Today’s ERE article by Lee Salz speaks to the importance of creating the right Job/Candidate Profile so you can attract the best-of-the-best.

One quote sums up the challenges we face quite nicely…

“I really want to help my client, but I feel like I’m searching for a needle in a haystack. I don’t dare send any candidates unless I find an exact match to what they’ve given me. I don’t think they intend to be so restrictive, but that’s what they have given me to work with.”

While I agree with this person’s assessment of the current state of our industry, I also think that they could benefit from pushing back at their clients a little bit and almost force them to reconsider and at the very least justify their decision to overlook a person who the Recruiter feels is a strong fit.

Another possible solution is to write Job Ads that focus on “performance objectives” instead of “must-haves” especially when it comes to recruiting Sales professionals.

In other words, “What must the candidate do during their 1st year on the job in order to be considered successful?”

That type of question will help you frame your Candidate Profile in such a way that you’ll use past and recent performance to PROVE to your client that your candidate can do what will be asked of them at a consistent and high-level of success.

That’s the goal and this approach is the answer.