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Permalink Reply by Amber on February 15, 2011 at 4:51pm

I'm not sure posting this on an open forum is the best idea - your new employers may see it!

When you interviewed for the job, were you open about your experience? No amount of "cramming" during the next few weeks is likely to help. It is also very hard to work with people and have to forever be sure that ANYTHING you say or do doesn't conflict with whatever information has been given to get hired. I understand that the job may be very important to you, but it's a bad idea to start yourself off behind the eight ball.

 

All that being said, there are plenty of resources - internet, books, etc.  - that talk about recruiting. But a year's worth of "hands-on" experience can't be learned that way...

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on February 15, 2011 at 4:57pm

I get that, and this is entry level stuff. I just want to learn as much as I can before I walk through the door. It's kind of a desperate situation for me, and I have to make it work. That being said, I'm being brought in mainly because of my IT experience to specialize, and I have pretty solid sales experience to draw from. As far as being noticed on an open forum, I've been looking for three days for forums or communication channels to network and glean good info from, and I'm telling you, I can't find a thing. Of course, I may be looking in all the wrong places too.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on February 15, 2011 at 5:07pm

Daniel,

The most important thing you need to learn about recruiting or any other business is integrity.  I suspect that your new employer will figure out pretty quickly that you were blowing smoke on your resume.  Ouch!

 

If you succeed in this business you will understand soon enough that people lie on their resume all the time and it causes all kinds of problems for recruiters and employers.  I wish you well but it sure seems like a  bad way to start a new career.  I would suggest that you fess up to the new employer that you really have less experience than you indicated and ask if they would recommend a training course you would be willing to pay for yourself.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on February 15, 2011 at 5:13pm

That is an excellent suggestion, and one I will take to heart. Not going into the background, but as I said my success is not optional. I am a driven person and an extremely fast learner who was hoping to locate resources online from people who know. 

I can assure you my integrity is greater than most people I know or deal with, supporting my family right now it my primary focus. 

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Permalink Reply by Kelly Callahan on February 15, 2011 at 6:41pm

 

Lying is bad form Daniel.  Here are some training courses that I found online.  You will want to connect with a mentor.  Good luck to you.

http://www.accordingtodanny.com/

http://www.morgancg.com/Home.aspx

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Amber on February 16, 2011 at 11:34am

A couple of sites to take a look at:

www.ere.net

http://www.ehow.com/way_5262322_job-recruiting-methods.html

 

I think Sandra's suggestion of asking your new employer what they might recommend is great. There are probably processes and techniques that they use specifically, and maybe some research can be done before you start.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Byrne on February 16, 2011 at 12:46pm

Daniel,

You are entering the recruiting field at a good time. Companies (employers) are starting to open up the purse strings and hiring again. 

 

Recruiting is a sales profession however, even more it is a "relationship" business. You did not specify whether you will be working a full desk or not.  Some firms have people who focus only on new business development and account management while others deal exclusively with candidates. Either way, it is important to learn as much as possible while on the job. Listen to others around you and more importantly their delivery, tone, and mannerisms. Adapt what you feel will work for you. Secondly, get into the office early, show enthusiasm and be eager to help in any way. Develop a "strong" work ethic from day one - this will go a long way to establish success in the future!  There are many resources on the internet to learn about the recruiting industry. Some trainers to research and learn from are Danny Cahill, Scott Love, Barbara Bruno, etc.  You can usually find some good advice on their websites.  

 

Some terminology often used in the recruiting business is:

Job Order (or requisition or req)

Send Out (sending a candidate resume to a client company; or possibly an interview taking place) 

MPC (most placeable candidate)

Placement (when a candidate is placed)

Counter offer (candidate accepts a new job offer but is given a "counter offer" by his/her employer to stay)

Fall Off (when a recently placed candidate leaves or is fired by the client company) 

Client (a company that your firm is currently doing business with)

Target (a company your firm wants to target in an effort to do business with them)

Source (a company you do not want to do business with but is a source for candidates to recruit from)

 

As I mentioned, recruiting is sales. It is understanding the true needs of your client, gathering job order information (required vs. desired skills), asking why the position is open and how long. Asking the hiring manager what he/she looks for in a candidate (background, experience, skills, personality, work ethic, etc). Does the client have any internal candidates being considered for the position (you don't want to waste your time if they have several qualified internal candidates), etc.  It is also understanding the candidate you are representing, their skills/experience, their strengths and weaknesses, their "motivating factors or hot buttons".  The true reason why they want to leave their current job.  (You need to listen carefully to their words and also their tone of voice).   Don't waste your time with candidates that are just fishing. Ask them, "On a 1-10 scale (with 10 being the highest) how motivated are you to make a job change right now?".  If they tell you anything less than a 7 you may have your work cut out for you with that candidate.  Asking them this question will help you to gauge if they are serious or not about making a change. Of course, you need to know why they want to make a change. Money should not be the #1 factor in making a change. If it is then ask them if they have asked for a salary increase (raise) recently. If not, they may want to speak with their supervisor first to see if it is possible.

**You don't want to have a candidate use you as a means to get a salary increase with their existing employer.**  Believe it or not some candidates will do this. 

 

The bottom line is to be yourself, be honest and ethical in everything that you do. Recruiting can be a very lucrative career if you really apply yourself however, it is not going to happen overnight. It takes years to master this profession.  You will experience highs and lows. You will need to be able to weather the lows. 

 

Clients and candidates like to do business with people they know, like, trust and respect. As a newbie you have none of this going for you however, just be yourself.  Listen, listen, listen.  Ask questions, don't be afraid to ask questions of candidates as well as clients.  No one person knows it all.  Take notes and refer to them often for reinforcement. 

 

Daniel, some of the best advice I received when I started in this profession 22 years ago was to learn from others around me. Listen, ask and take notes. Take the time to understand your customer (whether it be a client or a candidate). People want to be treated with respect and to feel that you do have their best interest at heart.  I hope you find this information helpful.  Best of luck to you!!

 

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Permalink Reply by Ben McGrath on February 16, 2011 at 1:31pm

Read Search & Placement and also Breakthrough  by Larry Nobles & Steve Finkel. Find CD's by industry leaders. Potentially do a unpaid intern gig at a local company.

Make sure to brush up on your sales skills. You could perhaps read a book on this subject as well.  

Go to Linked In and see if there are discussions pertaining to recruiting.

Realize that you should spend a portion of your day planning and making call sheets for the folloowing day.

Find an MPC and market that candidate as soon as you can in the new gig.  

Once in the trenches listen to what other recruiters are doing and saying.

When you run up against any snags, write them down and find experts in the industry to bounce scenarios off of.

The recruiting profession is full of people that are willing to help and lend suggestions. Find them.

 

All the best,

Ben McGrath

 

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Permalink Reply by Daniel on February 16, 2011 at 1:52pm

Well, I'm hoping you guys can be the bouncees. The feedback so far has been great, and I decided to follow through. I spoke with my soon to be boss earlier, and hesitantly let him know that while I didn't lie about my experience, I did neglect to inform him that I didn't meet the given prerequisite of one year of recruiting experience. He actually laughed and told me that was obvious from our interview, but that wasn't why he was hiring me. He needs a specialist, and training me will be a mutually beneficial opportunity. 

That being said, I sincerely appreciate all the great feedback, and I'm still looking into as much self education as I can manage. I have noticed quite a few sites pitching fairly inexpensive home training packages by Mark Sangerman. Is his material useful? I know you get what you pay for, but I'm waiting to see the training program they are going to put me through before I invest in anything significant on my own. 

He also mentioned exchanges as an area to become familiar with, so I'm working on that as well. Any pointers there would be great. 

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on February 16, 2011 at 5:39pm

It has to feel better that you know he saw through your little lapse in full disclosure.  :)  He knows something else about you now also and it had to make him feel better about his hire.

 

You can learn volumes reviewing the recruiting sites.  I learn something almost everytime i read through postings and i am one of those "old dogs, ever learning new stuff".

 

Good for you, and atta boy!!

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Permalink Reply by Chris on February 16, 2011 at 6:38pm

Good luck Daniel! Keep an open mind and you will learn a lot. Also, you have to develop tough skin early.

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Permalink Reply by C. B. Stalling!! on February 17, 2011 at 8:33am

Let me know where you will be working. I have some friends that are recruiters that are looking and they may beable to clean your mess up....haha just kidding.

 

Good luck

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