Only in the movies and if you are Bo Derrick will you find a perfect 10. If employers think that they will find the perfect candidate that fits every requirement…it is not going to happen. At Best Headhunters, we have the candidates rate themselves based on the job description. We find the majority to be quite honest and rarely hear the candidate say they are a perfect 10. If a candidate scores an 8 or above, we forward their resume to our clients. We just make sure that all the “must haves” are covered and the preferred skills the candidates can do are at least 80%. A willingness to learn and grow into a perfect 10 goes a long way.

I am covering this issue because the expectations of clients who are working with recruiters/headhunters is not realistic. We use out of the box thinking when searching for candidates for our clients. We listen very carefully to what the client is looking for and the areas of their “pain”. Fitting into the company culture is more important than being perfect on paper. Without the ability to fit into the culture, all else will fail. Of course, you want the candidate to be able to hit the ground running, so you need to make sure all the most important skills are there.

What happened to the short training period where the employer introduces the new hire to the employees they will be interacting with? What happened to showing the candidate where the various departments are such as HR or Accounting in case they have a benefits or payroll question. Lastly, what happened to the mentor that spends a few days with the new recruit to show him/her how the office systems work? If these processes are not done, even the best candidate will fail.

Everything is so rushed today. There seems to be no time to do things right, but plenty of time to correct mistakes. Time needs be taken to set up all new employees properly and that time spent will pay off big time. Finally, take the new hire to lunch on the first day. This will go a long way to make the candidate feel welcome and put them at ease so they will be able to come to you to ask any questions they might have to avoid future mistakes. Remember, no one is a perfect 10.

Feel free to visit our main website at www.bestheadhunters.com or email us at info@bestheadhunters.com .

At Best Headhunters, we find that when the client relies on us to get the job done, they respond to our resumes in a timely manner and give us the needed feedback whether good or bad so we can do an outstanding job for both the employer and the job seeker. We do want everyone involved in the hiring process to be happy. When everyone is happy, it is a “win-win” situation.

We have a rule around here and it is written in our fee agreement. “If communication stops, we stop our search”. Why, one may ask? The reason is that we feel the client is not serious about hiring a person. This has proven to be the case 9 times out of 10. If a client is not serious, we move on to the next search. We do not have the time to spend on a client that will not communicate with us as we get paid only after we make a hire. In most cases, we spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on each search and if we don’t make a placement with a company, then we lose that money.

The formula for success is that a hiring manager comes to us after they have exhausted their resources. When they come to us, it should be the “end game” in their search process. After agreeing to a fee arrangement, the headhunter / recruiter should get a detailed job description and all other details related to the position being searched. At this point, we dump all of our resources into performing the search for the right candidate. Many times, there will be questions that need to be answered by the hiring manager and that should happen in a timely manner. Responses on resumes should be dealt with efficiently so that interviews can be scheduled. After the interviewing process, if an offer is to be extended, this should be done in a timely manner as well.

Understand, candidates are usually scheduled for more than one interview with multiple companies, so a quick offer may stop the perfect candidate from going somewhere else or even worse, losing interest in your company because of excessive time before an official offer is presented. We’ve lost many great candidates due to hiring managers dragging their feet. Of course, there may be some back and forth negotiation at this point, but this is normal and things can usually be worked out. All of this is based on communication!

Feel free to visit our main website at www.bestheadhunters.com or email us at info@bestheadhunters.com .

The reason I say a majority of you is that there are still some highly evolved hiring manager’s out there. You know who you are. This is a follow-up to my blog about low balling star candidates. I keep seeing this trend occurring. Watch out for the counter offer. It will be the way the low balled candidate will go to get a raise at their former place and stay. While your thinking might be, “why take a candidate who would take a counter offer�?, don’t fool yourself. You took all the time in the world trying to decide on this candidate by checking references, conducting several interviews just to end up losing the candidate.

You are not showing the “love�? that the candidate is looking for. They will then find the “love�? after going in to resign and end up getting a counter offer that ultimately keeps them in their current position.

If you are working with a headhunter for your search, you should listen to the headhunter when they tell you the salary expectations of the candidate. If you are comfortable with this than proceed. If not, don’t go further in the process. Also, most importantly, do not tell the candidate that they come with a price on their head. This has happened to Best Headhunters in several of our last searches. This is information the candidate should not have to deal with on their interview. If you did not want or could not afford to use a recruiter, then don’t. It is very disrespectful to the headhunter to have the candidate relay what you said to them on their interview regarding our prearranged fee. Essentially, you are telling the candidate “we have to pay a fee so you will have to suffer.�? The candidate translates this to “We will have to low ball you on your salary or not hire you at all if we can find another body for free.�? Headhunters are the cheerleaders for you and your company if they are doing their job well…they are working in you company’s best interest. If this is how you truly feel about your headhunter, than there is no trust. A good recruiter is getting paid by the client and is relaying the wishes of the candidate. Not jacking up the salary for a bigger fee.

Talent is not easy to come by no matter where you find it. No matter what reason the candidate gives as to why they are looking to leave their company, in the end, 99% of the time, it is all about the money.

Let’s analyze what is going through a candidate’s mind when they are seeking a new opportunity. Of course, they want upward mobility, a shorter commute and more money. The candidate will tell you that it is the opportunity that they are focused on and that may very well be true, but the need to make more money is what gets them to leave their current employer and start off on the right foot with your company. The employer’s lack of listening to the candidates salary requirements and benefits package needs will result in one of two thing’s happening. The first and most likely would be that they turn your job down. The second would be that they unhappily accept, go into their present employer to resign and take a counter offer and stay.

You have gone to all this trouble of looking for the perfect candidate to fill a crucial opening and now you have to start all over again, costing you time and money and the possibility of having to settle for a secondary level candidate who might not work out and ultimately cost your company even more money.

The smart employers know that if you want the star candidate, you have to make sure you are making the candidate happy from the start. Many employers seem to have decided that they are in control because after all, they have the job opening. Don’t fool yourself because the highly sought after star candidate is always in control. No matter how bad economic conditions are, a star candidate can virtually pick and choose who they want to work for.

Hire right the first time. Make sure you are making a compelling offer.

Feel free to visit our main website at www.bestheadhunters.com or email us at info@bestheadhunters.com .

I have devised a short quiz that is a great guideline for you and seems to work every time. Listed below is the Candidate Assessment Test. Print it out and use it in the interview process. It will go a long way in helping you weed out the good from the bad candidates.

100% Candidate Assessment Test

1. Score 10 points if the candidate shows up 15 minutes early.

2. Score 10 points if the candidate has a well-groomed appearance, no harsh odors and is dressed appropriately.

3. Score 10 points if the candidate has visited your website and is familiar with your company.

4. Score 10 points if the candidate has brought a set of intelligent questions to ask.

5. Score 10 points if the candidate does not bring up salary or benefits on the first interview.

6. Score 10 points if the candidate has brought a clean copy of their resume and 3 business references.

7. Score 10 points if the candidate has good communication skills.

8. Score 10 points if the candidate belongs to organizations or has taken advance certifications.

9. Score 20 points if the candidate fits the job description.

Score Evaluation

0 – 20 Call Security
30 – 60 Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You!
70 – 80 Consider for Second Interview
90 – 100 Hire Immediately and Walk Them to Their New Desk!

Best Headhunters
Local: 954-473-0092
Toll Free: 800-423-9133
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info@bestheadhunters.com Email
www.bestheadhunters.com Website

What are you doing to take care of your star employees so they don”t leave? If you are faced with a key employee leaving what are you doing to replace that employee with equal or better? Not much as I can tell. As an owner of an executive search firm, everyday I speak to candidates who are disillusioned with their company. These are desirable employees who’s needs are not being met. Why are their needs not being met? Because their talents are not being recognized and rewarded until they come in to resign. Then it is to late. The damage is now done and you are faced with one big headache.

What should I do you may ask? Well the answer is not simple. In most big organizations there are so many layers it is like pealing an onion to get to the heart of the problem. Unfortunately, where to begin must come from the top. Yes the head of the organization must set the tone for the rest of the organization. Most line managers are afraid to make any decision for fear of making a decision that might be wrong and they would lose their jobs. This mentality can be the cancer that starts eating away at the company.

Decision and indecision are prevalent in most companies that I am dealing with. The line manager defers to the HR department for the hiring process. The HR is over worked and drags their feet because they are trying to make many hiring managers happy and, therefore, making no one happy. Now, of course, some organizations are better than others at the hiring process. Those are the companies that let their line managers get involved  directly in the hiring process. By doing this, the line manager gets to choose who the person under them will be. Right away you have a formula for success.

In my opinion, before you look outside of your company you should identify who in your organization should fill that key lost spot or newly created position. This will enable you to promote somebody from within and keep that internal candidate from leaving.

In future Best Headhunters blogs, we will go over issues of how you can retain key employees and promote from within if possible and if this is not possible how you can conduct an effective job search process that will help you identify the stars and be able to hire them enabling your organizations to grow. I welcome all your comments so I can address them in our next blog.

Feel free to visit our main website at www.bestheadhunters.com or email us at info@bestheadhunters.com .

If you are an employer and would like to hire Best Headhunters to find the perfect candidate for your open position, feel free to call us at 800-423-9133 or email us at info@bestheadhunters.com .

If you are a job seeker looking for employment and would like to submit your resume to us, please email it to Best Headhunters at info@bestheadhunters.com . We will call you if we have an open position that matches your qualifications. Please be advised that we as do all headhunters / recruiters, work for the employer who pays all the costs invoved in a candidate search. Therefore, we do not market the job seeker around unless you match a job we are presently working on.