Wondering where to spend your time? Take a CUE from your clients!
When we get to the heart of things in the recruiting world – it ends up being all about managing our most precious resource – TIME. Let’s assume you’ve got to make a choice on where to spend the majority of your efforts and have several possible clients to choose from.
C is for COOPERATION. It is vital for my client and I to share openly and clearly exactly what is going on at all times. This is not a game to me – and though I enjoy playing hide and seek with my children my clients need to take my call. I need to be able to discuss the specifics of the opening with the person who is actually hiring for their team. When a candidate has a question I’d like to pick up the phone and have a discussion with my client contact. Look for signs of cooperation before going too far down the wrong road. Send them your fee statement and expect a signed/returned copy before going any further.
U is for URGENCY. Having a fully cooperative client is a great start but we also must have a client who NEEDS to hire relatively soon. Without a specific reason to fill the opening the process can often drag on for months at a time. Don’t get me wrong – knowing of a company that will be hiring 3 months from now is awesome – but you’re not sending them an invoice within the next few weeks. So make sure to fully understand when/why/how they are going to be hiring IN THE FUTURE and move on. Please don’t think for a minute this means we are looking for “desperate” clients. Desperation to me suggests problems just under the surface. The key is being able to discern the difference.
E is for EXPECTATION. What are they looking for? Is this person even out there? Is the salary range right? Is the work itself a reasonable expectation for the new employee? Will they pay for relocation if needed? What about your fee? Hopefully they don’t expect you to work at an unrealistic rate. What kind of interviewing process do they have? I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve run into an interviewing process so riddled with tests, psych evaluations, 3 and 4 interviews, group lunch meetings, etc. Those processes are not impossible – but they’re clearly not optimal either.
The above are just the tip of the iceberg in each category . You know what you need to be successful. Take a CUE from your clients and THEN decide where to spend your time! Can you check off the C? The U? The E? If yes then you’ve got a great place to start. If no then you know what you need to work on before moving ahead.
Jerry Albright 