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.
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