Direct Hire Secrets

We are looking, can you be found?

Talking Frankly by Cathy Townley-McGaughey

Recruiter and Managing Partner, A1 Best Staffing

I get a good solid direct-hire job order from a client and it’s in your area of expertise. I need to find the best person for the job, but you aren't on my radar. Why? 

The hiring client is paying for my skills and I get right to work on the new job order. But why aren't YOU at the top of my list for this job?

You need to know how our selection process works:

1. Submit a really good resume and a keyword rich cover letter as your first step. Do this electronically, as my very expensive and specialized staffing software will then quickly feed it directly into my recruiting database. No waiting on manual input, you are IN the database immediately. Note: I don't usually pass on your cover letter to the client, only your resume. I might use paragraph quotes from your cover letter to summarize you, or as a lead in to whet the client’s appetite, but only if you are a good fit for the job. So your resume and my presentation are what places you in the best position. 

2. When you apply for a specific direct hire job, if you are being considered I will contact you and call you in for an informational interview. I usually get between two and three hundred responses to each publicized position. I am looking at a LOT of resumes. If you are just submitting your resume into our database and not applying for an open job, I will not call you in for an interview until I actually have a job opening to discuss with you. Contact information is kept for six months, reapply if more time has passed and you have not been contacted. Call me to find out why we haven’t contacted you, I will be happy to talk. 

3. Please don't play coy. When I call or email signifying interest in you I expect you to respond fast. If you don't, I may think you are not interested and move on to the next applicant. My typical client will want a short list of 5-10 candidates. Those will be the best qualified and most employable applicants, and the list fills up quickly.

4. In our interview, respond honestly to my questions. Remember, the client will want to interview you also, and those responses should match what you told me. In our interview, I will be zeroed in and focused on my client’s needs and preferences. Yes, I will be judging you based on what you say, your body language and how well your responses match up with the info on your resume. You may be asked to revise your resume to better reflect what you can offer my client. I am also letting you talk to get a better idea of who you are and what you can offer my client.

5. Yes, I am going to check your references, both job history and personal. Be prepared to hand me a list including previous job addresses, supervisor names and phone numbers. 

6. Money? The client has given me a low and high wage range during our contract negotiations. Part of my job is to wrangle a fair salary for you. I will tell you the wage range and we will discuss your salary and benefit needs.   

7. I will let you in on the progress of the process as my clients conducts the final interviews and narrows down the field further. I may call you with additional questions and even bring you back into the office to talk with me or have a second interview with my client. Usually it takes less than a day after the final interviews to make a decision to hire. BUT, I have had a client that took two months to make that decision! Know that I am going to do all in my power to hurry them along. 

8. I will give you some background on my client and some hints as to what they are looking for in an employee. Be true to yourself. If you know in your heart that you are not a good fit for the job we are discussing, say something. Life is too short to be working miserably in a job you hate. Your perfect fit job will be available soon, it might just not be this one. 

9. I will want to talk to you after the client interview. Not right then while the client is still in my office, but I will call you very soon. I want feedback about the interview from both you and my client. I will want your impressions and I will want to know what questions you were asked. I will tell you the client’s impression of you and your abilities to do the job, and have some hints about how you handled the interview process. 

When I present you to my client as a good candidate, to be a part of their company family and a good value employee, I want to sincerely believe that you will be. I want you to be honest with me so that I can be honest with my client. We all win.

About this author

Cathy Townley-McGaughey is the managing partner and chief recruiter for A1 Best Staffing in Galveston, Texas. Cathy has been in the HR business for over 30 years, with experience in finance, utilities and manufacturing. She has extensive, personal experience as a hiring manager and is a seasoned, professional recruiter helping companies and candidates form new, productive employment relationships.

Mrs. Townley-McGaughey views her primary role as placing the best fit candidates and driving her client company’s growth by:

§   Recruiting and identifying the best talent available for the targeted position

§   Appraising and verifying the candidate's credentials

§   Connecting the candidate and company

§   Leading the placement process to a successful close.

Cathy can be contacted via email at: ctm@a1beststaffing.com

Hire the Right Person

Recruiter Short Listing Process

An applicant ‘short list’ is culled and sifted from the response generated by a posted job opening. The recruiter takes the original applicant list, narrowing it to their own short list and then to the final client’s short list; those chosen few who meet 100% of the hiring criteria.

Here is how I create my shortlists from the storm of applications we receive. I identify essential and desirable professional job related qualities that matter most to my client, then sift through the applications to select the best candidate as quickly as possible.

I love to do the ‘placement dance’, but before I can get there some pretty hard work has to be done.

When I begin trimming out the applications I have two points to look at: POINT A. the absolutely important criteria and POINT B. the desirable criteria. A candidate can have A and not B but still be on my list at this stage. 

My goal is to exclude as many unsuitable candidates early and as quickly as possible but I may have to come back to my POINT A candidate list later. Use these steps:

Decide on a rough number of candidates to interview for this posting – Remember the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the best overall candidates for any job will be found in twenty percent of your professional applications. That twenty percent you are looking for now will most likely be in the applicants for this posted job. So, don’t reach very far back into the files unless you really didn’t get enough response to your initial job posting. The "Pareto principle” is very much alive and at work. Re-tap your recruitment network if you need to. Referrals are golden.

 

Do preliminary eliminations - Once the first shortlist is complete carry out additional stages that refine the list further based on client criteria. Only eliminate for not meeting minimum qualifications at this stage. Keep a list of applicants that meet the minimum, those left meet POINT A.

• How to set minimum qualifications –Refer to the educational, professional and experience required in the job description furnished by your client.

Further eliminate – Look at factors important to the client. If length of previous employments, sector exposure (previously worked in their same job environment), specialized training, professional affiliations and other job related desirables are present then impose additional filters. The candidates remaining now meet POINT B

• Conduct applicant interviews – Schedule interviews that are competency based for this specific job. Now you are looking for a good personality and expectations fit for both parties and other checks to evaluate the applicant's compatibility. Use common sense and detach your own personal preferences and personality from the equation.
• Eliminate personal bias - Every recruiter listens to their client carefully and encourages frank discussions about work place environment, job performance expectations and current labor laws for interviewing and hiring. Keep the entire selection process fair and adhere to the letter of the law.
• Facilitate client/candidate interviews – The client’s short list should be 2-3 candidates, ideally. You have screened, checked, verified, interviewed and feel confident these candidates are fully qualified for the position offered.

Final client selection – Joy and another success story. You placed a good fit candidate.

Now it’s time for the placement dance. Close the office door first.