Not too long ago I got a call from a recruiter who found my profile on LinkedIn and wanted to know if I’d be open to other opportunities. Being a recruiter myself, I generally like to hear from other recruiters. It is a way to survey, see what other people are doing and do a little market research at the same time, and of course, who knows, they might have an interesting opportunity.

This particular recruiter was pretty good, wasn’t speaking 100 miles an hour with their thoughts already on their next call as they spoke to me. The pitch was pretty boiler plate, “Great professional growth opportunity, respected company, progressive management, competitive package”, etc. The recruiter asked if that sounded like something I’d be interested in and I replied,”Who wouldn’t be?”

I was then asked if they could have my permission to discuss my profile and potential candidacy with their client. I was glad the recruiter had the professionalism and class to ask (many recruiters don’t, a real pet peeve of mine, those recruiters give the whole industry a bad name), that’s when I asked the million dollar question:

Who is your client?

She paused, and quickly explained that it was a confidential search. If her client was interested, she’d let me know.

“How do I know your client doesn’t know my boss?” I inquired.

“Oh, I’ll be blanking out all the personal information on your resume so my client won’t know who you are”, she replied in a rehearsed tone.

“So neither one of us will know each other?”

“Exactly”, she assured.

Personally, I don’t know anyone who has married someone they met on a blind date. I went on a blind date once and I hate to admit that I actually told the person I was going to the bathroom and actually left the restaurant. (We hadn’t ordered yet, I’m not that mean). It was that bad. If you didn’t do the same, you certainly would have thought about it.

In this case I avoided such a potentially awkward situation as far as career moves are concerned. I did what any rational candidate would do. I explained to her I’ve had bad experiences with blind dates. She paused so I politely took the opportunity to thank her for considering me and that I’d be happy to hear from her again should the time be right. Despite her obvious confusion she remained pleasant and professional, we said our goodbyes. Click.

The obvious issue here is trust, and don’t get me wrong, I feel the contingency recruiter’s pain. I know at one end it can be a shallow money ditch where good men die like dogs, but I also know it can be a very financially rewarding business, based on positive relationships with quality clients.

So what does all this have to do with the title? Absolutely everything.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. So, why is it so many companies and recruiters seem to invent a convenient hole in the space time continuum that makes designing this process look at the beginning of it from the first day of employment?

That’s silly.

The onboarding starts from first contact, whether you like it or not. It is going on without you.

Familiarity breeds contentment. The more the candidate knows about you, your organization and the people in it the less they’ll have in terms of questions should you make an offer. Not only does it make an offer easier to accept, it better manages expectations, which contributes directly to retention.

Familiarizing someone can be done by having an exhaustive interview process, where the candidate gets to meet multiple people, superiors and peers and the process is managed as a dialogue, not just company representatives poking people with a stick and checking teeth to see if they want that person in their barn.

Web and social media can be very effective tools in this process as well; having quality information online that you can direct a person too that is more than just marketing and propaganda but real information about real people interacting with each other, achieving results, contributing to community.

If you work with an external recruiter, they should want to have this kind of familiarity with you as a client organization and want to communicate this information to candidates. You as a client should want this too; it is in your best interests unless you like to herd recruiters like cats and let them throw resumes at the wall until you've decided one might stick.

You should also consider inviting potential hires to company events, or a simple coffee, or even a beer with a small group of colleagues. This can also flush out how well the person may assimilate into your company’s culture, which is also good to know before they start.

Don’t make people learn the hard way and give them opportunity to make silly mistakes, or get frustrated with unwanted surprises. All companies have rules, regulations, benefits, bonuses, nuances, traditions, perks, quirks, and so on. Make sure they know all of them. If you did a good job with your onboarding they should be familiar with all these things before they signed their contract. Then you’ll be able to focus on a detailed orientation that is personalized, simple and interesting.

The devil is in the details. Consider them in your orientation too; you’ll be glad you did.

You’ll also be sure they don’t end up making an embarrassing cell phone call after they lock themselves in the bathroom for half an hour on their first day because no one told them about a tricky lock that was getting replaced later in the week.

Happy recruiting, everyone!

Dana Oliver Neal is a globally experienced executive recruiter & HR professional who currently works for Online Business Sysrtems, a Canadian headquartered IT company with offices throughout North America.

Email:dneal@obsglobal.com

www.obsglobal.com