3 Recruiting Insiders on Urgency in Hiring

Here are tips from 3 Brightwing talent consultants on what it takes to meet urgent needs in this candidate-driven market…

 

1. How to beat the competition when the clock is ticking for in-demand talent…

 

“Earlier this year, I worked with a client whose hiring process unfolded SO WELL that I need to call it out.

A software engineering manager from a major tier 1 auto supplier reached out to me about a candidate I’d posted about on LinkedIn. She took my call even though she was in China on business.

→ #1: she didn’t sleep on good talent (literally!) Turns out the candidate had another offer on the table, but wasn’t 100% sold. So, the hiring manager had one shot. I gave her some guidance: 1) Gather every decision maker including HR, and let’s get everything done in a single interview; 2) Move fast!! The next day, they bring in our candidate to meet with all stakeholders in a single interview.

→ #2: they adapted the hiring process to match the urgency of the situation. After the interview, they made their decision quickly. The candidate had an offer in-hand (for exactly what he was asking for) by the end of the following day.

→ #3: They took decisive, quick action! The client’s flexibility, speed and fair offer landed them an A+ candidate who is currently thriving within their organization. That’s how hiring should work…every time.”

– Steve Ermak, Engineering Talent Consultant

 

2. How to qualify client needs properly to land the talent who fits best…

 

“I was recently in discussions with a VP of Finance about her hiring needs for the coming year. Problem was, I’d heard whispers about the company’s bad reputation.

And bad reputations are problematic on a bunch of levels.

But whispers are one thing, and first-hand knowledge is another. So I go out to meet the team in person.

Why? We need to learn about the culture, the day-to-day atmosphere, in person. We need to meet the people that our candidates could potentially be working for… 1 – to weed out the opportunities that we wouldn’t feel good about matching candidates with 2 – to understand the environment so we can qualify the candidates who’d thrive there 3 – to be able to pitch the company well to candidates.

Turns out – the bad reputation was based on a misperception about their industry. The more I talked to them, the more excited I got about their mission. They were doing something valuable and didn’t deserve the bad rap at all. Digging deeper not only let me find a client worth partnering with – but it also put me in a great position to get candidates as excited about the opportunity as I was. Goes to show: qualifying with the intention of DISqualifying can lead to surprising – and great – results.”

– Joe Dombles, Finance & Accounting Talent Consultant

 

3. How to use “working interviews” after proper qualification of both the client and candidate…

 

” ‘I need a bookkeeper yesterday.’

I had a client in a tough situation. The bookkeeper put in her 2 weeks’ notice. He really wanted to find a replacement before she left so they could get some training. The office couldn’t manage without a bookkeeper for any extended period of time.

Enter: the working interview.

Because of the crazy time crunch, we sent a candidate we were super confident about to work for a day at the office.

The candidate had the time & was excited: career change is a big deal. Spending time with your new potential team is a great way to know whether it’s a good move. The client was happy to give it a shot: if it worked out, problem solved! If not, the risk was ours – Brightwing would pay for the day.

A day after the working interview, I got some seriously happy messages from the client & candidate. They’d decided to take the leap together and make it official. Not the answer for every situation, but in the right circumstances, working interviews are a very effective way to make a decision for everyone involved.

– Dan Start, Finance & Accounting Talent Consultant