Wednesday, August 17, 2011

How not to recruit someone


We all read a ton of articles about how to recruit people, where to find people blah blah blah.  Right?  I mean, it’s almost like information overload with regard to how to find great candidates.  One thing I’m finding though, with all this talk of how to find people.....I’d like to focus on how NOT to recruit someone.  Why?  Well, l’m noticing all these great recruiting tools have made recruiters lazy.  Rather than picking up the phone and having a conversation with potential candidates, we’ve gotten lazy and just use technology to blast out in the name of “networking”.  The reality is, using social media or even email to just pummel your network with random information is probably doing more harm than good.  So, with that, my few tips on how not to recruit someone........

1) Spam them - Spam is the worst, I mean really....send me an obvious spam recruiting email and it’s right to the trash for you.  I got an email last week that was addressed to “Hi,”.  My name is Jeff, if you really want to recruit me you should realize that a) I have a name and b) if you think I’ll forward this to folks in my network...you are dreaming.

2)  Don’t spend any time doing research about the candidate - Why bother right?  I mean, is it worth your time to understand who you are targeting?  Um, yeah it is.... ugh!  Again, I got an email (true story) asking me if I’d be interested in a “high paced role” perfect for someone with “1-2 years experience”.  Um, yeah...thanks for that.  I’ve been recruiting for a little more experience than you need.  Thanks, delete.

3)  Bait and Switch - This one is my favorite, the old bait and switch.  Tell the person something they want to hear...get them on the hook and tell them something they don’t want to hear.  Better yet, wait until you make them an offer and then spring the surprise.  Candidates LOVE that move.

4)  Don’t reply - Another personal favorite.  Reach out, ask someone if they are interested in a job...and then don’t reply to their message if they get back to you.  Sounds crazy but happens all the time.  Doesn’t matter if you are actively recruiting someone or just trying to network.  If you take the time to approach someone and they reply...um, take the time to have the conversation you initiated.

Ok that’s it, if you are recruiting or networking remember that the most successful people are thoughtful and responsive to EVERY person they contact.  Networking and recruiting are about long term relationship building. Take your time and do it right.




No comments:

Post a Comment