ABC’s of Recruiting

Shawnee Love   •   October 26, 2018

Many years ago, a great salesman told me the ABC’s of Sales.

Always Be Closing

I immediately connected with that advice, because as HR in small and medium sized businesses, I was selling the company to candidates and job seekers all the time.

I took his advice and made it my own with the ABC’s of Recruiting:

Always Be Collecting

Always Be Collecting candidates that is.  And not just candidates, but great people to work in your organization.  And yes, I do mean that growing companies should not only be sourcing and screening candidates, but even hiring some of those talented people before a position officially opens up.

A few weeks ago, I told you that its no use to start building the well when you are already thirsty and it is so true in filling jobs.  Hiring Managers always want the perfect candidate yesterday to fill an opening, and that rarely is possible.

  1. There are no perfect candidates.
  2. It takes time to pull someone who is right for your company. Without time, you are sure to fail.

That’s why Always Be Collecting is so powerful. We should be sourcing and screening for great people all the time.  When out in the community, at events, enjoying a meal, etc. keep an eye open for talented people who could fit well in your organization.

The truth is, most organizations and even most in house recruitment functions aren’t set up to Always Be Collecting. Rather, they look for candidates “on demand”.  It’s okay to do on demand hiring when there is a lot of available and talented people, but in a candidate’s market, it just won’t meet your business needs.

Now, that it’s a job seekers market (i.e., too many open jobs and not enough people to do them) the Always Be Collecting philosophy demonstrates its value.

Canada has the highest employment rate we have seen a long time.  Almost everyone is working who wants to.  Filling a new position is taking longer than ever before and if you don’t have people who are already warm to your organization it can mean jobs are going unfilled and therefore work is left undone, half done or not well done.

Sourcing, screening and even hiring people before you absolutely need them is not a magic pill to solve your recruiting challenges, but it’s a start.

Next week, we will discuss sourcing candidates in this tough job market. Hope you join us!