The Recruiting Blog | People First Recruiting

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

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

A colleague of mine tweeted this article yesterday: “Recruiters: Your Days are Numbered” and when I read it my first inclination was to re-tweet it.  The only problem was that I was limited by the number of characters and I wouldn’t be able to clearly express how I felt about this article concerning the “future of Recruiters.”

I know why she tweeted it.  She was equally disturbed by the fact that a blog could be written about a career she so passionately and firmly believes in and that the success of an entire profession which is built around people (and the relationships you develop with these people) can be thought to be replaced by technology.

So often you read, regardless of the position or industry, that eventually a company or a function will no longer be relevant because technology will replace it.  Don’t get me wrong; we here at People First Recruiting completely support and embrace technology – in fact I love it and would like to have more of it.  What was shocking to me about this article is how recruiting can be boiled down to “3 critical ingredients” - sourcing, screening and verifying.

Boy, if only it were that simple. 

Any recruiter, one paid by a company like us here at People First Recruiting or one who works internally for a company, knows that recruiting is just not that simple – an industry focused on people never is. 

What’s interesting about this article is that it refers to technologies that only cover a small piece of the world of recruiting.  Recruiting isn’t just about finding 'key words' that match a job profile – it is about finding the right person for the role.  Sure, technology can run 24/7 - sweeping LinkedIn and/or the online world to hone in on the right keywords – but can technology then call that person up? Talk to them? Get a sense of whether or not they are truly happy doing what they are doing?   Analyze the actual fit between employer and employee, culture and personality?  Needs versus desires?

While we do embrace technology and look at technology as a partner in our business to help round out our skills, we still ensure we invest in our people.  An example is adding and training people to join our Talent Discovery Group; individuals who everyday utilize research techniques, social channels, and networks.  They turn to their existing relationships to reach out and engage with potential candidates to inform them of some of the incredible opportunities we have with Canadian businesses. 

When our clients come to us they need 3 things:

• find me the best candidate
• within a reasonable amount of time
• for a fair fee

Never do they ask what specific technological tools we used to find that person.  Instead they ask us how we will go about our search.  Where will we focus?  Have we filled a position like this before?  Do we understand the role we are filling on their behalf?  Once they are satisfied we then use a proven methodology and approach to finding them candidates.  The next questions our clients ask us are: What is our screening process?  Do we know how to interview for these roles?  How do we assess candidates?  And so on.

The point I am trying to make is that leaders of companies are not looking for a person to just fill a role, they want the whole package.  They want to partner with experts who use the best processes to find the right candidates; experts with the strongest experience and knowledge to assess the fit and qualifications of candidates.  Companies want to be assured that the person we find for them will be that right fit so that they can retain that individual and remain free to focus on their business.

If you are a Recruiter right now and you believe your job is to simply source, screen and verify then you are missing out on what is the most fulfilling and rewarding part of your job as a Recruiter.  We have the privilege of meeting new people who are making important career decisions every day.  We get to learn about great companies and meet great leaders and then we get to bring the two of them together in what is hopefully a perfect match.  That cohesion is what gets us excited around here.

In an industry that is all about people, technology can never be, and will never be an aspect that will replace the human touch.

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If you haven't figured it out, I am pretty passionate about recruiting, as is the team that I work with.  Because we love what we do and because we are growing - we are looking for more Recruiters to join our team here in Winnipeg.  Never considered recruiting before?  Take a look at our 10 Reasons You May be a Recruiter...and not even know it.  If you identify with these 10 reasons...drop us a line.

~Karin Pooley

I previously wrote a blog on The Pros and Cons of Contingency Recruitment and even though we are an exclusivity recruitment firm, I know many companies do prefer to work with multiple recruitment firms. The purpose of that post was to show the benefits and potential challenges of contingency recruitment from my perspective.

I am going to conclude, for now, my posts on fees by shedding some light on exclusive, retained and retingent fees or as some call it, container fees.  Personally I don't care for the words container or retingent.  Here at People First we just call them engagement fees.

Why a recruiter promotes one fee contract over another is normally based on the complexity of the search and risk management.  We ask ourselves the following questions: 

Complexity of the recruitment:

• Is the role executive or a hard to find, scarce skill set?
• Is it a local, national or international search?
• Is the role in a specialized industry?
• Will the search process need to be changed or expanded due to the nature of the role? 

Risk Management:

• Has this position been vacant for a long time?
• Could there be challenges identifying candidates because of the total compensation?
• Is the scope of the role so narrow that it may take much longer to bring the search to a successful conclusion?
• What is the perception of the company in the marketplace?

As I attempt to provide definitions behind the exclusive and engagement fee options please keep in mind that every recruitment firm will structure them differently.

Exclusive Contingent:

• Typically this contract is promoted when the search is more junior in nature and the role can be filled locally.
• The company agrees to work with the recruiter exclusively and will not hire others.
• The company can continue to search for a candidate on their own and hire their candidate if preferred.
• Fees are charged only if the company hires the recruiter’s candidate.

Engagement and Retained Fees:

• These fees are almost always for executive level, professional and complex recruitments.  Essentially, recruitments that are potentially longer in duration due to the complexity.
• The fees are structured in installments with an installment being billed immediately upon starting the recruitment.
• The installments continue in stages either a) at the end of the recruitment or b) two additional installments during the recruitment.

There are of course many points to be considered when it comes to recruitment fees, these are only a few examples. In the end the recruiter must be completely confident they can fill the position and the company must trust that the recruiter has the experience and capabilities to find the best candidate.  It's always in your best interest to ask questions surrounding recruiting fees.

The word ‘fit’ is defined in many ways.  According to Webster’s dictionary, ‘fit’ means “adapting to the environment so as to be capable of surviving.”  Wow, that sounds harsh!  I certainly hope companies considering a new employee and individuals considering a new job don’t use this definition when assessing the “fit.”

I expect there are many individuals out there who feel this way – adapting to their work environment in order to survive.  Whether you are an employer or employee, if you take a moment to think about this you will see how detrimental it is as it harms your business, your team, and your confidence.  Unfortunately, it still remains an all too common occurrence in the work place.

In my experience there are two primary reasons for turnover in a company: 

1. The inability to drum up passion or enjoyment for the job.  Perhaps there is a lack of inspiration or just a lack of desire to achieve more than you thought you possibly could.  This isn’t something that should be shrugged off as unimportant.  How you feel in your work environment is just as important as the work itself. 
2. Not developing connections to your team or company you work for.  Perhaps you don’t feel part of the corporate culture. 

Organizations and individuals can reduce turnover by paying more attention to fit.  Unfortunately, it can be the hardest part of the screening process as it is often times based on a feeling or a sense of belonging.

Consider the following in your process to help you assess “fit”:

1. Four Generations of individuals are working side by side in today’s workplace – the Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen X’s and Gen Y’s.  Having an appreciation for the different work styles, perspectives and expectations of these generations will help in your assessment.  Do the responsibilities of the role, team and culture hit on some of the elements that are an ideal work environment for the person from one of these Four Generations?
2. Motivational Fit.  If you are interviewing candidates you are most likely engaging this type of assessment whether you are aware of it or not.  This is an important element.  After all, the best predictor of future success is past performance.  Ensure you include Motivational Fit questions in your interview process.  Simple questions such as “What do you (the candidate) find most satisfying about your work,” or “What brings you the most frustration,” or “Why did you leave your last job” can reveal great insights regarding a person’s likes or dislikes.
3. Meet the team...and then meet the team again.  As an individual considering a new opportunity you need to do your due diligence.  If you don't think you can connect or like the people you work with how do you expect to be successful or even happy?  As an employer, ensure the candidate has an opportunity to meet the team in a formal business setting and then again over a lunch or dinner (a meeting which is more informal is a great way for people to get to know each other).
4. Homework assignments.  This is an excellent way to determine the candidate’s interest and desire for the role.  Depending on the role itself, have them complete an assignment.  For example, if you are hiring a graphic artist, get them to create an image for your business.  If you are hiring a Sales Manager, get them to put together a presentation.  Not only will this allow the candidate to determine if your organization is a good fit for them (due to the research that will be required) but it will also demonstrate to you their passion, desire and interest in the role.
5. Finally, have a solid on-boarding plan you can commit to which involves the organization and your team.  The transition into a new job isn’t easy for anyone so anything you can do to ease the process will contribute to the success of your new employee and of your team.

Want more information on the Four Generations?  Read “Four Generations in the Workplace” by Karen Rae Short from the Canadian Management Centre.

One thing is very clear, when you hire a recruitment firm you need a candidate fast, but you also want the best in the market.  Most times you have worked the search on your own and hit a wall so to speak, or you have a highly sensitive replacement search on your hands. 

When you outsource recruitment you expect there to be a database of candidates available immediately and one important question you will ask is, “how long will it take to find my candidate?”  You may be hoping for the answer to be yesterday but the reality is quite different.

I don’t believe there is a recruitment firm out there that doesn’t want to fill an assignment just as quickly as you do.  Recruiters are busy, they have many assignments, candidates and, clients to juggle and remember most work on commission so they are as invested as you in the search.  The question remains then is whether or not you want the search filled quickly with A candidate or with the RIGHT candidate.  This is where your due diligence in finding the right recruiter is most important.

When a position remains vacant your company is losing money and the company stakeholders are hunting you down every day for an update on the search.  I may be stating the obvious but hiring the wrong Recruiter simply to get the job filled will lose you much more than money.

Consider the following domino effect when speed trumps quality: 

• The hired candidate may be leaving a very good job for what they believed was a better one but because of a quick interview process the right questions weren’t asked or important information was not provided.
• Due to the fast turnaround, the appropriate people aren’t involved in the hiring process which means they aren’t available to be a part of those interviews that would allow for such valuable information to be shared with your possible hire.
• You make the offer and the candidate starts.  Now you are spending time and attention evaluating, training, and re-evaluating  the new hire only to realize they may not be the right fit.  You may find yourself reaching the inevitable decision to let them go.  Now you have a replacement search on your hands.
• Sure you are likely to get a replacement search in the fee you paid to the Recruiter but now you might be incurring new costs depending on what’s in the contract.  Regardless, having to start again is in itself a reason to take the time to have a thorough process.

The honest truth is many engagements do take time to complete.  The candidate pool is tight in North America and some candidates are risk adverse right now; they don’t want to take the chance leaving a stable job. 

Here are a few things you can do to ensure the search moves along:

• Provide a job description to the recruiter.  If you don’t have one, put one together.  There are a lot of resources out there that have basic templates.  Or ask for the Recruiter’s help in developing one.
• Meet with the stakeholders in your company to ensure they are in agreement with the job description and criteria.  There is a world of difference between the “must haves” and the “nice to haves”.
• Meet with the Recruiter who will be filling the job and mutually agree upon a timeline.  Try to involve a few people from your company (this might be the Manager of that particular department or HR).  Whenever possible give the Recruiter a tour of your office.  This is great for the Recruiter to get a sense of the environment as the environment and culture is critical to the sourcing of talent.
• Ask for transparency.  By that I mean, rather than an update each week from the Recruiter that goes something like this, “We’re still having some challenges locating candidates, we have interviewed a few this week but they were just not right.  We are continuing the search”, ask these questions:
• Specifically how many candidates have you interviewed this week
• What were their backgrounds and what industry did they come from?
• Why are they not suitable or interested in the role?
• Specifically how many candidates are you interviewing next week
• What are their backgrounds and what industry did they come from?

I think you see where I’m going with this.  If these questions cannot be answered with confidence by the Recruiter then there could be a problem and your search may be longer than the agreed upon deliverables.  At this point you will know whether or not it is time to have a meeting and serious discussion with your partnering Recruiter.

February is the month of love and in a few days it will be Valentine’s Day.  In keeping with the spirit of love, I am hoping you will all indulge me with my love letter to Winnipeg and why I’m so passionate about recruiting for jobs in my beloved city.

I have had a few people (thanks Hawkeye) describe me as an eternal optimist and quite frankly I take that as a compliment.  However I am not the only Winnipegger that is optimistic these days. Our province is humming with optimism – there is a great vibe out there.

Just think of some of the things that are happening in this great city:

• There is the revitalization of Winnipeg’s downtown
• Several Winnipeg companies made the list of Canada’s Best Small and Medium Employers 2012
• We have the new Blue Bomber stadium being built 
• This week it was announced that GE is opening a $50 million aircraft engine testing centre here which may lead up to 50 new Winnipeg jobs 
• Non-residential construction is twice as high in Manitoba than elsewhere in Canada right now
• And of course, how could I not mention the return of the Winnipeg Jets?  (Just last night we watched the Jets beat the Capitals in a shoot out – now that was an exciting game!)

And last Sunday I spent four hours with my family at Assiniboine Park.  I hadn’t been to the park in a while and I was amazed by the changes.  The new warming shack and duck pond was full of people.  The Assiniboine Park Zoo was busy and I was amazed to see the progress of the new Churchill Exhibit.

Although I’m not originally from Winnipeg (my home is Ontario), I love this city.   It’s my love for Winnipeg that makes it so easy to recruit for the amazing career opportunities that are starting to emerge here.

There has only been one time in my 20+ year recruiting career that I considered changing professions and that was back in 1992.  Am I ever glad I didn’t!   Through my involvement in the recruitment industry in Winnipeg I’ve witnessed the growth that is happening here, the pride of its citizens that grow with it and the organizations that are doing great things. 

Yes, we’ve experienced some economic struggles in the past but with any city anywhere that pain can be felt at any time.  To see a city start to have some faith in itself, as well as some passion, well that just makes my job recruiting here that much easier. 

Keep up the good work Winnipeg!

Curious to know what Winnipeg jobs are currently available?

What?  An actual purple squirrel found in a Pennsylvania backyard?  Impossible, purple squirrels don’t exist!

But what about the one found in the UK in 2008?

Regardless if this discovery is the mystery of mysteries, a poor squirrel falling into the hands of some prankish kids, or the actual discovery of an elusive squirrel species (which to be honest, we recruiters have known about for some time), the imagination and delight people seem to be taking in this can be a great reminder to all of us – employer and employee alike.

Take delight in your uniqueness.

As an employer there is no other culture like yours, no other team, and no other business.   As a person there is no other experience like yours, no other drive, and no other creativity. 

Too often we measure ourselves through the lens of “what’s lacking” instead of what we’re good at.  Yet, if we stop and look at the successes we’ve had in our lives, we’ll probably find those times were when we embraced our surplus of imagination, desire, drive and enthusiasm – not what was lacking.

What makes this world we live in so fascinating is the differences we all have.  People who are happiest in their jobs are the ones who get to do what they love and what they’re interested in.  Doesn’t that interest typically come from what makes us unique? 

We applaud leaders in companies that see their teams as individuals, allowing them to engage their individual talents in the work they do, creating a happy and satisfying work environment.  It’s time to stop measuring ourselves against others, wondering what we can do to be more like someone else. 

It is the time of the purple squirrel.

So become the purple squirrel – revel in your uniqueness, focus on your skills and talent, not someone else’s. 

Separate yourself from the pack.