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Find Better: Pulling the Trump Card on Monster Changes

This post was originally published on RecruitingDaily on July 16, 2014

 

Monster is at it again.

I want to be clear that this isn’t going to turn into a Monster-bashing. Sorry to disappoint. In fact, I’ve been a consumer of Monster on and off for over 13 years. I think they’ve always had a relatively good baseline product, and (this is anecdotal) tended to have some more relevance in their search results than their major competitors.

Of course, I think there are many things they could do better. What I never understood about them was how for many years they seemed content with just being the biggest, baddest kid on the block.

This month, Monster released the news on some major additions to the core of their platform. This included what seems to be the “debutante ball” for TalentBin, since the Monster acquisition, and the unveiling of Monster Twitter Cards. Also included in the release were the Monster Talent CRM and a whole new branding look and feel. Is this Monster turning the corner after a few uncertain years?

Let’s take a look.

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 Posted on July 31, 2014 by

 Job Boards, Recruiting, Social Media, The Hiring Process, Vendors

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Recruiting IS Sales – How I’ve Come To Accept It

I read the article by Kyle Lagunas about recruiting, and how it’s not like selling at all. And while I appreciate his thoughts, I think they are misguided, and frankly, I still think he’s speaking as an “expert” in an area where he doesn’t have any applicable experience. This is akin to me giving stock advice. Sure, I have a brokerage account, but I lack the Series 7 that would be critical for me to give the advice people could count on. So after cooling down for a night, I set out to yet again defend the profession I’ve taken up. Sure, I fell into it like the rest of us, but I’m a believer of jumping in 100% to your career. After all, if you are going to be a bear, be a grizzly.

Full Disclosure: Following the obscenely talented Amy Ala’s post on this is hard. So just bear with me……

So here’s how I see sales as a part of what I do at each phase. Again, I don’t take this lightly and many of my colleagues can attest to how long I was in denial about this. So I’m saying this after years of self-introspection and reflection. I’ve been on the agency and corporate sides, so I feel like I can speak intelligently to both sides. You know, because I DO it for a LIVING. Read More

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 Posted on April 9, 2014 by

 Can't Fix Stupid, Hiring Managers, Recruiting Life, The Hiring Process

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How Can Recruiting Manage Change And Be A Partner

Ed note: This post first appeared on exaqueo.  To read the post there, click here

Many people will insist that the most important part of having a corporate recruiting team is to have a clearly defined structure, utilize metrics to drive business decisions, and to gather as much buy-in as possible throughout the organization to move initiatives forward. Most of that is absolutely correct. But what about when all of your best laid plans start to…..change?

While having the clearly defined structure is important, it’s key to remember to be flexible and open to integrating change on an ad hoc basis. It’s critical to ensure that your teams are flexible with your recruiting programs, SOPs and approach to projects. There will be almost certainly be situations where you may need to change based on unexpected situations or business needs. 

For example, within your recruiting team there may be a certain process or chain for approving requisitions or offers. But department heads or other executives may determine that a different course of action may be required based on headcount needs. The process-driven recruiter in you wants to continue to instill process and order, but that just may not be feasible at the current moment.

Having a level of flexibility in situations like these actually helps you more than you might think. Executive teams recognize when they have team players who can be highly adaptable, and perceive them as strong business partners. Being viewed in such a way can be critical when you are trying to “sell” your department’s initiatives. What I’ve learned over the years – sometimes the hard way – is that you just need to “play ball” sometimes and see how things turn out.

There are a few things to keep in mind the next time you encounter a situation where your recruitment team is having some change thrust upon it.

1. Keeping good metrics can help to draw tangible conclusions as to whether an experiment or pilot actually worked. It can also help to identify where the most/least successful areas are for making changes. As one of my former bosses told me “facts are our friends”. Feelings are not. People tend to ‘feel’ a lot of things in the hiring process : “it feels like this req has been open for 4 months” (and its been 17 days). This is the opportunity to influence change through facts.

2. Ask questions. Be sure to ask probing and clarifying questions when changes to your program are being suggested. This allows you to accomplish two things. First, it allows you to understand what the motives are behind the change, which could lead to additional solutions or parts of the solution. Secondly, it shows the other party that you are genuinely interested in how you can assist.

3. Remember that exhibiting flexibility puts you in a good light with your peers and executives. Executives tend to gravitate to those that they feel can be open-minded and those that they perceive are able to see the ‘big picture’.

4. Manage the change down. When working with your recruiting teams – if you want real buy-in – be sure to give them both the political side of the change and the action that needs to be taken in order to be successful. Challenge them to stretch themselves beyond their comfort zone and you may be surprised how many people embrace the change. Be approachable and willing resource who can answer questions throughout the change process.

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 Posted on January 22, 2014 by

 Recruiting, The Hiring Process, Uncategorized

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A Recruiters Manifesto to Engineers

This post first appeared on recruitDC.org

Recruiters are frustrated. Especially those doing technical recruiting in hotbeds like San Francisco, New York and D.C. They can find the talent that they want out there, but they can’t get them to respond. And frankly, I get it. Engineers must feel like slabs of meat in a recruiter-filled nightclub, when it’s well after 2 AM. 

But that’s not you. You’re not that meathead who is just mass-spamming engineers about their “NEXT GREAT OPPORTUNITY! But to them, you might be. It’s hard to stand out and prove your not like all the rest. And I’ve always thought about just being brutally honest with engineers and seeing if we could go back to the good ol’ days when I had a career proposition for someone, and they were happy to hear from me. I suspect if that was ever sent, it might look something like this:

Dear <insert code for pre-populated NAME field here>,

I feel like I need to explain myself, so you can understand me a bit more. I think we’ve gotten away from the core of our   relationship, which is ultimately quite symbiotic, and I want us to fix that. And I think we can get through it without therapy. Just hear me out……

Why I Reach Out

I have to. This is my job.  I know that you’d rather just find me when you’re ready, but unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. I’m supposed to go out and find the best and most talented engineering minds so that they can join our team and help make us all more successful.  Chances are, if you are getting a message from me, it’s because I’ve researched you and have decided either you are exactly what I’m looking for, or you might be willing to network with me to point me in the right direction. 

I Don’t Code, But I Respect It

I could NEVER do what you do. It’s just not how my brain is wired. And frankly, I’m in awe of what you are able to create with your mind and some code. This is why I always make sure to take care of an engineering team when they helped me out.  I might have the right ideas, but they help bring the idea to life.

But I’m not going to have all the answers to your deep technical questions. I’ll tell you when I haven’t got a clue or I’m in way over my head. But my primary goal here is multi-faceted:

  • I want to assess if you share the mindset of our team.
  • I want to make sure you fit our culture. 
  • I’m assessing your commitment to best practices. 
  • I want to find out what YOU want in your next role. After all, I’ve got the job, but it’s your career. 

Help Me Help You

If there is a best way to communicate with you, let me know. If you are a Twitter-centric person, let’s do that. I’m flexible and can communicate with you on your terms. HipChat? G-Chat? I can work with all of that too. There are days I hate the phone too, trust me. And I want to work with you in the way that you work.

Stop Being Paranoid

Yes, I found your email. How?! Where?! Yeah, I know, you think I’m an intrusive stalker. But really, like you, I’m just doing the best I can at my job, and utilizing the tools available to me. So, yeah sometimes I need to get creative about where to search for contact information. Then again, with all the information the NSA could dig up on someone, what I’m doing is small potatoes.

I Can’t Speak For Everyone

Look, I can’t prevent companies from making bad hires, or thinking they can turn anyone who has ever talked to another human being into a recruiter. I’ll never be able to put a forcefield around you and insulate you from people robotically conversing with you as if they are running off of a checklist. I likely can’t force people to have a conversation like a human. But I promise that I’ll give you the opportunity to tell me everything you want me to know. And I’ll make sure you get the real deal from me. I’ll hold to the deadlines for updatesI give you, even if that update is that there is no update. That’s a pretty good foundation for our relationship, if you ask me. 

So what do you say? Can we start over? I think we still need each other, a little more than we both want to admit.

Let me know and I’ll call you. Or, you know, text you if that’s what you prefer.

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 Posted on January 14, 2014 by

 Can't Fix Stupid, Recruiting, Recruiting Life, The Hiring Process, Uncategorized

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Recruiters, Why Don’t We Scrum More?

By Pete Radloff

Timely. Detailed. Manager. Feedback.

When you read that, you have one of two likely reactions. They are probably either “I’m sorry, what did you say? Was that English?” or “Oh, you mean when a manager says ‘hmmm, Not a fit'”. Let’s face it, regardless of whether you are an internal or external recruiter, getting timely and detailed feedback and information is usually a challenge. Feedback and a solid heads up can very much resemble the purple squirrel we’re all always in search of. So what can we do? We’re all at the mercy of the hiring manager who makes the final call, right? Well, what if we turned the feedback model on it’s head?

Many of you who recruit for technical and/or engineering roles are familiar with the Scrum development methodology. Not familiar? NO PROBLEM. It’s not just for engineers! Scrum is a methodology that incorporates the idea of fast development cycles, frequent releases and quick stand-ups versus long, drawn out, “Death by Powerpoint” meetings. Hmm, maybe the developers are on to something here.

If we start to think and work like the client teams we’re supporting, there’s a greater chance of success of us getting what we need. For our purposes, let’s focus on the quick standup here. Consider these outcomes as part of moving toward a more Scrum mentality when working with hiring managers:

Quicker Feedback
By scheduling 10-15 minute stand-ups on the books with hiring managers, you can get detailed feedback on phone interviews, submitted candidates, and any tweaks they want to make to the profile in real time. Also, with their schedules, 10-15 minutes is easier than 30-60 minutes. Now you can get the info you need to pivot, or to keep the trains moving forward with candidates. And at the end of the day, quick feedback is an integral part of any candidate experience.

Work How They Work
Eternally, recruiters are trying to move to a model where they “have a seat at the table” so that they can be seen as business partners versus order takers. This is an ideal way to show that you get it. You understand how quick they need to move, and you want to work within those parameters.

Client Service & Personal Touch
Scrums are a much more effective way to have a personal touch point with your managers. Seeing their recruiter frequently helps build familiarity, and familiarity breeds trust. Respecting their time, and still getting what you need is a win-win for both sides. And let’s be real…..no one reads emails. A harsh truth, but a truth nonetheless. And isn’t 15 minutes talking better spent than say, 4 hours a week playing email tag?

Stay On Top Of The Needs
In addition to having your Scrum meeting with your managers, try to join in on a couple of the development scrums. Sure, most of what is discussed will not apply directly to recruiting. But during those meetings, occasionally the future needs are discussed, or they talk about where they are bottlenecked and may need additional heads. This my friends, is proactive recruiting at it’s genesis. Again, it’s part of building a sense of trust among not only the managers, but the team as well.

This might be most useful in the technical arena, but it can definitely be parlayed across multiple business units with some modifications. And, since we’re all looking to show that we can help drive the business, this is a potentially helpful way to demonstrate that to you teams.

Have you incorporated this at your organization? I’d love to hear your take on this.

Here are a couple of fun takes on incorporating Scrum in your process:

 

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 Posted on November 12, 2013 by

 Hiring Managers, Recruiting, The Hiring Process

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