Traits That Turn a Good Recruiter Into a Great Recruiter

As an owner of an IT staffing firm, I am always looking for good recruiters and have had the pleasure to work with some very skilled people over the years.

If I could somehow blend the better traits of all of them into one mythical person (RecruiterX), he or she would show the following skills:

Understands how to source. These days, many recruiters think their job is to be great at using fancy Boolean searches to find candidates on the Internet or shuffle resumes from other sources. RecruiterX is proficient with the Internet to avoid ignoring a possible source, but he or she also uses every other avenue possible to find good candidates.

RecruiterX has an applicant tracking system and uses it well; has created a network of good people to network with (our recruiters are tasked with developing a network of the most talented people within a given skillset, which we call their "50 best"); go to industry events; and know which companies have similar candidates.

Since RecruiterX recruits for many of the same skills over and over, knows a lot of people in the industry, and calls them regularly, their contacts are happy to help them find good candidates.

Avoids wasting their customers' time. Many recruiters seem to think their job is to send resumes. Resumes don't get hired: people do. RecruiterX knows how to qualify candidates extremely well and only submits candidates who are "dead on" for the role, or at least they believe them to be. They usually only submit two to four resumes for any given requirement. Their customers know they only submit good people and say "here's a resume from RecruiterX; I better at least look at it." His managers usually interview one-half or more of all the people they submit, and hire one-half or more of those.

Understands the industry and customer requirements much better than the average recruiter. While they don't know how to code Java, RecruiterX has a very good grasp on his industry's buzzwords and what they mean.

They know that Javascript and Java are not the same thing. A developer doing HTML and javascript is not going to fit a java/j2ee requirement and they don't present candidates that aren't a fit. Recruiters who do lose whatever credibility they had. They definitely understand the terminology of the industry and what each job function is.

Many average recruiters never get past simply looking for buzzwords to truly understand job functions. Their great candidate has plenty of the proper buzzwords but lack the actual background required. RecruiterX doesn't waste his customers' time and only submits qualified people.

Understands what it means to truly qualify a candidate. Average and beginning recruiters think making sure someone has a particular skill set defines qualifying a candidate. RecruiterX knows it goes way beyond that. RecruiterX always verifies that a candidate's commute is acceptable (and is skeptical when a candidate says he will drive 75 miles every day to the job).

They're a pro at getting salary information and requirements, determining the candidate's true motivations and seriousness, and getting any and all information that will help or prevent him from being able to close a placement. RecruiterX is an expert at qualifying someone and rarely has surprises when their candidates get an offer (e.g., the candidate says, "Oops, I really meant $125,000, not the $100,000 I originally said, because it is just too far of a commute.").

They admit that most failures to close an offer are a result of failing to truly qualify a candidate upfront. They don't blame the candidate, the company, or something else when a placement falls apart. They don't end up in situations where they're trying to relocate a candidate who tells you they'll move, only to find out after they turned down an offer that they have children in high school, have lived next door to their mother-in-law for the last 17 years, and have a spouse who is vice president of the local bank. In other words, they were never going to relocate no matter how hard you wished they would.

Is an expert at salary negotiations. While this is a topic worthy of several articles, suffice it to say that RecruiterX knows how to uncover a candidate's existing salary information, desires, and what it will really take to close the person on an offer. Although he or she earns $50,000 and will take $55,000, the candidate might also take $50,000 because the worker feels under-appreciated by the current boss.

Knows to pre-close the candidate at each step. Average recruiters believe 99% of the job is determining whether someone has a particular skillset. RecruiterX knows that it takes two to tango, and his job is to not only make sure a candidate is qualified, but to sell the opportunity and "pre-close" the candidate from the very first conversation to the last.

Without being pushy, he takes every opportunity to sell the position and verify that the candidate wants the opportunity at each step and that nothing has changed ("I know I said I wanted $70,000, but I really will only take $90,000."). Average recruiters sell the candidate hard on the first conversation and rely upon faith that everything will still be okay in the end. They get a lot of surprises.

Maintains a laser focus. RecruiterX has the attitude, "I'll quit when I die and not until." When they get a requisition, they work it until they have filled the position, not until they've submitted one or two resumes that were kind-of-sort-of close and then wonder why more of their managers don't respond to their resumes. They use every avenue possible to find hireable candidates and don't do one-half of a search on 10 different assignments. They do 100% of a search even if they spend one-third of their time each day on three searches.

Displays high energy. RecruiterX is a high-energy person in both business and personal pursuits and does not tire as easily as others or avoid hard work. This person has a positive attitude and does not bring down others.

Shows a good work ethic. Ask an average recruiter what percentage of their time they are actually working, and they'll probably tell you 50% to 80%. The true number is more than likely less than 50%. They are surfing the Internet, talking football, talking to their spouse on the phone, daydreaming about winning the lottery, and anything but recruiting.

RecruiterX actually works 75% of the time while knowing an occasional break is healthy. He or she may miss a few days a year for an illness or a personal day, but the boss knows the recruiter is a producer, has created a great relationship, and is generally very reliable.

Acts honestly. Let's face it: some in our industry have helped give us a used-car salesman image. RecruiterX is honest and does not misrepresent a company to a candidate nor a candidate to a company. That's just not good business. He or she does not steal candidates from clients or lie about salary information/rates, and maintains high ethics no matter what. RecruiterX refuses to work for an organization that bends ethics.

None of these traits should come as a surprise to a successful recruiter. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us should recognize we have some of these traits some of the time versus all of these traits all of the time. If you know any RecruiterX types, please send them my way.

10 Things You Can Do Today to Become a Better Recruiter

A few questions, if I may:

Do hiring managers run screaming when they see you coming? Do they pray for death each time you drop another 50 or 60 resumes on their desk? Does the team you support break down into deep shuddering sobs each time you have been chosen to fill their openings? (Were you last to be chosen in a game of stickball as a kid? So was I.)

Tell me folks, does this sound like your life in corporate America? If not, you must be doing something right. If so, I have just the fix to turn those tears into cheers and have them throwing rose petals at your feet each and every day.

If you want to be the best recruiter you can be, loved by all whom you serve, adopt the following 10 precepts as part of your day-to-day recruiting efforts — and you'll be on your way to being your organization's new darling.

1. Be absolutely sure you really understand the hiring priorities of the organization(s) you represent. Do this by asking the hiring manager the following question, using these exact words: "What are your current priorities in terms of filling these positions?" Take notes and repeat back to the hiring manager what you think she said. Then race forward and put resources into trying to fill the highest priority positions first, the less important positions second, and the least important positions last. (Beware of the hiring manager who says they are all top priority. That may be true, but some positions are always more important than others, so press for clear priorities.)
2. Present fewer candidates on open requisitions, and be certain the ones you do present are magnificent candidates who clearly fit the position profile. Sadly, most hiring managers think that more resumes are indicative of something good. That's flawed thinking. It can only be rectified by presenting a select number of the very best candidates. Throwing spaghetti against the wall and hoping that some sticks is not good recruiting and does nothing for your credibility within the organization. But by presenting fewer but better candidates, you will impress your manager with a great hire — and that's far more effective than dropping twenty resumes a day on their desks for them to review. Remember, in the case of resumes, less is more.
3. Work with the powers-that-be to create a highly visible, creative, easy-to-understand employee referral program. Be sure that your employee referral program rewards not just hires, but all activities that lead to a hire, such as presenting resumes. Be sure as well that the ERP is not just a few lines in an employee handbook that no one reads, but also a living, changing entity that constantly has a new temptation and twist for current employees (seasonal changes are great). Remember, ERPs very often generate some of the best candidates: candidates who come up to speed more quickly, stay longer, and are more productive than employees who come from more traditional sources.
4. Be sure that you support, foster, and champion the notion that hiring managers always hire the best person for the job. Color does not matter, gender does not matter, and planet of origin does not matter. (Alright, planet of origin matters.) Talent is omnipotent, and hiring the best candidate is a rule that should never be compromised — not for the boss' daughter, someone's brother-in-law, and not for diversity either. I do support diversity, but not at the cost of talent.
5. Build relationships and get close to the people you recruit for. Learn what it is that hiring managers are really looking for in new employees. Position profiles and core competencies are a good start, but they are only the beginning. There is so much more. How many times have you had the "perfect" candidate rejected? It can be quite debilitating: you found the candidate you were instructed to find and that person was rejected. But talk with the team. Review their notes and their assessment of the candidate and look for areas you might have missed. If there is no solid reasoning behind the rejection, it's time to meet with that hiring manager behind closed doors and see what she really wants. She will respect you for this action, and you will begin to understand what her agenda really is all about.
6. Develop metrics to measure success and failure in different recruiting methodologies. Never worry about failures! The very act of identifying and eliminating them alone is a major success. Measure such things as source of hire, cost of acquisition, time to fill or anything else that might be important to your organization. Even if this is new to you, begin to track the numbers monthly and a pattern will emerge. Put more resources into what works and eliminate what does not. Simple as it sounds, this is a best practice. And employing best practices is, as Martha Stewart might say, a good thing.
7. Be aggressive in identifying, attracting, and hiring the best candidates for your organization. Pussycat recruiting does not get the job done. Using only advertising (tons of resumes), agencies (expensive), job boards (lots of work with questionable ROI), or Internet postings (tons of resumes again) will probably not get you to the head of the class. Recruiting is a "take no prisoners" occupation. Don't be afraid to ruffle a few feathers or step on some toes. You are there to bring in the best, and that can be a bit messy at times. You will be remembered and recognized by the hires for which you were responsible, so do what you can to make them great.
8. Network constantly for those candidates who fly below the radar screen. Become an expert in research. Contact people who write articles, do trainings, run workshops, or are just celebrities in their field. Ask them who they know and be quiet. There will be a moment of awkward silence. Do not fill the silence with your words. Just remain quiet. Very often, the person you are networking with will come up with a name or two. Try to get permission to use that person's name, so that it will be a warm call as opposed to a cold call. Of course, if this person forbids you from using his or her name, don't use it under any circumstances! (If this sounds like an agency tactic, you're right, it is. Agency people don't get paid if they don't produce, so their tactics are highly effective.)
9. Grow your influence throughout your organization. The primary source of power for recruiters within the organization comes through influence. Many recruiters see this circumstance as unfavorable, but it is actually quite good! Anyone can tell a subordinate what to do. Most times, if the subordinate is not on board with the directive, he will not carry it out in the first place. However, if you can form relationships with key managers and become a trusted advisor to them, you can work together to identify and attract the very best talent out there and be as instrumental in building a great organization as any other person who is employed by the company. I think that's a good deal of power. Besides, being part of building a great organization is a very solid accomplishment.
10. Manage the candidate care aspect of the interviewing process. Everything from the first contact and the correct greeting to a time for lunch and a warm goodbye is critical to how candidates will remember their experience visiting your organization. Be fully prepared for each interview, and treat every candidate with courtesy, respect and good manners. Lead by example, and coach others in this most important undertaking. (For more details on this, see my article entitled, Make Believe they're Coming to Your House.)

There are many other things you can do to make yourself a better recruiter who is more valuable to the organization you represent. Working with HR to institute workforce planning, coaching managers on interviewing skills, developing offers, closing candidates — these are just a sampling of what can be done. But if you start with the ten items listed above, you are on your way to being appreciated for the fine work you do and recognized for the difficulties being good at what you do entails.

Hire for the Organization, Not Just the Job

Culture-Based Recruiting: Hire for the Organization, Not Just the Job

by Steven Hunt, PhD

How Is Culture Related to Recruitment?

The main relationships between culture and recruiting are associated with employee attraction, selection and retention. From an attraction standpoint, culture is primarily about the brand image a company projects. Companies that take culture seriously actively market their culture to candidates. This attracts people who will thrive in the organization and repels people who would be more effective working elsewhere. To get a sense of this, compare the job sites for Sony Electronics and Federated Department stores. Federated predominately employs women, and the Federated Web site has been described as more feminine. In contrast, Sony Electronics' job site conveys technological creativity and innovation. Both Web sites are well-designed in terms of usability; however, they will likely appeal to very different people.

Such efforts pay off directly and indirectly. One study found college students would accept an average of 7 percent less starting pay to work for companies with cultures they value and appreciate. There is also a wealth of data showing that cultural fit impacts employee retention and performance. For example, an insurance company found departments whose environments aligned with the company's stated cultural goals had 30 percent less turnover. People appeared to join the company expecting a certain culture, and if their expectations were not met, they left.

Another reason to recruit around culture is that while job demands and requirements constantly shift, a defining characteristic of culture is that it remains constant in the face of change. A person hired based partly on his fit with an organization's culture is more likely to continue on as a valuable company resource, even if the position he was originally hired for ceases to exist. In fact, an effective organizational culture actually helps people work together to adapt to business changes.

What Is Organizational Culture?

Organizational culture refers to employees' shared assumptions and norms, as well as tangible aspects of the work environment that influence and reflect these beliefs. Whether employees are comfortable openly disagreeing with superiors is a reflection of organizational culture. So are reserved parking spaces and on-site day care.

Ultimately, the most important aspect of organizational culture is the beliefs employees and leaders share about behavior and its consequences. As the saying goes, "perception is reality," and cultural beliefs define perception within an organization. If employees believe they will be punished for pointing out flaws in their boss's ideas, they may not share feedback, even if it would be accepted. Similarly, employees who believe their contributions are truly valued are more likely to forgive minor inequities in compensation

Fun on the Net - Try this

1. Go to Google
2. Click images
3. Type "flowers" or any other word.
4. You will get a page which is having full of images
5. Then delete the URL from the address bar and paste the below script & Press Enter

javascript:R= 0; x1=.1; y1=.05; x2=.25; y2=.24; x3=1.6; y3=.24; x4=300; y4=200; x5=300; y5=200; DI= document.images; DIL=DI.length; function A(){for(i=0; i

Hire Great People: 10 Simple Rules

by Barbara Reinhold

Rule number one is clear, but very counterintuitive: Don't ever, ever hire somebody just like yourself. Why not? Because from the beginning of time, executives have been unconsciously cloning themselves, stocking the shelves with vanilla young men from impressive schools. And what has happened to executives and companies that did that? As management guru Rosabeth Kanter observed, they often sink into the soft sand of irrelevance as the rough waters of current reality wash over them.

Here are the other nine:

2. Hire for Attitude Rather than Skill

Teaching skills is a snap compared with doing attitude transplants. Among the qualities you'll want most is a fierce sense of optimism.

3. Look for Renegades

In interviews, ask when the person has been in trouble. The obedient employee will be of limited use to you in this change-up environment.

4. Hold out for Results

Never hire someone with good potential but questionable habits, thinking you can change him or her. As in choosing mates, what you see now is what you get forever.

5. Go for a Sense of Humor

The potential hire who can't laugh easily, particularly at herself, is going to be a very dull and probably rigid employee.

6. Fill in the Blanks

Look carefully at the aggregate strengths and skill gaps of your teams in various work units, and go for the qualities and styles that are missing.

7. Test Drive

Don't be satisfied with references. Remember that many of the most glowing references are given for people others are eager to dump. Include day-long simulations as part of your interview process, or invite applicants to provide you with a portfolio of their best work.

8. Stock the Bullpen

Keep an eye out for prospects before the need arises. Don't wait until a vacancy occurs. Keep a pool of potential employees under the watchful eye of somebody who's responsible for hiring. Evaluate your recruiting team in terms of how well they keep the bullpen ready. And tell them never to turn away an interesting candidate with the line, "We don't have any positions open right now."

9. Push Harder for Diversity

Make certain you're spreading your net wide enough to find those high-potential, but different, fish that generally don't swim in the streams near you. Ask your HR group what contacts and periodicals they're using to interest potential hires. "We don't know where to find people different from us" is a costly excuse.

10. Listen

Most interviewers talk way too much. When a candidate finally gets to you, listen for the "story line" of his or her life, at home and at work. It's been said that being a leader is like practicing psychiatry without a license. That may be truer in hiring than in any other part of the job.

The job of recruiting is too serious to be handed off in its entirety to HR. Your legacy will be set, after all, by the teams you choose to accomplish your objectives.

How to Write Effective Online Job Postings

by Louise Fletcher
Monster Contributing Writer

The Internet was supposed to simplify recruiting: No rushing to meet newspaper deadlines, no waiting for resumes to trickle in by snail mail. So what happened?

A combination of quick and easy online applications and an increase in the number of people looking for work has led to millions of resumes floating around in cyberspace, and some days it feels as though they've all landed on your desk.

Should you give up on Internet job posting? No. There isn't a better way to quickly and inexpensively reach qualified candidates. It's not where you advertise the opening that's the issue here -- it's how you advertise the position.

Don't let company executives get frustrated trying to understand why positions take so long to fill. Follow these simple strategies to improve the quality of responses you receive and decrease your time to hire.

Be Specific

A quick job search turns up mostly short ads with no clear definition of job requirements. If half the people reading the ad can imagine themselves to be qualified, your inbox will be full within hours.

To avoid this, work closely with the hiring manager to understand his specific requirements. If your CFO will only hire CPAs, state that requirement clearly. Don't say you need an HR assistant who "knows benefits" if you actually need an expert in workers' comp. And if you need an executive assistant who has experience organizing huge corporate conventions, don't write "plans company events," which could mean arranging the annual company picnic.

Writing specific postings takes a little longer, but by helping job seekers understand your needs, you'll reduce the number of applications from unqualified candidates and ultimately save more time than you spend.

Be Clear

Make sure the requirements and job duties are easy to understand by someone who does not already work for your company. Some postings have so much corporate jargon that it's difficult for job seekers to tell if they are qualified, leading many to simply press a button to submit a resume.

For example, one company is currently advertising for a product manager to "create wire frames, product specification/MRDs/PRDs and scope documentation." Compare it with this posting for a product manager: "Must have a network of contacts amongst key decision makers within the entertainment industry (particularly film and music)." The second is much easier to understand, more specific and likely to attract fewer unqualified applicants.

If you're not sure whether you have included company-speak, have a friend or fellow HR professional review your posting and give you feedback.

Be Up Front

Dissuade potential job seekers from speculative applications by adding a statement explaining that your requirements are firm. For example: "Please read the qualifications for this position carefully. The successful applicant will have to get up to speed quickly and therefore, we will only consider those who meet all the criteria listed above." This won't stop everyone, but it will deter people who are unsure whether you're serious about your stated requirements.

Be Demanding

Don't make the application process too easy. Instead of just asking for a resume, include an assignment in your posting.

For example, a company looking for a Webmaster could include the following: "When applying, please provide an outline of your approach to Web site design. The successful applicant will be asked to completely overhaul the site, so we'd like to know how you would approach that process." Or a retailer looking for customer service professionals could ask applicants to write a cover letter outlining three challenging customer situations they handled successfully. Qualified candidates will be excited to have the opportunity to stand out from the crowd, while casual applicants will be less willing to put in that much effort for a long-shot application.

To be successful in your recruitment efforts, you must constantly adapt your strategies to suit the market. You must manage the candidate flow so you can effectively service your organization. By creating specific, clear job postings and an application process that requires effort on the part of the applicant, you can reduce the number of unqualified candidates and increase your chance of making the right hire quickly.

Meet the Challenge of Technical Recruiting

by Louise Kursmark
Monster Contributing Writer

If you don't know the difference between VB 6 and VB.NET, how can you recruit new staff for your company's burgeoning .NET initiatives? And even if you discover the answer, can you distinguish between candidates who really have the expertise you need and those who are simply good at slinging technical jargon?

HR professionals charged with recruiting technical staff face a host of challenges. They must find candidates, wade through detailed, acronym-laden resumes to extract meaningful information, and during interviews, decipher what may sound like a foreign language. What's a recruiter to do?

In a nutshell, technical recruiting demands the participation of both HR professionals and hiring managers/technology experts. Beginning with job requirements and continuing through the selection process, combining HR and hiring-manager expertise will yield the best results. Follow these tips to collaborate effectively and ultimately, choose the right candidate.

Define the Job Requirements

"First, do your homework," says Dave Gordon, vice president of HR for Cincinnati-based Winegardner & Hammons, a hotel-management company. The key to technical recruiting, he says, is "understanding exactly how important the technical aspects are, what they need, what they can do without, what they can train on." He recommends meeting with department heads and establishing their requirements before recruiting.

"Understand what you are really looking for," says Johanna Rothman, author of Hiring the Best Knowledge Workers, Techies & Nerds. Rothman suggests blending the strengths of the technical experts with those of HR pros "who know how to write a job description."

Screen for Technology Skills

Once job requirements are agreed on, HR can perform initial resume reviews and candidate screens for the defined skill set. Mike A. Sipple Jr., vice president of recruiting firm Centennial Inc., uses a checklist to verify skills and asks candidates to self-evaluate on level of expertise and length of experience with each competency. Some of his clients use a technology test to evaluate fundamental skills.

Interview for Performance and Cultural Fit

Here's where HR's expertise really adds value to the process. Every job is about so much more than technical skills and knowledge, so use the interview process to evaluate past performance and fit with the department's environment, work pace and company culture.

Behavior-based interviewing is an excellent tool for eliciting performance stories. When you ask candidates, "Tell me about a time when" or "Give me a specific example of" and encourage them to describe the complete Situation-Action-Result (SAR), you gain insights into core competencies, performance track records and areas of weakness as well as strength.

Rothman recommends delving beneath the technical activities to determine actual accomplishments, using pointed questions such as, "How many times have you been on a project where you actually released software?"

Partner with Hiring Managers

Gordon invites technical experts to participate in the interview process from the earliest stages. "We focus on the HR side, everything beyond technology that you need to assess -- maturity level, people skills, career goals -- and let the tech expert dig into the areas we're not prepared to evaluate," he says.

As a retained recruiter, Sipple fits "character, culture and chemistry," then works with both HR and hiring managers at his client companies to further evaluate candidates on technical and performance skills that characterize a quality hire.

Get Creative in Sourcing Candidates

Your online application system, resume-tracking software and job listings probably yield a good number of qualified candidates. But with growing demand for technology talent, these sources may not be enough.

Gordon, Sipple and Rothman all recommend networking as a primary source for candidates. They also suggest tapping these resources:

• Specialized recruiting firms and Web sites, including Monster Technology, especially for hard-to-find talent.
• Professional associations. But be sure not to "hit and run," flooding the group with job postings without maintaining contact. Instead, build the relationship so you're a trusted resource to them and they become an excellent network for you.
• Seminars and conferences for people in your target candidate group.
• Colleges to build affiliations with computer science professors and career-center staff.
• Nontraditional advertising sources to attract young professionals -- for example, movie theater advertising or retail narrowcasting.

Recruiting Through Professional Associations

by Louise Kursmark
Monster Contributing Writer

Talent management is a hot topic in HR today. With the US Department of Labor projecting a 3 million worker shortfall by 2012-- with total jobs expected to jump nearly 15% over the decade while the workforce grows only 12%-- it is increasingly urgent for companies to develop strategies for continuous recruitment of talented workers.

The shortage is expected to be particularly severe in service industries, which are projecting nearly 100% of this growth and already experiencing staff shortfalls, according to industry organizations such as the American Hospital Association.

Think Long Term

From the statistics, it’s clear that recruiters will continue to face challenges in the years and decades to come in hiring employees. While it’s important to be able to fill immediate needs, it’s also essential to take a strategic, long-term view of hiring so that you can maintain the health and growth of your organization into the future. Building a talent pipeline has never been so important!

Whether you’re an internal or external recruiter, you can benefit from the strategy used by Roni Henderson to build a new recruiting practice from the ground up.

Transitioning from a 13-year career in logistics operations and management, she recently signed on with Baldwin Gilman, the largest executive search firm in Cincinnati. The company is on an aggressive growth path and added Henderson to develop a dedicated recruiting practice in her career specialty of transportation, logistics, and supply chain.

Professional Associations a Crucial Strategy

Henderson immediately began investigating trade associations affiliated with her target industry. She researched the organizations, their publications, and chapters in the Greater Cincinnati area to find those that promised the greatest return on her investment of time, energy, and membership dues. She zeroed in on two associations whose membership of logistics and supply chain executives is an exact fit for her needs.

Here’s how she’s putting this strategy to work:

• Industry knowledge: Henderson reads the association newsletters and journals to stay abreast of what’s going on the industry as well as future trends.
• Contacts: She also culls key names from journal articles as potential sources for candidates, for search assignments, or simply as professional networking contacts. Her membership allows her access to local, national, and even international directories of members along with their job titles and company names.
• Local presence: Henderson attends local meetings monthly and regional meetings occasionally. Her aim at these events is to build visibility for herself and her firm. She “talks the talk” with industry professionals, establishes her credibility and expertise, and finds out what their hiring needs are. When appropriate, she follows up later to discuss a possible assignment or determine interest in making a career move.

The strategy paid off almost immediately for Henderson, who located a candidate for a current position through her outreach to the professional association. “The relationship was essential,” she said. “Because he was only passively looking and didn’t want to jeopardize his current position, he wouldn’t have opened up to me if he hadn’t known me through the association.”

Do’s and Don’ts

Before jumping on the association bandwagon, be sure you understand these critical elements that will spell the success or failure of your efforts:

• Be constant. You can’t just show up at one meeting and “poach” the talent you find. Instead, commit to a long-term relationship, participate often, and understand that you might or might not have immediate results.
• Focus on members' needs. Just as in any networking interaction, the more you focus on your audience and investigate their needs, the more credible and valued you will be.
• Interact with as many people as you can. Every meeting is an opportunity to meet new members. Don’t waste the opportunity by latching onto the people you already know or those you perceive as having the highest potential. Instead, make the rounds, establish your presence, and soak up information rather than talking about yourself.
• Look for opportunities to build visibility. You have knowledge about employment issues, hiring trends, employer needs, and more that is valuable to members. Volunteer to give an educational presentation once or twice a year. Members will come to recognize you as "the" recruiter for their industry.

Professional associations can be a doorway into the specific professions you most need to recruit talented workers. Study your talent needs, then identify the associations that offer the most potential. With the right approach and a commitment to a long-term relationship, this strategy offers high potential for building a talent pipeline for the challenging future.

The Art of Recruitment

The Art of Recruitment
by Virginia Begg, Director of ReSearch Selection Ltd.

Where do you begin?

You've just gotten your funding, you're just about to move to the next stage of growth, or you have a couple of key spots that need to be filled... Where do you start?

Know what you want... Putting the legwork in first will save you a lot of time, money and pain!

· Compile as detailed a job description as you would want to see if you were applying for a position. Specify what tasks, responsibilities and accountability are expected in the position. Review with the rest of the team to ensure as complete as possible. This gives you the basis for interview questions, a brief for any third party you may outsource to, and a framework for measuring and rewarding performance.

· Identify any personal attributes and experience you feel are essential and/or desirable in the role and this will become your person specification. Is it important to be a team player, self-motivated, have a sense of humour and be able to work under pressure? Do they need 3 years experience or will 6 months do?

· Make clear any special requirements which could help candidates self select e.g. extensive international travel.

Sourcing Candidates: A number of options are open to you depending on budget, urgency and in house capability.

· Advertising: via press or internet. Can you use your company website? How about some of the internet job sites? If nothing else they’re good for using as copy templates! If you're planning to use press adverts, check to see how effective if is in your field of work. Also remember to comply with the Equal Opportunities Act, Sex Discrimination Act, Race Relations Act and Disability Discrimination Act when writing your copy. (see link to open government below)

· Networking: groups such as HighTech Women, First Tuesday, City Women's Network are an invaluable source of referrals. Are you a member of a professional organisation, Alumni groups, the Institute of Directors? Some of these have advisory services and/or job forums. You've paid your subscriptions so use them. What about "refer a friend" reward scheme for introductions amongst current employees?

· University Careers Services: make direct approaches to Careers services to contact students particularly MBA's who have work experience. Try and foster relationships with course tutors as well as staff in Careers offices. How about sponsoring an essay prize or competition? It is a great way to source candidates and raise your company profile.

· Agencies & consultancies: contingency agencies maintain candidate databases from people who have registered to change jobs. They work on a "no candidate no fee basis". Search consultancies will conduct a search or headhunt using your brief to identify potential prospects. The usual fee is ed approximately 30% of First years salary with 10% being a non refundable retainer fee.

Make sure when dealing with third parties that you are specific in your brief, you now exactly what fee you will be charged and that YOU manage the relationship. Choose a company you can work with, understands your business and that you feel listens to what you want rather than give you what they think you want.

· Independent recruiters: short term experienced people who can come in and take the load off your shoulders without your incurring the cost of a full time head. Usual charge 300/400 GB pounds per day. Choose carefully and again ask for referrals/client testimonials

· In house recruiter: anticipated expansion of the company may be such to justify taking on an in- house recruiter to source candidates. Usually this is a poacher turned gamekeeper i.e. someone who has experience in a recruitment consultancy or search house and wants to jump ship. It can be very cost effective if they have the right network in place. To find this person, use professional magazines like recruitment international, Interviewer or Professional Recruiter for tips and sourcing candidates in this field.

Project Management: Put together a project plan to help you manage the process and ensure you remember everything!

· What is the process? Interview only? How many? With who? Do you want to hold a group day, test them for team fit or aptitude?

· Response: build in strict targets to respond to candidates CV’s, agency enquiries and decisions following interviews. In this competitive market the maximum its 24 hours.

· Pencil in interview dates in diary: for yourself and any others involved. Do it at the start and you can move quickly with "hot to trot candidates". Business always gets in the way. Be disciplined. Short-term pain for long-term gain.

· Admin: if there is no in house HR capability, appoint someone to manage the administrative aspects of the project i.e., recording and responding to applications, dealing with agencies, preparing screening sheets, questions banks, assessment forms, candidate care, sending out contracts and keeping paperwork safe and secure. Announce this both internally and externally to third parties.

· Draft contracts: again an HR job, but if not are these in place? Do they need amending? What about restrictive covenants etc.? Who will check references?

Process

· screening: what criteria do you use to see some candidates and not others? Can you defend it if challenged? Be very clear why you see some candidates and not others and bear in mind again the employment legislation. Be aware that there maybe people out there who will test you by submitting exactly the same CV in two different names. Do candidate have to have the right to live and work in the country for which you are hiring them?

· Interviewing: Changes in the UK Data Protection Act mean candidates can now look at manual information held by a potential employer in written records. You could receive a request to view any interview notes taken/assessment decisions made. It is vital that you record notes during interview that you can use as evidence to decide on suitability. Best practice is to have 2:1 interviews, one to ask questions, one to take notes. Do you have any disabled candidates coming to interview? Are any special considerations needed?

· Question Bank: Questions should be designed to help you collect precise and specific evidence upon which to base any decisions. A combination of questions to determine competency for the role together with general "getting to know you" and clarifying CV questions should provide this.

· Record what you see not what you think: Concentrate on how people are giving answers, aggressive, diplomatic, mumbling and also look at non verbal behavior, smiling, body language etc. Comments like jerk, smelly, awful dress, and dirty shoes should be avoided.

· Assessment write up: Prepare an assessment form, which will give you indicators to benchmark and substantiate any decisions you may reach. Assessment comes AFTER the interview. Be clear about your reasons for acceptance or rejecting a candidate. Use the interview notes to help you. Again keep in mind the relevant employment legislation. Gut instinct is no defense in tribunal.

· Candidate questions: if you want to impress the candidate and save time, think of all the questions you could ask and find out the answers before interviewing. Questions usually revolve around role responsibilities, location, flexibility, progression, salary and benefits. Above all don't make any promises you can't keep they WILL come back to haunt you. Note down questions asked and answers given.

· Post interview: get back to candidate ASAP and let them know the decision. Never give a decision there and then. It gives you no time to think or review the evidence and a verbal offer is legally binding. It will cost you money and damage your reputation. Make sure contracts are thoroughly before going out and keep in touch with the candidate. Keep your potential new CEO/FD/office manager warm by maintaining contact, especially if they are on notice period. You'll lose them if you don't.

For those that are unsuccessful, remember the golden rule: recruitment is the art of disappointing well… today's' candidate could be tomorrow's' client!

Afterwards?

· Keep paperwork safe and secure: when the contracts are signed and the dust has settled, remember to keep all the paperwork for at least 6 months following interview. Candidates have the right to read it and you have to produce it

· Ask candidates for written permission to hold their details: if you or they want you to continue to keep their details on file you must get it in writing. Check backups and remove the details of any candidates you have not received permission from.

· Shred any paperwork you want to destroy.

Not everybody recruits by the book, but more and more cases are going to tribunal, which means your company could be bust before it starts. By following the principles above, you have a reasonable process that can be applied to any campaign from CEO to office junior.

Based in the UK, ReSearch Selection Ltd recruits HR, IT and & eCommerce professionals for blue chip corporates and SME's. They work alongside in-house teams on resourcing strategies, succession planning as well as any requirement for search or assessment and development.

Love Story of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy…….from Sudha Murthy’s Autobiography!!!

It was in Pune that I met Narayan Murty through my friend Prasanna who is
now the Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco (TataMotors). Most of the books that Prasanna lent me had Murty’s name on them which meant that I had a
preconceived image of the man. Contrary to expectation, Murty was
shy, bespectacled and an introvert. When he invited us for dinner, I was
a bit taken aback as I thought the young man was making a very fast move.
I refused since I was the only girl in the group. But Murty was relentless and we all decided to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30 p.m at Green Fields Hotel on the Main Road, Pune.

The next day I went there at 7o’clock since I had to go to the tailor near the hotel. And what do I see? Mr. Murty waiting in front of the hotel and it was only seven. Till today, Murty maintains that I had mentioned (consciously!) that I would be going to the tailor at 7 so that I could meet him…And I maintain that I did not say any such thing consciously or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty as anything other than a friend at that stage. We have agreed to disagree on this matter.

Soon, we became friends. Our conversations were filled with Murty’s experiences abroad and the books that he has read. My friends insisted that Murty was trying to impress me because he was interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty said, I want to tell you something. I knew this as it. It was coming.
He said, I am 5′4″ tall.

I come from a lower middle class family.
I can never become rich in my life and I can never give you any riches.
You are beautiful, bright, and intelligent and you can get anyone you want.
But will you marry me?

I asked Murty to give me some time for an answer. My father didn’t want me to
marry a wannabe politician (a communist at that) who didn’t have a steady job and wanted to build an orphanage…

When I went to Hubli I told my parents about Murty and his proposal. My mother was positive since Murty was also from Karnataka, seemed intelligent and comes from a good family. But my father asked: What’s his job, his salary, his qualifications etc? Murty was working as a research assistant and was earning less than me. He was willing to go dutch with me on our outings. My parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day at 10 a.m sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can I trust a man to take care of my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment? asked my father.

At 12 noon Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay, was stuck in a traffic jam on the ghats, so he hired a taxi (though it was very expensive for him) to meet his would-be father-in-law.
Father was unimpressed. My father asked him what he wanted to become in life.
Murty said he wanted to become a politician in the communist party and
wanted to open an orphanage. My father gave his verdict. NO. I don’t want my daughter to marry somebody who wants to become a communist and then open an orphanage when he himself didn’t have money to support his family.

Ironically, today, I have opened many orphanages something, which Murty wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking towards Murty which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry Murty because he is an honest man. He proposed to me highlighting the negatives in his life. I promised my father that I will not marry Murty without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot marry anybody else. My father said he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady job. But Murty refused saying he will not do things in life because somebody wanted him to. So, I was caught between the two most important persons in my life.

The stalemate continued for three years during which our courtship took us to every restaurant and cinema hall in Pune. In those days, Murty was always broke. Moreover, he didn’t earn much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd., one of the world’s most reputed companies. He always owed me money. We used to go for dinner and he would say, I don’t have money with me, you pay my share, I will return it to you later. For three years I maintained a book on Murty’s debt to me.. No, he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after my wedding. The amount was a little over Rs 4000. During this interim period Murty quit his job as research assistant and started his own software business. Now, I had to pay his salary too! Towards the late 70s computers were entering India in a big way.
During the fag end of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General Manager at Patni Computers in Bombay .. But before he joined the company he wanted to marry me since he was to go on training to the US after joining. My father gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now.

WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTY’S HOUSE IN BANGALORE ON FEBRUARY 10, 1978 WITH ONLY OUR TWO FAMILIES PRESENT. I GOT MY FIRST SILK SARI. THE WEDDING EXPENSES CAME TO ONLY RS 800 (US $17) WITH MURTY AND I PULLING IN RS. 400 EACH.
I went to the US with Murty after marriage. Murty encouraged me to see
America on my own because I loved travelling. I toured America for three months on backpack and had interesting experiences which will remain fresh in my mind forever. Like the time when the New York police took me into custody because they thought I was an Italian trafficking drugs in Harlem. Or the time when I spent the night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with an old couple. Murty panicked because he couldn’t get a response from my hotel room even at midnight. He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.

IN 1981 MURTY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD A VISION AND ZERO
CAPITAL…initially I was very apprehensive about Murty getting into business. We did not have any business background .. Moreover we were living a comfortable life in Bombay with a regular pay check and I didn’t want to rock the boat. But Murty was passionate about creating good quality software. I decided to support him. Typical of Murty, he just had a dream and no money. So I gave him Rs 10,000 which I had saved for a rainy day, without his knowledge and told him, this is all I have. Take it. I give you three years sabbatical leave. I will take care of the financial needs of our house. You go and chase your dreams without any worry. But you have only three years!

Murty and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981,with enormous interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with Murty. We bought a small house on loan which also became the Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook-cum-programmer. I also took up a job as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of Industries to support the house. In 1983, Infosys got their first client, MICO, in Bangalore .. Murty moved to Bangalore and stayed with his mother while I went to Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan. Ten days after my son was born, Murty left for the US on project work. I saw him only after a year, as I was unable to join Murty in the US because my son had infantile eczema, an allergy to vaccinations. So for more than a year I did not step outside our home for fear of my son contracting an infection. It was only after Rohan got all his
vaccinations that I came to Bangalore where we rented a small house in Jayanagar and rented another house as Infosys headquarters. My father presented Murty a scooter to commute. I once again became a cook, programmer, clerk, secretary, office assistant et al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and
his wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini babysat my son, I wrote programs for Infosys. There was no car, no phone, and just two kids and a bunch of us working hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys was taking shape. It was not only me but also the wives of other partners too who gave their unstinted support. We all knew that our men were trying to build something good.

It was like a big joint family,taking care and looking out for one another. I still remember Sudha Gopalakrishna looking after my daughter Akshata with all care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it very clear that it would either be me or him working at Infosys. Never the two of us together… I was involved with Infosys initially.

Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty said he did not want a husband and wife team at Infosys. I was shocked since I had the relevant experience and technical qualifications. He said, Sudha if you want to work with Infosys, I will withdraw, happily. I was pained to know that I will not be involved in the company my husband was building and that I would have to give up a job that I am qualified to do and love doing.

It took me a couple of days to grasp the reason behind Murty’s request.. I realized that to make Infosys a success one had to give one’s 100 percent. One had to be focussed on it alone with no other distractions. If the two of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then what would happen to our home and our children? One of us had to take care of our home while the other took care of Infosys.

I opted to be a homemaker, after all Infosys was Murty’s dream. It was a big sacrifice but it was one that had to be made. Even today, Murty says, Sudha, I stepped on your career to make mine.

You are responsible for my success.

Narayana Murthy's , Founder of Infosys Technologies: views on staying late in the office....

Narayana Murthy's views on staying late in the office....


It's half past 8 in the office but the lights are still on...
PCs still running, coffee machines still buzzing...
and who's at work?
Most of them??? Take a closer look...
All or most specimens are 20-something male species of the human race...
Look closer... again all or most of them are bachelors...
and why are they sitting late? Working hard? No way!!!
Any guesses???
Let's ask one of them...
Here's what he says... 'What's there 2 do after going home... here we
get to surf, AC, phone, food, coffee.. thats is why I am working late...

importantly no bossssssss!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the scene in most research centres and software companies and
other off-shore offices.
Bachelors 'time-passing' during late hours in the office just bcoz they
say they've nothing else to do...
Now what r the consequences... read on...
'Working'(for the record only) late hours soon becomes part of the
institute or company culture.
With bosses more than eager to provide support to those 'working' late
in the form of taxi vouchers, food vouchers and of course good
feedback,(oh, he's a hard worker... goes home only to change..!!).They
aren't helping things too... To hell with bosses who don't understand
the difference between 'sitting' late and 'working' late!!!
Very soon, the boss start expecting all employees to put in extra
working hours.
So, My dear Bachelors let me tell you, life changes when u get married
and start having a family... office is no longer a priority, family
is... and that's when the problem starts... becoz u start having
commitments at home too.
For your boss, the earlier 'hardworking' guy suddenly seems to become a
'early leaver' even if u leave an hour after regulartime... after doing
the same amount of work.
People leaving on time after doing their tasks for the day are labeled
as work-shirkers...
Girls who thankfully always (its changing nowadays... though) leave on
time are labeled as 'not up to it'. All the while, the bachelors pat
their own backs and carry on 'working' not realizing that they r
spoiling the work culture at their own place and never realize that they

Bill Gates – A story of Success

William H. Gates is chairperson and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing.

Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955 in a family having rich business, political and community service background. His great-grandfather was a state legislator and a mayor, his grandfather was vice president of national bank and his father was a lawyer.

Bill strongly believes in hard work. He believes that if you are intelligent and know how to apply your intelligence, you can achieve anything. From childhood Bill was ambitious, intelligent and competitive. These qualities helped him to attain top position in the profession he chose. In school, he had an excellent record in mathematics and science. Still he was getting very bored in school and his parents knew it, so they always tried to feed him with more information to keep him busy. Bill’s parents came to know their son's intelligence and decided to enroll him in a private school, known for its intense academic environment.

It was a very important decision in Bill Gate's life where he was first introduced to a computer. Bill Gates and his friends were very much interested in computer and formed "Programmers Group" in late 1968. Being in this group, they found a new way to apply their computer skill in university of Washington. In the next year, they got their first opportunity in Information Sciences Inc. in which they were selected as programmers. ISI (Information Sciences Inc.) agreed to give them royalties whenever it made money from any of the group’s program. As a result of the business deal signed with Information Sciences Inc., the group also became a legal business.

Bill Gates and his close friend Allen started new company of their own, Traf-O-Data. They developed a small computer to measure traffic flow. From this project they earned around $20,000. The era of Traf-O-Data came to an end when Gates left the college. In 1973, he left home for Harvard University. He didn’t know what to do, so he enrolled his name for pre-law. He took the standard freshman courses with the exception of signing up for one of Harvard's toughest mathematics courses. He did well over there, but he couldn’t find it interesting too. He spent many long nights in front of the school's computer and the next day asleep in class. After leaving school, he almost lost himself from the world of computers. Gates and his friend Paul Allen remained in close contact even though they were away from school. They would often discuss new ideas for future projects and the possibility of starting a business one fine day. At the end of Bill's first year, Allen came close to him so that they could follow some of their ideas. That summer they got job in Honeywell. Allen kept on pushing Bill for opening a new software company.

Within a year, Bill Gates dropped out from Harvard. Then he formed Microsoft. Microsoft's vision is "A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer". Bill is a visionary person and works very hard to achieve his vision. His belief in high intelligence and hard work has put him where he is today. He does not believe in mere luck or God’s grace, but just hard work and competitiveness. Bill’s Microsoft is good competition for other software companies and he will continue to stomp out the competition until he dies. He likes to play the game of Risk and the game of world domination. His beliefs are so powerful, which have helped him increase his wealth and his monopoly in the industry.
Bill Gates is not a greedy person. In fact, he is quite giving person when it comes to computers, internet and any kind of funding. Some years back, he visited Chicago's Einstein Elementary School and announced grants benefiting Chicago's schools and museums where he donated a total of $110,000, a bunch of computers, and provided internet connectivity to number of schools. Secondly, Bill Gates donated 38 million dollars for the building of a computer institute at Stanford University. Gates plans to give away 95% of all his earnings when he is old and gray.