Sales Executives

What is career management?

By:  Lorna Gill

Even though the career coaching and development industry continues to grow, most people still do not understand the concept of career management and outplacement services.

Career management does not necessarily mean employees will move on to pastures new and this post is designed to uncover some of the myths surrounding the industry as a whole.

What career management is NOT:

• Recruitment – a career coach is not there to find someone a job and will never take a fee for a placement. While career consultancies have many ties with headhunters and HR departments their job is to assist individuals to make the right decision for their career – be this to make a move sideways or upwards, stay within an organisation or move on.
• A friendly neighbourhood – career management is designed to take the individual out of their comfort zone in order to broaden their career horizon. Working through the unadvertised job market will widen network contacts and result in forging relationships with people that would have previously been overlooked and even avoided.
• A once in a lifetime project – a career spans most of a lifetime so to think it only needs to be addressed once is a complete oversight. A career management coach can lay the foundations in the short-term that will help progress long-term career goals. The job found with a career coach may not be the perfect position, but a stepping stone to achieving the ultimate role.

How career management WILL help:

• A career coach will give perspective – perspective that those close to you will not be able to give. It sounds like the simplest of things, but having an impartial voice will help immensely in developing an individual’s career and will create a direction for future job searches.
• Career coaches are career professionals. They may not have expert knowledge on a particular industry but they will know how to put a strategy in place and develop procedures in order to achieve the end goal. Remember that a career coach has travelled many career paths alongside their clients and will have direct experience of how to heighten success and elude failure.
• When approaching recruiters and HR departments the individual will be prepped and ready to make the right conversations. This proactive approach will make the individual stand out and enforce a positive impression. The careful planning of a career coach is designed to facilitate the hiring process.

Career management isn’t always right for everyone but can be an excellent step for anyone looking to make the next significant change in their career. All people have weaknesses and a career coach can support these weaknesses in turn, making the individual a stronger package for potential employers.

By: David Kemmelman

You are looking for a job, your resume is posted on several job boards and you have a LinkedIn profile among others as well. It’s chum for recruiter infested waters! So, how do you choose between a good headhunter and a bad headhunter, and what should you know about the internal recruiters at companies you are targeting?

Let’s start with headhunters (they hate this name by the way). Many headhunters out there are bottom feeders that are scouring the internet for resumes that can possibly lead them to a fee. It’s a numbers game for many that the more candidates/jobseekers they speak to, the more likely they will make placements regardless of how good or bad a particular candidate may be. These types of recruiters will sound like they are talking at you from a playbook to gather some amount of information (bare minimum) so they can send your resume to wherever they think they can get a fee, and it won’t truly matter to them what you think. When you are contacted by a headhunter you really want to feel like they are listening and responding to your comments and that they are putting your best interests first, before their own. Also, tell them they must contact you about a position prior to submitting your resume in the event you are already into that company through a referral or otherwise.

Okay, that’s some of the bad side of headhunters. There are good ones too, but they can be far and few between. So, how do you indentify the better and/or excellent headhunters?

Good headhunters will actually take an interest in you, your career, your professional aspirations and be seriously interested building a mutually beneficial and sustainable relationship. They know that if they spend valuable time with you in an effort to get to know you, that not only might you become a placement fee, but because they went the extra lengths to take an interest in all that you are, there is a strong likely likelihood that you will refer them to other people you know. Remember, it’s all about networking and who you know. And, bad news travels much faster and greater distances than good news, so negative feedback takes ages to overcome, and good headhunters know that.

Also, when being contacted by a headhunter you should always want to meet them face-face in their office. Making eye contact, shaking someone’s hand and seeing that they are a real professional with a professional establishment versus just a voice on the phone is essential for you to feel confident about anyone that is representing you and your brand to prospective employers.

Finally we come to the internal recruiter that works for the company you are applying to. This is not dissimilar to the people above, however there are few differentiators between good and bad. For example:

• Did the recruiter sound scripted or were they engaging on the phone?
• Was the recruiter capable of explaining what the company does and what the job you’re applying for will be doing?
• Was the recruiter open to answering questions and were they capable of answering the majority of them in detail?
• Was the recruiter able to give you a feel for the culture of the company?
• Did the recruiter ask you meaningful questions that were on point and relevant to the job and your experience?
• Did the recruiter give you ample time to answer questions and ask questions without making you feel like they were doing you a favor?
• Were they respectful?

We could go on and on, but these are some good things to be aware of when working with recruiters either inside a company or outside. Not everything has to be warm and fuzzy, but you certainly want to know that the individual you are dealing with is focused on a Win-Win outcome for everyone, not just themselves. And you should never be made to feel like you are just another candidate, but if you do feel that way, is that really the person or company you want to be working with?

(By MARK DEMAREE)
“What are the ‘hottest’ industries for recruiters right now?”
This question is one that we get quite often. I’m sure it’s because Top Echelon’s split placement network has several thousand jobs shared to its split system each month, and each job has an industry tied to it. We’ve been tracking industry statistics and trends for over 20 years.
At Top Echelon, we’re able to track such numbers through our split placement network. That’s because this network is a system in which recruiters share their job orders and candidates with one another for the purpose of making split placements. There are nearly 400 recruiting firms across the country that are Preferred Members of Top Echelon Network, and they share their information in order to leverage their time and resources with other recruiters. Ultimately, they want to fill their clients’ open positions with the best candidates possible in the shortest amount of time, and networking with other recruiters in a collaborative manner through our Network allows them to accomplish this.
With that in mind, we can find out which industries are the “hottest” through a couple of different means. One of those means is by the number of job orders that are submitted to the Network by Preferred Member recruiters. That’s because, of course, the number of job orders that exist within a specific industry or niche is an accurate measuring stick for how hot the industry or niche is. More job orders mean more opportunities for placements.
As you can see by chart at the top of this blog post, the number of job orders has increased in eight of the top 10 industries in Top Echelon Network, and some of the increases have been quite dramatic. Some prime examples are Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (up 216%); Public Service, Social Programs, Government, and Legal (up 96%); and Automotive (89%). In fact, Automotive’s rise is rather surprising, considering what’s happened with that industry during the past couple of years. The same could be said of General Manufacturing, which saw a 59% increase in job orders during the past year. Overall, the job orders submitted to the Network in these 10 industries is up 43% year-to-year.
As a recruiter, one of the questions you might have right now is, “Okay, that’s all fine and good, but what are the salary figures associated with these job orders?” That’s certainly a fair question, and fortunately for us, we have a fair answer. The salaries associated with the job orders in Top Echelon Network can range anywhere from an entry-level position in the mid 40’s all the way to C-level positions in the couple hundred thousand dollar range, but overall, the average salary is about $88,000.
What’s the bottom line? These are all good signs—both for these industries and also for the recruiters that work within these industries. We talk with recruiters all the time, and they also say there’s a lot more activity than there was a year ago. That heightened activity level is further evidenced by the increase in job orders in the system.
So it’s all good news . . . and we like good news at Top Echelon, especially when it deals with the job orders that recruiters submit to the Network.

– — –

(Mark Demaree, the President of Top Echelon, is a regular contributor to the Top Echelon Recruiter Training Blog.)

As we are coming out of this recession, companies are hiring again and staffing specialists can utilize their databases of qualified candidates to assist companies with filling critical openings with great candidates more quickly.

Why should companies consider delegating their hiring to an outside staffing firm?

You can narrow this down to saving time, money and effort. Staffing professionals know who the ‘A’ candidates are in the market right now, and can best match them to the needs of a company. Through their day-to-day interactions with professionals, recruiters constantly have a pulse of who’s available and what opportunity will motivate them to make a change. Delegating your hiring can save the internal recruiter or internal HR department time and money because a staffing firm will already have a list of candidates. The firm can quickly identify a list through its own database and research, which helps the company get into the interview process quickly rather than going through countless resumes that came in through job boards.

What can a staffing agency add to the hiring process?

Recruiters have a pulse on what’s going on in the marketplace or within their niche. That is why they are truly subject matter experts in their industry. Many recruiters refer to it as The DIG model — discipline, industry and geography. Also, recruiters look beyond the resume. Often, companies will look at a resume and think a person isn’t a good fit. Staffing specialists understand that many professionals will use bullet points and provide general information in their resumes, so they look for their achievements and the potential benefits they will provide a company. A staffing specialist will ask the qualifying questions to gain a better understanding of what a professional’s daily tasks consist of and their real-life work experience so they can provide a company with a very thorough summary of that candidate’s background that complements their resume.

What should a company look for in a staffing firm?

Companies may consider a recruiter who is specialized in a particular niche, (i.e., manufacturing or IT), or by a certain position (engineer, sales, etc.). It is important for a company to understand how the recruiter conducts their search either through direct recruitment (phone or in-person) or via job board postings. Finally, the company could also consider other ancillary services provided by the recruiter such as background checks, education verification and reference checks.

What criteria should a company consider when selecting a professional staffing firm?

A company should look for a track record of success and ask a lot of questions. For example, ask questions such as: What experience does the recruiter or agency have in placing that particular type of opening? What have they done to successfully fill those positions? How fast have they filled them? What type of companies have they filled those positions for? How do they qualify their candidates?

Another criterion is how recruiters develop relationships with companies. For some companies, this may be their first experience working with a staffing specialist. It is important that they are comfortable with the process and their level of involvement. For example, some staffing specialists will meet with the hiring authority and the internal HR department, very similar to how a company would interview a candidate.

How can a company quantify a track record?

Some companies will send out a proposal or request for information, especially larger organizations. For smaller organizations, they may ask for references. Also, companies may ask for a list of hiring managers the staffing firm has placed candidates with.

How does a staffing firm differentiate great candidates from good candidates?

Staffing specialists look at the whole picture: credentials, real work experience, achievements and potential benefits. For example, if you are looking for a software developer, the recruiter can provide examples of some sample scripts or codes the candidate has written. When qualifying ‘A’ candidates from ‘B’ candidates, it often comes down to how engaged they are with the recruiter and how much information is provided. Have they provided the examples necessary to differentiate them from other candidates?

Staffing specialists look at certifications, degrees, and education. For some companies, a college GPA can make a big difference as they evaluate candidates. Companies often look for applicants with a particular certification, and where that certification was earned.

A staffing specialist can ensure that a candidate is reference-checkable by making sure a direct or previous supervisor can be contacted during the interview process. Timing is everything. The sooner a recruiter can get the candidates into the process and provide the hiring authority with as much information as needed, the sooner the recruiter can solve the problem or alleviate some pain for them.

From: sbonline.com

It seems logical that the more recruiters who see your resume, the better chance you have of being exposed to future employers. That’s the reasoning behind the strategy of using multiple recruiters. In reality, when you contact too many recruiters your resume could be submitted to the same employer by a different recruiter.

Top-notch recruiters can take on a consultant-like role with the employer. As with every field, you will have recruiters who really enjoy partnering with clients to assist them in bringing top talent to the organization, and you will have those who are more focused on filling positions using a quantity-versus-quality mindset.

If you want to prevent the runaround that happens when people submit their resumes to recruiters – only to get silence for weeks on end – you can, to a degree.

Ideally, you want to do your due diligence and interview recruiters before submitting your resume. You want to understand their communication style and when you can expect a follow-up call. When there is no communication, you’re left to fill in the blanks, and that can be frustrating.

Getting the runaround is a sign you could be just another candidate and lack a relationship connection. Working with recruiters is like building a good networking relationship, it’s an exchange of information.

Most of all, you can control your selection of recruiters and limit how many you will use. What message do you send an employer when they receive multiple copies of your resume from various recruiters? Using too many recruiters can take away your appearance of uniqueness to a potential employer.

By:  Kim Thompson