Recruiters - Mind The Gap

The 10 second rule to review a resume is the most aggravating rule that some recruiters take pride in. Cut them some slack, a candidate has spent hours on their resume and some of them have even spent money to have a well written resume, not for some recruiter to scan for key words just because they do not have time to review it over 10 secs. I understand that there are a million resumes to review however how would you like to be treated if you were on the other side?

What is even more aggravating is the disrespect for candidates who have had gaps. Just because someone has had gaps doesn’t mean they are less than someone who has had less gaps. People have lives that they need to lead – young children, aging parents, stress, job loss there could be several reasons.  For God sake pick up the phone and call them. Find out why they had the gap in their life.

An excellent recruiter has the ability to look beyond the generic issues and at the talent of the candidate based on their drive to achieve.  I will be more interested in learning about what did they do to keep up with their field in order to come back to where they left off or even better to be as competitive as a person who has not had a gap. Being a good fit in a role is not just to have the technical requirements but the overall interpersonal characteristics to be a part of the team. This is not just for direct hires but also for the consultants/ contingents.

When you recruit for the client assume your role as an advocate for the client not just producing numbers.  You also need to keep in mind that you do not undercut the candidate for the sake of the relationship of the client. You need to be the eyes of justice so that you can have those difficult and yet honest conversations with both the client and the candidate so that they return the respect to you.

Once the candidate builds the trust and respect in your process they will come back to you when in need and refer people to you voluntarily. 

Finally, stay in touch. You may have placed the candidate.  Now it is time to keep them your active candidate for the rest of your recruiting career. You will not only learn more about the company that has hired them but also about your candidate. Sales relationship in recruiting is not limited to maintaining a relationship with the client but also maintaining the relationship with your candidate. It is the chicken and the egg relationship story.

Results only Work Environment

Should the bosses loosen the reins a bit??

With the world shrinking, and technology connecting every formidable corner of the world, should your boss relax and loosen the reins a little? Traditional bosses vs. modern bosses......... who is able to make it happen?

Sitting in a cubicle do you know whether your employee is working? May be if he goes out for a game of putt putt, the strategies used to play the game might trigger a strategy for work.

With gas prices soaring, employees looking for a work life balance, and the increasing stress and guilt levels .......... bosses should consider a RESULTS ONLY ENVIRONMENT. As long as the work gets done, why should the boss monitor the hallways? A "results only environment" will make the employee more responsible for his actions, and be accountable for it.

Advantages for the employee:

 Measurable performance (An advantage for the boss too!!)
 Increases and improves creativity
 Generation of new ideas
 Improves Work life balance
 Improves the overall health of the employee - reduced stress levels

Disadvantages for the employee:

Since it is a "results only environment", I guess if the employee does not produce satisfactory results HE's FIRED.

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Innovative Employer Branding - Opera Software Careers Page

Innovative advertising of the company on the careers website. This advertisement shouts diversity, intelligence, innovation, opportunity for the creative mind, technology, and so much more.

I was very attracted to this because it reaches out to the crowd. Each of the models are dressed in clothes that express themselves. The words used seem genuine, personal and reach out to the potential candidate (whichever character they can relate to). The video also informs the potential candidate what they need to hear about the company.

A great way to deliver the vision & mission of the company.

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Did you hire the right consultant? A comment on ASUG's EDGE

Well you have to be a member of ASUG to have access. I was researching ASUG's new website. They have the networking feature called EDGE. You can write reviews about a company and an individual. This helps you choose the right implementation partner company or consultant for your SAP implementation. This is a boon and a bane. Its a boon if your company or your consultant has performed very well at the client location. It is a bane if they did not. Some of the reviews that I read contain reviews not only about the technical knowledge of the consultant/s, but also about the attitude and personality of the consultant/s.

The consultant who was given a bad review is from one of the BIG 4 consulting company and a Senior consultant. The overall comment was " was very knowledgeable, however was not always very open and willing to work with us." The reviewer checked that he will not hire this consultant again.

The consultant who was given a good review is from a small SAP consulting company. The overall comment was " This was the first time I had worked with as well as and it was a good experience. I will continue our business relationship for future opportunities to work together."


Do we hire consultants just for technical requirements? Or do we hire consultants to be customer service associates while performing technical functions? Information technology belongs to the Service industry. All consultants hired must come with the right attitude, flexibility and tolerance of their customers within reasonable boundaries. After all in a service industry, the customer is always right ;). Although most part of the job requires the consultant's technical skills, the most critical part of the job is interacting with the customer.

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CNBC's Report on India by Erin Brunett .... Very Interesting

One of the First & Most Positive reporting on India's Growth. Most of the reports on India focus on the poverty in India. Although poverty is still a challenge in India, it is one of the most potential market.

Blackstone's India Manager stressed the Value of Education in India. Although India has the most number of graduates about 80% of them are not employable because of the . There is still room for improvement. Man!! talk about untapped market. http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=743340133

India causing the food crisis....No says P Chidambaram - India's Finance Minister's ....http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=743291698

Shopping in India.... All the big brand names, luxury brands to Walmart want to invest in India. http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=743333751

Hope you enjoyed these segments as much as I did............. thanks for stopping by.

Harvard Business Review - Talent Management for the 21st Century

Whether you are a corporate, independent or a contract recruiter.....you are always working for the greater good of "TALENT MANAGEMENT". One of the interesting reads for me recently has been this article..... by Peter Cappelli (http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/faculty/cappelli.html) in the HBR March 2008 Issue. Below is an overview of the article.............(Source:HBR Magazine, you can also visit http://www.hbr.org/ you need to be a member). So the gist of it is...

Operations Principle Applied to Talent Management

A supply chain perspective on talent management relies on four principles, two that address the risks in estimating demand and two that address the uncertainity of supply.

Principle 1 : Make and Buy to Manage Risk

A deep bench of talent is expensive, so companies should undershoot their estimates of what will be needed and plan to hire from outside to make up for any shortfall. Some positions may be easier to fill from outside than others, so firms should be thoughtful about where they put their precious resources in development: "Talent management is an investment, not an entitlement".

Principle 2: Adapt to the Uncertainity in Talent Demand

Uncertainity in demand is a given, and smart companies find ways to adapt to it. One approach is to break up development programs into shorter units: Rather than put management trainees through a three-year functional program, for instance, bring employees from all the functions together in an 18-month course that teaches general management skills, and then send them to their functions to specialize. Another option is to create an organization-wide talent pool that can be allocated among business units as the need arises.

Principle 3: Improve your return on Investment in Developing Employees

One way to improve the payoff is to get employees to share in the costs of development. That might mean asking them to take an additional stretch assignments on a voluntary basis. Another approach is to maintain relationships with former employees in the hope that they may return someday, bringing back your investment in their skills.

Principle 4: Preserve the Investment by Balancing Employee-Employer Interests

Arguably, the main reason good employees leave an organization is that they find better opportunities elsewhere. This makes talent development a perishable commodity. The key to preserving your investment in development efforts as long as possible is to balance the interests of employees and employer by having them share in advancement decisions.

Life without the Internet

Have you wondered what your life will be without the internet? I have had the experience in the past 4 days. My computer hard disk crashed, and I haven't the time to run between the library & home to get my work done. Feeling primitive, I picked up the phone book..... and called my local service engineer. He seemed surprised that a person actually used the phone book to find him.

With all the new internet research, finding passive candidates etc, I was wondering what will happen to this internet recruiting world if the internet had to malfunction. However, since that is nowhere close to possible............ it made me think about the many job opportunities the internet has created specifically for us recruiters.

Keep surfing!!!

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