#TalentAttraction #Tuesday and The Candidate Whisperer

As a Talent Attraction expert with 39 years of professional recruitment and consultant experience – and as an expert professional coach who has helped over 1,000 professionals find their next positions over the past 25 years, I am The Candidate Whisperer.

My expert experience in both areas benefits both companies and their potential candidates.  Obviously, while on a Talent Attraction contract with a client, I do not coach those candidates.  My experience working with candidates on their searches does benefit my clients because I know their Frustrations, Fears, Expectations (SLA for candidates), what makes them excited, and what turns them off.

What Is the BIGGEST Turnoff for Professional Candidates?

Unfortunately, since 2001 companies have conditioned candidates that completing an application prior to a meaningful conversation is a waste of time.  Applications are fine for hourly workers.  They drive Top Professional Talent away!  Who are left?  Mostly desperate candidates are left in your pool of “talent”.  Is your company searching for desperate talent?  Most executives would say, “No!”

Professionals in a job search complain that they spend that 15 to 20 minutes completing an application – and they never hear from the company. 

How many applications would you continue to complete without a meaningful conversation?  If you are a talented candidate, you abandon this recruiting process Every Time you see it.  Based on my conversations with these professionals, they always leave when required to complete an application prior to a meaningful conversation with the company.

Benefit the Contingent/Retained Search Industry!

If these professionals are not using your Free for your company website, how do you hire them?  Consider this thought, if your website prevents candidates from applying for a position simply by forwarding a resume, your company does not have them in your Applicant Tracking System.

Therefore, you are supporting the Professional Search industry – and paying their fees – generally between 20% to 30% of the candidates’ first year’s annual compensation, including projected bonuses.

When my business is working on a fee basis, I charge 30% of the first year’s annual compensation.  How does that impact Your bottom line?  Your action certainly benefits my bottom line. 

Talent Attraction mirrors the Sales Process

There is a different Human Resource mindset between Talent Attraction and Talent Acquisition.  Talent Attraction mirrors the Sales Process perfectly.  Sure, other “experts” will tell you what you want to hear to get your business.  Talent Acquisition requires the candidates to follow the Company’s process, no matter how ill-conceived it may be.

I have attended SHRM conferences and overheard Human Resource professionals say to one another, “If a candidate does not follow Our Process, we are not interested in them!”  I guess it works both ways…

Professional Candidates Should Be Attracted

Does your business make it difficult for clients to learn about and buy your products or services? 

If not, why require professional candidates to jump through hoops in order to learn about your company?  Talent Attraction requires the EASY mindset!

Humans generally avoid making Big Decisions.  It incumbent upon your business to make it as easy as possible to attract the best.  Ask them to make small decisions.  Help them understand why they would be happier contributing to the growth of your company!

My contract with MCI Telecommunications required me to create and deliver on my strategy to transition their 200 employee Commercial Billing Development team from Talent and IBM mainframe rich Washington, DC to talent poor (relatively speaking) and only 3 IBM mainframe shop Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Compounding the problem was the few employees (10) who would move from Washington, DC to Cedar Rapids.

This situation required recruiting on a national basis – and moving over 100 new employees to a town with a population of only 102,000 at that time. The requirement was a minimum of 120 professional employees from Senior Manager to 12 college recruits in Cedar Rapids in 12 months. Working with motivated managers, as a team we successfully grew the Commercial Billing Development staff to 143 professionals in the first 12 months and beat our minimum goal by 23 professional employees!

Talent Acquisition recruiters would ask one question first (the screening question) – Will you move to Cedar Rapids, Iowa?  If the candidate says No! – and most will, your company just lost that candidate.  By the way, the name of the town does not matter. We moved to Cedar Rapids after this contract to work with a startup, McLeodUSA, and lived there for 15 years.

The Talent Acquisition process screens Out professional candidates instead of selling candidates on your company and determining if they are a good fit for the position, their team, and your company.  Then you worry about relocation.

Ask Candidates To Make Easy Decisions

In your Talent Attraction process, you want to ATTRACT candidates first by making it easy for them to notify you of their interest – simply allow them to submit a resume.  Never require a candidate that you are recruiting to make a Big Decision!

The best process is to finish a call with, “Now the next small step is for you (to meet the manager on a phone call, interview onsite, take a tour of the town/city.)”  On the MCI Telecommunications contract, many candidates told me they did not want to move to Cedar Rapids…until they did!

Attract Talent! Do not drive candidates away!

My skills will help your company improve your Talent Attraction processes.  Top Talent will increase company Productivity and Profitability!

I help organizations Recruit, Onboard, Actuate, and Retain Top Talent.

Bill Humbert is available for Speaking, Talent Attraction Consulting, and Training contracts.

RecruiterGuy@msn.com  435-714-4425

https://www.espeakers.com/marketplace/speaker/profile/23767/Bill-Humbert

©1999-2020 B. Humbert – Provocative Thinking Consulting, Inc. –

USA 01-435-714-4425 Bill@RecruiterGuy.com

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