4 Traits That Separate a Great Recruiter From a Good One

Recruiting is unfortunately often a way station in a career. It is one stop on the way to becoming an HR executive or to moving on to other things. There are often very limited opportunities for advancement as a recruiter within most organizations, which further limits the number of people who choose to dedicate themselves to doing it well. Success also requires abilities that are not necessarily the strengths of those who choose traditional human resources as a career. I have found that many of the most successful recruiters had no intention of working for or in HR. They were interested in sales, marketing, communications, or similar areas and found themselves accidently being asked to do recruiting.

If you take the time to talk to recruiters who have garnered a reputation for success, you will discover that they share a few traits in common.

Monster launches Recruitment iPad App in Europe

Monster will officially launch their new iPad Recruitment App in most European countries. They promise to “Find great jobs when you’re on the go“:

• Simple: Search and apply for jobs with the touch of a finger.
• Convenient: Access your Monster account anywhere, anytime.
• Innovative: Find jobs in a whole new way with the Monster app designed specifically for iPad.

Starting the app takes a few seconds and in the first screen it will ask you to log in to your Monster account. You can skip this step but the possibilities within the App are very limited. You can only search for jobs, and not apply, without an account. So keep your login information at hand as you need it!

7 Myths of Recruiting with Technology

I had a phone call yesterday with a prospective client who starting our conversation with: “I think recruiters are a dying breed.” He thought the Internet and technology were going to do away with search consultants and third-party recruiters.

I explained to him why this won’t happen. In fact, I believe technology is shining the light brighter for why recruiters are needed now more than ever. Before we finished our phone conversation, he wanted to meet one of my candidates.

The Internet has changed recruiting forever. It is a virtual, global, 24-hour job fair. It gives recruiters – and employers – the unprecedented ability to research and reach candidates anywhere. And now with social media, recruiters can find and engage prospective companies and candidates online fast.

The key to this treasure trove is knowing what online tools to use and how to use them. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social media each have their unique purpose. Today, recruiters can create their own media network to market, brand and broadcast their messages. The real value begins when recruiters connect their online networks and leverage across platforms.

Recruitment's Best Kept Secret

Despite the huge amount of effort organisations make to attract and hire the right people there are a surprising number who are ‘square pegs’ in ’round holes’.

How many times have you been into a store and been served by someone who is just not that interested? Contrast that experience with being served by someone who is hugely engaged and clearly loves what they do. It makes a huge difference doesn’t it? Being in the wrong job can be soul destroying for the individual. For the company they are working for it means reduced productivity, lower engagement and a potentially negative effect on customer service.

Top 6 Books on Recruitment. To benefit – read it.

For those of you willing to make an investment in yourselves, I have compiled my personal list of books that I would recommend you to read. To benefit – read it. I wish someone did it for me several years ago =)

“Breakthrough! Exploding the Production of Experienced Recruiters” ,
Steven M. Finkel

If you ever wished you could earn a Ph-D in recruiting, this is the book to read.

The author reminds us all of not just the basics in business sales for search/recruiting (which are covered in the excellent book he wrote with Larry Nobles), but the specifics of genuinely sophisticated and dramatic improvement in the recruiting business past that point. Like all of us with decades of experience, we tend to start with fundamentals which were the foundation of our success, but rarely go too much beyond that (though we usually claim otherwise). In a good market, maybe we don't have to; in today's market, we certainly do. This book is a great read for any of us in sales. If you're new to the industry, you'll learn much more than you will expect. If you're an experienced professional, you'll be surprised at not just how much you have forgotten, but how much more there is left to learn.

The Best Jobs In America

The recession brought a tremendous rise in the unemployment rate in America and many people are having trouble finding employment. However, there are many jobs to be had -- and not just any jobs, some of the best companies in America are hiring. Depending on your skillset, degree and what you want from a job, some of the best jobs in the country may be on your career path.

Click to Enlarge

How Social Media Has Changed Recruitment

Social Media and Social Networking has changed the way that we as users look at employment but also the way that recruitment agencies and companies look at recruiting new talent. These days if a company is contemplating taking you or anyone else on, they look at different factors of social networking.

Previously you would hear about jobs through word of mouth, through job centers and through a couple of other channels but these days, so much is done through the Internet it has truly changed the way that recruitment agencies find roles and positions. The Internet has made companies find it easier to find that missing link, the missing piece to the puzzle.

Social Recruitment Compass™ Infographic

Visualize your LinkedIn network with InMaps

If you’re a LinkedIn user, you already know the power of your professional network.

What if you could visualize what your network looks like? Would your connections form clusters or groups? Wouldn’t it be great if you could see the way all your connections are related to each other? Even be able to identify the elusive hubs between your professional worlds?

Now, you can! This week, a new LinkedIn Labs product, called InMaps is introduces. More after the jump.

Top 5 Online Communities for Starting Your Career

It’s helpful to have someone with more experience show you the ropes when you’re beginning a new journey — this is especially true when it comes to entering the job market.

Having a community that shares job openings, tips, resources and words of wisdom is of real value, especially when you can ask the tough questions, such as “Do I really need to write a cover letter?” or “What are the job prospects in my industry?”

There are several career communities that focus on those initial years of your career and offer resources for you to start off strong — here are five.

The most popular blog posts of 2010

2010 was a tumultuous year in recruitment and ‘The Savage Truth‘ clocked up close to 50 blogs, trying to make sense of it all. Blog readership has increased incrementally over the year, I am relieved to say, and some posts got particular attention.

Below is a list of the 2010 posts that got the most retweets on Twitter and the most blog comments this year. Interestingly, some of the posts that got the most traffic overall, did not get many comments, or make this list.

If you missed these posts, just click the links below:

1. No, you are not ‘running late’, you are rude and selfish (453 Retweets, 106 Comments)
2. 10 ways the world of recruitment is changing, right now! (198 Retweets, 28 Comments)
3. Recruiters, use your ‘necktop’ when engaging with clients (video) (132 Retweets, 5 Comments)

3 things YOUR company is getting WRONG in Social Recruitment!

Incorrect hires must cost the economy £millions every year when you combine job advertising, wages and recruitment fees, and with the rise of Social Recruitment I believe we can start to reduce this wasted spend.

As a follow on from a previous post ‘How to get found in Social Media’, I thought it would be a good idea to put down some ideas around Social Recruitment for the brand employing staff (or the recruitment business sourcing them). It might sound obvious but the days of just posting jobs are gone and I believe that if we raise the bar in the recruitment profession we can greatly reduce unnecessary spend, bring the quality of service in the recruitment industry up and therefore reduce the number of cowboy recruiters spraying biz cards and cold calls around your office!

117 Funniest Creative Job and Recruitment Ads

The most creative and funny job ads that recruiters are using to get your attention.

Enjoy! Click through to see larger versions at the source.

Which one is your favorite? Tell us in the comments.

The top 5 UK recruitment groups on LinkedIn

With the UK recruitment sector showing signs of recovery there’s never been a better time to mingle. Sharing thoughts with peers is both invigorating and educational, all the while adding important values to your personal brand.

Many recruiters view LinkedIn as an enormous job board or talent pool, which, arguably, it is. However, to me this belies the premise on which the social media platform was designed in the first place – to help and encourage professionals to make tangible, valuable, contacts; building important business networks along the way.

In our evolving industry we should each be looking at ways to extend not just what but who we know – an age-old adage that should particularly resonate.

For recruiters LinkedIn should be viewed as more than a talent-attraction channel. It’s a chance to accentuate both the personal and company brand. In each of these groups you have the opportunity to do just that.

Get involved…!

What Corporate Recruiting Can Learn From the U.S. Military

Several Mondays ago, I watched a National Geographic documentary called Restrepo. Restrepo is a feature-length documentary from National Geographic that chronicles the one-year deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in one of the most dangerous and remote locations on earth, the Korengal Valley. Named “Restrepo” after PFC Juan Restrepo, who died on a hillside 7,000 miles from home on July 22, 2007 the Korengal Valley was a Taliban-infested death trap where nearly 50 U.S. soldiers lost their lives in five years of conflict, according to the Miami Herald.

This was one of the most gripping and moving war documentaries I have ever watched. The documentary followed the daily lives of the platoon members assigned to the valley outpost. By now, you are probably asking yourself what in the heck does this have to do with corporate recruiting? The answer is EVERYTHING. U.S. Military recruiters SELL.

Problem Employees

People can become problem employees for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they, themselves, are responsible; other times the workplace environment is to blame. Of course a combination of the two is entirely possible. Let's take a look at ten contributing factors:

1. The employee has too much to do.

When employees are overburdened with tasks, projects, and other responsibilities for long periods of time, they may become resentful, fatigued, and stressed. All of this can lead to increased errors, deteriorating relationships, and job dissatisfaction. While these people previously may have functioned as A or B players, they now have slipped in status due to chronic overwork.

Recruiters are not living in the Stone Age

Top 5 Myths about the Recruiting Industry



We have all had the call, “Hey Joe, my name is Bob Smith. I am a recruiter for Acme Widgets. We found your profile on LinkedIn and I was wonder if you could take a few minutes out of your work day to discuss the prospect of working for the leading manufacturer of widgets in the US.” As with most timing in life, these calls will ring you before the first cup of coffee hits your lips or during a busy meeting. Needless to say, most recruiting targets are not prepared for a cold call. Other candidates have posted their resumes online and are just hoping the fish will bite. Given the mysterious nature of these strangers that we call head hunters, there are many misconceptions about the recruiting industry. Here is an inside look at the top 5 myths concerning the art of recruiting.

Not all recruiters jump out the window during a recession