The top 10 dumb things that recruiters do

The Top 10 Dumb Things That Recruiters Do

© Dr John Sullivan

www.drjohnsullivan.com1

What keeps CEO’s up at night?

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Let’s start with a question

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What are the business areas where CEO’s expect the most change?

1. Engagement with the Board of Directors

2. Capital structure

3. Focus on corporate reputation & rebuilding trust

4. Organizational structure (including M&A)

5. Investment decisions

6. Approaches to managing risk

7. Strategies for managing talent

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What is the #1 business issue for CEO’s?

PwC 14th annual global CEO survey 2011

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Conclusion - Because CEO’s now know our importance

If you are not currently getting a boatload of money

from your executives… something is wrong!

And realize that… our area is where CEO’s expect the most change

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Well if CEO’s expect major changes…

There are two basic ways to dramatically change recruiting

1. Do more of the smart things

2. Stop doing the dumb things

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The approach we used to identify the dumb things

We did an extensive lit. searchCompiled a master list of the top

30 dumb thingsProvided an opportunity for

recruiters to vote on ERE.net and Twitter to narrow down the list

Today we will present and discuss the results here at SMA

The top 10 dumb things recruiters do

7. Assuming interviews are accurate (Consequences – bad hires, more turnover, no forward thinkers)

(Action step – track their success rate, supplement them with real problems)

8. Using active approaches for passive candidates (Consequences – never see postings, lose top candidates)

(Action step – ID the approaches that work best for non-job seekers)

9. Not prioritizing jobs (Consequences - lost rev, low budgets, perceived as not bus. like)

(Action step – treat rev/ rev impact & mission critical jobs special)

10. Not identifying job acceptance criteria (Consequences - hurts marketing/ attracting & selling passives)(Action step – house buying magnitude, ask in the initial interview) 8

The top 10 dumb things recruiters do

4.Not learning the business(Consequences – mgrs. & candidates ignore you, low bus. impact)

(Action steps – one day hiring, interview Friday, video interviews)

5. Using the same rec. process for different level jobs(Consequences – no returned calls, slow hiring & low qual. hires)

(Action steps – 1 day hiring, interview Friday, video interviews)

6.Making slow hiring decisions (Consequences – those with multi-offers gone, frustrated mgrs., rev. loss)

(Action steps – one day hiring, interview Friday, video interviews) 9

The top 3 dumbest things that recruiters do

1.Not managing the candidate experience (Consequences – hurt brand, lose customers, they extrapolate)(Action steps – measure satisfaction, visit glassdoor.com, ask in orientation)

2.Expecting dull position descriptions to attract(Consequences – competitors get the best, mgrs. frustrated)(Action steps – call marketing, compare them, drop comp.)

3.Not taking advantage of EE referrals(Consequences – loss of volume, quality, assessment & selling)(Action steps – responsiveness, tie to social media, proactive)

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Not quantifying the $ impact of hires

Not measuring the quality of hire

Not preparing for innovators

Underutilizing mobile

Trial-and-error social media use

Failing to develop a business case

Not learning fast

Not looking if a competitor is hiring

Failing to use the best sources

Mistaking software as solutions

Assuming resumes are accurate

Assuming that rec. tools work

Dropping the overqualified

Dropping job jumpers

Dropping rejected candidates

Overemphasis on the past

Using generic competencies

Being a requisition coordinator

E. brands that don’t differentiate Allowing hiring managers to hire for their needs

The other 20 dumb things that recruiters do

Let’s take some more questions / comments

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Did I make you think?