reach into that special bag possessed by The Sourcers’ Apprentice, and again, lets start the first chorus of a song I know (yes, I do) we’ll be revisiting again (and again…) until everyone is properly and completely in tune. If you fill in the blanks above, astute people will know that the topic of the week is part 1 dedicated to L*nked*n (oh, its just too much fun writing it this way). “I” see the topic as one of those covered by many “Experts” but followed by few, as everyone has…

I am an inveterate networker. Amongst all the conversations I have, at least once a week, I'm asked by a job seeker (passive or active) how they can use Linkedin to be found by headhunters and take advantage of new career opportunities? So here's my top 10 tips on how you can be found:

1. Make sure your Linkedin profile is 100% complete. There are loads of websites you can google offering great advice on making your profile as strong as possible so I won't regurgitate too much…

I often consult with my clients and talent alike on this stuff to make sure that the relationships I create through my work are long and prosperous ones. So although originally written for candidates I thought this might be useful for people to share here too!…

When a trusted employee is promoted into management, generally what is their first task?   Replace themselves.  How do they interview candidates for their replacement?  Go to HR and ask for a list of acceptable questions to ask.  If they are lucky, HR has a list of “approved questions.”  Are the questions targeting the skills required to be successful in the position?  Generally not, they are simply acceptable interview questions.  Do those questions include, “If you were an animal, what…

If you’re a follower of the NBA, live in New York or maybe just somebody who has a twitter account, you might have heard of a guy called …

When I ran a search firm the number one conversation around the watercooler was fees; clients trying to reduce them.  They'd site competition, the economy, whatever.  My response was always the same; NO, unless there was exclusivity, volume or some other circumstance that compensated the reduction. The principle is simple: the belief that the value received from my service is far greater than the fee itself.

It goes something like this: After having a 20 minute conversation with a…

In 2010 I wrote an article Recruiting Goes Mobile In 2010 predicting that with so many candidates on mobile, this is where we need to be.  I attended SourceCon last week and the topic much of the content was surrounding mobile sourcing.  It made me ask the question...Why are we behind always in recruiting technology?  Why are we not making it happen BEFORE the trend hits?  2 years ago I was…

@Ray_anne Thorn is a Recruiting Animal Show Regular.  She is also The Marketing Manager for Broadbean.com . They post jobs on job boards for recruiters. Rayanne said that her boss, @KellyJRobinson is a smart guy who knows a lot about recruiting so we had him on. He was a bit shyer than he is in real life (IRL) but it was…

At least 28% of employees check their smartphones during downtime.

For recruiters, this means that the pool of passive…

As the job market has shown signs in recent months of improving, the chore of finding the right talent for one’s company becomes even more of a task.

Ask any recruiter or employer and they will tell you that getting the right person in from the first interview, to the background check, to the decision to hire or not can be challenging.

As we all know, having the right employee in place not…

Top 10 Tips for Candidates Working with Recruiters

1. Recruiters are paid to fill a job not find you a job. Try not to take it personally but do understand this is how they make a living.

2. Are you a good candidate? Recruiters do like to place good candidates with good companies. An old colleague of mine once said there is no such thing as a…

1. Passion - Everyone loves and is attracted to passion.  If you're not, find another job.
2. Planning - If you don't you will fail.
3. Organized - You know how easy and productive your life is if you are; if you aren't...good luck.
4. Efficiency - Use every tool available to source clients and candidates.  Your competition is and if you don't, they will win.
5. Honesty…

Throughout my career as a senior Recruitment Leader and now as an Organizational Talent advisor to a number of companies, I have been fortunate enough to work with a large number of great organizations who gave me the opportunity to partner with them on developing and implementing new practices to enhance their recruitment function and hiring outcomes.  A few years ago a large Canadian organization asked me to come in and partner with them to build an in-house recruitment function for them…

Freelance copywriter Alasdair Murray on how some recruiters could gain a competitive edge over their rivals if only they thought a bit more about the messages they put out into the public domain.

They are there for all to see – the ‘new year, new career’ job ads that get wheeled out at the beginning of each new year. Someone somewhere clearly still thinks it’s original and a bit clever. Trust me, it’s not, nor has it been for many years. In fact, it’s become…