Have you ever wondered exactly what's in a recruitment fee? Download our latest whitepaper which demystifies recruitment fees and provides an overview of what you can expect with each type of fee.

This whitepaper explores the different fee structures including Contingent, Exclusive Contingent, Engagement Fees and Retained Searches and the pros and cons of each.

Click on the button below to download.
 

Attracting talent to meet today’s business needs is one of the top challenges organizations face.  So to help you get started in facing this challenge, here are a few helpful tips from Theresa Bolton, our Sales & Marketing Recruiter.  By keeping these best practices in mind, your business will be well on its way in attracting high quality individuals to meet your needs.

CANDIDATE ATTRACTION AND RECRUITMENT TIPS

By Theresa Bolton

1. Make sure you have an accurate and compelling job description. Clear and concise job descriptions can both attract candidates that are suitable for the job while simultaneously weeding out candidates who aren’t suitable.  Do you have a well written job description?  Is it compelling?  Can someone reading it easily see themselves in that role?  Get others to review it and get their opinion on the impact.
2. Develop a plan on how you are going to recruit. What’s your process for identifying a hiring need to then hiring the best employee possible?  How are you going to get the word out that your organization is hiring?  Through word of mouth, advertising (free or paid), using a career portal on your website, or hiring a Recruiter? 
3. Respect your candidates.  Every candidate is connected and even if they are not the right candidate for this job, they have a network that may contain candidates suitable for your organization. Treat the candidate with respect, no different than how you would treat a customer.  Word of mouth is a powerful tool and people won't hesitate in sharing their experiences with your organization should someone ask.
4. Limit the number of interviews. You will know after the first interview whether or not this candidate has the skills, qualifications, and potentially the work ethic and personality required to fit into your organization.  After that first interview, if you need additional information from the candidate schedule a second interview to explore further. If possible, have another person sit in on the interview to provide additional perspective.  Your time is just as important as the candidate you are interviewing, so respect it. 
5. Don’t lose momentum.  The war for talent is real.  If you have a great candidate you are considering for a role, don't wait too long.  Other companies can recognize talent too and your great candidate won’t be on the market for long.  If you don’t “make” the time to respond quickly you risk losing the candidate, leading to an even longer and more costly process.
6. Demonstrate a rich corporate culture.  Be aware that a good candidate will be evaluating your organization as a fit for them, just as much as you are evaluating whether they are right for you. You need to demonstrate why your organization is a great place to work. What sets you apart from the competition? 
7. Ensure the total compensation package is competitive.  A compensation package isn’t just the base salary, it also includes bonuses, employee benefits, vacation and other perks.  Do you know if your compensation is aligned with industry standards?  Do you know how your benefits compare with other organizations?  Candidates consider Employee Benefits to be almost as important as the compensation itself.  Not only does it provide them with piece of mind to having access should they need it, it creates a feeling that their employer truly cares about them and their family.  Set yourself apart from your competitors and differentiate yourself as an employer by offering varied and comprehensive benefits.  Don’t forget about the non-monetary benefits like technology, the opportunity to work from home, and the flexibility to attend personal functions like your children’s activities.

You’ve no doubt read, heard and been told over and over again to personalize any network invites you send to people on LinkedIn.  I know I am one of the choir members preaching this to anyone who is willing to listen.  When we train new employees this is one of the first things we say when it comes to LinkedIn; personalize your invites.

Why?

A couple reasons:

1. It’s nice and thoughtful.  And what did our parents teach us about being thoughtful?  That it makes the other person, the person on the receiving end, feel good.  And don’t we like to make others feel good?
2. You stand out from the crowd.   I receive invites on a daily basis, 90% of them are always the default invite.  Believe me when I say, those who personalize an invite have my attention. 

In fact, they have my attention so much so that the reason I am writing this blog post is because of a great invite I got this week.  This unique and thoughtful invite stood out from all the others and affected me like a morning cup of coffee – perked me right up.  This invite told me this person took the time to read about me and what I do.  It told me that this individual had attention for detail as he listed a couple things in my profile that were relevant to him and his background as well as a few things we had in common.  Yes, this person had my attention and I wanted to know more about him.  Immediately I went to his profile, forget those other invites for now.  What I saw on his profile was a thoughtful and experienced individual, someone that very clearly has put in a lot of time and care to his LinkedIn profile, to his career.  I noted, with excitement, his senior leadership experience.  As I am always connecting with Executives across Canada (due to my work in Executive Search) I knew that somewhere down the road this person could potentially be a candidate or a client or maybe a great help – who knows?  The bottom line is that I will remember his name and his background just from this simple personalized invite.  Already his first impression is one of care and thoughtfulness.  If he puts this much energy into an invite, how much energy does he put into his career?  His business?  His employees? 

So what do I mean when I say personalize?  I mean, don't use the default one LinkedIn gives you.  Would you just walk up to someone at a networking event and say "Hi there, I'd like to meet you and have you in my network." and then shake hands and leave?  No, probably not.

“I use their name in the invite, isn’t that enough?” 

No, a name alone doesn’t make the note personalized (though you should definitely be using their name in it, always use their name).  Let me ask you; what do you know about this individual other than their name?  Did you really read through their profile?  Get a sense of what this person does?  Who they are?  What they are passionate about?  Before I send out any invite, I make it a rule to read their profile first and then send my invite.  I comment on at least one thing that jumps out at me from their profile – why I was compelled to send them an invite in the first place.

“Okay, so what should I say?”

That’s up to you.  Why do you want to connect with them?  Is it because of their background?  Because they might be a thought leader in your area of business?  Are you following their blog because you enjoy their posts and saw they were on LinkedIn?  Be honest.  Take the time to tell that person WHY you want to connect.  If it is just to grow your network then say that too, but still give a reason why you want them as part of your network.  Something in their profile must have caught your eye – why else would you want to connect with them? 

So, to the candidates out there who are on the job search – when sending out your invites to recruiters or hiring managers, personalize your invite.  Make it about the person you are sending the invite to – I guarantee, they will take note and the chances of your invite being accepted are much higher.

To the Recruiters who are sending invites to candidates.  Make it about the candidate and not about what they can do for you.  In fact, try sending invites to potential candidates before you ever even need to recruit them.  Just connecting and learning about others in the business community should be enough of a reason to send out those invites.

Happy networking all, and feel free to send me a LinkedIn invite.  You know what to do.

~Annette Kohut, Executive Search Associate

With Halloween soon upon us, we thought we would have some Halloween fun of our own.  Last year we brought you our Zombie Hunter position profile.  This year we've discovered a whole new set of Halloween candidates.

Check out our Infographic - Night of the Living Recruitment - to see what new crop of candidates we've got our eyes on.

Today's blog post is brought to you by our Information Technology Recruiter, Marny Barnes.

I am sure you have heard the cliché, “War for Talent”. I hate to give wind to that sail but it is true. There is a war for talent and in the growing world of information technology it is made even harder by this digital, web-connected world we live in.

There are LOTS of recruiters out there doing the same thing I am doing day in and day out - directly headhunting potential technologically talented candidates straight off the internet.  I have heard from many of these candidates that they get a number of calls on a daily basis.  What I don’t hear often is that the calls are relevant or anything less than a nuisance.  Not only are they receiving multiple calls weekly and even daily, they are receiving calls that are sometimes not appropriate to what they are currently doing. Too often I hear that the roles are way too junior, too senior and in some cases, not related to their current job description at all! I have been told by these same candidates that they have minimized their online presence to be “harder to find” specifically to reduce the number of calls from recruiters.  So how could I be different?

Four years ago when I first started recruiting for Information Technology, I realized just how important it was to make sure I had a strong online brand and presence.  I knew that I wanted to be the recruiter that my candidates and clients could trust, engage with, relate to and “know” before we have even met.  I was in a meeting with a client that had gone pretty well but it was not outstanding by any means.  At the end of the meeting the client asked if I was the photographer by the same name that he had found online.  I hesitantly confirmed that this was true.  The client smiled and started asking all kinds of technically related questions; what camera did I use, how did I come up with this or that idea.  The conversation went on for about another half hour and at the end I felt we had truly connected – and I left with a new IT search.

The situation with the client above helped me come to the realization that in order to best connect with the IT community, I needed to be where they were.  They are online and so I need to be too.  Why shouldn’t I be giving them the opportunity to get to know me before I need them and more importantly before they need me?  It was very apparent that I needed to focus on building a transparent brand that allowed my network to really understand what I do and to share with them just how excited I am to work with them. One of the most important parts of being a recruiter is getting talented candidates to open up so I can help them find the right job FOR THEM. Building a strong online presence as an IT Recruiter became a priority.  I wanted to offer others the opportunity to learn enough about me, to talk with me, so that when we sat down in an interview, there was already a relationship formed.  I wanted to offer common ground, similar interests and a relaxed open atmosphere.

Thanks to the online community I have been connecting with, my network of IT candidates is thriving.  I love finally meeting clients that I have been conversing with online and I enjoy meeting IT candidates that know as much about me as I know about them.  I am excited to be a part of the way we do business in this ever changing market.  What makes my job incredible is the opportunity to share what I love about technology with these candidates and more importantly to learn as much as I can about what makes them tick!  What are they passionate and excited about?  What about their jobs makes and keeps them happy?  As a recruiter, it is so important to me that both candidates and clients get exactly what they are looking for out of working with me; “The Perfect Fit”!  I love my job and I want to help you love your job too.

This network is also a huge benefit to my clients.  When I advertise a new career opportunity, my network has been integral to helping me spread the word.  Twitter retweets and LinkedIn shares have brought me some of the most amazing clients and candidates I’ve had the pleasure of working with. From Skullspace to the Secret Handshake Society, Twitter to LinkedIn, I have been learning the best places where I can contribute and make connections.  I understand the power of targeted recruiting but I now also understand the power of being visible, of sharing information, of engaging in conversations and the power of digital relationships.

There is no one magic formula to recruiting.  It is a constantly changing recipe of targeted calls, networking and just being present in all the right places; physical or virtual.  And speaking of virtual, feel free to drop me a line on Twitter @MarnyBarnes or LinkedIn.

~ Marny Barnes

It’s funny how time flies when you’re having fun.  It was 5 years ago this August when I accepted my position with People First Recruitment & Executive Search, starting out as an Administrative Assistant in the Executive Search division. I remember waiting on pins and needles for the job offer to come through and how excited I was about joining such a respected and well-known employer. A lot of exciting things have happened over the past five years.  Little did I know then where my path would lead me!

Fast forward five years and today I’m a Talent Sourcer, supporting our Recruitment professionals and our Talent Sourcing & Consulting division.  People First invested in my learning and development and as a result I’m now professionally accredited and part of an elite team of specialized researchers (we call ourselves Talent Sourcers!), the first of its kind here in Winnipeg.  Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined my career choices leading me here – especially because I didn’t know a role like a Talent Sourcer even existed – but here I am today working in the most rewarding career of my life and absolutely loving it.

The best part is that I also get to flex my creative muscles by leading our division’s marketing efforts.  My past training in graphic design and experience with HTML has really come in handy when tasked with designing materials and deploying various marketing campaigns.  I enjoy the change in pace this aspect of my job affords me, as well as the creative control and responsibility I’ve been given. Learning how to navigate the social media landscape with LinkedIn and Twitter (I tweet as the Purple Squirrel) has been a challenging learning curve for me but at the same time it’s been fun learning something new!

Proposal writing is another aspect of my job that is very rewarding to me.  Both my sourcing and marketing hats have given me strong insight into our business, I know our team and our abilities inside and out.  I help write our responses to various RFPs, RFSO’s and other requests for information and nothing can beat the feeling you get when you find out a proposal you’ve worked long and hard on, together with the rest of your team, has been successful.  It’s a huge adrenaline rush.

I would be remiss not to mention the team I am lucky to work with.  Our team is made up of extremely talented and professional individuals who contribute to my job satisfaction in a big way.  It’s the reason why I love my job so much to be honest.  Never before have I been surrounded by mentors of this calibre, people who truly are the best at what they do. We’re like a family and celebrate our successes and challenges, always having a lot of fun along the way.  The opportunities for learning and advancement have been limitless and I’m so thankful for the growth I’ve experienced over the past 5 years.

It’s always been important to me that my employer have a vested interest in the community I live in.  I’m proud to say that People First is 100% committed to giving back and has been a strong supporter of the United Way for over 10 years.  I even had the opportunity to be part of the United Way fundraising committee for the past 3 years. We’ve been involved in numerous other fundraising initiatives that matter to me too, things like the Christmas Cheer Board and the Dragon Boat Races.  It feels good to work for an employer who really does care about giving back.

5 years ago I didn’t know what lay ahead and never could have predicted the phenomenal change and growth our company has gone through. Perhaps the most important piece was joining the People Corporation family. We’re now part of one of the fastest growing companies in Canada – something that really appeals to my entrepreneurial streak!  One of my fondest recent memories which really drove home how much we’ve grown happened during our annual company gathering.  Our CEO asked everyone who had joined the company during the past year to stand up.  I couldn’t believe the numbers – we had almost doubled in size. How exciting is that?!

There is nothing better than working with talented and professional people within a company that is growing at such a dynamic rate.  Thanks for the past 5 years People First, it’s been a memorable and truly remarkable ride. One that I hope continues for another 5 years! 

~written by Pamela Habing, Talent Sourcer and Creative wiz extraordinaire

Written by Linda Chammartin, Accounting & Finance Recruiter for People First Recruitment & Executive Search

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I recently attended the Manitoba Business Summit where I met many talented and friendly CA’s and CMA’s.  What a great group of professionals to spend a couple of days with. 

With the conference behind me and hundreds of business cards from attendees that visited the People First Recruitment and Executive Search booth, I have to admit, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. I had a clear goal heading into the summit and that was to build my Accounting and Finance professional network.   Well, I definitely accomplished that as I met at least 90% of the attendees.  Now I find myself staring at hundreds of business cards wondering what to do next.  Should I call each and every one of them, even if we didn’t get to have a one-on-one conversation?  Should I email them?  Should I do that now or hold off for a week or two?  I’m not really sure what the protocol is post conference.  Therefore, I’ve done what we all seem to do these days when we don’t have all the answers, we go to the web. 

The first article that caught my eye was written by Her Campus and was from the point of view of someone in the middle of a job search looking to land their perfect job following University.  I found the advice relevant in the fact that there are certain follow-up procedures and processes that should be used whether you are job seeking, selling a product, recruiting candidates or just strictly a participant in a conference.  I think the idea of a phone call and an email combination is fine and I like that it clarifies to do so within 24 – 48 hours so everything is still fresh.  I also think that having a script ready should you actually make contact is key as you don’t want to be caught off guard should the phone actually be answered on the other end!

Another article that caught my eye, due to the simplicity and straightforwardness of the content is titled 8 Steps to Building Relationships After a Networking Event from Careerealism.  I was happy that I stumbled upon it because it made me feel more at ease.  All 8 points are relevant but what really stuck out for me was #8, “Make a 30 day plan”.  This to me makes sense, there was a great deal of planning and preparation that I put into attending this conference so I shouldn’t expect that I’ll wrap everything up within a couple of days.  The mindset should be that of “relationship building” and that really doesn’t happen overnight. 

So what am I personally doing for follow-up?  I started by grouping and prioritizing my contacts as suggested in the “8 Steps” article.  This is a great place to start as this step is what I consider to be the “low hanging fruit” of goal setting and whenever I can cross a task off of my “to do list” it gives a great sense of accomplishment (which is extremely motivating early on in a project).  Also, by grouping and prioritizing I am able to customize my follow-up. 

My next step in this process will be to make my 30 day plan for those that I’ve made a real connection with as a result of my follow-ups.  This will include sending pertinent Accounting and Finance information to these key contacts or perhaps some articles on the keynote speakers from the conference.  It could also be recruitment relevant to their industry that will grab their attention and give us a talking point for a follow-up phone conversation.  These “touch points” will be the foundation for building ongoing relationships with key accounting and finance talent in the industry. 

By reaching out, finding out what interests they have, what motivates and drives them, I will over time, build a strong set of candidates for my Accounting and Finance recruitment practice which will in turn, set me up for success with my clients.  We have a large amount of companies here in Winnipeg that are constantly searching for top talent in the Accounting and Finance field.  The ability to provide these companies with the skills and experience they need to ensure their business moves forward is of great importance to me.

I look forward to seeing where all of this takes me and will let you know the outcome a few blogs down the road.

Happy Networking!

~Linda Chammartin

Written by Linda Chammartin, Accounting & Finance Recruiter for People First Recruitment & Executive Search. 

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For this, my very first blog post, I thought it would be appropriate to touch on the Art of Networking.  I feel the topic is especially fitting as I (and approximately 450 others in Winnipeg) will be attending the upcoming Manitoba Business Summit 2013 on June 12th and 13th at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

As someone that relies heavily on networking to be successful in my career, I’ve learned from experience that it’s always a good idea to have a plan of action and to set goals prior to a networking event.  It can be a simple goal; maybe it is based on the number of contacts you want to make, or the number of business cards you want to collect.  Or maybe it is more detailed and in-depth such as connecting specifically with those that have captured a niche market in your industry.

I recently came across this article on 6 Secrets to Better Networking at Conference on LinkedIn and thought it was a great approach for getting the most out of networking at a business conference.  These “secrets” caught my eye because most are tried and true though I'm not sure I’ll be wearing orange runners to the event (though I will definitely be doing or wearing something that makes me, in a professional manner, stand out from the crowd).  I also think it is very solid advice to research the speakers and attendees ahead of time.  I have done this myself for the upcoming Business Summit conference that I will be attending and it is a very well received approach.

Taking the preparation a little further for a networking event or a conference is to prepare a list of questions you might ask based on the backgrounds or industry focus of the attendees.  You will also want to brush up on any recent news about the industry so you can prepare questions that are current and relevant.  Some basic questions to have prepared:

• What do you think about {insert topic based on your research}?  Will this effect your company and in what capacity?
• Tell me about a business plan that you are undergoing at the moment?
• What is a business goal that you have for the next year?
• What is the biggest challenge that you face in your business?
• What is the most exciting opportunity that you foresee within your business over the next year? 

Asking these types of open ended questions is a great way to articulate your interest in getting to know this person.  This will help you better identify whether or not you can be of service to them.  After all, the focus should be on how you can help them, not on you and your needs.  After your questions have been asked, think about and be ready to convey exactly how the product or service you have to offer them is relevant to their needs and how you can help them.

Finally, approach the event with an open mind and don’t put so much pressure on yourself to meet everyone in the room.  Set realistic goals and have a strategy in place to achieve those goals.  Most importantly, remember to have fun in the process! 

~Linda Chammartin

As a Talent Sourcer at People First Recruiting I’m lucky to work with a team of incredibly talented individuals.  Oddly enough, we’re all very different yet we fit together like a beautifully crafted puzzle.  I like to think of the work I do in a similar way.  When I’m tasked with researching the talent landscape on behalf of a client, each piece of information I’m able to gather is like a piece of a puzzle, waiting to be solved.  Once the information is gathered, the fun of solving the puzzle begins and typically involves some good old fashioned teamwork. 

Over the past three years, I’ve been working on a puzzle of a different kind, artistically speaking.  As a proud Winnipeg resident I’d like to announce a newly unveiled mosaic mural located on the north wall of the Red Road Lodge at Logan and Main.  Working together with a team of talented and artistic individuals, and with the help of many community members, this mural was lovingly created over the span of three years. 

Our group was comprised of a group of core artists, led by Annie Bergen and mentored by local tile mosaic artist Ursula Neufeld.  Most of the materials used were donated by local business people and the rest were purchased with funding we received from Neighborhoods Alive, Take Pride Winnipeg! and the Manitoba Arts Council.

Many lessons were learned during the planning and creation of this mural.  New acquaintances were made and lifelong friendships developed.  But most importantly the value of teamwork was clearly demonstrated and its power felt.  Without the many people who donated their time, many of it evenings and weekends, the mural may never have been finished.  What we started out to accomplish in the beginning, even if it was overly optimistic of us, was realized and the result is a beautiful community mural which Winnipeggers can take pride in.  I invite you to stop by and visit the mural yourself when you have the chance.

I personally found a great love for the way the tiles seemed to find their way back to one another, ultimately creating a beautiful mosaic of color and form.  Sifting through the various materials we had collected to find just the right complement of color and texture was like food for my soul.  It’s similar to a gigantic puzzle really, where you’re trying to find the pieces that fit best together.  Tile mosaic has become one of my favorite mediums as an artist and I believe in a way it further kindled the passion I have for the work I do at People First.

As I mentioned earlier, as a Talent Sourcer at People First I work as part of a team to identify talent on behalf of our clients.  This often involves creative thinking and problem solving, much like the fitting together of tile mosaic pieces on the mural.  There is nothing more gratifying than the successful completion of a project, whether the result is a person you identified through research offered a job by our client or a beautiful community mural.  With the strength of a team behind you, anything is possible.

Written by Pamela Habing - Talent Sourcer for People First Recruiting

It's Halloween and what better way to celebrate the ghoulish than turning our recruiting expertise towards that hard-to-find but oh-so-sought-after skill set of zombie hunting?

Click on the position profile below to read through our newest, spookiest recruitment initiative yet.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!