More and more companies, large and small, are performing their own internal recruiting to find key people and save money. This effort replaces what many recruiters do and should always be done in-house. If recruiters don’t add value beyond that, then they should be replaced.
Here’s how to do it:
Never stop recruiting
You never know when or where you might meet extraordinary talent. The best managers keep expanding their network of professional contacts and stay in touch with the market. Tap into your employee’s networks as well.
Prepare the justification
Why are you filling this position? What problems need to be solved by this person? What will be expected from them in the first 6 months? Can you recombine the role among several others? Know exactly why you need to fill the position or don’t do it. Gain consensus and approval.
Prepare the candidate profile
Job descriptions are important but they don’t always convey what’s needed. What are the skills and specific experience required for this position? What constitutes the best “fit”? Consider a 4 year degree, prior related experience, salary range, specific product, market or manufacturing expertise. Separate the must haves from the nice-to-haves.
Develop your sales pitch
Address the question of why someone would be interested in this opportunity. What is the size of the role, title, responsibilities, challenges, attributes desired, direct reports and any other key points that make this opening special and attractive. Be very careful not to undersell, and not attract anyone, or oversell, and mislead potential candidates. Prepare both verbal and email versions of the pitch.
Make your plan
- Let employees know about the opening and incentivize them to make referrals.
- Target your competitors or companies that will likely have qualified candidates.
- Post the opening on LinkedIn.com, www.simplyhired.com and www.indeed.com.
- Search these same websites.
- Upgrade to a LinkedIn premium account to optimize the number of in-mails you can send.
- Use Site: Search Boolean logic to search LinkedIn using Google, Yahoo or any search engine.
Evaluate the talent
Be patient yet persistent. You need to contact or identify at least 100 people in order to find 5 to10 who will respond and who are potentially qualified and interested. This effort should provide you with at least one worthy of an offer. Always, consider their skills, specific past experience and the fit or chemistry of the individual…..do their personal values match your company values and beliefs?
Understand the limitations of this approach
You may not find the best candidate for the position because this approach limits you to only those you have identified and who may be looking, typically less than 30% of the available talent. The passive market of people not looking for a position is much harder to access and requires the services of a professional recruiter who can perform a custom search to penetrate your niche.
Can’t find the right person? Call me for a custom, deep penetration search of your market.
Bob Harrington Associates has been in the executive search business for 20 years and can help you find the best people for your business.
Bob Harrington Associates 