Belated New Year’s greetings faithful and new readers! The last few quarters saw incredible growth in the sectors I support, culminating in another great year. I had the pleasure of a little year end travel to prepare me for the onslaught of the coming months ahead. I anticipate another fast paced period of growth and opportunity. I’m rested and ready to roll! Going forward, it would be nice to see more resolve regarding ethical behavior this year. I’d also like to see more courtesy, thoughtfulness and regards to people’s roles in other people’s lives. As a recruiter, we are often on the receiving end of bad behavior. Part of it is the industry’s fault, i.e. being perceived as money grubbing … Read More »

I never assume I can do my clients job. However, I can practically guarantee I can locate and recruit a candidate who can! So it behooves me when a client insists through actions or words that they can do what I do, do it better and oh, by the way, it’s not that hard. I’m not sure why they assume I wouldn’t be insulted. After all, I’ve been perfecting my craft for over twenty-five years, have closed countless deals, for countless clients over countless invested hours. It can’t possibly be because I make it look easy. That after they’ve finally given up the candidate search, after weeks of screening, interviewing, turned down offers and counters, I can come up with … Read More »

OK, so I know I’m a recruiter, but after seeing countless ‘Top  10 Things I Hate’ headlines, I realize a little recruiter introspection is in order. Sure, we see what in-house HR hates about us, which is most everything, but how about those of us who are in the trenches on the dark side. There’s a reason getting new business is often an uphill battle, and you know what? It isn’t the fees! It’s pretty much what the recruiting agency has done to sabotage itself. Now, those of you who follow my postings, might think this might be another “Recruiter Pet Peeves’  blog, but to the contrary, I think these are universally despised agency tactics and behaviors many of us … Read More »

Surveys, Salaries and Reality As a particular sector of a job market heats up, compensation becomes a key component for company’s to remain competitive. I am going to preface this blog by stating that this is an opinion piece, based more on experience and observation, than extensive analytical research. In the last few recovery cycles, one of the recurring themes for clients replacing, upgrading or hiring new roles is compensation. How much should we pay, what are like companies compensating in our size and sector? How do we remain competitive? What types of incentives do our competitors offer, etc. Many of my clients rely on salary surveys and comp firms for their data. They often pay substantial fees for the … Read More »

They’re back! Counter offers have made a recovery along with the demand for talent.  Always a possibility, they are now a probability when a quality/qualified employees gets a new job offer. I’m not going to re-hash all the reasons not to take a counter offer. We’ve all heard/read them a thousand times throughout our careers. I’ve certainly counseled on the dangers, etc. with practically every candidate (and client) I’ve ever represented. Here I’d like to focus on why and who accepts counter offers. Quite frankly, I can usually predict who’s vulnerable to them and exactly what they’re going to do through the resignation process when the time comes. Of course it’s more likely that a candidate who is generally happy … Read More »

Change. Some of us seek it out, embrace it and require it as fuel for motivation. Others dread it like a daily dose of cod liver oil. As a change agent, much of my time at closing is guiding the candidate through the final phases of making the decision as to whether they’ll take an opportunity, or not. Though money and career advancement can be prime motivators, in many cases, no matter how rich the incentive is, a candidate falters during the offer process. Why do some people make tougher decisions easier than others? In my experience, there are a couple of critical factors driving how some individuals make/come to their decisions. Much of it has to do with years of … Read More »

Recruiting and what makes a good recruiter. A subject close to my heart; it’s one I’ve thought about a lot. There’s been much written on the subject, everything from sales strategies, playing the numbers game and the inevitable “why I love recruiting” blogs, essays and contests. In my mind, what’s  more important to my clients and candidates alike is ‘what makes an effective recruiter’? In a business measured by placements, billings & job orders, it’s easy to overlook some of the finer points of what truly makes a good recruiter great. One of the first things I remember my icon and mentor, Richie Harris telling me, was that ‘This is a people business and people are unpredictable.” This was over twenty-five … Read More »