Roy Fussell of WarrirosLLC West Coast Division runs and places in the 2010 La Jolla Half Marathon.

“Middle age begins at 60 and I’m just getting started.  Put those running shoes on and hit the road.”

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2010 is a year that crystallized the recruiting landscape for me (and many others).  Just like my house is never going to be valued at the price I thought it was worth in 2003, the recruiting industry will never be the same as it was 5, 10 even 20 years ago.  So your recruiting efforts and services need to adapt, or you will go out of business.  We adapted by defining our “Dream Clients”, simplifying our Recruiting Services, and leveraging Inbound Marketing and Social Media for our business.  Here are ways you can do the same:

• Define your “Dream Clients” – I attended an incredible seminar in 2009 put on by Verne Harnish and the great people at Gazelle’s [www.gazelles.com] .  One of the speakers was Chet Holmes, whose radio commercials you’ve certainly heard at some point.  Personally, Chet Holmes struck me as an egomaniac. You can decide for yourself by watching this two minute video:  [ http://www.chetholmes.com/popup/splash-video.php]

Regardless, I took a huge lesson away from Chet’s presentation, and that was the fact that my business did not know who it’s “Dream Clients” are.   In fact, my partners and I didn’t know what they looked like, how big they were, who they did business with – we NEVER DOCUMENTED WHAT OUR BEST CUSTOMERS LOOKED LIKE.   Therefore, we haphazardly developed business with companies all over the map.  Today my entire team knows who our Dream Clients are, what they look like, what they do and how we can help.    We don’t do business with anyone who doesn’t fit into our “Dream Client”.

• Adjust Your service offerings – It might be our renewed focus on Dream Clients, but I just don’t see fee deals anymore.  We used to place IT candidates for a standard 20% fee and clients agreed without negotiation.   Not anymore.    We adjusted – not our fee, but our service.   We don’t place candidates for a “headhunting fee”, rather we offer an hourly sourcing service packaged in a way that provides value for our Dream Clients.     I recently came across a company founded by Helen Rosen, Direct Approach Solutions.  I find her company’s service offering uniquely adjusted to today’s economy.   It’s a match-making service focused on the Finance Industry that’s priced on a submission basis, not per hire basis.   Makes sense to me.

• Social Media – I’ve put this one off for a long time, but the energy surrounding the use of Social Media has been too strong to ignore.   We’ve added Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook presences for our company.  Hell, I’m writing this blog.   We’re unveiling a new website this month fully engage Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah’s Inbound Marketing mega-seller [see video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R49OWIMvbY].    Like the rest of society, I’m sick of being bothered by advertisers.  I use technology to buy, sell, market, and communicate with the rest of my life.   It’s time to do this with our Recruiting business to engage people in different ways.  After all, we are in the people business.  I’m no expert with leveraging Social Media and Inbound-Marketing, but we’ve begun the process.   There’s a major shift in the way people work today, isn’t it time to transform your recruiting business?

In this economy it’s never been clearer to me that we must give our customers a little love.   Actually a lot of love.   We’ve doubled our top-line revenue at Warriors this past year by digging deeper and wider at existing accounts.    We identified more ways to help existing customers, and turned our strong performance into solid references.  However, we’ve made our mistakes, too, and below I highlight seven actions that will keep your customers happy and prevent them from looking elsewhere for recruiting services.

1.   Spend less time developing New Clients.

That’s right.  Focus on your existing clients right now.   It’s hard to love your current customers when you go knocking on doors for new business everyday.   Customers sense when they are no longer important to you.   They need love constantly.    Grow your business, but spend more time talking to your current customers.   Don’t forget who got you to this point.

2.    Call them. Often.

I have a customer who gives me a job order every 3 months.   I call him every Wednesday at 8am.   Just to say hello.   Understand, this client only deals with Warriors, he reviews every resume I submit and responds instantly with feedback or to schedule an interview.    He’s serious about hiring.  Each hire nets me about $5K.   I’m not sure he gives me the business because I call every week or because we do great work for him.   But I call him whether I have a job order or not.   I don’t email him, text him, Facebook – I call him.   I think he likes that.

3.   Provide Value and Ask your Customers if they are receiving it.

Define who you Dream Client is, and then define “value” within your own business service offerings.   For Warriors, we want our clients to view our team as their recruiting team.   Customers can turn us on when they’re busy, turn us down or off when they are slow.     We know our clients like the flexibility, they like that we add to their culture, and they feel that our pricing is fair.    You must define value for your business, and ask your customers often if they are getting it from you right now.

4. Call your customer out on Impossible Searches.

You know the industry better than your customer.    So when they ask you to find them a Sr Software Engineer with a TS/SCI full-scope polygraph clearance available tomorrow for 70% of market rate, tell them you cannot deliver.   Tell them nobody can deliver that candidate.   I find they appreciate the truth.  It’s certainly better than sending your Recruiters on a wild goose chase for a week, and THEN telling your customer the candidate doesn’t exist.

5. Please and Thank you.

Mom would be proud of this one.  Use words like “Please” and “Yes sir” when talking to customers.   Be nice when you talk to and about your customers.   Thank them for their business regularly.  Send them Thank you cards, handwritten NOT emailed, for no other reason than telling them you enjoy doing business with talented, nice people.   I’ve done this, and I’ve seen my Thank you letters hanging on customers walls when I visit their office.

1.   Your resume is actually a match for the job

Sounds simple, but recruiters are efficient.   Our clients have specific needs and little time.   That’s why they pay recruiters.     So read the entire job description, and I mean the whole thing – education requirements, clearance requirements, specific skill requirements, travel requirements, and oh yes, salary requirements.  Save yourself a hit to the ego.    Don’t apply to positions that you don’t match at least 70% of the required skills.    You won’t get any response.  Why should you?  I won’t work for an interview for a candidate who’s not a match for my client’s job.

2.    You are Honest with me from first contact

But let’s be real from our first email or phone call.   We are talking about a real job, at a real company, with a real salary.    In my case, Recruiting is my business, it’s how I feed my kids, so every interview I setup with a client is a chance to improve or destroy a relationship. Therefore, I need to know the facts right away.   Why are you really looking for a job?    What’s it going to take to get you to sign an offer?    Treat me like your Accountant – you don’t lie to your Accountant (do you?).    Don’t fib to your recruiter, I am on your team.   And I can tell if you are truthful on the phone quicker than I can read your resume.    I won’t get an interview for a candidate I don’t trust.

3.   Have an explanation for “gaps” and staggered job history in your resume

I don’t (usually) care if you were fired, unemployable, in rehab, or you launched a business that was a failure.    Just have an explanation for me when I inquire about the 9 jobs you worked in the past 3 years.   I’ve found that most of my clients are reasonable and if you have a legitimate excuse they accept it.   They’ll at least grant an interview.

4.   Keep your resume short and sweet

Resumes talk.   Do you really even know what you want to be?   Are you a rambler, do you pay attention to detail, are you a risk taker?     Are you educated?  Loyal?   Do you have a family, church, house, apartment, dog, alma mater?   I know most of this within 30 seconds of reviewing your resume.   And I know my customer even better, I know what he wants.    So I will get you an interview, but keep that resume brief.   List your name, address, phone and email addresses.    Skip the Objective statement, and include a short professional summary.   Then list chronologically your positions (all of them) from today back to college or high school.    BOLD your job titles, company name, and specific dates of employment (Month/year).    And then use bullets, no more than 5-6 per position, to eloquently describe what you did.    Think ACTION VERBS like “managed, designed, developed, built, saved, closed, led,” etc.       Finish with your education, training, certifications and, personally, I like to see a few items under INTERESTS at the end.   Two pages is solid, three plenty.   Four is a waste of your time and mine.    I cannot get an interview for a candidate whose resume is intolerably long.

5.   I Must Like You

If I like you, I know I have a client SOMEWHERE who will like you.    So whether you are family, friend, or a candidate I’ve never met, I will go to bat for you with my clients if I like you.   Your salary requirements are not going to shock me, but be humble when we discuss money.   Even if you are not a team player, you need to fake it with me.   If you can’t talk to me from your cubicle, tell me and we’ll call back.   Say “thank you” once in awhile.   I talk to candidates who don’t speak English well, but I can tell immediately if they are likable.    Return my calls or emails.   Just the basic stuff.   Trust me, I never liked Uncle Ed and so when he’s out of work, I’m not motivated to help him out.    The same is true for you with your Recruiter.    If we like you, we will go the extra mile to get you an interview.

Representing “WarriorsLLC” at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball.
Colonel William A. Buhl, Commanding Officer, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines,
Camp Pendleton, CA.