On the Trail for “Qualified” Candidates ...!

You just got off the phone from a Client who has not had the need to call you in 8 months as they only call you if, and only if they really need your help. Your Client has just won a huge 3 year implementation project where they are going to need an army of technical resources to include: Project Managers, Developers, Business and Systems Analysts, QAs and System Admin folks with specialized skills.

You scramble back to your Recruitment Team jumping over desks and chairs (like Vin Diesel in the Movie Boiler Room this is a must watch movie for Recruiters) to call a job requirement meeting with your Recruitment Team of 12 Recruiters which are divided into 3 Teams: the (A) Team- your hardcore real old school – back in the day ``give me a phone and a list of companies to go pull from`` types. Your (B) team – great dependable web (and, Boolean search) surfers who will post the Jobs on the Job Boards and wait for the avalanche of unqualified resumes to come crashing through their mail boxes- they troll the job boards like crab and shrimp fishermen day in and day out. And, Your (C) team – a modern bunch, they utilize Social Media tools liked LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, they join specialized technical groups more importantly they combine the techniques and skills of teams A and B.

This is a pretty powerful group - with a strong Recruitment Strategy in place they could put together a solid pool of candidates. The trail to qualified candidates for each of these teams will be different.

If we dig a little further, Team (A)’s strategy is really simple and direct: Identify the skills, identify where those skills are being utilized, usually at the Client’s competition, devise a plan of entry -break in to target Companies, find that core team, pitch them, bring them in. Will they get “Qualified Candidates” ...? This team should get their man (or Woman) atleast 80% of the time...

The (B) team after job board posting they arrive the next day with truck loads of unqualified resumes to sift through and sort out – they also have to check their existing databases to see if they don’t already have qualified candidates ... So after spending 20 years (my expression for a long time) sorting through all the resumes they come up with a few good men that are close to the mark but not dead on – ofcourse, this team knows that everyone knows atleast 10 other people in their professional circle so on to the phones to get these folks in, get references and ask for referrals smart digging leads to “qualified candidates” eventually ...

Now for the (C) team ... They have also identified from a prepared search strategy where these candidates exist –they hop on to LinkedIn ferociously, to see if any of these profiles fit the description, and hoping these potential candidates also find it necessary to be publicly exposed ... They discover, the companies their potential candidates are currently employed at; lots of professionals to their surprise, Project Managers, System and Business Analysts, QAs, Hooo Rayyyyy ....

Celebrations it seems, need to be delayed, the Project Managers don’t exactly have the Six Sigma experience needed, or the QA ‘s don’t have large enterprise implementation testing experience. They hit the technical specialized groups, they re- drive web traffic back to their job site descriptions and comb through facebook. They have a few streams to pool from, -now it's over to the phones to qualify these candidates. This is the quest...

The direct approach, Job board Surfing, and plugging into Social Media Networks – this describes the trails we take. An intelligent combination of these methods is where this industry’s future is heading.

Our Clients are watching ...

Comment by Ken Forrester on November 29, 2010 at 9:37am: Paul,
Great description..if this was a real job, it would certainly get me excited. However, if the client called me, it means that they want only A-player recruiters on this particular search. Why? Because time is money. They need people on the ground immediately. Besides, their internal recruiting team can accomplish the B&C recruitment approach.

Comment by C. B. Stalling!! on November 29, 2010 at 10:34am: What are you looking for>?

Comment by Yvonne LaRose on November 29, 2010 at 5:41pm: A few months ago I attempted to get a couple of my discussion groups to talk about what constitutes a "qualified candidate." No one ventured into that hallowed ground. All were mute.

Some (were that sock not stuck down their throat) would say it's the person who has the basic qualifications. Others (they must be eating peanut butter) might say it's the person with the basics and a little more. Still more (were it not for those tart candies they just popped) would want to say they found the right ones but their references simply didn't pan out.

Then, as C.B. Stallings points out, there are the recruiters who are simply unclear on what the criteria is, don't want to admit it, and cannot communicate what they want to anyone - including (their ace) researcher.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on November 29, 2010 at 6:29pm: Paul, Love it, love it, love it. Use all avenues. It doesn't have to be three teams. An individual recruiter can , and many do, utilize all the methods to find the candidates that their clients want.

A qualified candidate is one who has the background/experience the client is looking for, can present themselves and interview well as a good cultural fit for the client and fall within the salary range the client is willing to pay and who is willing to work in the location or move to the location required to do the job. Also must be able to pass a background and drug test.
The full criteria is never clear cut at the onset of a search it develops just as those qualified for the position emerge as the interview process moves forward. Having the basic qualifications for a job is only the first item to be ticked off the list of qualifications that have to be met to have a hire.

Comment by Paul Alfred on November 29, 2010 at 7:22pm: Thanks Ken for your feedback ... Its funny I am trained in the A team approach- I have seen some pretty good B type Recruiters out there ...

Comment by Paul Alfred on November 29, 2010 at 7:25pm: Thanks for the feedback Yvonne ... So true - I hope all the SM Guru's realize that we still have to pick up the phone to qualify a potential candidate ...

Comment by Paul Alfred on November 29, 2010 at 7:29pm: You're too kind Sandra ... I was thinking about you when I was preparing my thoughts for this blog ... In the end no matter what delivery method we use we get paid on finding that qualified candidate.

Comment by Yvonne LaRose on November 29, 2010 at 8:12pm: Well said, Sandra. I wish there were a "Like" button that could be used for your post. The other thing I wish is that you were participating on one of the discussion groups where I attempted to start the discussion on the subject of what a "qualified applicant" is so that we could have started a good stream of conversation.

Good to hear your voice.

Comment by Debbie Cantin on December 1, 2010 at 2:23pm: Paul great blog! I agree that all three approaches will eventually net the perfect candidate for our clients. A lot really depends on how fast the client needs to fill the position. My preference is to get on the phone and actively recruit candidates. This also a really good way to get referrals and build networking opportunities.

Comment by Paul Alfred on December 1, 2010 at 7:02pm: Thanks Debbie ... Its good to connect with another traditional straight to the point recruiter ...

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