Dear Nicky,
I found a few jobs on NPAmarketplace that piqued my interest and called the partners to get the “inside scoop.” Now, a few weeks later, I sent some candidates to the job recruiter only to hear, “I have these candidates already” or “I have a bunch of other partners working it as well now.” I really don’t want to compete with 20 other recruiters. Any advice?
Competing in Commerce Township
Dear Commerce,
That’s a really good question and I’m sure you’re not alone in feeling that way. When a number of recruiters are already working a partner’s job, it seems like it would be a waste time.
Here are a few suggestions, so you don’t waste your time in the future:
- Aim for building relationships, not just working job posts. That means, reach out directly to the recruiters you see posting regularly and ask what kind of help they actually need. Sometimes they’ll have similar roles that you can get the “inside scoop” on, where they haven’t advertised to NPAmarketplace yet.
- Target niche or not-so-friendly-location jobs that likely aren’t getting a lot of member help.
- If you find a job that interests you, call the partner before working it! Ask where they are at in the search, ask if they have any candidates in play, or if other members are working the job. Offer your unique value as a partner with things about how you recruit or that you have done a lot of placements in the manufacturing space, etc.
- Do a weekly follow-up to the job recruiter letting them know you are still actively working the job. Lots of times, if they don’t hear from you after your initial call, they assume you aren’t working on it anymore so they might accept help from other recruiters. Weekly calls also give you the opportunity to ask if there are any changes from the client.
I would tell all members, POST your records - we need more candidates and jobs in the system. Number one, it is about marketing yourself, and number two, you just may place that candidate or fill that role that you post.
And finally, a reminder to job recruiters: It's the information about a candidate that triggers your interest that determines who your split partner is. It is never appropriate to do a database search AFTER a partner has sent you a candidate. If your partner's referral is interesting enough for you to look to see if you already have the candidate, a split is owed.
Nicky
send letters to: nanderson@npaworldwide.com