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Getting the Most Out of Your Recruiting Efforts
(By Dan Simmons, CPC)
In an effort to find top candidates to interview for a position, some hiring managers think it best to hire a half dozen or even more recruiters to scour the planet. They think they will have more candidates to interview in less time than if they worked with just one recruiter.
Years ago, I was involved in just such a situation when a sales manager called asking if I could find a PhD Dairy Nutritionist for their animal feed supplement company. He mentioned that he's highly selective and had 10 other recruiters currently looking for candidates. I didn't want to be the 11th and politely told him so, thanking him for his call.
Several months later, I received a call from that company's CEO to invite me to meet, together with his leadership team. He wanted to see if I could offer advice on how they could improve their recruiting efforts. The position I had been called about months earlier had still not been filled. Those 11 recruiters had been working on this search for eight months, with the company interviewing eight candidates, all to no avail.
We talked about this for a couple of hours, with me explaining how unproductive it is to have multiple recruiters working on a search. They had no idea how the process worked on my end and how it should work on theirs. They placed me on retainer, with me asking them a lot of questions regarding their needs, this specific position, and what they saw as missing in the seven candidates they'd already interviewed.
With this information, I was able to find some much better candidates, filling the position within two months. This person went on to work for the company very successfully.
This was an example of quality over quantity. With 10 recruiters working on the same search, they had no incentive to put all their focus, time, and effort into this one search. They were passive about it and therefore, didn't get the results that were needed. Being on retainer, I could put everything I had into finding just the right candidates, and ultimately one so outstanding that an offer was made.
Next time you have a critical search assignment with a position you want filled yesterday, and only the best will do, hire one specialized recruiting firm to get the job done, someone you trust implicitly. Give them an exclusive so they can put all they have into finding you just the right candidates. As long as they're performing, let them continue on with their exclusive until the position is filled.
If you'd like more information on this topic, call me at (888) 276-6789 or send an email to dan@consearch.com. (And don't forget to connect with me on LinkedIn!)
Past Accomplishments Should be Tied to Future Performance
(By Dan Simmons, CPC)
We're all a bit nervous when being interviewed for a job, but if you can remember to do one thing throughout, it would be to answer questions in such a way that your past accomplishments are tied to your future performance for this company.
Your primary objective is to come out of the interview with an offer of employment. In order to do this, you must communicate why you are the single best candidate to fill the position. Even before you get called for the interview, determine what it is that you can offer this company and figure out how you are going to explain this by tying your previous career accomplishments to the requirements of the job.
The interviewer will most likely ask you to tell them about yourself. Be ready with a concise, positive, informative answer that ends with you asking a question like this:
"I'd like to tell you more with regard to the job I'm interviewing for. What would I mainly be responsible for accomplishing if I were brought onboard for this position?"
This keeps the interview process on track in defining the expectations of the company in choosing someone for this position. It gives you an opportunity to explain your qualifications for the position and the amount of value you have to offer in this role.
In discussing your accomplishments, try to focus on the essentials:
- The problems you faced in previous jobs
- The solutions you came up with to solve the problems
- The results you achieved implementing your solutions
- The value to the company of solving the problems. If you can quantify this in percentages or dollar amounts, this will reinforce the point.
- The more value you can offer to a company, the more money you can command.
You need to be a bit careful in describing your past role(s). If you can use words like accountability, responsibility, managed, directed, and team, you'll be fine. It is never a good idea to speak in negative terms about past managers or employers. Negative comments will only show you in a bad light. Companies want positive, can-do type employees.
While highlighting past career experiences, mention the accomplishments that are most closely related to the job for which you're interviewing. Prior to the interview, research the company using every available source on the Internet.
If you can bring physical examples of your work in the form of charts, videos, manuals, artwork and/or drawings, this can make a very strong impression.
Use any means possible to tie your past accomplishments to your future performance at this company. This is exactly what the interviewer is trying to do in assessing your suitability for the position.
If you're a job seeker and have any career-related questions, you can email them to Don Hunter at donhunter@consearch.com. Don also encourages you to connect with him on LinkedIn.
5 Ways the American Farmland Trust is Saving Farms and Saving Food
At the Animal Science Monitor, we strive to address important topics within the industry with timely articles that convey our understanding of these issues and our recognition of the solutions associated with them. One of those issues is the gradual disappearance of farmland in this country, and one of the solutions is the American Farmland Trust.
Everything we eat consists of food that originated on a farm-whether it's meat, vegetables, pasta, salad, or even ice cream. Simply put, we need farming to continue if we're all going to survive. And for that, we need farmland. But at the current growth rate of urban sprawl and development, we are losing 50 acres of food-producing farmland (including ranchland) in the U.S. every single hour.
Compounding this land crisis, 57% of farmers in America are 55 years or older and will be retiring in the next couple of decades. Add to that certain environmental issues, like the loss of 1.7 billion tons of topsoil every year to erosion with two-thirds of our coastal waterways being degraded (which could be cleaned up with improved farm practices) and you realize the magnitude of the problem. Furthermore, as our population increases, we will need to produce double the amount of food we do now to feed America in 2050.
American Farmland Trust was founded 35 years ago with a commitment to lead a national campaign to save our farmlands, our topsoil, and the farming industry to continue feeding Americans and others around the world. They have staff working all over the country promoting very innovative programs and policies to protect farmland.
Over the years, American Farmland Trust has saved more than five million acres of farmland, including ranchland. It has also contributed resources to improving conservation on millions more. They have staff and members all over the country to accomplish the following five things:
#1 - Advocate
The AFT frequents local city councils, state capitals, and the halls of Congress fighting to implement policies and programs that protect our farmland, the food supply, and our environment. They speak on behalf of all farmers and ranchers, especially family-owned.
#2 - Educate
For many decades, so many farms disappeared across America and people had nowhere to turn to stop it. AFT sounded the first alarm back in the 1980s, which was long before our local food supply and issues involving farmland were part of the national consciousness. The organization continually reminds the citizenry of the importance of America's farms and the tools available to save them.
#3 - Innovate
AFT develops very innovative techniques to save farmland and guard the environment. When testing an initiative, it starts as a pilot project. They see how it works and then come up with ways to scale the initiative to provide nationwide solutions that will have the most impact.
#4 - Investigate
There is no way to save farms unless there is a good understanding of all that threatens them and why. Solid research and investigation is needed to uncover all of this. The reports the AFT writes are well grounded in fact and are highly respected not only by farmers, but also scientists. This is what leads to change.
#5 - Collaborate
Since the issues are too large to undertake alone, AFT collaborates with like-minded individuals and organizations to develop solutions for lasting change. They partner with citizens, environmentalists, businesses, governmental bodies, and farmers in their quest to save farmland.
This is an incredibly important cause, one that we all benefit from. AFT needs people throughout the country to help. If you would like to join AFT or contribute in any way to this critical endeavor, please visit www.farmland.org.
In next month's issue of the Animal Science Monitor, I will discuss some of AFT's major accomplishments and talk about what we can all do to help save family farms.
How to Submit Your Event and Internship Program Information
(By Matt Deutsch)
For years, the Animal Science Monitor has published news and information regarding events in the Animal Health and Animal Nutrition industry . . . and we'll continue to do so for the foreseeable future!
Not only that, but we also want to highlight internship programs. However, to do so, we need your help! Specifically, we need you to submit your event and internship program information.
For your event, please include the following information:
- The name of the event
- A description of the event
- The dates of the event
- How to register for the event
- URL links to the applicable information
When submitting your internship information, be sure to include the following:
- A brief overview of your organization
- A description of your internship opportunities
- A summary of required qualifications
- The time frame and duration of the internship
- Specific data regarding how to apply for the internship, including physical addresses, phone and/or fax numbers, and email addresses
Once you submit your information, it will appear in a future issue of the ASM! You can email your event and internship program information to damien@consearch.com.
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