Mr. Harry Joiner Wins A Year Of The Fordyce Letter

Congrats to Harry Joiner. Harry is the winner of the 1st ever RecruitingBlogs.com contest. He submitted what he considered to be the best recruiting lesson he ever learned. Harry wins a year of the Fordyce Letter. There were about 16 other great submissions. Thanks Recruiting Animal for being the judge

Harry Joiner said…

The best recruiting lesson I ever learned is that the odds of my closing a search skyrocket when I get my candidates to help each other get the job. Here's how I do it:

At the beginning of a search, I assure my candidates that I will do every-ethical-thing in my power to help them get the job.

HOWEVER: In good faith, they agree that if they get knocked out of the search, they will make themselves available by phone to discuss my client's interview process with all surviving candidates.

For example, imagine that I submit six highly-qualified candidates for the same VP of Marketing job. Usually, four will get knocked out before the two survivors get called in for final interviews. My method allows the final two candidates to have confidential, in-depth calls with the four "dead" candidates before going in for their final interviews. From what I hear, a ton of outstanding intel is traded among these executives.

What's in it for the "dead" candidates? A great networking opportunity to help a colleague who's about to get a plum VP-level job at a company they respect.

What's in it for the "live" candidates? Valuable intelligence.

What's in it for me? Usually money.