When it comes to motivating a hiring manager or internal recruiter to move on your submittal, remember the catchy saying….â€Time kills all dealsâ€.
One of the most frustrating things to a recruiter is the lag time between finding and submitting a good candidate and getting meaningful feedback through the screening process. Think about it: how often have you taken a request for talent and spent weeks doing the sourcing, pre-screening, preparing and presenting your candidate’s case? Now comes the exciting part, right? Your hiring manger or internal recruiter calls you right away, excited about your candidate and asks when they can come in for an interview. Yeah, right!
The problem is that it rarely goes like that. You usually end up waiting days or weeks for someone to follow up with you, share their excitement and invite the candidate in for an interview. Why is it that a busy HM or IR, that wants to fill their open position as quickly as possibly, takes so long to get back to you on a candidate?
Could it be they are really not as impressed as you? Maybe they disagree that the candidate had a good case? Maybe they are really busy and needs some time to get this task completed? Perhaps the motivation to hire has slipped to the back burner. Or they just need a little push from a professionally aggressive recruiter.
Here are some tips on speeding up the client screening process:
- Verbally present your candidate to the HM or IR
There’s no substitute for the energy and enthusiasm that a good recruiter can add to the equation. Excitement can be contagious. Spark motivation in an HM/IR to set up an interview with a candidate.
- Follow up within 24 hours of submission
Call to clarify your position and make your candidate’s case. After all, if you’re not excited about him/her, why should the HM/IR be?
- Make sure to focus on the HM/IR needs, not your own
If you come across as desperate, selfish or uninformed, the deal will break.
- Stay in constant contact with the candidate during this critical period
You can use the information you learn about them to expand your case and motivate the HM/IR to move on them.
- Check a reference and use this positive information to get things moving
This is a powerful way to bring credible case material into the equation and can motivate the HM/IR to move on your candidate.
- Keep the HM/IR updated of any changes in status of the candidate
If the candidate is progressing on another position, or on another company opportunity, let your HM/IR know the fuse is getting shorter.
- Go for the “Noâ€
This is a very effective technique to get a decision made. If you have tried all of the above and the HM/IR is still not moving on your candidate, you might try to “take away†the candidate by withdrawing them from the process. If the HM/IR tries to stop you, then they are truly interested. If they do not try to stop you, then perhaps they were not interested enough in the first place to move on the candidate. Either way, you will arrive at a final decision.
- Time kills all deals
Good recruiters know this line and live it every day. If the candidates are not moving through the screening process in a timely manner, chances increase the deal will fall apart.
Remember that the most effective recruiters understand how their HM/IR thinks, how they work and what is going on in their business. They set expectations of the process and apply the right amount of persuasive energy without breaking the relationship
The next time you submit a candidate for which you have made a good case, use these tips and watch the screening process time speed up!
Scott Beardsley, co-founder and vice president recruitment services – http://www.q4b.com/RecruitmentRedefinedBlog/
This article is courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap at http://www.recruitingblogswap.com , a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com at http://www.collegerecruiter.com/, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry level jobs and other career opportunities, and Recruiting.com at http://www.Recruiting.com. This Blogswap article is courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap at http://www.recruitingblogswap.com , a leading site for college students and recent graduates who are searching for internships and entry level jobs.
Which step is the “Go down and do a Tanya Harding on the bottleneck HR person”?
Dan
Dan, I think it is a good thing that most recruiters work by phone nowadays. Can you imagine if all your clients were local? 😉
Two things I want to add:
When it gets to the point where your candidate is past the HR person and is interviewing with someone in ops – send the HR person a thank you email. It’s a good excuse to put your name at the top of their inbox.
Also, I totally disagree with telling one HR person that your candidate is getting close on another – unless the candidate is a better fit with the concept dragging their feet. Too many of the bottom-feeding agencies use that to cry wolf and it makes your candidate look desperate to start work somewhere, anywhere. Especially if you were so pumped about them in the first place.