I was at the RCSA ball last week. It was a good night – a few too many speeches and not enough dance floor action for my liking, but a fun night anyway.  I like to keep shoptalk to a minimum at these events – and thankfully most others do. But at one point I found myself talking to “Gordo” from LinkedIn, a fantastic chap who was passionate about telling me that LinkedIn was not the enemy of recruiters. Hanging on the edge of this conversation was a not so fantastic chap – the sort that loves the sound of their own voice and causing trouble.

“So you are in Rec-to-Rec Luke. Well you are screwed now LinkedIn is here. I mean, why would any decent recruiter need to use you to find  a job when they can do it all themselves?”

There has been an endless discussion about LinkedIn and the part it can play in recruitment. Most of these discussions have been from the point of view of the hiring manager or agency recruiter.  But this chap was talking about it from the point of view of a candidate looking for a new job.

His question had been specific to him as a recruiter looking for a new job. But I think the discussion that followed is relevant to more or less anyone seeking or considering a new job – and therefore relevant to any recruiter.  In fact, if I can justify why a recruiter should use another recruiter to look for a new job, then anyone should be able to justify it to their market………

“So, if you were considering a new job, how would you go about it?”

“ Well Luke, I would reach out to my network and approach people directly. But in any case I get approached all the time via LinkedIn”

“So you are only going to talk to companies that you already know of, that approach you or those that are advertising. That is a small section of the companies out there who could potentially offer you that next job? What about the rest of the market, including those that you have never heard of?”

“Well, I haven’t got the time to speak to everyone. And if I haven’t heard of them I am not interested.”

“So, how much time do you think it will take you to secure a new job doing it yourself”

“Mmmm…well…not sure” 

“I am tipping it will take you a lot more time than you think. Have you got the time to do it properly”

“And I presume that your colleagues and bosses know you are leaving already, so there is no danger if they find out?”

“How would they find out?”

“Well. It is a goldfish bowl out there and so if you start flinging off your CV here and there, or speaking to people who knows where it will end up.”

“And when you get offered a job, how do you know what the business is really like? Just because you liked what they said in your interview and a few mates told you good things about them, is that enough information to make a big decision like this on?  You wouldn’t buy a house without getting a survey done would you?”

By this point our friend was starting to make a beeline for the bar, clearly unimpressed with the forehand cross court winner I had just returned to him. 

“Gordo” on the other hand simply said “Nice one. Spot on”

In essence, what our friend was saying was that he would rather look for a new job in a small pool of potential employers, run the risk of his boss finding out, make a decision based on maybe not very much more than a gut feel or a good sales pitch, and spend quite a bit of time doing all that.

Alternatively if he was to use someone like me he could consider a much larger part of the market including companies he doesn’t know of and companies that aren’t actively hiring. He can assure himself of confidentiality, make an informed decision based on expert advice, and spend a fraction of his time achieving all that…and of course for free.

I might be biased,  but if a recruiter can do all that (of course not all of them can) ….. why wouldn’t you use them? I always would. What about you?

Luke Collard

Most of the placements that I make are not easy. Finding good recruiters and getting them to move to a client is tough work. It takes a lot of effort, time and dare I say a bit of skill.  So I always feel justified in the fee I charge a client – and the majority of my clients recognise that and are happy to pay me accordingly.

So, when I have someone telling me “what I am charging for simply emailing a CV and making a few phone calls, probably a couple of hours work, is daylight robbery” I am amusingly annoyed (is that even possible?).

A couple of hours work…mmmm.

Well if I was charging let’s say $10k for a couple of hours work, then daylight robbery would be being kind. Daylight heist would be more appropriate.

But of course, there is just a little bit more to it than that. What Mr Client is seeing is the tip of the iceberg in terms of the service I am providing. What he is not seeing is all the effort, time and skill so that he is now in the position where he has the opportunity to meet a great candidate……

Part of my fee is for that two hours I spent at a networking event a few weeks ago where I met someone who referred this person to me. Part of my fee is for the two years I have spent building my profile on social media so that this person approached me when they were looking for a role. Part of my fee is for discounting all the wrong candidates, including the liars and weirdos. Part of my fee is for the highly skilled researcher that we employ who found this person when they were not considering a new job. Part of it is because I have persuaded the person to work with me exclusively and therefore you are only one of a few agencies seeing this person.  Part of it is because I briefed this person about your business, as opposed to the other hundred agencies you compete with. Part of it pays for the coffee I bought the person when they were getting cold feet about moving jobs. Part of it keeps the doors to my business open, so I can keep doing this. And yes, part of it, a much smaller part than you think, goes into my (fiancée’s) back pocket.

I could go on…. but you get the point.

So sure, Mr Client, you might only be seeing the end result of all of this work.  But, there was a heck of a lot that went in to getting this person in front of you.  If you don’t agree then do it yourself.  Write an advert, send a couple of messages to people on LinkedIn, or do whatever you think it is that we do. And see if the result is different.

Maybe, we recruiters should start charging in 6-minute increments like lawyers and accountants do. Or our invoices should have a break down of exactly what you are being charged for…that would be a long invoice!

Obviously everyone wants value for money, If you are simply shuffling a few CVs around town all day long, then it is hard to justify any sort of fee.  But, if you are putting in the time and effort, and using your experience and skill, to allow your client to see someone they may never have known of…. then stand up tall and proud.

Your fee is more than justified. Not everyone will agree…but that is their problem.

Luke Collard

In Australia and New Zealand, today is ANZAC Day. It is a day set aside for us all to remember those who served and died in war and conflict. Most countries have something similar. It is a big deal, as it quite rightly should be. We are given a public holiday – so I am writing this from the comfort of my bed, and I will probably head out later to catch up with mates over a few (too many) beers and watch the traditional footy game. And at some point I will take a brief and private moment to say thanks to all those who have allowed me this luxury.

So, what has ANZAC Day got to do with recruitment ? Well, nothing really (although I am sure some creative blogger will come up with “15 reasons why …”). However, a day like today does give us a prompt to reflect on stuff. But before this blog starts sounding like a sermon or a DIY hippie manual,  I will cut to the chase….

Recruitment is a tough old game. In such a fiercely competitive industry, emotions run high and it is inevitable that people fall out. I am sure we have all been there at some point, be it with a client, a candidate, a manager or  colleagues. In my line of  Rec-to-Rec it sometimes feels like we are copping it from all angles some days !!!!  Most of the time it is nothing more than a little spat that is quickly forgotten. Other times, it is a bit more significant. And sometimes those situations can become unpleasant and unnecessary feuds.  I pride myself on not finding myself in those scenarios very often at all. But recently there have been a couple of such situations in our business.

So, today seems like the perfect day (alongside the beer and footy) to put a bit of peace and harmony out there …. and remind myself that it’s better to be friends and where necessary kiss, make-up and move on. So to that end, I wish all of my colleagues, candidates, clients and most of all my competitors a happy ANZAC Day.

Luke Collard

Culture eh…yep it’s important.  We all know that.  And this is not going to be another blog stating the bloody obvious about how a good culture in your business is critical.  But, how we define and communicate our culture is something that needs addressing…because few of us (me included) do it very well. Let me explain….

Take a look at company websites, job adverts, the little grab line on a business card or wherever else ‘culture’ is being described. You inevitably see the same sort of stuff…..

There are usually too many words. Some companies take a whole page on their corporate website to sell you their culture.  They are this and that, and a bit of this and a little drop of that and a bit more of something else and blah blah blah…a big long wish list, trying to be all things to all people.

And we generally all use the same words. I have just taken a random look at about 20 recruitment agencies websites and adverts and found the word ‘professional’ appearing 12 times, ‘innovative’ (10), ‘market-leader’ (9), ‘consultative’ (7) and ‘autonomous’ (5).

Then, there is the opposite problem of “thesaurusitis”. In trying to find new and fancy ways to describe our culture we reach for the Thesaurus to find a different ways to say what we mean. The problem is that the meaning gets lost and you end up coming across as a bit pretentious.

A lot of people also fall into the mistake of describing what they think people want to hear, as opposed to what the reality is. Sure, we all need to sell our culture as positively as possible. But when it sounds like some sort of mythical nirvana it really beats the point, as you just sound full of bull.

Then some lose the plot totally and mix up culture (i.e. what it is like to work there), with brand (the service you are providing). OK, these two things play into each other, but when you start describing your brand as ‘cool’ then you’ve got a problem. Sure, having a break out room and casual day on Fridays might well be important to a prospective employee, but a client isn’t going to give a monkeys how ‘cool’ you are.

When culture is so important, I think that defining and communicating it is something many of us could be much better at (one again, hands up here). Ask any of your clients, friends or colleagues to describe the culture of their business, and see how many give you a really concise and original answer that leaves you with a clear idea of what they are like and why they are different.

I have been doing that exercise this week …but with a twist. Do it in only two words. Try it and you will find it is harder than you think. But, if we are genuine about taking the culture thing seriously, as opposed to just doing it because you have to, then we should all be able to do this – with honesty, originality, simplicity and clarity.

Let us know what you come up with…..(remember, only two words).

Luke Collard