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What Happens If the Recovery Is Very Slow?

Lou Adler, July 10, 2009

Topics: Managing

Despite my optimistic view of the past few months, I'm considering the possibility that the recovery could be very long in coming and very slow in growing.

» Continue reading "What Happens If the Recovery Is Very Slow?"

A Hiring Manager's Bill of Rights - An Open Letter to My Recruiter Article June 10 2009

Lou Adler, June 9, 2009

Topics: Managing

Take a look at this letter from your hiring manager. As you read it, make it personal. Put your name at the top. Think of a hiring manager you think would send you something like this and put his or her name at the bottom. Then send it to a hiring manager who is the least likely person to send it. Hiring top people is a two-way street. Unfortunately, for most recruiters it's always uphill.

Dear (put your name here),

I'm frustrated. You've let me down too many times to let this continue. As your client, I believe your performance must improve in order to succeed in building and developing a strong team. Your role is critical, but somehow you've trivialized it. I don't want to see average candidates anymore and I don't want to see people who are obvious misfits. You need to take on a bigger role in this process, be more involved, and become more of a consultant than a vendor.

However, with that said, I am not without fault here. Since I want you to have an equal stake in the outcome, I must be more involved in the process from beginning to end. With this in mind let's describe our new partnership relationship in finding and hiring more A-level talent.

» Continue reading "A Hiring Manager's Bill of Rights - An Open Letter to My Recruiter Article June 10 2009"

How to Do Twice As Much With Half the Recruiting Team

Lou Adler, March 20, 2009

Topics: Managing, Networking, Recruiter Training, Recruiting, Sourcing

Times are tough. Even those companies that are doing reasonably well are cutting their recruiting teams by a minimum of 30% to a maximum of 90%, and tightening up expenses to the absolute barest minimum.

» Continue reading "How to Do Twice As Much With Half the Recruiting Team"

Using Situational Leadership to Assess Competency

Lou Adler, October 24, 2008

Topics: Assessment, Managing, Working With Hiring Managers

We're working with a fast-growing security software company whose CEO is using Blanchard and Hershey's Situational Leadership model for their management development program.

» Continue reading "Using Situational Leadership to Assess Competency"

Your Recruiting Success Depends on How Well You Manage Managers

Lou Adler, April 25, 2008

Topics: Managing, Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

In a recent ERE article I made the case that a tipping point was close at hand for converting recruiting and sourcing into a scalable and systematic business process.

» Continue reading "Your Recruiting Success Depends on How Well You Manage Managers"

How an Intervene-Earlier Sourcing Strategy Can Multiply Your Pool of Top Candidates

Lou Adler, January 18, 2008

Topics: Managing, Networking, Sourcing

We're currently conducting a major research project on how top people look for new jobs. This research will offer great insight into what companies need to do to better align their current sourcing efforts with market realities. If you'd like to take part, just send this survey link to all of your best candidates and those you've recently placed.

» Continue reading "How an Intervene-Earlier Sourcing Strategy Can Multiply Your Pool of Top Candidates"

The Year of the Race!--Recruiting, Restructuring, and Rebuilding

Bryan Johanson, January 16, 2008

Topics: Managing, Newsletter, Recruiter Training, Recruiting

2008 is the year of races, including the all-important race for the Presidency of the United States. As the presidential hopefuls gear up for their longest job interview ever, we shouldn't forget that the race for top quality talent in our own organizations has already begun, and candidates are bolting out of the gate at a tremendous clip. Unlike the presidential race, where now nine hopeful candidates are vying for one top job, the talent race is upside down with hundreds of thousands of candidates and even more open positions. As one pundit put it last year, "The talent wars are definitely over and the candidates have won!" Just like the bloated real estate market, we've got a glut of jobs and a shortage of talent (except perhaps in Michigan), and more recruiters than ever pitching their opportunities to an ever shrinking talent pool. Even if the economy dips into the dreaded recession, we'll still have jobs for talented people. It's a buyers market even for average talent, and recruiters are going to have to step up their game if they expect to attract top people. And just for the record... it's always a buyers market for top talent regardless of the position, industry, or economic circumstances.

» Continue reading "The Year of the Race!--Recruiting, Restructuring, and Rebuilding"

Hiring and Recruiting Challenges Survey 2008 Preliminary Results

Lou Adler, November 9, 2007

Topics: Interviewing, Managing, Recruiting, Sourcing

We are currently in the midst of our somewhat annual Hiring and Recruiting Challenges 2008 Survey. You should take the survey. Just the questions will get you jazzed. The answers, on the other hand, will make you shudder.

» Continue reading "Hiring and Recruiting Challenges Survey 2008 Preliminary Results"

How to Control Your Hiring Manager Clients and Make More Placements

Lou Adler, October 17, 2007

Topics: Interviewing, Managing, Newsletter, Performance Profiles, Working With Hiring Managers

Our clients do a lot of dumb thing that cause us recruiters to work too hard. These all seem to fall into big buckets of lost opportunities. Here are the ones that head the list:

» Continue reading "How to Control Your Hiring Manager Clients and Make More Placements"

How to Assess Potential and Promotability

Lou Adler, August 9, 2007

Topics: Assessment, Managing, Newsletter, Recruiting

In a recent email I paraphrased the following quote. My son had sent it to me in regards to training and evaluating officers in the military. He thought it would be useful in assessing managers, executives, and leaders. It's been attributed to a variety of different people, and I can't seem to find the originator, so I apologize for not giving the true author official credit.

Amateurs think tactics.
Professionals think logistics, planning and strategy.
Reformers think staff selection, retention and team development.

» Continue reading "How to Assess Potential and Promotability"

Recruiting Circa 2010: Critical Hiring Trends You Must Watch

Lou Adler, March 15, 2007

Topics: Interviewing, Managing, Recruiter Training, Recruiting, Sourcing

Web 2.0 has resulted in a rapid change in how hiring top talent could be conducted. But from what I can tell, very few companies are moving rapidly enough to take full advantage of this great opportunity.

» Continue reading "Recruiting Circa 2010: Critical Hiring Trends You Must Watch"

Hiring the Best Is a Team Sport

Lou Adler, September 29, 2006

Topics: Managing

If you want to hire top quality candidates in the shortest period of time at a reasonable cost, you'll need to organize your team to meet the ever more challenging recruiting demands of your company.

» Continue reading "Hiring the Best Is a Team Sport"

Do Your Hiring Processes Earn You Money or Cost You?

Lou Adler, December 16, 2005

Topics: Managing

Let's play "Recruiting Monopoly." As you'll see, there are a number of critical stages in this game that correspond to the recruiting and hiring processes at most companies.

» Continue reading "Do Your Hiring Processes Earn You Money or Cost You?"

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Lou Adler, December 9, 2005

Topics: Managing, Recruiting

This article is exactly 1,000 words long. It contains instructions on how to draw a picture. Drawing the picture will have a profound affect on your ability to think strategically. It will also make you a better recruiter. Now grab a pencil and a blank sheet of paper.

» Continue reading "A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words"

Performance-based Hiring: The New Operating System

Lou Adler, October 28, 2005

Topics: Managing

In a recent article - Does Your Company Really Have What It Takes to Hire Top Talent? - I presented a 10-point assessment on how to measure your company's ability to hire top talent. Take the evaluation to see where your company stands. In this article, I'll make the case that by implementing an operating system for hiring top talent, companies will finally be able to win the war for talent by making sure everyone involved in hiring is on the same page - using the best tools and techniques available. Even better, I'll suggest that a proven operating system (OS) already exists - Performance-based Hiring.

» Continue reading "Performance-based Hiring: The New Operating System"

Does Your Company Really Have What It Takes to Hire Top Talent?

Lou Adler, October 21, 2005

Topics: Managing

Here's your chance to take a unique Hiring Top Talent evaluation of your company's hiring effectiveness. In 15 minutes, you'll find out how your recruiting department compares to the best in the country -- and what you need to do to get into the upper echelon.

» Continue reading "Does Your Company Really Have What It Takes to Hire Top Talent?"

Are You Chasing Your Tail, or Is Your Tail Chasing You?

Lou Adler, June 10, 2005

Topics: Managing, Recruiting

Over the past month, I've had the opportunity to discuss talent management strategy with over 500 recruiting and HR leaders from companies across the U.S. I started these talks by asking the question, "Are you aware that most corporate executives and line managers don't consider HR/recruiting strategic enough?"

» Continue reading "Are You Chasing Your Tail, or Is Your Tail Chasing You?"

10 Ways to Avoid Paying Search Fees

Lou Adler, May 21, 2004

Topics: Managing, Recruiting

The easy performance improvements are over. As the hiring market recovers, corporate recruiting departments will be called upon to handle more work with fewer trained recruiters and with fewer good people applying. Recruiting managers who adjust for this imbalance now will be able to minimize the impact of a recovering labor market.

» Continue reading "10 Ways to Avoid Paying Search Fees"

Why Metrics Don't Matter Anymore, or Are You Missing the Big Picture?

Lou Adler, May 14, 2004

Topics: Managing, Recruiting

Doing the wrong things more efficiently is not a good thing -- even if you do them well. [You might want to read that opening sentence again: it's a key part of this interactive article. There are a few questions based on this at the end. If you answer them, even incorrectly, they'll entitle you to a free guest pass at one of my upcoming public workshops. We're in Boston on May 26 and Washington, DC on June 23rd. The point of this article is to get everyone to start thinking about problems from a different perspective. So make your answers as odd and as different as you can possibly imagine.]

» Continue reading "Why Metrics Don't Matter Anymore, or Are You Missing the Big Picture?"

Don't Let Tactics Drive Strategy

Lou Adler, March 19, 2004

Topics: Managing, Recruiting

Moral of today's story: Don't let tactics drive strategy. Don't mistake activity for progress.

» Continue reading "Don't Let Tactics Drive Strategy"

Boom! How to Handle the 2004 Hiring Explosion

Lou Adler, December 5, 2003

Topics: Managing, Recruiting, Sourcing

[Note: Recruiters, you might want to send this article to your boss, your clients, and your CEO. It's about your well-being in 2004.] Here's some holiday advice for hiring managers and HR/recruiting managers, and anyone else who works with recruiters or will need recruiters to help them hire people in 2004:

» Continue reading "Boom! How to Handle the 2004 Hiring Explosion"

Why Forward-Looking Metrics Are Needed in a Changing Economy

Lou Adler, November 21, 2003

Topics: Managing, Sourcing

I just read an article about the supposed "benefits" of the steel tariff, but which also reminded me that there are really three types of metrics.

» Continue reading "Why Forward-Looking Metrics Are Needed in a Changing Economy"

Red Alert: Why You Must Stop Using Job Descriptions, Today!

Lou Adler, October 17, 2003

Topics: Managing, Performance Profiles, Sourcing, Working With Hiring Managers

As most of you know, I don't hide my beliefs very well. For example, in recent articles I've been lambasting job boards as being the number one way not to hire good people. But actually, job boards are number two on the list of obstacles preventing companies from hiring top talent. Number one is the traditional job description.

» Continue reading "Red Alert: Why You Must Stop Using Job Descriptions, Today!"