Getting Candidate
Attention
“You do not want to waste your time on candidates that are not
qualified.”
“We eliminate so many of our candidates, and we never see them
in person! What a great way to speed up the interview process.”
There is all sorts of bad advice about screening candidates over
the telephone. Quotes such as those of the side of the page
might apply when recruiting for high-volume, commodity jobs if
there are masses of applicants but it is a SURE ROUTE TO FAILURE
in most other situations.
This is especially the case when dealing with high value
professionals like senior managers. It should never be
considered a waste of time to speak to management people. Such
people may not be suitable or interested in a specific role
today but they will certainly be so in the future. As well,
senior candidates always know other senior candidates and
certainly understand the game of hiring since they do it
themselves. They can be great sources of information and
contacts if recruiters take the time to build relationships with
these people.
Making abrupt, tactless telephone calls to senior managers to
"eliminate candidates" and "speed up the interview process" will
ensure the long-term failure of most executive search
consultants involved in management recruiting.
When calling on executives or any other highly skilled people,
there are only 2 things that are important: creating dialogue
and offering benefit. If they see the caller as a valuable
career mentor who they might want on their team of life-time
contacts, any business leader who is somebody, will stop to talk
(or schedule another time to do so).
On the other hand, if the caller sounds like just another
salesman looking source product (i.e. candidates, in this case)
he can unload on a customer, then the conversation will be very
different indeed.
Act in the
short-term,
Work for the
long-term
When calling professional candidates, you initially have a short
period of 20 to 30 seconds to get their initial attention. If
this can be done without creating a reflex rejection, the call
that starts as a monologue of the candidate listening to he
recruiter can become a 2-way conversation between industry
professionals with benefits to both.
Professionals like senior managers are busy people and calls to
them are interruptions to their work day. Recruiters must
provide a benefit by offering information that adds to their
base of knowledge and motivates their curiosity.
The best method is to simply explain the reason for the call in
a clear but not too specific manner. If the caller gives too
much information immediately, he or she may either overwhelm the
candidate or say something that creates an automatic negative
response. It is important there are both an immediate purpose
for the call (an open job) and a long-term purpose (future jobs
and mutually beneficial relationship). Senior managers who are
going anywhere immediately recognize the value of relationships
with executive recruiters in their careers and businesses.
How Not to do it?
Most recruiters have heard statements such as these when calling on candidates for the first
time without being referred by a trusted intermediary.
"Tell me the company name and I'll tell you whether I'm
interested."
"Take me off your list and don't call again."
"I don't want to change my job."
People who make comments like these have either had bad
experiences with recruiters in the past or the caller may have
come across as manipulative, desperate or overly focused on
their own needs. If this happens, there is little that can be
done to save the call. The recruiter needs to politely exit and
try again in the future.
Ask Open-Ended
Questions
In most cases, initial rapport can be established within a few
minutes. At this point, open-ended questions should be asked to learn
about the person's current situation and his or her career and
personal objectives.
What sorts of roles might be of interest to you in the future?
Tell me a bit about how you are doing in your career now?
What were you doing before this?
How is your company perceived in the market?
Do you see opportunities to grow where you are now?
How would you rate your sense of engagement?
What do you like a lot about your current situation?
What might be improved about it?
What do you want to be doing in a few years?
Such conversational questions are necessary to allow candidates
to formulate their thoughts. Senior executives are often so
absorbed and challenged in their work, that they don't have
ready answers to specific questions about their careers. This is
especially the case with candidates who are key in their
organizations and who stay many years with employers -- the most
desirable ones, in other words.
Be cautious of people who have ready answers to specific career
questions and know exactly what they want. They may have been
through the recruitment process too many times -- a history of
frequent job changes -- or are overly eager to leave (and may
not be doing well).
With sincere use of open-ended questions and listening
intently to answers, recruiters can become career mentors in the
minds of candidates rather than salespeople looking to make a
one-time placement.
Inexperienced recruiters often charge ahead
too quickly and aggressively. The result may be that the
candidates they source are too often job-hoppers or desperate to
make a move. This
may not always be bad but it is clear that the best candidates
are stable and successful in their current roles.
All hiring managers and recruiters need to remember that job
changes are life changes to most people. Take time to listen and
understand.
Hiring
Leaders
Download
this e-book to learn all you need to know to
get the best people on your bus and drive it to greatness.
A global manager's failsafe
guide to dominating any industry
by employing its dominant
people.
DOWNLOAD Hiring
Leaders now!
New sections are being added so
check back regularly.
Send your comments and
suggestions to
hiringleaders@chalre.com
Executive Search
& Management Consulting:
Chalre
Associates provides its Executive Search and Recruiting services throughout the emerging countries of the Asia Pacific
region with specific focus on Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos. We are
proactive and well known in our sectors of focus. Regional
Managers use us to help bridge the gap between local environments and
the world-class requirements of multinational corporations.
C
o n t a c t U s
+ 632 822 4129
leaders@chalre.com
Asia
CEO Forum
Asia
CEO Forum presented by PLDT ALPHA Enterprise is the largest
regular business event in Philippines and considered one of the most
important in the Southeast Asia region. The forum serves as a hub
for the spreading of ideas that help executive managers overseeing
enterprises across the Asia Pacific region.
Attendees are both expatriate and Asian management personnel
overseeing multinational and regional organizations. Held in
Philippines, presenters are leaders in their industries and engaged
in momentous pursuits of significance to the entire region.
Asia
CEO Forum is operated as a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)
activity of Chalre Associates, one of Southeast Asia's most
prominent senior management executive search firms, to promote
Philippines as a premier business destination in the Asia region.
Click
Here to go to Asia
CEO Forum now!
Asia
CEO Awards
Asia
CEO Awards presented by Aseana City represents the grandest
alliance of local and international business people ever created to
promote Philippines on the world stage. As one of the largest events
of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, it is considered a
must-attend occasion for business leaders active in Southeast Asia.
The star-studded Board of Judges of Asia CEO Awards give away
10 awards to many of the most accomplished leadership teams and
individuals currently operating in Philippines and the region. The
awards recognize extraordinary leaders who have demonstrated
outstanding achievement for their organizations and contributions to
others.
As one of the fastest growing nations on the planet, the world's
business leaders have their eyes on Philippines like never before.
The annual gala was established as a natural outgrowth of Asia
CEO Forum, the largest regular networking event for the business
community in Philippines.
Click
Here
to go to Asia
CEO Awards now!
SPECIAL DOWNLOADS:
Media organizations
throughout the world call upon the Principals of Chalre Associates for thought leadership.
Below are some examples of published material written by our
consultants or international journalists who refer to them. For a complete list of published work,
Click Here.
Getting Ready For The
Deluge: Outsourcing in Philippines
by
Chalre Associates senior staff
Download
[PDF
file, 62KB]
The
Economist Intelligence Unit of the Economist magazine
asked Chalre Associates' Chairman, Richard Mills,
to write a chapter about the Philippine outsourcing sector
in its annual Business Guide Book. The material
provides a Executive Briefing on the progress and major
issues facing this industry that is certainly one of most
significant growth stories in the world.
more
Asia Pacific Mining
Conference 2007 - Report
by
Chalre Associates senior staff
Download
[PDF
file, 28KB]
The 7th Asia Pacific Mining Conference put on by the Asean
Federation of Mining Associations was perhaps the largest
such event in the region. Richard Mills, Chairman of Chalre Associates
gave this report on what was said by the prominent mining
people who presented.
more
The
State of BPO in Philippines: Dan Reyes Speaks
by
Chalre Associates senior staff
Download
[PDF
file, 31KB]
Richard
Mills, Chairman of Chalre Associates,
interviewed Dan Reyes of Sitel for ComputerWorld (US) recently to get
his views on the state of the BPO industry in Philippines. Dan
presented US readers with compelling information to support his view
that Philippines is currently seen as the "Number 1" option by global
companies sending BPO work to offshore destinations.
Dan Reyes is easily one of most experienced Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) managers in the Asia Pacific region and the world. He
is head of the extremely successful Philippine operations of Sitel, the
world's largest call center organization. Among other things, he is a
founder and former president of the Business Processing Association of
the Philippines. more
