Talent Search Partners, Inc.

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Author name: Troy Saddler

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Diary of a Humbled Recruiter (A Memoir to Human Resources)

Uncategorized /

Dear Human Resources, We’re sorry and we can do better. We realize how important you are to the recruitment process, and you deserve to be kept in the loop… …and not just kept in the loop, but treated as a valued contributor to the outcome. You are left wondering most of the time and brought into the process only for offers of employment and onboarding activities. You have a lot dumped on your plate and your contributions are often unrecognized and certainly underappreciated. Your value surpasses being just a processor of contracts and you deserve a seat at the executive leadership table where decisions that impact your work are made. Our relationship with you has been contentious for years, and transactional at best… …we can do better. Going forward, we’d like to complement your recruitment efforts, not compete against them. Out of respect to you and your position, we will only engage in the recruitment process if you are in support of it and willing to partner with us. The alternative to this is bad for business! Sincerely, The Recruitment Profession

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The Recruitment Industry Is BROKEN!

Employer Insight, Recruitment /

Car Mechanic: It will cost you $1,000 for a new Suspension and Steering System… Customer: Done, when can you start? Lawyer: It will cost you $300/hour to retain my services for this case… Customer: Done, when can you start? Plumber: It will be cost you $200/hour for my assessment of your leak… Customer: Done, when can you start? Recruiter: My fee is $35% for executive level searches… Customer: That is too high for us. We typically pay our recruitment partners 20%. Take it or leave it. Recruiter: Done, when can we start? Recruitment is vital to every organization’s success, yet we play this game far too often of under-valuing our service and taking what a hiring manager tosses at us out of desperation. What ends up happening is the recruiter takes on the search assignment at a lowered fee that they know is below market & their own personal standards. They quickly grow frustrated with a search that they shouldn’t have taken to begin with and this frustration bleeds into the interaction with candidates. Let’s uphold the integrity of the profession and get back to being a legitimate value-add service!

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The Elephant In The Room

Recruitment /

I recently had a meeting with a company that I was trying to convert to a customer. It’s a family-owned business with a ton of growth potential. What was most intriguing about this process was being on the other side of the interview table and having a decision maker probe into why they should work with me. It was a refreshing conversation with what I believed to be strong chemistry and the potential to partner on an exciting position. It didn’t work out in the end, but it was a positive experience for me. It was good to be reminded of what candidates go through and the waiting game that many take part in as hiring managers deliberate. I wasn’t losing sleep by any means, but I tasted some of the excitement/anticipation that many prospects feel as they wait for a final decision. Recruitment has for years been referred to as the profession that never follows up with you after an interview. Despite my efforts to change this narrative, it still remains an elephant in the room when you deal with candidates and some hiring managers. These transactional experiences that many have become accustomed to is not acceptable. Thank you to this company for following up with me, even if it wasn’t the desired outcome.

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We Can Do Better

Employer Insight, Inspiration /

Dear Business Leader, Your business strategy is just fine. You don’t need to hire a consultant and your vision statement doesn’t need rewording. You’ve lost sight of why you went into business… The pursuit of money has hindered your better judgement. You were once approachable, but success has made you prideful and you promote fear over trust. Obedience over partnership. You’ve put profits over the wellbeing of your people and you’ve assembled followers who are working in spite of you, not with you… Congratulations for building a company on a shaky foundation… …the good news is that there is a lineup of recruiters waiting to backfill your open roles.

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“I Respectfully Declined The Search Assignment” – Part 2

Recruitment /

There are times when you’ll need to walk away from something (or someone) to guard the integrity of what you do as a profession… I was reminded of this recently during a client interaction (identity concealed to protect them and our relationship……….still in good standing!)… This interaction came with a leader within their organization who I had never worked with before… I was referred to this individual because of my relationship within the organization and everything was off to a great start… We had a great kickoff call that laid the foundation for a positive search experience. From my side, my only request was timely feedback after each submission to keep my candidates engaged in the process. Within a week, I was able to identify 2 candidates with different backgrounds, but equally qualified for the role in my opinion… Things took a negative turn from there… For 2 weeks, I had not heard from that hiring manager. Despite many attempts to get an update, I was left in the dark… Rather than call me back, I received an email unapologetically with no explanation for the absence. Instead, I was met with a request to see more candidates… I realized that this hiring manager viewed me as “hired help”, and not a valued partner. He thought that I was just another recruiter who was desperate to close a deal. Frustrated from what I perceived to be a blatant disregard for my time, I decided to withdraw myself from further activities related to that search… …I slept well that night. There are times when you’ll need to walk away from something (or someone) to guard the integrity of what you do as a profession.

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Dispelling The Myths

Employer Insight, Recruitment /

Hiring Manager – “We will probably post our job and see what comes through before we engage any recruitment partners. Does that work for you?” That’s great! You should be posting your jobs. There are many advantages to posting your vacancies externally. The issue that I have with this approach however is thinking that you will find exactly what you need through just posting your position. Understand that your brand has a reputation, whether good or bad, and there are people in the marketplace who have an opinion about your company and will base their decision of whether or not to apply, based on what they’ve heard. Many candidates who will see your job ad and could be interested in the position, will not apply because of what they know about your company through information circulating within their network. This information typically stems from grievances that have been aired out by disgruntled former employees. This sort of bad PR will subsequently prevent qualified candidates from applying for your position. It takes a good recruitment partner who will reach out to these prospects who are normally passive, but willing to consider a career move if the right one presents itself. A good recruiter is having these tough conversations and dispelling many myths that exist about your brand. Some of the most gratifying experiences in recruitment come when a prospect was on the fence for reasons that had nothing to do with the actual role, convincing them to form their own opinion of the company, closing the deal, and having that candidate who started at the company say 6 months in that it was the best decision they’ve made to join your client. It’s even more gratifying to see them exceling! The sad thing about this is that most organizations are oblivious to their own brand perception (or they know it, but don’t want to accept it). A Brand Ambassador – Recruitment?! A good recruiter is a brand ambassador. They are taking your company, your values, your mission, your products, your services to market and acting as the face of the brand during those interactions with candidates. It behooves organizational leaders and HR to groom that relationship with their recruitment partner to make sure they are accurately and enthusiastically conveying your message to prospective candidates. The alternative to this is bad for business.

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All She Wanted Was A Call Back (A Note To Recruiters – Part 2)

Career Insight, Career Preparation, Recruitment /

Your time away from your field or profession does not diminish your value… I’ve learned a great deal about people (and myself) over the past few years. More recently, I’ve seen my Wife selflessly sacrifice her career and what she enjoys doing to raise our Kids… Her desire to get back into the workforce has been an eye-opening and humbling experience for me to witness. I’ve seen her receive offers from those in my profession and companies that don’t come near her worth and what she can contribute to an organization. Kudos to her for not settling… A lesson to all of us…(especially recruiters and hiring officials within organizations)… Taking a career break for personal development, to prioritize your family, or for the sake of your well-being shouldn’t be penalized nor exploited… I am sorry for my years of poor judgment.

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A Recruiter is Calling…

Career Insight, Career Preparation, Inspiration /

A Recruiter is calling… Why not take that call? If you’re good for now, I get it. Who wants to waste their time speaking to a Recruiter when there’s no need to. “I only speak to a Recruiter when it’s in my best interest to do so…” …but why not take that call? “I’m doing well in my career…I work with a great team in a great environment. I’m progressing with my company and will be next in line for a lucrative promotion that will break me into a higher income bracket!” …but why not take that call? “I’ve never had an issue with finding meaningful employment. I’m highly sought after within my industry, and I’ll always be a high performer wherever I land…” …but why not take that call? “Recruiters are all the same – they take more than they give and never follow up with you after that initial call. I don’t need a Recruiter to find a job!” …but why not take that call? Better yet, why not meet for that coffee or lunch at the Recruiter’s request…It may seem unproductive to you given your present situation, but there are a lot of people who thought they were secure and insulated from the realities of the marketplace, only to find themselves now in need of a job… Now you’re willing to take that call?? I tried reaching you several times over the past year! …why didn’t you just have that conversation.

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Control vs. Faith

Inspiration, Recruitment /

Everything in business takes time to turnaround. The past 6 months have been a real test of patience… Recruitment and patience are like oil and water… …Control, Control, Control! (you naive recruiter!) True wisdom is realizing that we don’t control anything, especially people… It’s humbling to realize that you can do everything right and still not get the desired results… …keep pressing forward! Candidate & Client control are myths… Outcome control is a greater myth…(and laughable) The only controllable is your attitude (especially during perceived failure)…it’s at this intersection that you truly become patient with yourself, people, and situations (a time-tested recruiter) Don’t pay for a personality assessment to uncover who you are, just become a recruiter.

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Thanks For Another Great Hire, Troy! So, How Do I Retain This Talent?

Employer Insight, Inspiration /

One of the weaknesses of business leaders is their inability to cultivate a culture that grooms talent, and to make sure that their top performers are put on a career path that leads to new challenges, personal development, and ultimately, financial gain. Let’s not trivialize the importance of the financial motivation. Dangling carrots is not only insulting, but it’s the easiest way to kick your best producers out of your company. If you as a leader for your group, division, branch, or office, have not crafted a clear and realistic career path for your top performers that will allow them to see continuous growth in their profession and fresh challenges, then I’m afraid that it’s only a matter of time until your roster thins out. This career path program should be monitored closely and fine-tuned periodically. You should be talking to your people about their career goals, and aligning them with the resources, tools, and training to get them to where they need to be. If you don’t, then your competitor will. And don’t be so egotistical to pretend that it doesn’t matter to see your best walk out your door – the cost to hire is far greater than the cost to take care of your people in the first place.

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