Working Together

I recently had a client hire their perfect candidate. WOO HOO! It takes a lot of effort to find the right person for an opening as most of you probably already know and this was a tough one. When all was said and done I got an email from both the candidate and the client thanking me for my hard work on their behalf to make this happen. What was my reply? I thanked both of them for working WITH me to make the process as efficient and effective as possible for everyone involved. It was a team effort and therefore a TEAM WIN!

We sometimes forget that when we hire someone to do a job for us that we still have to participate in the process to ensure we are getting exactly what we had asked for … and to make sure we are getting our money's worth too. I sometimes forget this as well. For instance, I remember when I purchased my first house I had an issue with the person I hired to paint a few rooms for me. I hate to paint so it was a no brainer to hire someone else to do it. But I was so busy with all the other things going on with the move that I wasn't quite clear with communicating my wants and needs and remember walking in one day to find two rooms had been painted a different color than I thought I had requested. Turns out I specified I wanted them painted the blue color I selected … but I had actually selected a few shades of the color. The painter used the first one I sent him and went to town. Oh was I mad … at myself. I quickly apologized for not communicating clearly and asked for the rooms to be repainted and made sure it was known I would pay for the misunderstanding since I was mostly to blame. Could he have verified that was the blue I wanted? Sure. Though at the end of the day I realized that I was also responsible for playing a part in the process.

So back to my story about the perfect candidate being hired. I looked back and thought of how the process went from start to finish. I've been doing this on my own for about four years now so it's not my first rodeo. Also, most clients of mine have worked with recruitment firms before but what I quickly realized is that they have mostly had bad experiences with them. When I worked for a larger firm we were expected to work with as many clients as possible and send candidates everywhere hoping one or two would fit the needs of our openings. It was definitely a culture of quantity over quality and due to the high volume I didn't have much time to communicate with both my clients and candidates to make sure I was doing right by them. I didn't have time to sit with clients to make sure I knew exactly what they wanted nor did I have time to thoroughly vet the people I was sending off to be interviewed. It was a mess! Now that I get to choose how I handle the process I make sure I have a long conversation upfront about what the client needs so I can then find the person who perfectly fits what they want. In this most recent situation I went to the client's office and met with their staff and hiring managers. I got to tour the office, meet the decision makers, view their culture, and even get to chat with some of the current people in the department where this person I would be hiring would then work. Once the wants and needs were clear I then let them know what I needed from them. At first I got a weird look like "Why do we need to do anything else?" I then informed them on how quickly the market is moving and mentioned that quick feedback and responses would be needed to ensure we not only found the right person but also had the chance to hire them before one of their competitors could. Timing is so crucial in the hiring process that everyone needs to be on their A game to make sure things go as planned and this is exactly why we had the outcome we did. EVERYONE WORKED TOGETHER. The client would respond within a day or two of me sending resumes to review, the candidates were quick to get me all the information needed, and interviews were set up, made, and followed up on within a timely manner. We went from submitting candidates to hiring one in about two weeks … which is exactly how I mapped out the process if everyone did their part. I love it when everything comes together!

Now life isn't always that simple and I have to remember that everyone else has a lot going on in their lives (both personal and professional) so sometimes things fall through the cracks. But this is when I step in and try and help through communication as much as I can without stepping on anyone's toes. Though usually my persistence pays off and if the client and candidate are happy at the end of the day then my job here is done! Though when we work together it usually ends up working out perfectly for all involved … and that's the way I love to see things wrap up!

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