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Articles - Working With Hiring Managers

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8 Cool Ways to Engage Your Hiring Managers and Hire More "A-level" Talent

Lou Adler, May 29, 2009

Topics: Working With Hiring Managers

If it wasn't for hiring managers, recruiting would be so easy. But, alas, this is not to be. Instead, we can either confront them head on, or put our heads down in despair, and find still other perfectly qualified candidates they still won't like. Unfortunately, too many recruiters fall into this endless productivity-draining black hole, and wonder why the latest new sourcing wonder drug quickly loses its effectiveness.

» Continue reading "8 Cool Ways to Engage Your Hiring Managers and Hire More "A-level" Talent"

Are You a Web 2.0 Wannabe?

Lou Adler, January 23, 2009

Topics: Recruiting, Sourcing, Working With Hiring Managers

If you don't invest in finding tomorrow's candidates today, you'll become history.

» Continue reading "Are You a Web 2.0 Wannabe?"

The UAW, the Detroit Bailout, and Related Sourcing Issues

Lou Adler, December 19, 2008

Topics: Recruiting, Sourcing, Working With Hiring Managers

A top-down command-and-control structure leads to power grabbing, not power sharing. It prevents people from seeing the bigger picture as groups defend their turfs and fight off change at all costs. This sounds like Detroit, and until Detroit develops and implements a customer-driven strategy with a culture of success before self-interest, the bailout won't work.

» Continue reading "The UAW, the Detroit Bailout, and Related Sourcing Issues"

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"

Run Recruiting Like a Factory Manager if You Want to Hire More Top Prospects

Lou Adler, August 15, 2008

Topics: Recruiting, Sourcing, Working With Hiring Managers

I've been around a lot of years, and I can't remember a time when recruiters, recruiting managers, hiring managers, HR executives, and company leaders didn't complain about the lack of good candidates. When the Internet and job boards came along, we were promised the solution was at hand.

» Continue reading "Run Recruiting Like a Factory Manager if You Want to Hire More Top Prospects"

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 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"

The Official Rules for Hiring Top Talent

Lou Adler, September 26, 2007

Topics: Assessment, Interviewing, Newsletter, Performance Profiles, Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

Every sport has rules, even pickup games. We even have rules for our kids - when they can watch TV, play video games, go to bed, etc. Business has rules for just about everything - important things like capital expenditures, accounting, SEC reporting, and product design and testing; or less important things like how to dress, when to come to work, how to earn vacation, and how to fill in expense reports. What's surprising is there aren't any rules for what's supposedly the most important thing a company needs to do - hire and retain top talent.

» Continue reading "The Official Rules for Hiring Top Talent"

Learn to Defend Your Candidate from the Competition and Dumb Decisions

Lou Adler, April 13, 2007

Topics: Negotiating, Recruiter Training, Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

The demand for top people has exploded. Part of this is due to demographics, a strong economy, and a widening gap between those with high-demand skills and available supply. Matters are made worse by the increase in workforce mobility, the blurring of the lines between active and passive candidates, and the transparency of the job market.

» Continue reading "Learn to Defend Your Candidate from the Competition and Dumb Decisions"

5 Critical Things Recruiters Need to Do to Become Partners With Their Clients

Lou Adler, September 15, 2006

Topics: Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

Our recently completed 2006 Recruiting and Hiring Challenges survey revealed some significant conflicts between recruiters and their hiring managers that aren't abating. Between 50 and 60% of the survey respondents indicated these were significant problems at their companies:

» Continue reading "5 Critical Things Recruiters Need to Do to Become Partners With Their Clients"

The Three Critical Things Recruiters Need to Do to Become Partners with Their Clients
Or, how to stop losing good candidates for dumb reasons

Lou Adler, September 13, 2006

Topics: Newsletter, Working With Hiring Managers

Our recently completed 2006 Recruiting and Hiring Challenges survey revealed some significant conflicts between recruiters and their hiring managers that aren't abating. Between 50-60% of the survey respondents indicated these were significant problems at their companies:

» Continue reading "The Three Critical Things Recruiters Need to Do to Become Partners with Their Clients
Or, how to stop losing good candidates for dumb reasons"

The More Things Change...

Jason Weseman, August 16, 2006

Topics: Newsletter, Working With Hiring Managers

Does this sound familiar? "We are treated as short order cooks with staffing reqs when a position is vacated". Or maybe this one hits close to home for you: "Our hiring managers have unrealistic expectations, expecting above average performances and backgrounds in candidates while paying average salaries". And two comments that really crystallize the frustrations that recruiters are feeling today: "Hiring managers won't put in the time to clarify their exact needs" and "My biggest frustration is manager availability - it is very difficult to get time with managers and move candidates through the interview process in a timely manner."

» Continue reading "The More Things Change..."

The 15-Minute Hiring Manager Selection Training Course

Lou Adler, March 16, 2006

Topics: Interview Training, Recruiter Training, Working With Hiring Managers

I was recently reminded of an old story from my pre-ERE days and heavy recruiting days. You might find it useful as you attempt to train your hiring manager clients to become better at defining their real job needs and assessing candidate competency.

» Continue reading "The 15-Minute Hiring Manager Selection Training Course"

The Essential Elements of Every Great Hire

Lou Adler, September 16, 2005

Topics: Sourcing, Sourcing, Working With Hiring Managers

As I get ready for another great ER Expo in Boston (September 28-29, 2005) and a chance to meet old friends and make new ones, some big recruiting questions come to mind. Here's probably the biggest

» Continue reading "The Essential Elements of Every Great Hire"

How to Deal With Technical Managers and Other (Too) Bright People

Lou Adler, August 19, 2005

Topics: Working With Hiring Managers

Engineers and software development managers are the toughest hiring managers in the world to deal with. But that's only if you exclude sales managers, marketing managers, company executives, operations people, customer service managers, functional VPs, and of course, financial people at all levels.

» Continue reading "How to Deal With Technical Managers and Other (Too) Bright People"

iPods and the Weakest Link in the Hiring Chain

Lou Adler, July 29, 2005

Topics: Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

I've been advocating the use of the iPod as a metaphor for better hiring practices. If you have an iPod, you know that it's much more than a music player. It's a complete, integrated music system. You can quickly download music and podcasts, burn CDs, and plug it into your car, home music system or Bose speaker set. You don't even have to read the instructions to do any of this stuff and get great music anytime, anywhere.

» Continue reading "iPods and the Weakest Link in the Hiring Chain"

Managing Hiring Managers

Lou Adler, June 24, 2005

Topics: Working With Hiring Managers

If it wasn't for hiring managers, recruiting would be so easy.

This is one of the conclusions drawn from my annual Recruiting and Hiring Challenges Survey 2005. Here are some other preliminary conclusions from the survey results:

» Continue reading "Managing Hiring Managers"

Handling the Problems with Passive Candidates and Hiring Managers

Lou Adler, April 15, 2005

Topics: Sourcing, Working With Hiring Managers

There are more name-generating tools becoming available everyday. My favorites include Jobster, SearchExpo, Broadlook, ZoomInfo, AIRS Oxygen, and LinkedIn. These and the other networking tools should be checked out and used.

But there's more to recruiting and hiring passive candidates than generating a list of names. Success with these tools depends on how well you convert these cold names into hot candidates.

Here are some other factors that need to be considered when hiring passive candidates:

» Continue reading "Handling the Problems with Passive Candidates and Hiring Managers"

The Future of Hiring: It's Not Pretty

Lou Adler, August 13, 2004

Topics: Working With Hiring Managers

Here are a few random observations on a summer's day, as I contemplate what I'm going to say at ERE's upcoming ER Expo 2004 Fall in Boston on the state of hiring. Interesting. We're having a mild pickup in hiring and everyone is panicking (according to the Bush team we've turned the corner, and according to the Kerry team it's a U-turn, but that's a different article).

» Continue reading "The Future of Hiring: It's Not Pretty"

Your Future: Embracing the Strategic Inflection Point

Lou Adler, June 11, 2004

Topics: Assessment, Working With Hiring Managers

Andrew Grove (author of Only the Paranoid Survive) defines a strategic inflection point as a changing of the rules of the game resulting in a massive shift in the way business is conducted. As an example, consider the impact the PC and the Internet had on changing the way business is done in many different companies and industries. HR/recruiting is now going through its own strategic inflection point.

» Continue reading "Your Future: Embracing the Strategic Inflection Point"

Hardball Recruiting, Part 3: Influencing Hiring Managers

Lou Adler, April 30, 2004

Topics: Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

This is the third in a four-part series on hardball recruiting. The topic of next week's final installment will be how to negotiate and close offers. If you're dealing with mid-level staff or more experienced positions, you'll need to become an expert at hardball recruiting.

» Continue reading "Hardball Recruiting, Part 3: Influencing Hiring Managers"

Hardball Recruiting, Part 2: Addressing Mid-stage Concerns

Lou Adler, April 23, 2004

Topics: Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

Corporate and third-party recruiters can dramatically improve personal performance by increasing their control and influence at each step in the hiring process. This includes how you take the initial assignment, how you present candidates, and how you close the deal. The best way to do this is to become a true partner in the hiring process, rather than just a vendor submitting resumes.

» Continue reading "Hardball Recruiting, Part 2: Addressing Mid-stage Concerns"

Hardball Recruiting: Getting Back to Basics

Lou Adler, April 16, 2004

Topics: Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

Now that recruiters have to recruit again, it's worthwhile dusting off the old recruiter training manual and getting back to basics. To maximize their effectiveness, recruiters must understand and follow the unwritten golden rule of headhunting -- a.k.a. "hardball recruiting" -- revealed in today's article.

» Continue reading "Hardball Recruiting: Getting Back to Basics"

The Hidden Secret to Better Recruiting

Lou Adler, April 9, 2004

Topics: Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

"Do you have any more candidates" This is possibly the worst thing a client can say to you if you're a recruiter attempting to find out how well your candidates did.

» Continue reading "The Hidden Secret to Better Recruiting"

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

Lou Adler, February 20, 2004

Topics: The Science of Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

You can't afford to do searches over again. After you've presented 3-5 solid, maybe even superior candidates, the worst thing a manager can say is, "Do you have any more candidates?" Preventing this is one of the reasons why you must be able to influence hiring managers at every step in the hiring process.

» Continue reading "The Science of Recruiting - Part 8: Influencing Hiring Managers - The Hiring Decision"

How to Win Candidates and Influence Clients

Lou Adler, February 13, 2004

Topics: Recruiting, Sourcing, Working With Hiring Managers

Here's a basic principle worth considering: a recruiter's performance is based largely on the quality of the last candidate recommended. How well you do here depends primarily on how well you handled taking the job assignment.

» Continue reading "How to Win Candidates and Influence Clients"

The Science of Recruiting - Part 7: Influencing Hiring Managers: How You Present Candidates Matters

Lou Adler, February 13, 2004

Topics: The Science of Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

Recruiters must be able to influence hiring managers at every step in the hiring process. It starts when the job description is put together, it continues with the presentation of candidates, and ends with leading the candidate selection process. In the previous segment of this series the concept of taking performance-based job descriptions was presented. These differ from traditional job descriptions in that they describe what the person taking the job must do, or achieve, to be considered a successful hire. This allows for more accurate assessments and the ability to create a superior job match, a core principle involved in hiring top talent. In this edition of the Science of Recruiting, techniques will be described on how to use the candidate presentation to describe this critical job match. This is a big step in a recruiter's evolution in becoming a true partner with their hiring manager clients. It also sets the stage for leading the debriefing session, the subject of the next article in this series.

» Continue reading "The Science of Recruiting - Part 7: Influencing Hiring Managers: How You Present Candidates Matters"

Use the PEI Process and Become a Better Recruiter in Four Hours

Lou Adler, February 6, 2004

Topics: Interviewing, Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

This is big. This is the first multi-multimedia article on the performance evaluation interview (PEI) process ever published on ERE, or maybe anywhere else for that matter. Even bigger is that I'm about to introduce the single best way for you to become a better recruiter before the day is over.

» Continue reading "Use the PEI Process and Become a Better Recruiter in Four Hours"

The Science of Recruiting - Part 6: Influencing Hiring Managers - Taking the Assignment

Lou Adler, February 6, 2004

Topics: The Science of Recruiting, Taking the Assignment, Working With Hiring Managers

Influencing hiring managers is as important as influencing candidates. If hiring managers won't take your advice you shouldn't be a recruiter. The interviewing and assessment process is not a perfect science. So recruiters need to guide managers along, insuring that the best available candidate gets hired. You can't afford to spend your time showing hiring managers an endless stream of candidates until the perfect one magically appears. Or, until they're so worn down they can't tell the difference.

» Continue reading "The Science of Recruiting - Part 6: Influencing Hiring Managers - Taking the Assignment"

A Look Back at 2004 (Yes, 2004) From a CEO's Perspective

Lou Adler, January 9, 2004

Topics: Interviewing, Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

To: The Recruiting Department

From: The CEO

Date: 1/1/2005 I am immensely proud of the work done in 2004 by each and every member of our company's recruiting department. It has been one outstanding year, and you all are due enormous praise for doing a remarkable job this past year. And what a year it has been!

» Continue reading "A Look Back at 2004 (Yes, 2004) From a CEO's Perspective"

Magical Hiring Formula: Just Measure These Three Core Traits

Lou Adler, December 19, 2003

Topics: Interviewing, Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

Based on surveys and operational reviews we've conducted over these past 10 years, it appears that there is one common hiring mistake which just about everybody has encountered: hiring someone who is competent but unmotivated to do the required work.

» Continue reading "Magical Hiring Formula: Just Measure These Three Core Traits"

The Time Value of Time, and How to Get Hiring Managers to Spend It

Lou Adler, November 7, 2003

Topics: Assessment, Recruiting, Working With Hiring Managers

If you conduct a root cause analysis of hiring mistakes, the following big issues stand out:

» Continue reading "The Time Value of Time, and How to Get Hiring Managers to Spend It"

How To Use the Interview to Increase Your Influence with Hiring Managers

Lou Adler, October 31, 2003

Topics: Interviewing, Working With Hiring Managers

One of the common concerns I hear from recruiters is that they want more influence with their hiring manager clients.

» Continue reading "How To Use the Interview to Increase Your Influence with Hiring Managers"

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!"

There's Going To Be a Revolution

Lou Adler, September 5, 2003

Topics: Recruiting, Sourcing, Working With Hiring Managers

Dateline: New York City. Sometime in the distant future. Band of 176 Recruiters Start the Hiring Revolution This is a strange but true tale about 176 conspirators who started the hiring revolution. Their objective was nothing less than making hiring top talent a formal Six Sigma process.

» Continue reading "There's Going To Be a Revolution"