Talent Search Partners, Inc.

TALENT SEARCH PARTNERS, INC.

How You Present Something Matters

An A5 steak with its complementary sides is not very appetizing if served on a dirty plate You can have the greatest invention known to man or a service/product that can change lives, and none of that is of any significance if it is not introduced in a way that resonates with your audience This is precisely what’s hindering the recruitment industry from reaching its true potential. The service is credible, your tech is world-class, but the messaging sucks… • Check out our extensive database…(irrelevant to a decision maker)• We have experience in your industry…(everyone does)• We just filled a similar role 3 weeks ago…(prove it)• Our fees are flexible…(reeks of desperation) Decision makers are craving tangibility They care about their time and recruiters are known for wasting it They care about moving their organizations forward by filling roles in the shortest time possible They care about retention – backfilling poor hires is time-consuming, expensive, and frustrating They want to be/feel prioritized; not 1 of 4 hiring managers you’re presently dealing with (even if that’s the case) If you’re dealing with HR, they want to feel included. Valued. Kept in the loop. They don’t want their role reduced to signing agreements and setting up interviews Rather than cliches, lead with insight, evidence, & specifics Rather than big promises, be honest and realistic. Set clear expectations and keep your word Let’s plate our service in a way that is appealing and appetizing to decision makers and candidates.

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Real Leadership Starts At The Pumpkin Patch

Leadership is a privilege, not a right of way. You cannot inherit it; it’s a calling for a few. Yet, leadership advice is available on every street corner. Real leaders nurture future leaders, and are only interested in the development of people, not processes, strategies, or goals. If you take care of people, then those very people will take care of the business. It’s no wonder why your people are drowning in anxiety, having conversations with recruiters, & taking time off work to meet with your competitors. Real leaders don’t make counteroffers – they take care of their people in the first place. Losing your people is not a poor reflection on your leadership. In fact, effective leadership makes it easy to move on. It grooms and equips you with everything you need to replicate that leadership in another environment. Real leaders create a runway for their best people to reach their potential, wherever that may be. They celebrate your departure and pursuit of greatness because they know you’re ready for it. The best thing I can do for my Son is to train him well enough so he can one day leave my home and lead his own family. I would be doing him a great disservice if I hindered his personal pilgrimage towards manhood because of my own selfish agenda. Real leaders are groomed from within; in the dark when no one sees. Take me to your home – let me see how you treat your family. Are you received with joy when you walk through the door or do those around you run from your presence? I served under a man who created a culture of fear and hid office supplies in his office. I served under another man who took a pay cut to create more cashflow for the company. One was tolerated; the other was celebrated. Real leaders treat their people like ambassadors of the company, not employees. Ambassadors embody the values of the organization and their leaders. Ambassadors have rights, privileges, and a stake in the organizations success. They think about what they can do for their organization. Employees are managed by poor leaders and can have their rights taken away from them when it’s convenient. They ask what can my organization do for me. Before I seek leadership of a fortune 500 company, let me first master my own home and strive to be loved by the people who matter the most.

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The Embassy Of Search

In my role as a search partner, I am an ambassador for my customers. As an official partner for these organizations, I represent their corporate interests & goals in the marketplace. I am an extension of the brand, a defender of the reputation, and an enthusiastic promoter of current and future plans. Once an agreement is signed, the search partner and that organization become one. Agendas are fused and a relationship is forged based on the alignment of values, proper business practices, and basic human decency. The role of an ambassador also means that there cannot be any lapses in integrity – character is vital. Your decisions are hinged on a core set of values, and any sign of compromising will undermine the very foundation of that partnership, even if that means forgoing a fee payout or the end of a relationship with a tenured customer. The same level of service, protection, and advocacy applies to candidates. That search partner should symbolize a place of refuge for candidates who are seeking guidance in their career pilgrimage. Like an embassy, the role of a good search partner is to foster relations based on trust with candidates, facilitate communication between the candidate and hiring company, mediate negotiations, and offer whatever support is necessary, pre & post hire. They understand that a good candidate/company fit isn’t just about resume or technical alignment. It’s values and culture centric, and they know how to navigate these conversations on both sides. A good search partner knows that they cannot work with every organization. Similarly, an embassy only represents the citizens of its home country. Neither one is a universal service for all people (or organizations). The recruitment industry is not as saturated as we might think. There are only a few who operate from a place of excellence.

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A Cost Effective Approach To Profitability

One of the weaknesses of leaders that I’ve witnessed is their resistance to engaging in proactive dialogue with talent in their industry. Most decision makers are reactive when it comes to talent acquisition. It’s for certain that an organization will experience turnover by way of resignation, retirement, parental leave, termination, or death. We know these things will happen as a normal course of doing business, yet we wait for the inevitable, and scramble to fill these gaps in our talent structure. These are generally not when the best decisions are made. Hires in these moments are normally made out of convenience to stop the bleeding. The best time to take a loan is when you don’t need one. The same theory applies to hiring. The smartest time to be engaging in conversations with suitable people in your marketplace is when you don’t need to, or when your team is running at full capacity. Talent scouting should not take a break since you can’t control people and the decisions they make. We’ve all had those untimely meetings with our best people on a Monday morning. They usually start with, “Good morning, Steve – I’d like to thank you for this amazing opportunity to work with you and my team at XYZ Company for the past 10 years. That being said, I’ve decided to take my talents to South Beach.” The first reaction is usually how you can soften the impact of this person’s departure and prevent any disruption to the core activities of your business. Counteroffers seldom work, and the process of searching for a replacement is time consuming and taxing emotionally for all involved. What I’m proposing is the initial investment of 1 conversation a week with someone in your industry. However this person comes to you, you should be receptive to these meetings / discussions as a way of evaluating your market, that person’s fit, and the likelihood of a hire now, or in the future. This is proven, and guaranteed to solve a lot of your people problems. The argument against this might be, “It’s a waste of time to engage in these discussions without an official hiring request.” Or, “this goes against company policy. All such conversations should be had with the appropriate HR or TA professional within our organization.” Fair. Follow the appropriate policies and procedures. Don’t burn bridges. I’m speaking to a minority of decision makers at the highest level who can afford to be having these conversations with key people in their industry, choosing not to handle such situations as they come. This is detrimental to talent building. By the way, these discussions should also be happening internally with members of your current team as a way of succession planning, and knowing what roles are appropriate to be evaluating externally. You may need to push back on the conventional mindset, and that requires diplomacy and patience. What’s for certain is you’ll be ahead of your competitors, and your brand will reach those in your marketplace that wouldn’t have known about you otherwise. Your organization will reap the benefits for years to come. This is what good leadership looks like.

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The Colonization of Good Leadership

Unprecedented circumstances call for unprecedented leadership. Followers are crying out for compassionate leaders who put the human above profit. Morals above self-interests. This starts at the ground floor… Ground floor? – Making better hires. This requires doing a better job of vetting current and future leaders. The growth of any company requires enlisting the service of competent professionals who work and lead with character. Any company that cuts corners when it comes to hiring the best their marketplace has to offer, is not interested in sustainability. By cutting corners, I refer in part to hiring strictly based on technical prowess and business acumen, while ignoring gut or instincts. Hiring for character & integrity has nothing to do with credentials from an accredited institution… Engineers are notorious for being highly analytical and data-driven… The best that I’ve witnessed and had significant exposure to, were able to level the brilliance of their engineering minds and couple that with instincts, sometimes used interchangeably with making decisions with the heart. However you choose to spin it, there is a demand for leaders who are balanced and who can cultivate new leaders. That’s the mark of effective leadership – its ability to replicate itself. This leads to great financial, and people returns for that organization. My premise is simple – if I’ve been enlisted to find a replacement for an employee who has left the organization, wouldn’t it make sense to investigate the reasons for that failed relationship? Too many in the recruitment and talent acquisition space are complicit in these failed relationships. How many of us have nailed a “jumpy” professional to the wall in a condemning manner and let poor leadership off the hook (Jumpy – a term used amongst recruiters to describe someone who moves from job to job frequently (i.e., months or a year at a time). We scrutinize those employees without holding leaders to the same level of interrogation. We have a responsibility to ensure that we are putting people into organizations that are healthy, working for leaders who understand their own responsibilities.

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Some Vultures Wear Custom-Fitted Suits

Recruiters! You’re feeding on dead-end positions; chasing after them like hungry vultures; willing to compromise for an organization that will not give you repeat business. You’re feeding on dead-end positions; positions that have no legitimacy or strategic direction, no growth trajectory for top prospects, no upper management support, and will likely end in termination or resignation of the hired employee within a year. This cycle has repeated itself time and time again, and you’re guilty by association. You’re complicit in this hoax of a hiring process by accepting these types of roles from hiring managers that are looking to exploit the most vulnerable the marketplace has to offer. Top performers don’t trust you, and rightfully so. Why would I put my career and family’s well being in the hands of someone who operates out of desperation and purely transactionally?! You have been biting the fee bait, taking anything dangled in front of you, and feeding this into the marketplace. We have a responsibility to the people, families, and corporations we represent to hold ourselves to a higher standard. There are times when you will have to walk away from something (or someone) to guard the integrity of what you do as a profession. This test will come to all of us. If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

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Don’t Take Time For Granted

There’s a war for time! More time with the family. More time with your children. More time to complete that project. More time to exercise. More time to eat. More time for everything you hold dear. We’re all given the same allotment of time in a day. It cannot be subtracted from, or added to… 24 hours is our daily portion 🕰️ The difference between a good professional and a poor professional is their ability to give you a return on your time. You pay a plumber to fix that leak because it will save you hours of trying to fix it on your own, which gives you more time to do the things I mentioned above. Don’t take time for granted. We think we’ll always have more time. Hiring Executive – “I don’t believe in retaining a recruiter!” You’re essentially saying that you have no regard for your time. You’re willing to commit your most valuable commodity to a search process with 3️⃣ to 4️⃣ recruiters who have not given you their undivided attention. The majority of decision makers have confused the benefits of retaining a search partner. They think it’s about paying you for work you haven’t done yet. What you’re really doing is retaining the time of that partner. Why do we continue to take time for granted?! That position will go unfilled for months/years despite your elaborate job advertisement, LinkedIn post, network, or even your robust TA team. A good recruiter marries all of the variables and people involved in the hiring process. We are the glue that allows for a seamless engagement of top talent. We ensure superior brand representation by crafting a go-to-market campaign that is sure to sift the best out of your marketplace. Why do you continue to put your “people problems” in the hands of those who have “people problems.” Give yourself a return on your time.

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You Are More Than Just A Resume (The Follow Up)

📢 Candidates! The job market is tough right now, but your activity will lead to positive results… The key is to create small wins everyday by following up. A good follow up is not always discussed, but it’s your key to standing out. The average job seeker does a quantitative blitz of the marketplace, thinking it’s about volume of send outs. True to some extent, but a well thought-out and personalized follow-up to a decision maker (HR or hiring manager) is important to gaining momentum, and landing that dream role. I speak with job seekers regularly and the most common frustration stems from a lack of responses from decision makers. These are the types that will accept a position that they are not truly interested in, and end up quitting shortly thereafter 🤔 Stop treating the job search like a mind-numbing numbers game. Instead, approach it like a Consultant. Make your outreach directed and customized to the organization’s you’d like to work for. When you’ve applied via a posting or through a referral, follow up at least 3 days later. Empathy dictates that the hiring manager is inundated with applications, and time is a scarce resource for them. We’re also dealing with AI generated screening mechanisms that rule you out based on prompts from the company. Differentiate yourself by showing hiring managers how much you care. You are more than just a resume 📜 Here’s an example of a concise, yet effective follow up ⤵️ =================================================== Hello, Mike – I am a Project Manager with 10 years in the plastics industry. I am presently employed for ABC Plastics, and I am steps away from acquiring my PMP designation. I am interested in learning more about the following advertised vacancy on your team: ▶️ Program Manager, Injection Molding I followed the necessary steps to be considered for this position through your online posting, but I wanted to take an additional step by sending this email to you personally. You have my resume, so please let me know how we can coordinate another step to be introduced. Thank you. Troy Saddler=================================================== Talent Search Partners, Inc. was designed to empower job seekers and to allow decision makers to sleep better at night 🛌💤

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Why The Recruitment Industry Can’t Move Forward…

Trust is key across all relationships. The issue that most have with recruiters is they are just untrustworthy… It starts with the initial outreach… A smooth pitch and tons of promises about how great an opportunity it is for your career… Followed by a request for your resume, then… Silence. This is precisely why the profession isn’t taken seriously… Most recruiters don’t set out to work this way. In fact, I’d like to think that the majority start out sincere with the best of intentions… They don’t want to operate transactionally, and they believe in treating people well, but pressures and quotas internally prohibit the operation of ethics and best practices… Recruiters are tossed into the deep end with no real training and are expected to deliver. When they don’t, they’re callously let go, and the process starts with another recruiter… The problem starts within our own ranks. This is why leadership at the forefront of this industry matters. KPIs and quotas are great measurements for success, but when it becomes all about benchmarks, then you prematurely weed out talent that can be groomed into high performers with time and patience – I fell into this bucket. I was not a top biller when I started in this industry, but I was resilient and learned how to remain relevant. Many top billers have fallen by the wayside either because of arrogance or complacency… Slow and consistent remains underappreciated. Many decision makers are comfortable engaging two to three recruiters for a given search despite the poor results associated with doing so. These recruiter cage matches are bad for everyone’s business. “We’ve always done it this way!”… …I think someone said that this mindset is the quickest way to go out of business. We’re willing to revamp other business practices, yet we remain archaic in how we handle recruitment, the growth engine for the enterprise… Your business deserves better representation.

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Leadership Is A Mirror

So, why do you put so much emphasis on people? I wrote a blog post 2 years ago, entitled: The Great Departure – A Recruiter’s Guide To Retaining Your Best Talent (read it here – https://talentsearchpartnersinc.com/the-great-departure-a-recruiters-guide-to-retaining-your-best-talent/) That post did very well, and the feedback supported that… In it, I discussed the 6 areas where leadership has failed, and it resonated with readers… One of the benefits of serving under a poor leader is you get to eye witness everything they are doing wrong, which allows you to not repeat those mistakes… It pained me to watch good people leave that office… Rather than accept the blame for the revolving door that existed, my then boss blamed those who left, highlighting their weaknesses, rather than taking ownership… I did what I could to save what was a sinking ship, but the damage was irreparable, and he was delusional… So, why do you care so much about people and good leadership? Because, no matter how much you’ve made financially or how large your office is, how you treat people will ultimately determine your success & longevity… He spent money on “things” to keep the office running, but he treated people like replaceable resources, and not assets… The office eventually closed. He said very little, but it was the way he treated us that scarred the most… It would’ve been an easier pill to swallow if he had yelled, heaved chairs across the office, put holes in the walls, or kicked the water cooler. But it was his silence that pierced. It made you feel like you didn’t exist. Almost like you were being done a favour… It felt like he kept a life vest in his office, and everyone else was vulnerable… I vowed to never make another human feel like that; not on my watch… He ended up alone, and that came as no surprise. Sad, but not surprising. The best amongst us know how to pull the best out of people. They leverage technology, resources, business intelligence, etc., but they never lose sight of the human factor… The way you make people feel can either build up or tear down. My role in recruitment has afforded me the privilege of working with some great people. I am directly tied to an organization’s growth by aligning them with talent, and with that comes great responsibility… As such, I will not misrepresent an opportunity to a candidate… The people who were hired to work for my former manager were deceived, quickly realizing that the man they interviewed with, was not the same man they encountered 6 months into the role. The honeymoon phase was short-lived, and the list of casualties kept growing. The tipping point for me was his inability to see his own errors. In that state, he was incapable of changing, and my days in that office were numbered after that conversation… Leadership is a responsibility. It’s not a right, and it’s nothing to boast about… If you are leading a team of 1 or 30, it’s a responsibility, and how you make people feel will monetize every time… You won’t need to convince them to go the extra mile. They will go willingly because they know that you will secure their life-vest before you tend to your own… I know they say that you must first put the oxygen mask on yourself during an aviation emergency, but real leaders put others first… This is your competitive advantage.

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