Leaders of the building materials industry: When it comes to headhunting – don’t hire the town crier!
ATTRACTING THE RIGHT CANDIDATES
There’s plenty of recruiters that can handle getting your job opening out into the global market. They post it on Indeed, CareerBuilder and LinkedIn. They post it on groups, they post it on their Facebook, and they create video updates about the opening.
Then what’s next? Hundreds of people start knocking on their doors. Emails, phone calls, text messages, telegrams, and smoke signals all start pouring notifications onto their to-do list.
You’re looking for a window salesperson.
And now the town crier has the city of Greenville beating down their door…
RIDING THE TIDAL WAVE
So they’ve got to screen. Loads of screening. Constant phone calls and emails all day. 95% of the candidates aren’t even close. They’ve got everyone from sandwich technicians to coal miners applying for the job – and they all want responses!
What’s more likely here – the recruiter presenting the first applicable person and shutting down the search, or the recruiter screening everyone?
❌ Are they defining your market and its competitors?
❌ Are they reaching outwards to specific associates?
❌ Are they providing a block of candidates, all well-qualified?
Of course not, they’re trying to deal with the tsunami of people coming in through all of the advertising they’re doing.
TOWN CRIERS VERSUS HEADHUNTERS
The town crier gets everyone’s attention
A headhunter gets the right people’s attention
Attract the right candidates to your role. Think like a salesperson, identify your market, connect with them, and offer something of value or a solution to a problem.
Don’t let your internal HR, hiring manager, or external recruiter get bogged down in the processing of hundreds of resumes. Work with someone who knows how to properly identify and target your ideal candidate market. Bring your search specificity to a whole new level.
