Sometimes the bottom-line shouldn't be green

I was so busy making calls this week that I missed this article about sportsmanship.

Read it - please

Having been around recruiting since 1985 (I probably should stop giving indications to how old I am because of the Butterfly Effect but I suppose I'll never learn - or care about the ramifications), I've seen the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (no hyperlink would do justice to each so use your own examples).

With the global financial situation looking like a cesspool of greed, irrational exuberance, and sheer stupidity, we've all been pulled closer to this natatorium of negativity: Corporate recruiting is now taking place as frequently as the appearance of comets and calls placed by agencies are going directly into voicemail or even worse, are met with discussion revolving around if you happen to hear of recruiting opportunities elsewhere.

So many in recruiting are in such desperate straits that those once commanding one buck large or more per hour are perfectly happy accepting any dollar amount; agency draws have dwindled while many houses are cutting staff. One friend here in NYC has said enough with recruiting; she's interviewing to become and HR generalist.

You know it's bad when recruiters want to become generalists.

Back to the missing of technical fouls - you have read the link, haven't you?

Sometimes you have to do what's right and not what's financially expedient. When agencies cut staff because jobs aren't coming in, the response nearly 100% of the time is for the remaining staff to make the same calls to the same people they've been calling every week. Sit behind the desk, pick up the phone and word harder. Work harder? No, work more scared.

Keep people on staff, let them take their draw - or a percentage of it - but for now spend 2-3 days out of the office meeting people. Don't interview people for a job title; speak to them about their careers, their function, their industry. Show the corporate recruiters the better people you know even if no opening exists; build the relationship and not necessarily the bankaccount.

Corporate recruiters - same thing. Fight the urge to leave recruiting, fight the urge to let calls go to voicemail, fight the urge to not say something about the difficulty in starting a cold engine to your head of HR or CFO when they talk about hibernating recruiting efforts. Educate them about real workforce planning which is ongoing; take back succession planning and inculcate it with the same creativity used in recruiting (social media and succession planning - think about it).

We're of no use if we let them take away the power that we have when building or re-building a company or servicing a client.

Don't do what's expected of you - miss the free throw.

Comment by Steve Levy on February 21, 2009 at 12:03pm: Here's the letter that one of coaches wrote about the technical foul incident.

Comment by Dan Nuroo on February 21, 2009 at 8:44pm: Steve... what an awesome story! Makes you feel good and proud to be human. Very classy bunch. Recruiting is all about communication in all its forms. You need to talk to everyone! Even if it feels like a waste of time, you never know where the next opportunity will turn up.

Recently our business was changed over a quick, opportune coffee. I met with a contact, well he wasn't a contact yet, just someone who's profile I liked on LinkedIn. I called him, he mentioned that whilst he wasn't looking for a change yet, he'd be happy to have a coffee and just connect so to speak. Over the course of this coffee he mentioned, the conversation moved interstate, ie me talking about some challenges in another of our offices and him talking about some friends who were looking for a new opportunity. Coming from that, was the fact that he knew this General Manager in NSW, who was not working, with a history of companies matching what you could say was my companies profile. Interesting, thought I. However we weren't looking at that level.

He gave me his contact details etc just in case. (I checked out his contacts LinkedIn profile, and liked what i saw). Early the next day, I was on the phone with my CEO, (who had assumed operational responsibility for this interstate office) and mentioned the fact that I had been told of this guy. 11am this phone call was. my CEO was interested to my surprise. He asked me to organise a 1.15 meeting with the guy.. (I hadn't screened or interviewed him yet, wasn't sure if I liked him or even confident that he could do the job, so I told my CEO to relax and I'll get back to him if I felt appropriate). Luckily enough, the phone interview went well, and we have a few more connections in common, who verified this guys abili ty.

Long story short (sorry). Their meeting went well. The candidate was on the plane the next morning, met the Board and was hired on Friday arvo to start Monday morning, running our second largest territory!

The point? That initial coffee could have easily been blown off as there wasn't an requirement to match the intention of the coffee. (and my team looked at me funny as I was walking out of the office, just Dan taking any excuse for a coffee!) However, look what it turned up.!

Keep going everyone, be ready to grasp the opportunities as they come up, being active and positive will bring more your way!