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The Science of Recruiting - Part 2: Networking

By Lou Adler, January 9, 2004

If you want to make Performance-based Hiring a reality, having a steady source of top candidates is essential. Networking is the key to pulling this off. To me, networking represents the difference between good and great recruiting. I don't look at job boards as a primary source of top candidates. Every now and then you'll find one, but not frequently enough to count on this source. However, networking, when properly done, can be the prime source of all your best people. How to do it well is the key. This will be the topic of this edition of the Science of Recruiting. And as you'll soon discover, it most certainly is a science.

Read more articles by this author.

Related Topics:

The Science of Recruiting, Networking, Recruiting

Related Articles:

The Science of Recruiting - Part 10: Closing and Negotiating Offers - Advanced

The Science of Recruiting - Part 9: Negotiating and Closing Offers - The Set Up

The Science of Recruiting - Part 8: Influencing Hiring Managers - The Hiring Decision

Performance-based Hiring - Making Hiring Top People a Systematic Business Process

Networking is the process of asking people for names of other people they know who'd be suitable for a job you're trying to fill. While you can network with anyone, you shouldn't. This is the first rule of networking. Here's why. In general if you talk with 100 people from any reasonable source, only 10 will be worthwhile talking with. This means they're qualified for your open job or some future job, or they directly know someone qualified for your current job. From this batch of 10, only one will wind up being a candidate you'll send out for an interview. This is due to a variety of reasons like poor timing, not perfect match, too heavy, too light, not enough money, or relocation problems. But this is okay, since these people know other people who are perfect for the job. The key to networking is to get them to tell you who these other people are. Let's review the other rules.

Networking Rules

1. You don't have enough time to talk with everyone.

   See above. Talking with everyone is a hundred to one shot. You must improve your odds to ten to one.

2. You must pre-qualify everyone.

   The key is to narrow the group you'll be networking with to only pre-qualified candidates. These are those people who are either qualified for the current job, qualified for some other or future job, or directly know someone qualified for your current job. These are great people to have in your network. Developing the network is equally as important as networking with those in the network. When you get a name of someone, immediately ask the referrer why he or she thinks this person is a strong candidate for your job. Ask about direct experience, major accomplishments, academic background, approximate age and compensation, and any recognition received for doing outstanding work. This is how you go from 100 in 1, to 10 in 1. Then only talk with those that seem really qualified to do the job. This will increase your productivity exponentially.

3. Engage 1st, Network 2nd.

   You must establish your professionalism before someone will give you an important name. Don't expect a top person to refer another top person to you unless they both trust you, and they think there is something in it for them. In boot camp we discussed how to make first contact with someone using the question, "Would you be open to explore a situation that was clearly superior to what you're doing today?" Once the person says yes, it's important to obtain the candidate's background before you tell them much about the job. If you tell the person about the job too soon and they're not interested, you lose both a potential candidate, and more importantly, a good networking contact. Remember only one in ten of pre-qualified candidates will wind up being a good candidate for the job, however, the other nine might know someone who would be. You must take advantage of this fact.

   You have maximum leverage when the person you're recruiting is interested in the job, so use this time to find out as much as you can about the candidate. Delay their yes/no decision for at least 10 minutes. Tell them you'll give them complete details about the job once you obtain a quick background profile. During this time have the candidate draw org charts for current and past jobs. This is important for assessing fit, and for networking. Casually ask about names, but don't force it. See what happens. Ask who the best person was on their team, their best boss, their best subordinate. Ask why. You'll get a lot of names this way.

   It takes about ten minutes of professional dialogue before a person will give you a name of a top person. Even then, you need to push a bit.

4. If not qualified, develop a long term relationship, but then push for names.

   Since you profiled the candidate before you told him or her about the job, you now know if the person is qualified for the open job, a future job, or knows someone directly qualified for the current job. This is invaluable information. If not qualified, describe why (too heavy, too light) then give the candidate a compelling two-minute overview of the job. Tell the person you now want to network with him or her. Ask about the names already given and qualify them. Tell the person you're not interested in knowing about people who are looking, rather you want to know the names of the best person the candidate has worked with in the past. Take the org chart from the prior company and ask these questions - who on your team was the best, who would you want on your team, who was your best boss, your top peer, your best subordinate, who would you hire if you could. Then pre-qualify every name.

   Tell the person you recognize that you'll need to recruit the person and convince them that your job is worth considering. You just want to establish a network of top people. Tell the person he or she is now part of this network, and as soon as something else becomes available, you'll call. If you make this a habit, you'll soon have a network of qualified people to tap into whenever needed.

You can network this same way with candidates found through job boards, employees, and names developed through direct sourcing. The key is to quickly find the best candidates you can and then network with them immediately. Don't look at every resume, or call every name. Once you have a few good candidates, immediately start networking. This will allow you to spend as little as time as possible in the 100 to 10 pool, and more in the 10 to 1. Proactively reach out to your top employees. Don't ask them who they know who's looking. Instead, ask them to draw org charts of their prior companies and then ask the networking questions noted above. Good people know other good people; that's why you only want to network with good people, and why you must pre-qualify everyone.

Networking is the true science of recruiting, and how good recruiters become great. Isn't it time to become great?