Tips for Recruiting Top Talent....Use The Right Recruiting Email Subject Line!

Identify, Connect, Vet and Present!

Recruiting is all about connecting!

Recruiters need both a great message and a strong recruiting email subject line in order to be successful.

Recruiters have found success using emails to connect with potential candidates. I am sure the results are directly related to having a recruiting email subject line that wants the potential candidate to read more.

As always I like to share email subject lines that have been successful for me. Please note these are the ones I used while recruiting a Vice President of Marketing.

Enjoy!

1. Subject line: We have identified you as a marketing expert. I want to learn more about you, your career and possibly next steps.

2. Subject line: We have identified you as being one of the most talented in your space, lets network.

3. Subject line: As a marketing expert, I am interested in networking with you regarding a role we are working on.

Again be sure each email is personalized and has enough information regarding the role and the responsibilities. Having this information helps the professional with making the decision to learn more, refer or decline. If they decide to move forward and schedules a call, I make it a practice to send along the job specification and ask for their resume or biography prior to the upcoming discussion. I believe this results in having a productive conversation for both parties.

What recruiting email and recruiting email subject line works for you? Please share with us so we may use it too.

 

 

Happy Hunting.

Sheila Greco

sgreco@sheilagreco.com

 

Join Us May 9th for a Free Webinar! SGA ExecutiveTracker the Other Great Recruiting Tool

Not Who You Know - Its Who We Know Recruiting successes comes from proactive recruiting using name generation/passive candidate research & other tools to assist with getting to the right candidates. On May 9th, we will be offering  (3) free webinars that will show how we and our customers use SGA ExecutiveTracker as a resource. Thought we would share with you the wonders of SGA ExecutiveTracker because it seems to be a tool of choice amongst the customer base that is giving us a 93% renewal rate year over year.

We will also be showing examples of recruiting emails as well as effective voicemail messages, examples of research, tricks on how to do research, the value of passive candidate research and the value of quality data. Our goal is to help you, help your clients.

May 9 9:00

May 9 1:00

May 9 4:00

Sign up today at a time convenient for you.

Remember as recruiters, proactive ones, it is important that we use every channel available to reach out and connect with  potential candidates. Hope to have you join us.

 

SGA ExecutiveTracker - offering names not found on the internet.

 

 

 

 

Making Smart Recruiting Decisions - There is Great, There is Better ....

There is Great!

There is Better!

You only know you recruited the best when you know the potential talent pool. When you are in the know, it will assist with making smart recruiting decisions.

 

Making smart recruiting decisions can make or break the team, the company, market share, competitiveness  and much more.  Whether a company is recruiting a college graduate, experienced professional or senior level executive, each hiring decision needs to be a smart one.

 

When a company talks about branding they need to take into consideration that their people are their brand.  So as a company recruits talent,  it is imperative that they bring in the right talent, each and every time.   This means you need to know who is out there. You need to find greatness!

Yes, many will argue there is vast number of great people. Alexander the Great is a perfect example of that, however, would he really be the best fit for the particular job you are recruiting for? You don't know until you compare him to the others, based upon your company's requirements and needs.

Making smart recruiting decisions depends on knowing who makes up the entire talent pool.  Recruiters need to know who these people are. As I always say, you need to know where you are hunting for these professionals. This means taking 10-15 minutes to determine where you want these professionals to come from. Many companies do this for college graduates by recruiting from particular schools carefully chosen by the company.  This should hold true for companies as well.

So how do you know you have uncovered greatness? Or there may be someone else out there who is better than your top candidate? You don't unless you have  accurately mapped out each company and people of interest in the specific group. Once this is complete determining greatness is easier and making smart recruiting decisions can be done.

How do you do this? You recruit, network and build a pipeline from the potential talent pool and compare and contrast  these professionals that you believe are on target. Then I suggest scrubbing the list again and choose the best of the best who closely  match the job specification, company culture, needs, wants and desires of the hiring manager.  How? Begin with their background.  What makes them so great? How does he/she compare to the others in the talent pool?  Does this person deserve merit as an individual contributor, team player, leader or all three? If managing a team, is he/she  great at assembling a successful team and a great leader or is it  a combination of both?  Recruiters and hiring managers need to be in the know. Making smart recruiting decisions requires information,  that can be obtained by mapping out the desired companies of interest. Remember the list will grow as you recruit purely by networking. When this happens it further confirms that the recruiter is in the right space. So recruiters know your targets, know your potential hires know who you are looking for and take the time to know the pool and the talent within it.

Let me repeat if I may. In order to obtain your next “Alexander the Great” you need to know where he is hiding and the talent pool he is competing amongst.  Great talent is out there, so is the better talent, be sure your recruiting decisions are based upon information.  Recruiting is a process and a major part of the process is knowing who to recruit and having access to the right talent. Not just talent.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to speaking with you and your comments on this topic.

Sheila Greco

 

Admit It, Investing In Passive Candidate Recruiting Practices Is Where It Is At.....

Fresh Passive Candidates for your next search

Investing In Passive Candidate Recruiting Is The Only Way To Recruit!

Don't Be Shy About It- Go After The Top Talent You Want From Where You Want!

Investing In Passive Candidate Recruiting if done correctly, tells the story of the competition's talent, the entire potential talent pool, assists with current openings, exploratory openings, talent management and can  hands down increase the time to hire when this information is used to proactively recruit.

Stakeholders involved in any type of recruiting need to be aware that this investment can drastically reduce the cost per hire while yielding the game-fully employed, possibly over performing talent you and your competition may wish to recruit. But you need to get to them first! You need to invest!

How can you reach this super talent?

1. Carefully choose an internal professional with previous research experience (picking up telephone and developing organization charts) or outsource to a reputable, results driven research company to do the work. The objective is to thoroughly break out the companies and teams at the companies of interest. Focus the efforts on comprehensive organization charting.

2. Find biographies of those uncovered by step 1. This again which will help you understand who is in each role, their backgrounds, education and the responsibilities of each.

3. View it, use it and cultivate it! Implement a system where someone in your organization connects or stays in front these professionals every 30, 60, 90, 120 days.  This can be done either internally or externally. We offer this service.

Today especially, we all know the passive candidate seem to be the recruiter’s best chance of filling critical roles, but they also can be the hardest talent pool to win over. You need to engage and build relationships with this talent pool.

4. Implement a strategy that creates a proactive recruiting methodology as part of the recruiting strategy. Remember everyone company want top talent just like you. Don't be shy go get them.

It has been proven that organizations that only use recruiting to fill current and immediate talent needs will often time miss out or be one step behind those that act proactively. So you need to stay in touch with the professionals who are on your radar screen as well as those you want to be on your radar screen.

Investing in Passive Candidate Recruiting & Research can be well worth it. We know. We have over 21oo clients doing this on a variety of levels.

I am on the road now creating awareness about the value of understanding the talent pool and the benefits the recruiting teams can have when utilizing the recruiting strategy that centers around passive candidate recruiting from a specific talent pool. If you are interested, just let me know and I can come visit or set up a web-ex meeting.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sheila Greco sgreco@sheilagreco.com 518 843-4611 ext 221

 

Recruiting Similar Talent & Skill Sets Can Be Done Efficiently and Cost Effectively

She is a one of a kind Fashion Super Star!

Whether a company is Rebuilding, Adding, or Upgrading

 

Recruiting Similar Talent & Skill sets can be done efficiently and Cost Effectively

 

In some cases companies are looking for a super star like the one in the picture and other times, there exists a need to rebuild, add or upgrade a team. In such cases where there needs to be multiple hires, there are a few ways companies can do this and do it cost effectively. Recruiting today is about efficiency, uncovering quality top talent and its related cost.

Recruiting is a process and when recruiting similar talent and skill sets it is even more important than ever to use a methodical research/name generation step as part of the recruiting strategy.   Research/name generation can be done internally or outsourced.  Either way be sure this step includes a comprehensive target list, targets specific talent (architect, developer, buyer, product manager, sales representative/territory manager, auditor) and the recruiter must have the mindset that in order to begin recruiting there must be at least 50 names on the list (exception: when recruiting tax, audit and consulting talent I recommend a minimum of 100 names). It is a goal, it helps with the process, it keeps the recruiter organized, it can be referenced as time goes on and recruiting continues. It has many great uses.   Now that the research is done and done well, it needs to be followed by a proactive recruiting process.

The proactive recruiting process starts with connecting which can be any way the recruiter wishes; telephone, social networking medium, emailing , texting whatever but you need to connect with all on the list, otherwise the research step is for naught.

Staying organized is a must. It creates efficiency.  A good recruiter can double the size of the list or even triple it.  Now you are humming.....As the connections are being made, potential candidates are being vetted, the best are being presented and those not making the cut are being told it is just as important an activity to create a network of professionals in this space.  The best way to do this is by getting your information (the recruiter's) out to as many people as possible while the recruiting is being executed. Even to those who are not interested. Who knows this could change.

Long term, recruiters want professionals to know who they are and what types of positions they recruit for. Professionals need your contact information! How do you do this? It is easy! Just ask everyone how they would like you to deliver your contact information to them and also ask how they would like to be contacted next time.  What does this do? It makes you part of their professional network and he/she is now part of yours. You are now connected.

Additionally by having your contact information these professionals can connect with you when they are ready to make a move, want to refer or just chat. You now have a professional friend as well.  Oh so easy......just recruiting, building relationship and becoming a monster networker. It doesn't get any better than this.

Recruiting multiple professionals with a specific skill set can be considered easy, difficult and scary to some. But by knowing and using the recruiting process it can be made simple and cost-effective.  Once again being organized creates efficiency and efficiency creates less effort which saves time and saves money as well.  This is music to everyone's ears. Yes, recruiting multiple talent and skill sets and utilizing an efficient process can and does uncover top quality talent and creates a cost-effective way to recruit.

How can it be cost-effective? Companies have an option to negotiate the fee, suggest a flat fee if the recruiting is outsourced.  If it is done internally efficient recruiting efforts and filling the pipeline with all "A" Players who can all do the job, obviously results in awesome ROI.

Remember talent is a company's greatest asset. So when recruiting, it is important to hire the best, most qualified player who can fit in the company's corporate culture and whose long-term and short-term goals match the company's .

Thanks for stopping by...

Sheila Greco

 

 

 

Organization Charts Reveal Much About Structure & Talent

Fresh Passive Candidates for your next search  

Do you know who the players are at the organizations you track or compete against?

If you do, the power and competitive edge it gives you is priceless!

As with the middle and end of 2011, the beginning of 2012 is shaping up
 to be the year where talent management and talent acquisition teams will 
be collaborating even more than in years past.

This newfound trend has surfaced over the last 12 months with many of
 my clients. Although I have always thought this to be a perfect match, 
companies have just started realizing how well it really works.

So you ask, "What's really happening here?"   What's happening is these 
two teams are pulling together to create a master plan that includes a
long-term recruiting strategy.   Together they are finding that creating 
organization charts of potential recruits from companies they repeatedly
 recruit from is cost-effective and useful to both teams.  That's right -
ROI for both teams.

How do both teams get ROI from organization charts?  Well, the old
saying you have to spend money to make money rings true on this one. 

The up-front costs are minimal when you consider the fact that you are
 reducing your cost per hire over time and the easy evaluating of 
external talent at the same time.

The fact is organization charts reveal much  about structure and
 talent.

Structure: Organization charts show how the company may organize itself
 by business functions: finance, marketing, operations, sales, research &
development etc. Others may organize themselves by product lines, brands, 
services, or a combination of both etc. But you don't know any of this 
until you actually see and have access to it.

Talent: Once organization charts are complete the next step is to 
develop biographies of the key players and others of interest for use 
today, tomorrow or next month. To make it even more powerful you can add
 salaries to this information.

This information can be used for recruiting, benchmarking, talent
 management and some professionals have been known to use it to draw 
inferences about a firm's culture. (See where I am going with the ROI 
here?)

Spending money on this type of service should be a "no brainer" and it
 has quickly become one for the talent acquisition and talent management
professionals at many Fortune 1000 Companies, Top 5 Leaders in many
industries and small emerging companies who have key players recruited
 from the companies who make this a practice.

If you have any questions about my experience in this area or you are 
interested in seeing what we have done with regards to organization 
charts and projects that include bios, salary surveys and more, please 
feel free to contact me.

 

Thanks again for stopping by....

Organization Charts Reveal Much About Structure & Talent. Wouldn't you agree?

Sheila Greco

sgreco@sheilagreco.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recruiting Top Talent & The Importance Of Creating A Solid Target List

Top Talent can be hiding within the walls of the competition.

But don't stop there!

 

 

After reviewing numerous 2012 recruiting predictions and trends,  there seem to be 2 predictions that make every list.

1. The importance, need and desire to recruit directly from the competition.

2. Finding the much-needed talent with mission critical skill sets specific to an organization.

As I begin to think about this and how I can help my clients with these two trends, it has become obvious to me the need to emphasis the importance of a solid target list. The solid target list acts as a roadmap, a plan, as to where the talent may be sitting and poached. So by taking the time to creat a solid target list, long-term will help with identifying and recruiting the hard to find top talent needed by the organization. It is important to know that each target list needs to be specific to the requirements of each specific job. There could be some homework that recruiters may need to do to put together this solid target list, but it will be well worth the time and energy.

When creating a solid target list, I usually divide it into categories:

1 Target List, 5 Potential Categories

1.Competitors- Direct Competitors, same size, similar brands and services. (J&J)

2.Best Of Breed - companies with critical mass, best and brightest management teams, (companies may include  P&G, General Mills,  Apple, Google, Goldman Sachs, General Electric etc)

3.Back Yard Warriors - Great companies with great talent where recruiting top talent would not require relocation.

4.Small To Medium Companies On The Rise, but in  your space - Since 2008, great talent has been recruited by these companies and they have benefited greatly so great places to investigate and definitely not ones to overlook.

5.Specific teams within organizations - Those that have been recognized or known to have solid management and team players. (Human Resources Awards, Marketing Awards, Retail Creative teams).

If you need help with putting together a target list, call me at 518 843-4611 or email sgreco@sheilagreco.com. Glad you stopped by sgatalent... Until the next time enjoy!

Sheila Greco

 

Companies Who Employ Proactive Recruiting Strategies Will Win The War For Talent!

Fresh Passive Candidates for your next searchBack to Recruiting Basics!

Proactive Recruiting Strategies Include the Process of Knowing the Potential Talent Universe Before the Recruiting Activity Begins.

So you think you recruit -  but are you really recruiting or just think you are? Proactive Recruiters actively  recruit, search, hunt, seek out professionals who are employed by companies of interest, looking for those who can be enticed by a better opportunity and quite frankly just follow a methodical recruiting process utilizing  back to basics recruiting strategies.   I firmly believe that unless you know who is part of the potential talent universe before you recruit,  you cannot say with confidence that you have actively recruited, presented and hired the best-qualified candidate for the job!

Presenting candidates and filling the pipeline of candidates with only those who come to the recruiter, the company, found on job boards, the internet and are active is a very limited way to recruit. Wouldn't you agree?  I think that by only filling the pipeline of candidates with these types of recruits is what I call reactionary recruiting or passive recruiting. Recruiting in such a manner, in my opinion can be doing  a disservice to the company and clients.

I am not negating the successes that do come from passive recruiting or reactionary recruiting I am suggesting that recruiters need to take a step back, take the time to learn about the potential talent that could be available to the organization and clients. Recruiters really need to proactively use methodologies that uncover or identify potential talented recruits and then go recruit them.

Recruiting defined by Business Dictionary.com sums it up.... The process of identifying and hiring the best-qualified candidate (from within or outside of an organization) for a job vacancy, in a most timely and cost-effective manner. So you need to identify - know who you are recruiting by using research/name generation/traditional telephone research as part of the recruiting process.

Proactive Recruiting and returning to  Back To Basics Recruiting Strategies is  a long-term strategy and can be well worth it if a company truly believes people are their best assets.  No one will disagree with the fact that having top talent, breeds winning teams, that win and can compete on many fronts.

Ask yourself, did I recruit the best available talent during the recruiting process? If the answer is yes, than share your knowledge with the corporation and the client. It will speak volumes.  Winning the talent war does require employing a winning recruiting strategy and it does include research/traditional telephone research, passive candidate research as part of the process. My recommendation is "to be in the know" and to really know who  is part of the potential talent universe before you recruit. I always say, "go get them before they get you! Be proactive in finding the best of breed talent.

Hope you enjoy my Back to Basic Recruiting Presentation and download it now.  I will be scheduling workshops in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Chicago and Pennsylvania discussing Back to Basics Recruiting Strategies.  So if you are interested, please let me know by emailing me sgreco@sheilagreco.com.

Always here to help...have a great day!

Sheila Greco

Below is an interesting article.

Interesting article in Forbes

Only The Employed Need Apply - Employing Traditional Passive Candidate Research Can Be The Force Behind Doing So

Fresh Passive Candidates for your next search

Only the employed need apply.  Agree Or disagree. It is reality to some.

Traditional Passive Candidate Research can be The Force  Behind Hiring The Employed!

For those who use Traditional Passive Candidate Research as part of their recruiting strategy, recruiting the employed really is not anything new. I am not saying that only the employed are targeted to fill the potential candidate pipeline report, but the emphasis is put on finding candidates who are residing at the companies of interest to include competitors, best of breed companies, back yard warriors and other companies the hiring manager has had success recruiting out of. A great way to connect with these professionals is to employ Traditional Passive Candidate Research into the recruiting process.

Not everyone knows about Traditional Passive Candidate Research. That is okay, but should your client ask you for passive employed candidates you should become aware of it. Simply put it is the process of  identifying potential candidates from a target list of companies created by the hiring manager based upon past successful hiring results. This process goes right for the jugular. Calling into companies and getting right to the people of interest. I am not saying to ignore the internet or research and recruiting tools  to find talent. You can use them, but don't solely depend on them.

The benefits of Traditional Passive Candidate Research - can far outweigh using free and paid for service research and recruiting tools.  The center of the search process is undeniably the research phase so it needs to be done right and it needs to be done by those who know how to do it. Having access to top talent right from the beginning can and does shorten the recruiting cycle, not to mention helps the recruiter recruit with knowledge. Most Traditional Passive Candidate Research provides not only names of potential candidates, but reporting relationships, emails, direct dials and often times specific information around the executives and their teams.

Let's face it, hiring managers drive the process and know who they  need. Often times they turn to the internal talent acquisition team to get it done. Depending on internal capabilities, hiring can be done internally, outsourced or a combination of both. Either way the goal remains the same, there is a need to find best of breed talent yesterday. Traditional Passive Candidate Research empowers recruiters to be focused, the ability to get to the right candidate faster, a channel that allows the recruiters to engage with potential candidates, network, and can assist with branding a company just by connecting. Oh, such power! And yes, it gets the recruiter to the employed!

I am not saying to ignore the unemployed...... but do recruiting partners/clients want to see these folks from you?  It depends. Some do, some don't. Remember you don't make the rules! You can choose to follow them or opt out. However in today's world and according to many articles in the news, there are corporations publically saying the employed need apply or privately doing so. Either way,  in order to be a successful recruiter these days, you need to know how to  find the employed.

A few things to ponder.....

Do you agree that the best talent are those who are employed?

Do you consider that statement of "Only the Employed Need Apply" to be discrimination against the unemployed?

Please feel free to comment. My opinion is that as a recruiter you always want to find the best of the best, the "A" Player talent. So do just that. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sheila Greco

www.sgatalent.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passive Candidate Research Finds Them, Recruiters Recruit, Evaluate & Present, But Candidates Are Who They Are!

Passive Candidate Research & Organization Chart Development Uncovers Potential Candidates and Reveals The Potential Talent Pool

Recruiting, Evaluating & Presenting With Knowledge Is Another Step

But Candidates Are Who They Are....

www.SGATalent.com & Sheila Greco Welcomes Colleen Alyward

Let’s talk about Age Discrimination for a minute. By Colleen Aylward

An excerpt from the book “from Bedlam to Boardroom” by Colleen Aylward

My clients are executive level job seekers who are completely lost in this new world of job search. They often complain to me about age discrimination as the reason they are still unemployed.

Maybe so. But there is another angle.

People like to hire others who are just like them.

If you don’t match the high energy, excitement, and passion of the rest of the company, the hiring managers perceive you as having no energy, no excitement, and no passion. Most likely, this is not the case. Most likely, you have learned over the years to think before you speak, but sometimes this asset can be a liability, given the age and perceptions of an interviewer. Yes, you’ve gained wisdom: You consider alternatives before making quick decisions; you do research on solutions; and you always consider the downsides of each. You call this prudence. They may call it slow. Strike one.

If you have let yourself go physically, many hiring managers may feel that your mental agility has atrophied as well. Seriously. It’s not age discrimination. It’s their perception of your overall energy and stamina, especially in a highly taxing position and/or one with a lot of travel and activity. Strike two.

If you don’t use the language, the acronyms, the newest industry buzzwords, they may think you are outdated. Or that you have lost the drive to keep up with new things. I knew an executive who was one of the first brilliant architects of the client-server age. He went for an interview with a large software vendor, but he didn’t describe his work in the newest language of distributed technology – “cloud computing.” Strike three.

So be careful when you start to think age discrimination is taking place. That will just make things worse. You’ll be defensive during your interviews without realizing it. And what you might perceive as “age discrimination” might be a hiring manager’s response to what you project in the areas of energy, influence, and atrophy.

 

Executive Recruiting Trends

The Importance of Human Touch and Pipeline Development are Center Stage for 2011's Executive Recruiting Trends

The Top 5  SGA has Heard Lately………

#1 In-sourcing vs. RPO:

This trend is toward selective, not full, recruitment process outsourcing. We will see outsourcing occur more often in the recruitment of high-volume, repetitive roles, and for the function of candidate sourcing only. There will be more RPO growth in the U.S. than Canada; more Canadian markets are focused on building internally. More executive recruitment functions are moving in-house, which is reflective of a growing transparency in the market. Increasingly, candidates can go online and see for themselves who holds which recruiting or leadership positions at a company, for example, rather than being forced to stay in the dark or play the guessing game to get in contact with the correct person.

#2 Talent Pipelining:

The importance of building a talent pipeline, as it helps employers get more return out of their recruitment efforts using the fewest resources, build a stronger employment brand, and create better relationships with candidates. Talent pipelining needs to be built into the recruitment process for key roles, as the push of relevant content and information to “nurtured” candidates helps build a company’s employment brand and increase passive candidates’ engagement and trust.

#3 Human Touch is Needed:

A poor or lengthy recruiting process can really hurt your organization’s chances of bringing the best talent onto your team. Just as candidates must sell themselves to you, you must sell your company to candidates. What’s your employment value proposition; how are you attracting, engaging, and retaining quality talent?

Begin to create a more candidate-centric recruitment process by adding more of a “human touch” to your process. Communicate with candidates when at all possible, and let them know where they stand as the process moves from phase to phase.  View all candidates as a customer or potential future customer, client or employee.

#4 Social Media for Recruitment:

Social media: It can be really overwhelming. Most of us are familiar with the major social media platforms — and they are playing an increasing role in recruitment as companies realize they must diversify their recruitment efforts to stay on top. Mobile technology is emerging as a recruitment channel, as companies are also realizing the power of texting and mobile apps for recruitment. Even location-based social networking sites like Foursquare have growing possibilities for businesses and recruitment. Tablets like the iPad are also becoming more popular for work use as these devices increase the business applications offered, and companies are beginning to examine the power of tablet applications to help strengthen their employment brand and company profile.

Video interviewing is a trend that more and more businesses (and candidates) are starting to pick up on, and platforms like Skype, the largest network on the Internet, are also becoming more popular for use in interviews or for virtual meetings.

Using these mediums can be powerful — but the content you put out and the messages you are sending to candidates and employees must be relevant.

#5 The Demand for Experienced Recruiters:

Recruiters today are being asked to do more with less, making it increasingly difficult for them to be successful. The demand for experienced recruiters is high — and the recruiter of yesterday has changed to reflect a demand for those who have an in-depth knowledge of the company for which they’re recruiting.

What are you hearing?

Knowing who you are looking for is the first step in finding them…

Recruiting Top Talent Requires Knowing Who You Want & Knowing Where You Need to Go to Find It!

Executive Research & Passive Candidate Recruitment

Chapter 1 Who

Who are we looking for? We start by creating the Profile/Job Description. The description should be simple and include such things as title, reporting relationships, overall role & responsibilities, qualifications such as particular skill sets and experience, and education. You also need to know who the client is really looks for and needs & wants. What makes he or she tick.  Remember, likes like likes so you need to know as much as you can about the hiring manager, the team, what the team is good at and what the team is not so good at.You can use this information as you begin to think about the research & recruiting strategy. Why? As you fan out from the target list you have other places to look for potential talent Stay tuned. As you go through this exercise you will now begin to understand the talent you need to find, recruit, and present

Chapter 2 Recruiting and Research Strategy

This step is very process driven and simple. This will include such things as creating the target list, the appropriate level or title we are seeking, favorite companies that the hiring manager or company has had success recruiting from, not the mention the ones that have not been so favorable. Discuss direct competitors, industry leaders, back yard warriors, best of breed companies, just a few categories that need representation when creating the target list.  Keep in mind, this step is the foundation of every successful assignment and is the starting point of finding and identifying top talent and uncovering the potential talent universe.

As the target lists are created, edited and finalized, the research phase begins. This includes building organizations charts around the talent of interest at each of the target companies. As the research is being conducted, it is imperative to not only obtain the names, titles and complete organization charts, but you must also be sure names are spelled correctly, titles are exact, emails gathered are verified and direct dials are confirmed. This makes reaching out to these folks easier and with a variety of ways.

Below is an example of an organization chart used for recruiting.

Intelligence is Everything....

Hiring Intelligently is the Only Way to Hire.

Being aware of the potential talent pool is critical to your success.

How do you know you recruited the best just because you made the hire?  Well, the truth is you don't.   You need the intelligence to be sure you did.  You do this by being totally aware of the potential talent universe.  You need to have the "inside view" of the talent pool of the professionals on your target list.

Time and time again we have proven there are significant benefits of knowing where to find the best talent, who they are and how to obtain access to them.  This is all available by using passive candidate research when you recruit.  This is done by building organization charts centered around the talent you are seeking.  This process does not necessarily need to be expensive but any cost involved is well worth it.

Successful companies have the intelligence on their competitors, back yard warriors, best of breed companies and the talent within each.

In order to be competitive you need to have the best talent.  Today a company's best asset and competitive edge is its people.   Having said that, when you are recruiting and/or looking to upgrade internal talent, become aware of whom the best players really are.

Follow my SGA Playbook and come back daily for information regarding recruiting the best with knowledge and intelligence.

Monday - Chapter 1 Who

Tuesday Chapter 2 Recruiting & Research Strategy

Wednesday Chapter 3 Recruiting Campaign

Thursday Chapter 4 Evaluation & Selection

Friday Chapter 5 Presenting With Knowledge & Intelligence

Bad data slows down the recruiting process....

Telephone Sourcing

Name generation  gets you to the right people!

Share what's interesting to you Just looking for a few responses to gauge what is REALLY going on out there.

First I want to say thank you to all of you who privately and public ally commented about the Telephone being a social networking tool. It stirred the pot but seems to be resonating more and more...the importance of the telephone as part of recruiting top candidates.

Here is what I am interesting in hearing....

As of late we have been hearing that sorting through lots of bad data is actually slowing down the recruiting process as it compares to high quality data. Data being names in this case. Social networking is wonderful and will never go away but the ROI and understanding the importance of fresh and accurate data (contacts) is becoming of great importance. Yes we need both, but I think we all need to rethink what a recruiter is responsible for doing which is recruiting and uncovering the best in a timely fashion. So what works for you? Please let me know. Would you rather have a name or a few names (4) to network with of those who are either a great potential candidate or a great networking contact? Or 10 names of people who may or may not be on spec as you wait for a return call/email and continue to reach out to those folks who may or may not be someone who is worth the wait? Or in other words having 40% hit ratio with your efforts or 85-100% with validated good contacts? I await your responses.

Best regards,

Sheila Greco

sgreco@sheilagreco.com 518 843-4611

PODCAST - A Candid Conversation with Recruiting Industry Veteran, Sheila Greco

It's no secret that our clients and colleagues in the recruiting industry are getting hammered in the current recession. In December, Heidrick & Struggles announced plans to cut its workforce by 15 percent. The job boards are getting hit, too. ERE reported CareerBuilder had terminated about 15 percent of its 2,100 person workforce in December. Other job boards also recently reported staff reductions. Sheila was interviewed today, listen to her Inside Recruiting podcast Interview on Total Picture Radio, with Peter Clayton reporting.