Louise's UK Recruiter Blog

How Many Names Do I Need For One Immediate Hire?

We published a blog article from Maureen Sharib (a renowned American telephone names sourcer) recently on "What and Who Makes A Good Name Sourcer?". 

This article looks at how many names sourced names you will need to produce one immediate hire in:
Outside Sales Reps  30 - 50
Inside Sales Reps   20 – 30
SAP anything   100
Sales Managers      30 - 50
Construction Supervisors  50
Marketing Managers  30
Group Marketing Manager  50
Sales Engineers    30 - 50
Engineering (Software)  30 - 40
Engineering (Hardware)  40 -100
Note: really depends on skillsets/level of technology you’re seeking
Research & Development (Pharma) 100 - 200
High Yield Research Analysts    50
Disability Examiner  30
C Levels      50 – 100 Note:  depends on the C (CEO, COO, CIO, CSO, CFO, etc.)
Call Center workers   20
Financial Analysts  30 – 50  Note: really depends on market vertical
Commercial Underwriters  25
Consultants Big 4  30 - 50  Note:  really depends on market vertical
Business Development Managers 50
HVAC Technicians  30
Patent Attorney    50 - 100
Commercial Loan Officers  30 - 40
Defence     seems like 1000 Note: one of the toughest sectors because of the current political climate

These numbers come from what my customers report back to me, my own experience in the sourcing process, the size of my average jobs and my intuition. Nothing scientific, mind you.  The industry is also very important; in general, the hotter the industry, the more people you’re going to need.  Location is important.  You’re going to need less people upfront if you’re not going to have to move them.  If you do have to move them be prepared to see your names need estimate numbers double, maybe even triple depending on the desirability of the location. Warm climates attract more people than cold, so if your job location is cold, you’ll probably need more  if you have to move them in.  It’s a common sense thing.

I remind you, these estimates are entirely predicated on what industry you’re working in.  The more highly paid the individual, the more implanted/invested (stock-optioned) s/he is in the company, the brainier the candidate needs to be…all these things impact your Sourcing Needs.  If I had to pick a number, I tell people 50 names, nine times out of ten, if worked and pipelined correctly, should produce a hire.  The “if worked” caveat is important – make sure the names you source get called!  It’s amazing to me that some names just seem to fade away – the recruiter never gets around to calling them.  I can’t understand this thinking, so I’m at a loss to explain it.

Maureen is co-owner of TechTrak, a telephone names sourcing firm based in the US Maureen has been telephone names sourcing since 1996, having stumbled into this arcane business after twenty plus years of selling small businesses. You can read her articles around the nitty-gritty tips and techniques of name sourcing (how to get names from a telephone directory, how to title-identify those name, how to deal with scary gatekeepers, how to fill your internal pipelines with skilled, valuable candidates, how to read “between the lines” and hear clues in the silences) on her website at www.techtrak.com.

Recruiters moving inhouse

40% of Sky inhouse recruiters come from an agency background.  Emma told me this week that she has noticed a huge increase in the number of recruiters contacting her about moving inhouse.  We talked about some of the pros and cons for a third party recruiter thinking of moving over to the other side.

Pros

• You don't have to do business development anymore, there is no pressure of sales targets. 
• More of a work life balance than at a typical agency - you don't have to work 8am to 8pm every day.
• Building long term relationships with line managers.
• Get to learn about a particular area and learn it inside and out.
• Gain a better commercial outlook, working closely with allocated business areas and getting a lot of access to senior people.
• All more longer term - you get to see the results of the hire.
• Full recruitment life cycle - start to finish.
• You are far closer to the direction of the business and often know about changes in strategy before a lot of the business does.
• Broader spread of activities on a daily basis.
• Selection process is more sophisticated. 
• Chance to get involved in interesting projects such as redeveloping the careers website or devising new selection tools.

Cons

• From a salary perspective you can lose out although your base salary is higher.  It's only at the more senior levels that it is on more of a par.
• If you work for a brand which isn't strong it can be a battle to attract candidates (not really a problem with Sky!).

After we spoke Emma sent me an email one of her team, Trishna, had written explaining why she made the move:

"Having worked in an FTSE 250 large recruitment agency, I made the decision after 2 years to make a move in-house. Working as a recruitment consultant within such an agency was a rigorous introduction in to the recruitment world, introducing you to the basics of the recruitment life-cycle, relationship management with both clients and candidates, and to the world of sales sales sales! Its very much target driven, it can be both enjoyable and rewarding, however is an aggressive environment, challenging your ability to develop business for the agency, and fill roles to increase revenue and margins!

In-house recruitment is a completely different ball game. Equally and increasingly challenging from a different angle. The transition isn’t easy, as you have to develop soft skills, and build upon your commercial awareness, thinking bigger picture. Working in-house in a company like Sky, is fast paced and ever changing, you become passionate about your brand, live the values and understand the business needs, as you work for them! This makes for a better recruiter, who can attract the best talent to fit with the business. We’re not just filling roles, and saving money for our organisation, but act as partners to the business to increase our talent pool, raise the profile of our employer brand, and play a pro active role in managing our employee base.

We work with different people every day, from planning with HR, to negotiating with line managers, to managing budgets with finance, and of course the fun bit, dealing with candidates, representing your company! My advice to any one interested in working in an in house recruitment function is to choose a sector/industry they have
a strong interest in working for, mine was Corporate Media, as if you don’t enjoy who you recruit for, the reward just isn’t there. You need to do your research, not only in to the company you wish to apply to work for, but around the team, and what the in house function is responsible for, for example, it is purely re-active, filling roles, or is it more strategic, and business focussed. Depending on what drives you, this should help you in finding that ideal role."

And another from another colleague, Dan, giving a few tips for agency recruiters:

"I think most agency recruiters would need to change their style and approach to work in-house. When you work in an agency your first objective is to make placements and money, so the approach is more aggressive. This style doesn’t work in-house as you need to look at the longer term effects of your actions and style. You cant afford to be aggressive with managers or risk placing bad people. So agency recruiters wanting to work in-house would do well to develop more consultative style, and be more prepared to listen to problems rather than push their candidates as much.."

And finally Emma mentioned that a lot of the CVs she is receiving from agency recruiters looking to move in-house tend to focus on the amounts billed and the number of placements. This is fine when applying for agency roles but for in-house you need to adapt your CV accordingly - focus on the relationship management and any innovative sourcing methods. If you’ve had exposure to competency based selection techniques then mention this too.

What's your Ideal Salary?

Jobsite have released findings of a survey into UK workers' ideal salary and how they plan to go about getting it.

According to a survey of 4,500 UK workers:

The country’s ideal salary is £38,000
70% feel they will never earn their ideal salary in their current job
41% will keep moving jobs to achieve their ideal salary
51% are too embarrassed to discuss pay in job interviews or with their current employer

As the average UK salary is £25,000 the average person is after a 50% pay rise!

I quite like the way that Jobsite often add something else to their surveys.  This time it's top tips for negotiating a better salary

1. Do your homework
You need to be realistic. Find out not just what the industry pays, but what a company of a similar size to yours and in a similar location is paying people at your level and with your experience. This will not only strengthen your case but also mean that your employer or prospective employer will treat you seriously. Above all, ensure you’re being realistic.

2. Be objective
Many people are uncomfortable with discussing their pay. A way to avoid this – and to improve your chances of a pay rise – is to be as objective as possible. Don’t make your claim personal to yourself. Instead, think about the objective criteria uncovered in your research.

3. Strike the right tone
You don’t want to appear overly pushy or aggressive. Pay is as much about how your employer values you as it is your own material gain. Let your boss know that you will listen and try to understand their views.

4. Look at it from your boss’s / interviewer’s point of view
Your boss will have concerns and considerations like you. It may be that they would like to pay you more, but there are clear salary bands that they cannot break or a limited wage budget that they can dip into. To get them to agree, you’ll need to anticipate the concerns of your boss and address them.

5. Don’t be too inflexible
If your boss or interviewer can’t meet your demands, be prepared to negotiate and compromise – work with them to reach a decision that satisfies both of you. Look to find solutions and ensure you have a plan B in place – if they can’t offer you the pay you want now, would they be happy to do so after a review in six months’ time?

Talent on View

Talent on View is a web based video interview application designed specifically for the recruitment industry.  It's just pre-launch (officially launching in July).

The concept is simple; it gives web access to recruitment agencies to video their candidates, which is then directly streamed to secure servers. The application allows the user (recruitment consultant) to send the interviews to their appropriate clients where the client will receive an encrypted link. After viewing the candidate's video(s) on the recruitment agency's branded webpage, the client will be able to give immediate feedback that will be logged in the application and also via an email back to the recruiter.

As part of the package from Talent on View a laptop and webcam is supplied to the clients (when they sign up to a 12 month contract) so they can easily produce the videos.

Lisa from Talent on View tells me that the aspect of data protection and security is one of the first questions that a recruiter asks - and more often than not the other question is "why can't we video our candidates without your application".  Her response is there is nothing stopping you taking a video clip of your candidate however there are issues to be aware of  -
(1) If you send an attachment via email (in this case your candidates video) you will not have control over that video ever again and it can be open to abuse (sent around the www) - with our system your client will only be able to view your candidates and their CV's  through an encrypted link which will only be able to be viewed 5 times.
(2) more often than not the file size of a video is too large to email - we allow the client to watch 3 candidates on
one branded webpage  (the page the end user client sees is fully branded with the recruiters logo and information on)
(3) All information is logged back in the system and feedback can be sent instantly back  to the recruiter (great for you to know where your candidate(s)  have been sent to and by who)
(4) Your client may not have the correct program to view your video
(5)  You have to store your videos on your server (do recruitment agencies have enough space on their servers  to store multiple videos?)
(6) Videos are streamed from our designated servers.
(7) time consuming not user friendly to do it yourselves (Talent on View reduces user error)

Essentially they are providing a platform for a recruiter to be able to send videos in a professionally, branded, secure way without the worry of formatting, compressing etc at a price which isn't over the top.

I've written about video CVs before (I'm not a big fan).  However, the idea of a recruiter sending over an interview of their shortlisted candidates to a client is one I am more comfortable with. 

Support Andy Headworth for Leukemia Research

The Worthing Birdman Competition, takes place on the 5th & 6th July at Worthing Pier in Sussex and Andy Headworth (fellow blogger) will be taking part. 

You can read the full story on his blog.  However, in December last year, his brother died from a rare form of Leukaemia. Even though the treatment he received was second to none, there was not enough knowledge of the particular strain that he was diagnosed with. He want to help raise money for Leukaemia Research so that they can try and find more cures for these different strains.

Andy will be dressed as a crocodile (you can see the start of this costume on his blog) and if you wish to support him you can do so via the Just Giving website.

What and Who Makes A Good Name Sourcer?

Maureen Sharib is a renowned American telephone names sourcer who recently wrote an article for the newsletter on "The What, How, Who and Why of Name Sourcing".

She has written a follow up article for the blog.

Sourcing is primarily an art form, with a sizable amount of understanding of human nature mixed in.  A good name sourcer can come from any background.  Many HR departments believe they must have their sourcers “captive” in their organizations – I don’t believe this to be true.  Quite the opposite, a good name sourcer is often one who enjoys working alone, who’s self-disciplined almost to the point of obsession, who doesn’t relish the thought of work-place companionship or others listening to them on the phone "doing their thing".  They are usually like bull-dogs who latch onto something and won't let go of it until it's completed so the "need" to monitor their work habits is a moot point. What you need to worry about is on your end. Can you handle the pipelines they have a tendency to fill to over-flowing?

Good sourcers are focused, self-motivated and extremely productive. They could be right under your nose in your organization – you may even be one!  If you don’t have one, and I believe they’re few and far-between, find one!  They’re imperative to the success of your mission.   Sourcing doesn't have to be a local thing. Very little of my work is even in my state, the vast majority of it is done all around the US, a smaller part is done around the world.  The fact is that much of the work is concentrated in specific talent pools.  Your sourcer will go where you direct him/her, he/she will follow your instructions, and will deliver to you what you ask for.  He/she’s that little eager puppy-dog that fetches.  Who could ask for more?

I’ve noticed lately more than a few companies have indicated they’re “building a research team” within their corporate domains. I’ve also noted that these companies are finding that past “job stability” is difficult to come by in researchers.   I believe this is because what they’re really looking for are people that haven’t been active “employees” (doing sourcing) of any one company in the past - and if they have, they more than likely have not been engaged in true “sourcing” - the non-reliance in their processes on job boards and the internet in general and possessing the almost maniacal preference towards the telephone for their sourcing results.

More than likely, what they’re looking for are lone wolves – people out there in the world, working alone, doing 20, 50, 100, 1000 name-generation jobs (on a per name rate basis or by the hour) in the privacy of their own home offices. They are quite probably in their pyjamas (it’s not pretty) with the door closed (knock only if it’s a life-or-death emergency) and with a headset on (they can’t hear you even when you do knock, so don’t!).  With their word document in front of them on their flat screen and the internet running in the background.  With their fingers moving between their keyboards and the telephone dial-set (don’t get in the path of progress you might lose a digit or two).  With all their attention focused on the job at hand (nothing else exists for them when they’re “on”).  They are too busy to look for new or additional work cause they’re so slammed with what they have. 
Indications You Could Have a Good Name Sourcer On Your Hands
*When she says things like, “I dream of ways to get into companies.”  (Meaning she actually dreams of them!)
*She’s the type of person who knows everything about you, including your net worth, within 15 minutes of meeting you, and afterwards you wondered why you shared so much information with her!
*You immediately liked her, felt like you knew him a long time after only a few short minutes.
*She remarks, “It’s like a puzzle (or a baseball game, or a treasure hunt…).”
*She IS a treasure hunter.
*She’s self knowledgeable.  This is very different from self-assured.
*She always seems to be available for you.

There are many indicators that a person may be good at name sourcing but if I had to name a few characteristics that I think most carry, they are: curious, trusting, friendly, adventurous, resourceful, honest, patient, diligent, driven, neurotic/obsessive/compulsive and introverted but usually socially skilled (meaning they can talk to people if they have to).

Maureen is co-owner of TechTrak, a telephone names sourcing firm based in the US.  Maureen has been telephone names sourcing since 1996, having stumbled into this arcane business after twenty plus years of selling small businesses. You can read her articles around the nitty-gritty tips and techniques of name sourcing (how to get names from a telephone directory, how to title-identify those name, how to deal with scary gatekeepers, how to fill your internal pipelines with skilled, valuable candidates, how to read “between the lines” and hear clues in the silences) on her website at www.techtrak.com.

Recruitment Community Europe - Launch

Recruitment Community Europe (RCE) has been established by Alan Whitford and Keith Robinson to serve the European staffing and recruitment sector with a range of vertical community applications and services. I have known Alan for about eight years and think he's a fabulous guy.  Of course Keith is incredibly well known within the industry too (although I only met him for the first time at the start of the year).  When Alan asked if I'd be happy to give RCE a mention I leapt at the chance.

RCE offers the European staffing professional a community of shared Best Practices, an opportunity to partner and stimulate debate, and knowledge sharing within the European Recruitment community.

Now the site is only just launching but I thought if I gave it a quick mention now I can write a follow up post next week when Keith sends me the press release.

Their signature event is the 4th annual Global Recruitment Conference, being held in Amsterdam 11-13 November.  I will publish more information about this soon.

In the meantime you're invited to join their Linkedin group.

Want to be a Big Biller Resource

Gavin Chase is a "Big Biller, recruiter, mentor, trainer and motivator". He is General Manager of CNA International (an Executive Search and Interim Management consultancy) and Practice Head, Telecoms, Media & Technology of Wilde Pure Search Limited.

He has recently launched a new website for the recruitment industry "Want to be a Big Biller?" The site aims to give recruiters all the tools they need to improve performance as a recruitment consultant, manager or director. The site is a social network and is free to join. 

Industry experts such a Mike Walmsley and Shally Steckerl have offered content and the site also contains discussion forums,  interviews etc will help educate the recruitment profession to be more successful. Over time it is hoped that the network becomes self teaching.

If you've not had a look at the site - check it out.