I do love what I do. In this profession, one of the very special moments is delivering a great offer for a transformative opportunity to an over-the-moon excited candidate. It simply never gets old helping companies find great candidates that fit perfectly. The same goes for finding and securing a highly capable candidate who was not even looking, then presenting them with a fantastic opportunity and successfully placing them in that opportunity. A little fun act, did you know that more than two-thirds of candidates are passive and not even looking for a job? But at the end of the day, recruiters are not magicians, we can’t help everyone.
What is a candidate’s most marketable skill?
Recruiters, especially headhunters, get paid to find candidates that a company cannot find on its own. We generally earn our fees by finding rare and unique talents. I receive multiple calls every month from candidates who want to pivot. Sometimes they are bored. Sometimes their industry is in turmoil – e.g. mortgage bankers in times of rapidly rising interest rates. But let’s be honest, if I get a call from an engineer who doesn’t want to be an engineer anymore, the probability of earning a fee by placing that candidate in anything but an engineering role is about nil.
Why is your company a great place to work?
Business owners take tremendous pride in their business. The Headhunters and building this business is akin to being my fourth child. When The Headhunters engage with a client, we take time to understand what is awesome about “you,” the hiring manager, and working for you and the company. Recently, I had a general manager decline to answer this question and delegated it to HR to handle. Needless to say, we passed on their search. Think about it. If you can’t answer this question, how could we possibly speak credibly to a candidate who is not looking for a job and get them excited about yours? We’ve got nothing to sell if the hiring manager won’t engage.
Candor is kindness
This is a difficult profession that requires the delivery of bad news regularly. A simple way to say it is, “A players don’t take B
jobs.” If the company’s pay and benefits are not the greatest, then what else can you offer? Maybe it’s extra PTO or allowing a candidate to quietly disappear on a summer Friday, or flexibility with WFH for parents. We will shoot you straight on what kind of candidates we think will be interested, and what is and isn’t attractive about your job opportunity.
Likewise, if you’re a candidate who is too hoppy or has unrealistic compensation expectations, we will tell you straight. Even if we can’t help a candidate, we will still share our thoughts on the current job market, industry trends, reasonable compensation, job-seeking tips, and/or resume tips.
Conclusion
You know what they say, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.
If you’re a company with an opportunity that is less than optimal, we will do some digging and try to find some marketable nuggets. If the company is in turnaround, then tell us what you’re doing to right the ship. If the company’s ERP conversion is going poorly or the external auditors are telling you that your controller sucks, we will be in a much better position to get a candidate interested if they know there is a problem and a plan to fix it. If you are a candidate with unrealistic salary expectations, lack of experience, or have a sloppy resume, then we will give it to you straight.
If we can’t help you, we will tell you.
Bill Wednieski is the Managing Director for The Headhunters. Learn more here.