The Ex Recruiter

You hear everyday people saying that you must be on sites like Twitter, Facebook or maybe one of the other million Social Networking sites that have popped up creating your Personal Brand to be successful these days.

Are we really creating a Personal Brand or just telling people more than they need to or want to know about us. Is this really creating anything but a void in someone’s day when they were at one time busy with clients or working? How are we creating anything when we are interacting with the same people every day? They already know who you are!

Yes on many of these sites you can attract more followers but it still goes back to the same thing comment, postings or links to sites that say the same thing that we heard 100 times before just worded differently.

I joined Twitter a while back and have met some interesting people but how someone can spend an entire day tweeting is beyond me. Is that creating a Personal Brand? Some of these sites are more like the new place for telemarketers since the inception of the National Do Not Call List!

Again I ask is this really a way to create a Personal Brand or is creating a Personal Brand picking up a Phone and calling people in your market and telling them how you are different or what you may be able to offer that others cannot. Is it creating a campaign to show that this is what you do and why we do it and it is not always about money for some of us.

You may disagree with me and I hope some do I would hate to be right again but even though I no longer recruit but I have a network of Web Sites for Recruiters and Jobseekers I still get that exhilarating feeling when I hear people got a job by using our site or a Recruiter won a bid and is working with a company that before joining our site they never would have had the chance to work with. I feel good when a jobseeker joins our Social Network and gets a tip from some of the Professional Volunteers on their resume or how they approach an interview which gets them more opportunities. I didn’t get that by being on all these Social Networks all day creating a Personal Brand. I did it by going out and saying here is what we do and why you need to be with us. I have probably now joined the group of people saying the same thing over and over so I will stop.

In closing though on Twitter there is a little back and forth going between two people I follow The Animal and Bill Boorman, now others have started to stir this up no names mentioned Jerry Albright but I have to say I enjoy both the blog talk radio shows and in this persons opinion they are different in styles and although they have many of the same listeners Bill puts the listeners comments into the context of his show where Animal will challenge the listeners comments if he has a different opinion or feels they are avoiding the question.
By the way Animal created his Personal Brand yesterday he prefers bare legs over pantyhose.

Now that’s creating a Personal Brand!

“Many People Try It….Everybody thinks they can do it …but only a few are successful.” 
One phrase I do not like is Headhunter. Last time I saw a headhunter was on TV in an old Tarzan movie and I think if you went walking down the street looking like this you be arrested.

Let me tell you why I believe it is an Art and so many fail at it. Having worked as both a Corporate and Staffing Recruiter and one time Staffing Business owner I have seen both worlds however I do not profess to know it all. There is always something new to learn everyday but some people just never grasp it.

Here are some of my thoughts about recruiting which seem obvious but get overlooked:

Corporate Recruiters…. If you recruit for an area or areas within the company it is wise to always spend time with all the Hiring Managers that you deal with whether in person or if they are in another location by telephone and get to know them, what they do and what type of personality they are. This seems obvious to most but you will not believe how many recruiters that I have worked and speak with never had a one on one with the managers they recruit for or never sat in on a staff meeting just to get an idea of what the department is all about. Find out from the Hiring Managers what the Career path for a new hire in any given area or within the company may be. I don’t know how many times I have spoken with Recruiters that say well they can always post internally for positions….THAT IS NOT A CAREERPATH….anyone can post for those positions if they have the qualifications. Another thing is benefits….very important to most people and most want to hear more than well we have the typical benefits package Healthcare, Dental, Vision, 401 k after blah blah blah…lots of luck if you are going to hire someone without knowing these things. A person would have to be crazy to accept any offer before knowing what their benefits are and what their out of pocket expenses will be.

Staffing/Search Firm Recruiters….know your client… invest time in knowing about the company what they do…. what the opportunities are for candidates you are sending to them. This also shows a client that although you may not have the experience in their industry that you are willing to learn what you need to too be a successful recruiter for them. EARN YOUR FEE. I am not always of the belief that Recruiting is Recruiting. Different jobs have different meanings in different industries that is obvious however being able to speak to a candidate about a client and where they rank with their competition and what direction the firm is heading and future opportunities there may be is going to impress an applicant allot more than saying well I guess you can ask them if you get an interview.
Remember a good quality applicant is interviewing you at the same time you are them.

Another thing that makes a Recruiter is knowing how to read a resume….O.M.G I don’t know how many times I myself have received calls in the past from someone Sourcing or a Recruiter that say Mr. Paris I saw a copy of your resume on XYZ Job board and I have a position here I would like to speak to you about and when they start explaining the job my jaw hits the floor because I have no clue what the job is, why they called me or even why I haven’t hung up yet. 
Here is another favorite they explain the job and then say does that sound good or something you can do. Well if I had the experience it would sound great and if you are not sure it is something I can do WHY DID YOU CALL?

I myself have made numerous blunders especially when you are new to the Industry no one is perfect or should ever profess to be. I don’t believe Recruiting is for everyone and it is an Art. I will always enjoy the time I spent recruiting, speaking with different people, learning new things and about different industries.  In this time when it seems that the market is oversaturated with Recruiters and the economy has everyone vying for clients it will be as it always has been in the past.
The True Recruiters will survive!