Candidates and The Recruiting Woes

Have you ever wondered how Corporate Recruiting works?  You've wondered why you have submitted  resumes to hundreds of companies, and have gotten absolutely NO responses.

Applying for jobs becomes a mind-game on your self-esteem and confidence. You begin to think it's about you, that the world is conspiring against you!

Well (in fairness), it could be some things you are doing or failed to do, but most likely you are just a victim of the Recruiting Woes.....

Trust me, I have worked with fabulous, energetic Recruiters and they want you.  But the complex systems they must navigate to do their work tend to bog them down in a barrage of resumes, phone calls and meetings.  Think about it, these recruiters staff multi-Billion/Million dollar companies that everyone wants to work for.  The typical Corporate Recruiter is doing the best she/he can, is likely filling multiple positions for multiple different departments at any given time, and only has so much time in one day.  By the time they attend their morning HR meetings, rally with managers,  and return phone calls from the previous day they may have little time to cultivate new candidates.  After fielding internal calls from hiring-managers wanting to know if their requested position is close to being filled, updating files and keeping current postings in process, the day is almost over.

Recruiters, does this sound familiar?

Candidates you now see why every article or blog is about making your resume/cv STAND OUT.  Yes standing out helps, but it's not the answer, because everyone is trying to stand, out and they are reading the same articles and blogs you're reading.

Ask the most successful Corporate Recruiters how they do it?  I am here to tell you they have an "Ace In the Hole"; that Ace is a valuable connection directly into the field they are searching, or an internal reference from an existing employee.  They do all the other things that most recruiters do to cultivate candidates, but in the end they call their networking partners and industry professionals.  They fill those positions with references from other professionals working in that profession.

If they solely depend on culling through resumes and computer generated "hits" then its like going to Vegas and hoping to WIN.  This applies to both the Recruiter, and you The Candidate.  This is not to discourage you from sending your resume in, as thousands of people get hired everyday, and this continues to be an important venue for hiring.

However, in industries as niche-oriented as security and protection, networking and personal references are going to be your best bet to stand out in the recruiting process.
How do I know this, you ask?  I was 'that guy' on the other side of your cv as an executive protection hiring-manager.  I've vetted hundreds of candidates for high-profile and incredibly discerning clients. I know first-hand the challenges of both candidate and recruiter. However, I approached my role as a hiring manager somewhat differently. I knew that to fill the slots on my team, I needed access to professionals that could be vouched for, that understood the industry, that I could trust from 'word go' to do the right thing for my principals.

Because I knew that each new hire for my team contributed towards our broader culture, and overall reputation, I took the process of recruiting and hiring very seriously. I did not just 'call' my assigned Corporate Recruiter to inquire about when the positions were filled.  We worked as a Team to fill those slots.  I utilized my knowledge and 20 + years of connections in the industry to be one of those "Ace in the Holes". And in the end, we had great recruiting and hiring results. I trusted our new hires because they were known and cultivated by me. My team and department had buy-in, as they too had participated in the interview process and made their own recommendations to our candidate pool. In fact along the way, my team was able to compare and contrast the in-depth view of the background or history of a pool of at least 6 to 10 Candidates.  Even if 'their guy' didn't make it, they were able to see how they had compared with the other applicants, and as a group we could clearly see we had hired the best person possible.

The key is to unofficially recruit all year-long, continually updating the pool.  Maintaining a tight network of quality, vetted and recommended candidates is critical. Then when you need a slot filled, the really hard work of identifying great candidates is already done.  In my corporate life, the Recruiter and Manager (Me) decided on which candidates (out of our ongoing pool) would be the best fit for new openings on the team.

Cultivating and maintaining an ongoing pool of vetted and qualified candidates shortened our process immensely, and our results showed in the form of high quality hires made in a relatively short period of time (compared with the traditional recruiting model).
This process allows the Corporate Recruiter to look like a Hero to their peers, and helps to qualify them for that yearly bonus! You see recruiters have targets and timelines they are working to meet, so making quality 'hires' in a timely fashion helps them manage their workload, and meet their goals. And then for the Hiring managers that are able to get positions filled quickly, they can then move onto the all important 'on-boarding' and training (that's another blog).

If you are in the security industry, static security, close protection, threat analysis or related field, sign up for OPStructure.  WE DO NOT sell your personal information.  We find the best fit to make YOU "stand-out and get-noticed".  We are always looking for high-caliber professionals to add to our network.

And Recruiters, give us a call to tap into our network of vetted and experienced Executive Protection and other Security professionals.

Let OPStructure help you, the Candidate and the Recruiter.