In addition to obvious job/position related details, I always ensure my recruiters spend at least 30 minutes focusing on candidates personal needs including spending my own time talking about thier social preferences. Depending on candidates status, these include housing, schools, commute, shopping, social interests, gyms, etc. It is given that most candidates are in a state of decision making and they are pschologically fragile due to impending change. Discussing and sharing information on non-job related topics will give them some sense of ease and will make a positive impression on you as a future employer. I have had too many cases where candidates backed off due to non-job related issues even if the position is professionally a perfect fit.

My own experience years ago - I had this great help from my then future colleagues which made my induction/on boarding/moving experience just a breeze.

posted 10 months ago

My first positive recruiter experience was when I went to a job search company in Palo Alto. While I was put through all the testing I was reassured the entire time that a position was going to be available and he was honest.
On a interview for the recruiter I was given all the background relationship information of how the employer and the recruiter work together. At the interview the relationship was reiterated by the prospective employer. While I eventually didn't get the job (after 3 interviews) the background information helps.
For what didn't work, was exactly the 3 interviews. If there is an immediate vacancy why waste 6+ hours with a barrage of interviews and tests if you are not going to hire the person from the job search company? I felt the recruiter should have gotten wise to the situation instead of wasting both his and my time.

posted 10 months ago

Amanda - you touch on one of the most often overlooked aspects of the recruiter's job: Ensuring an exceptional candidate experience. Recruiters have a well-earned poor reputation due to lack of followup and communication (as called out by Ravi Chitturi below).

In an age when everyone is chasing the elusive "passive candidate", competition for these people will only get worse - how we treat candidates during our selection and hiring process may very well mean the difference between them coming to your company or going with the competition.

Another angle not often addressed is the business impact poor candidate experience can produce. Take, for example, a large consumer products company -- assuming a 1:5 hire:interview ratio, that means 4 of every 5 people WON'T be selected yet they are all consumers -- is it reasonable to expect any brand loyalty if they are treated shabbily during the interview process? Oftentimes candidates pursue opportunities with a company whose products/services they're already using...so not only does a poor experience potentially prevent new revenue, it could actual create revenue erosion. Bottom line is that candidate experience affects the bottom line, and we owe it to our candidates, business partners, consumers and shareholders to make the candidate experience unforgettably positive.

posted 10 months ago

I have a somewhat unique perspective; most of my career has been built on contracting, and at Microsoft contractors have a one year time limit on their assignments, which means that at the end of that time I am always looking for something, even if I take the mandatory quarter off to pursue personal interests; so, at least once a year I'm a candidate as well as being a recruiter. So, candidate experience is very important to me. Being interviewed by a large number of people that don't seem to know what I'm being interviewed for is my biggest complaint, and of course follow through. I prepare my candidates by making sure they have a job description and that it matches their expectations, and let them know approximately how long they can expect their interviews to take. When I meet with them first, I ask them a couple of behavioral based questions and see how they answer, and give them feedback that will hopefully allow them to understand the process.

The *number one complaint* from candidates (myself included) is lack of follow through at various stages of the recruiting process. I recently put together this "Best Practices" for HR generalists that function as recruiters.


-It is unrealistic for an applicant to assume that if they submit
their resume to you in some sort of blanket way (online, answering an
ad/posting, sending it in unsolicited via snail mail) that they will
get a response from you personally. So, you are not obligated to
follow through on this count. It is helpful to have an autogenerated
message thanking candidates for their interest and that if their
skills match the position, you will be in touch. This at least allows
them confirmation that their resume *has* been received. Works best
with a generic email address such as "jobs@...". If
the candidate is referred to you by a mutual business connection, you
may want to consider the ramifications of not personally
acknowledging that referral.

-Employee Referrals should always be acknowledged and thanked for
their interest, and if they are remotely a fit for an opening you
have, they deserve the courtesy of a phone screen if this is part of
your application process.

-IF you phone screen a candidate, you *should* definitely follow up
with them as to whether or not you will be moving them to the next
stage in the recruitment process. An email is sufficient.

-If you have brought someone in for full interviews, you owe them the
courtesy of letting them know the outcome, whether they are going to
be offered the position or not.

The best interview I have had was at Electronic Arts in Vancouver, BC two years ago. The company flew me up for interviews, I met with the key players and the manager sat down and we discussed the differences between US and Canadian comp (and how it would relate to me), privacy issues for sourcing, and honest communication about the challenges for recruitment practices. I was treated like a valued candidate that reflected well on a future relationship with them. (The company went through a reorg and unfortunately the position closed.)

posted 10 months ago

My most important thing is the listening, I know that candidates hate it when you come to them with jobs or projects or questions what they already told you.

The next thing is absolutly the talking and the way of questioning, if the conversation is falling dead...you dont do it good, if you can make the conversation interesting for the candidate, it wont happen.

SUCCES !!!

posted 10 months ago

Little things a recruiter can do can add up to make it a positive experience for the candidate.
a) Return phone calls in a timely manner
b) Be on time for phone calls, appointments, meetings etc
c) If being late is unavoidable call and let them know.
d) Meet the person in the lobby and walk them to the interviewer
e) Offer them something to drink
f) Have the interviewer walk them back out to the lobby
g) Take time to follow up with candiadte after the interview
so you can both "debrief" on how it went.
h) Communicate what the next step is or if the candidate is out of the running let them know.

Jeff Weidner
925 313 9005 X 200
http://htcresearch.com

Keys to keeping the Iron HOT
1) Keep your appointments. Call on time.
2) Be enthusiastic about the position and the Company
3) Be excited about having the opportunity to speak with that candidate.
4) Share the Company Vision. Sell the Company and why the candidate should work there.
5)Build the Company Vision. Sell the position and what role that position plays in the Company.
6) Get feedback and find out where their interests lie.
7) Follow up 1-2 times per week until hired or removed as a candidate using the phone first then email.

Links:

• http://htcresearch.com/htcr/newsletters/2003-04.htm
• http://htcresearch.com/htcr/newsletters/2003-05.htm

posted 10 months ago

I love this question. I will answer it from te perspective of candidate and recruiting manager looking at an outsourced recruiter performance.

As a recruiting manager I have been so frustrated with the laissez faire approach from recruiters who mostly throw CVs and hope, hitting on some keywords on a database or running excerpts from the Job Description in an advert. Very often the same old perennial job hunting candidates are offered and many may have never been interviewed by the recruiter themselves so any advice on the candidate is usually flimsy at best. Recruiters consistently mismatch salary expectations usually flying on the high side - and very, very rare do you get a comprehensive description of the candidate's character prior to an interview. Finally, it is very rare as a manager to have spent a good deal of time thinking on the real characteristics they want beyond the Job Description which only exaggerates the mismatch on thinking.

As a candidate, I have rarely met well prepared recruiting managers, and have met only 50% of the recruiting firms involved. I have rarely been kept in the loop by any party and I find I am constantly put forward for roles with poor fits to my aspirations let alone experience.

Talent Acquisition is now part of the Professional Services I provide for clients. In the main I work on a small number of personally served, customised searches for Hi Tech clients. I start witha comprehensive interview of the recruiting manager and some of the staff the candidate will have to interact with and build a strong 'hologram' of the ideal candidate in terms abilities, expectations, experience, characteristics and attributes little of which necessarily relate to experience but mots concentrate on the values and value that the candidate needs to bring to the client and how they must conduct themselves within the client's company. The approach whittles down the potential reasons for failure for the candidate and client.

I then research similar companies with high performing individuals - I keep no databases and I don't advertise. My premise is that the best and most successful individuals are those performing extraordinarily well in the jobs and are therefore not looking for change. Once I identify candidates, the first thing to do is to motivate them I have a superb opportunity that will change their lives, the next step is to interview them as in-depth as I would as if I were the hiring client. I do not send anyone forward that I cannot personally recommend for the job. Once I have no more than 3 exceptional candidates, I make out detailed candidate profiles and present them to my client with my opinions and recommendations. Only then does the client have to view a CV or interview. A whole raft of time and energy has been saved for the client.

I believe that bad recruitment is the biggest hidden cost to any business and it comes from a sloppy set of processes - 'hit or miss' I call it.

Fromm the candidate perspective, I do occassionally reverse the process and literally represent the interest of a tiny amount of exceptional individuals and procatively approach certain companies to 'sell' them. It is an intense a service worked the opposite way and it comes from a deep belief that exceptional individuals need to be properly represented rather than sit on a database.

My beliefs and techniques come from 25 years as a salesperson, manager and CEO who has recruited badly, then better and then well. What I have found is nothing beats having recruiters who actually have experience of managing teams in my industry - it means that a service can be truly outsourced because there is a bond of mutual respect and trust that goes between client, recruiter and candidate.

Links:

• http://www.calxeurope.com

posted 10 months ago

The question directed at recruiters is a good one: what do you do to ensure that the candidate experience is a positive one.

I am not a recruiter. Therefore, my opinion on this particular question was not asked for. But I really think recruiters need to hear it, because I am finding my experiences with them NOT to be positive.

First, if a recruiter contacts me about a possible opening with a client company, I really need to hear more about what to expect from a visit to the client than "review the job description" or "visit the Web site." Yet these are what I was told by a 25-year veteran recruiter, who had a standing relationship with the client company, and who claimed to be able to place 50% of the candidates he pitched to this client. Someone with that level of experience should be able to tell me something about the personality of the people I meet with; what unspoken messages they look for in candidates; where to PARK, for crying out loud. This guy couldn't do that, and he wasn't the first I'd seen who couldn't.

Second, I always ask the recruiter to let me know where I stand, win or lose. They ALWAYS say they will; they NEVER do. I really believe I must always attribute the best of intentions to those I work with, but when they don't get back to me that hurts. It's like they put me in for a position gambling that I'd be a match but knowing deep down inside it wasn't so, and they weren't willing to be straight with me. If I don't get the job, I'll know sooner or later anyway; but I want to know what I can do to make a better impression next time, and I feel the recruiter must take some responsibility for instruction here. But recruiters -- and I know they have to make their commission -- just seem to go on to the next candidate.

Are my concerns valid?

posted 10 months ago

1. Having a recruiter/hiring manager who gets back to me with timely updates on my status after any type of interview is appreciated. I consider this professional and ethical, and it's a small world.

2. Having an informal interview with the head of a division on a couch. It was the nicest interview I had and turned into a wonderful job. The focus was on what I could do, instead of the usual canned questions.

3. Respecting my time. I appreciate interviews that start on time.

4. Sending directions on how to get to the interview and whom to contact, especially if there are any challenges with the address. Such as the street numbering changes all of a sudden.

5. Scheduling interviews so I avoid rush hour traffic. This is part of respecting my time.

6. Having everyone I meet with having a business card. And the recruiter sending me a list of whom I met with, so I can write thank you cards with the correct spelling.

7. Having me speak with people at the level I would be hiring for. It's nice to know what the position I am being hired for actually does before I start.

8. One that rarely happens, but is extremely useful. Letting me know why I did not get the job so I can improve. I know about legal issues on this.

9. Not asking for my reference information until they are actually going to be called. It's embarrassing to alert a reference to a possible call, and then let them know about your rejection.

10. Offering something to drink (such as water). If there is a pre-interview by HR before the hiring manager, letting me know where the restrooms are, etc.

11. Explaining which division within a company I am interviewing for and what that division does. It can be challenging to figure this out from job descriptions. If there is a web page for that division, sending that link is appreciated.

12. Making the interview process as nice and friendly as possible. Introducing me to people sends a positive message to me about the culture of the company.

13. Getting promotional items is a nice touch that is low cost compared to the cost of my time, not to mention the cost of the people I have interviewed with time.

14. If there is a recent catalog of the company, getting a copy of that is good (and then I can go through the catalog and write some insightful comments in my thank you note).

15. Letting me know ahead of time who I will be interviewing with and their position within the company.

posted 10 months ago

One of the best experiences I have had during the interview process is related to the integrity of the recruiter and hiring manager. They laid out the process and told me they would be making a final decision at the end of a two week period. They kept their word and drove the process. Most of the interviews were over the phone. Once they were down to their final candidates, we were invited to interview in person. The process worked fast and smooth as they had indicated. The communication and follow through was impressive. It was enough to make me take the job! I've had other interviewing experiences where good intentions were stated and then there was no follow through. Do you want to work for a company that doesn't keep their word?

posted 10 months ago

As a recruiter myself, I have interviewed for staffing positions in the past. I remember TWO distinct occasions where I had a terrible candidate experience. On one occasion, asking a recruiter “Which group the position is for” and the recruiter had no clue and obviously could not give me the detailed information about the group. Worst; when I asked the recruiter that I wanted to meet with in person, the recruiter said it is not required and that I can directly go to the interview session. On second occasion I was emailed the job description and that was the only interaction I had with the recruiter. Rest of the communication was done by the coordinator. The main recruiter was completely hands off.

One of most common thing that recruiters fail to do is use common sense. They simply fail to connect one on one with the candidate. The most deadly mistake recruiters make; failure to respond on time to email/voice message.

The best candidate experience I had was when I was interviewing at Microsoft. Lisa Leung (Now with Starbucks, Seattle) was the recruiter’s recruiter and she did a phenomenal job of keeping me informed and loaded with relevant information at every stage. I have not seen many recruiters like her. I got the job at Microsoft and can surely say the way she helped me all along was a significant factor in me getting hired at Microsoft.

I have always maintained constant communication with the candidate irrespective whether he/she is in consideration or not. In fact some of the candidates have become good friends with me over the years. Let’s not forget, “Relationships” is the key to recruiting function.

Best practices by recruiter for great candidate experience;

1) Be proactive in communicating with the candidate.
2) Establish strong rapport/relationship with each successful & unsuccessful candidate. This is for long term returns.
3) Last but not the least “Be 100% honest”. Candidates appreciate openness (Does not mean reveal confidential info)

These will surely enhance the staffing/recruiting function and recruiter’s reputation

posted 10 months ago

I have been working on getting a position in New York as a trainer for two months. I have applied on my own and I have sent my resume to several recruiters. I have mock interviewed with a few and other I have not even met face to face - even after requesting meetings! Some of the recruiters have been personable and friendly. Some of the recruiters have given me good information. Most however, have not impressed me one bit. They don't communicate, they don't return phone calls, they don't give meaningful criticism. It is both frustrating and annoying.
I have only had one recruiter set up an interview with a second company after the first company did not pan out!
Indeed, I have landed more interviews without the help of recruiters than I have with their help.

posted 10 months ago

Candidates expect personal touch during interview process. They do not like to be treated as one among the many applicants. They like to be treated with respect and dignity. They want to know about the progress of their profile and would not mind the negative feedback on their profile but giving feedback is a must for the candidates. Many a times, companies do not bother to give the feedback after the interview, even for senior positions.

Candidates want to know the reasons for the rejection but companies provide one line answer, which is not liked by the candidates. It definitely creates negative image about the company and candidates spread negative information about company in their network.

According to me, companies can attract more candidates, if they impress the candidates with the pleasant interview experience.

posted 10 months ago

In recruiting, every deal has the seeds of its destruction already in it. If they are not dealt with early and often, like weeds, they will choke out your deal. The biggest deal killer is candidate experience and expectations. Candidates measure their experience by their preconceived expectations. Here are 3 ways to ensure a good candidate experience:
1. Take away the surprise- Tell my candidates that I am a boring recruiter because I try to make sure there are no surprises. Before they go into an interview, they know as much information as I can give. Bill Radin calls it "Preframing" If everything goes very close to what I have described, the candidate automatically is set at ease and I can "shape" their experience.
2. Make it ok for them to say "No" - In my process, there are only 2 acceptable answers Yes or No. I tell the candidate upfront that they can tell me no at anytime and I will honor it even if they are wrong. If I have done my work properly, I can present my idea in a different way. New recruiters try to sell through a No and annoy their candidate.
3. If you listen, the candidate will tell you how to close the deal with them. One of the best deals I closed over my career was moviing a candidate into a new job 30 minutes from his In laws. He got a great raise, his wife could be a stay at home mom and his newborn daughter could be with her grandparents. He just wanted to get wife closer to her parents.

Hope this helps

Links:

• http://www.billradin.com

posted 10 months ago

Usually, whenever I appeared for interview, usually the first question I had to answer was “Tell me something about yourself. I was very fed-up with structure of the interview. I do not know who the person is, who is taking my interview, his experience etc and then had to tell about myself. Then, I had one very interesting interview. It was with Deloitte. It was my final Interview with the Director – HR (Asia Pacific). She started the interview by sharing her name and designation. Then she explained to me about various divisions of Deloitte followed by the division and role for which was interviewing me. Then, she told me about her work-profile and since when she was associated with the organization. It took about 15 minutes and it was after this that she asked me the first question.
I still remember my that experience of interview.

posted 10 months ago

I don't enjoy hearing this right off the bat: "Terri, tell me a little bit about yourself."

Most recently, I was asked to tell about myself without even knowing with the position was! The recruiter who called me didn't mention it until half-way through the phone interview.

Additionally, it's crucial to SHOW UP. I flew 500 miles for an interview in October, only to find out that the interviewer could not be bothered to drive 20 miles to interview me. "She has young children," said her subordinates. Instead of sending me back to my hotel so that I could at least continue my housing search, they asked me to interview with somebody else (a non-decision-maker), then come back on a Sunday morning at 9:00 am to interview with the original person. (Also, she was 30 minutes late for that.)

What a mess, and what a waste of my time and money.

Whether the job was a good fit for me or not, I don't know. I felt that if they believed this was an acceptable way to treat a potential employee, I'd be embarrassed to work there.

posted 10 months ago

My Candidate experience - best and worst.

The best was a small company that made the process (group interview) very fun and interesting. It was a telesales position selling 'incursions' or in school educational programs to primary schools in 3 countries. We heard all about the company and the programs - a sales pitch in itself - before we ever got to the stuff about ourselves. The standard stuff was orchestrated well enough that we were at the same time getting to meet all the key people we'd be working with. Then since it was telesales and one of their programs was on reptiles, they made it really interesting by asking who was willing to push themselves outside their comfort zone and producing a python. Called Monty, of course. Had a riot of a time working with them, even if it was a seasonal job.

Worst experience was an interview for a lateral transfer. I'd been doing the job for several years, but the interview was entirely irrelevant to what was actually involved in the role (and a number of my processes had already been disseminated as best practise, so I know it wasn't lack of knowledge on my part) and asked for examples of stuff that was at least two levels higher up and not in the job description. Since the reason I was looking to transfer was the lack of opportunity to act in higher positions, this obviously posed a difficulty. They couldn't even tell me when they'd be back in touch to let me know! Needless to say it wasn't a particularly rapid response.

PS I want to know who Ray Ritchey dealt with!!!

posted 10 months ago

Here is a response that I haven't seen from the others. In the last 3 months I have been contacted by two different contract recruiters from Microsoft about "multiple positions" they would like to talk to me about. After responding to their emails I never heard from them again.

A little over a week ago I heard from a high tech recruiting firm about a sales director position. I reviewed the information they sent me and responded that I would like to learn more about it. It has been a week and I haven't heard from them at all.

I don't mind recruiters pro actively contacting me. I do mind being ignored after I take the time to review their information and respond to them. I find it to be very unprofessional.

posted 9 months ago

I recently left a recruiting firm where I ran the finance operation for nearly 5 years to try something new. Upon my departure, I enlisted the help of every recruiter in town - casting a wide net for work and I was genuinely curious about what other firms were doing.

Out of the 17 firms I met, there were 3 standouts and 5 that I would use again if I was hiring or once again looking. I think it's fair to say that in the crazy market we have in Vancouver, if the market were to turn tomorrow only about one third of firms would be ready to work - the rest are just riding the wave.

One firm took my resume and ran with it. They got me interviews and eventually a job just because they had the client base to promote my diverse skills and then sell who I am. It was above and beyond most of what I even saw in my 4.5 years at an otherwise great firm. The other 4 firms on my list were just particularly engaging though their sales pipes didn't accommodate me at all at the time.

Horror stories: I left a 90 minute meeting with one recruiter knowing more about her than she knew about me (including compensation!). I found out that the "position" she called me for was one where she had another candidate in the final stages of interviewing, but wanted something else to throw at them!

Another promoted me to a client without my permission which led to an abundance of confusion.

Yet a third recruiter whom I had met and followed-up with on a position on their board knew nothing about their client, nothing about the industry and nothing about the role beyond what they'd posted. I interviewed, had a great rapport with the manager and the feedback from the recruiter was, via email, "They are not pursuing you." No feedback, no relationship and no accountability. I later spoke with the manager by chance and was told they would pursue me if they position hadn't been postponed for 3 months.

posted 9 months ago