Are you game planning for revenue growth in the upcoming year?  Working with Sales and Marketing to drive new clients in the first quarter?  The highest growth ROI isn’t in an ad campaign, it resides in Human Resource with preventative recruiting.

Lost opportunity, due to understaffing, is the largest drag on profit in any business.  Every day your company is short a client facing employee hundreds of dollars in profit is lost.  Taking a month to fill a sales role, when you start the search short the person, can result in between $15,000 and $30,000 in unrealized profit.  Now consider being a few sales reps short?  You can easily be throwing away six figures worth of profit each month.

Most managers only consider the cost of recruiting and time invested in screening.  With all the cost effective options available to market a job, this is a drop in the bucket against the real money at stake.  Recruiting prior to feeling the pain of need is the key boosting results.

Preventative recruiting is planning ahead of sales by 3 to 6 months.  Advertise in anticipation of the next two quarters.  Build a pipeline of qualified candidates ready to step in immediately, and cultivate future candidates that are only starting to consider a new position.  A typical new sales rep takes 90 days to fully understand your business’ process and product.  Be ready to hire for March now, and target later candidates to fill in for June.

Here are just a few of the benefits of preventative recruiting:

1. Less time pressure means more time to interview and vet candidates, resulting in better hires.
2. Advertising during off-peak sales periods gets higher quality applicants, because there are fewer competitors for job seekers.
3. Having candidates in a pipeline reduces time to hire, speeding up production.
4. Consistent advertising has an employer branding effect.  This allows you to reach presently employed passive job seekers prior to them actually getting in the job market.
5. Never get caught understaffed losing thousands a month.

As you meet with your team about 2018, get your hiring plan in gear.  Have an employment advertising plan, and a commitment to consistently interview candidates even if you aren’t prepared to hire them on today (though keep an open mind).  If you are the Manager that places a job ad when you notice customers aren’t being helped, you already are losing out.

Happy hunting for your next star.  Contact us for more questions on building a consistent ad plan on a budget, no cost and no obligation.

Deciding what parts of your business to entrust with a vendor, and what to keep in house is a daunting task.  It seems there is someone willing to take over any part of your business that you will allow.  Hiring is one of the largest.

Promises of finding perfect people, with no work on behalf of your business, are boasted from multiple vendors but rarely can be achieved.  The plain fact is that some parts of your process of getting staff should only be given over to your own employees.  The secret to successfully using outside resources is knowing what to handle yourself.

In-Source your staffing by only using vendors for tasks that make your own employees better at hiring.  Stop buying services that try to replace your management and only add high costs.

Here are the major tasks needed to get the staff you need, and the viability for using outside resources to help:

Ad writing - The larger the crop of candidates pooled in the beginning the better the odds of finding the best talent in your market.  Advertising needs to be well written, with appropriate keywords and search engine optimization.  Job Boards like Indeed rank results based on wording, and your ranking can be the difference between the right candidate finding your ad, or applying somewhere else.  Quality ad writing can make a big difference, and costs little to outsource.  Give this one to an agency or vendor.

Job Board Placement - Online advertising has become a volume business.  One example is CareerBuilder, the regular retail price for a single ad is over $500, where a volume price for a contract with multiple ads can be under $100.  In addition, volume advertisers get prime placement on job boards.  This means the agencies get more ads for the dollar, and better search result.  Let a firm book your ads.  You will spend less for more advertising.

Applicant tracking and initial screening - Dealing with applicant traffic, is no different than sales traffic.  Your results are only going to be as good as your ability to track leads and establish which are worthwhile.  If your business has enough staff to dedicate to following up on applications, including calling every person that applies, keep this in-house.  If you do not have a separated staff let a company handle the routing of leads, including establishing separating the wheat from the chaff.  Only outsource if it is a low cost option, no need to pay thousands to have someone track and review applications.  Only use a low cost option, if you cannot dedicate staff in your own company.

Face to face interviews - The only way to really know who to hire is to meet face to face.  This can be a daunting and involved process.  Usually left to a department manager with limited experience in examining candidates.  While it is tempting to try and let a company meet applicants for you, and try and free up the department head to go about their daily business, this is the most critical step in hiring and has to stay in your hands.  Invest in training for your own employees, there are lots of HR training classes and webinars that are specifically designed to make your manager better at selecting the right candidates.  Train and In-Source the task of meeting candidates and interviews.  Never hand off to an outsider.

Orientation and training - Employees are won or lost in the first few days of employment.  The view of your business is set by how a new employee is introduced to the company and staff, and how easy it is for them to begin being productive.  There is no substitute for the leaders in a business taking a hands on approach to new staff coming to their department.  Having an outsider handle the first few days of a staff member enter your business has a negative impact on the long term retention of an employee.  In-source this to your staff.

Scrutinize your vendors carefully and start In-Sourcing more of your hiring process.

Greg Gershman - Managing Partner Recruitment HQ

Finding the best employees takes top flight marketing to appeal to the most candidates, and then an interview process to bring the right people forward.  Job boards like Indeed are making advertising your job easier than ever, but accessing candidates is still the weak link.

The answer lies in the same principals in quantum mechanics.  Quantum theory states that all things exist in more than one state and only become one definitive state once measured.   You can perform an easy example right at your desk.  Take a coin, spin it on a table, and then cover it with your hand stopping it.  While the coin is spinning is it heads or tails?  Quantum theory says that it is both in those moments, and doesn't become one or the other until we choose to stop the coin and measure it as heads or tails, and it is how we stop the coin that dictates what side the coin ends up.

So how does this relate to selecting the best candidates?  Much like the example of the coin, our interview (method of measuring) dictates whether we access a candidate as a good or bad fit for our company.

When a prospective employee comes to your company for an interview there are many factors that can make them either a positive or negative possibility for your team.  Some of the most important are:

1. Friendliness of their initial greeting.  When a person enters your store for an interview and they are not treated like someone the dealership is happy to meet it can completely change their energy level for the interview.  A negative initial impression from a company can turn a person that would normally be considered a top candidate into a missed opportunity.
2. Time for a candidate to wait for an appointment.  Applicants coming for an interview are told to be on time and prepared.  They hold the business to the same standard.  Many interviewers tell us they refused to interview a candidate who was late, stating that it showed they weren't dependable.  The same view is held by interviewees.  When they made to wait an hour after their appointment time the desire to win the job is gone, the company is viewed as unreliable and uncaring about new employees.  
3. Preparedness of the interviewer.  The number one way we know someone is listening to what we have to say, in a business setting, is for them to write it down.  Prospective employees want to know that the interviewer cares about the answers they are giving.  It is deflating for a person in an interview when they feel the dealership employee isn't attentive to the answers to the questions being asked.
4. Asking of concise questions.  Many managers try to use a sight test on prospective new hires, "I'll know them when I see them".  Potential employees succeed based on skills like communication, discipline, ability to be outgoing, and empathetic listening.  These are measurable with the right questions.  Making your interview all about selling you a pen, and what sports teams a candidate means you are measuring the wrong way.  This causes you to pick potential employees that are completely wrong for your store, but look right because of how you are measuring them.

The next time your company is lamenting having to terminate an employee, and decide they were a bad hire from the start, ask yourself how did we measure them from the start?

Finding the best employees takes top flight marketing to appeal to the most candidates, and then an interview process to bring the right people forward.  Job boards like Indeed are making advertising your job easier than ever, but accessing candidates is still the weak link.

The answer lies in the same principals in quantum mechanics.  Quantum theory states that all things exist in more than one state and only become one definitive state once measured.   You can perform an easy example right at your desk.  Take a coin, spin it on a table, and then cover it with your hand stopping it.  While the coin is spinning is it heads or tails?  Quantum theory says that it is both in those moments, and doesn't become one or the other until we choose to stop the coin and measure it as heads or tails, and it is how we stop the coin that dictates what side the coin ends up.

So how does this relate to selecting the best candidates?  Much like the example of the coin, our interview (method of measuring) dictates whether we access a candidate as a good or bad fit for our company.

When a prospective employee comes to your company for an interview there are many factors that can make them either a positive or negative possibility for your team.  Some of the most important are:

1. Friendliness of their initial greeting.  When a person enters your store for an interview and they are not treated like someone the dealership is happy to meet it can completely change their energy level for the interview.  A negative initial impression from a company can turn a person that would normally be considered a top candidate into a missed opportunity.
2. Time for a candidate to wait for an appointment.  Applicants coming for an interview are told to be on time and prepared.  They hold the business to the same standard.  Many interviewers tell us they refused to interview a candidate who was late, stating that it showed they weren't dependable.  The same view is held by interviewees.  When they made to wait an hour after their appointment time the desire to win the job is gone, the company is viewed as unreliable and uncaring about new employees.  
3. Preparedness of the interviewer.  The number one way we know someone is listening to what we have to say, in a business setting, is for them to write it down.  Prospective employees want to know that the interviewer cares about the answers they are giving.  It is deflating for a person in an interview when they feel the dealership employee isn't attentive to the answers to the questions being asked.
4. Asking of concise questions.  Many managers try to use a sight test on prospective new hires, "I'll know them when I see them".  Potential employees succeed based on skills like communication, discipline, ability to be outgoing, and empathetic listening.  These are measurable with the right questions.  Making your interview all about selling you a pen, and what sports teams a candidate means you are measuring the wrong way.  This causes you to pick potential employees that are completely wrong for your store, but look right because of how you are measuring them.

The next time your company is lamenting having to terminate an employee, and decide they were a bad hire from the start, ask yourself how did we measure them from the start?

Every job hunter ask themselves, "What can I do to get my resume read?".  Google the term resume writing and a dizzying array of websites come up.  Thousands of different takes on what makes a great resume.  We have taken the time to ask our employers and read tons of great advice so we can give you the most concise methods for getting your resume read by prospective employers.

No matter the position you seek or your experience level here is what you need:

1. One size does not fit all.  Be prepared to have multiple resumes tailored to the job you seek.  Many times we will look at a candidate for a client and wonder why they are applying for a particular job, even though their resume doesn't list the necessary qualifiers.  After speaking to the applicant we find out there is information they are missing, because they originally started shopping for a different type of job and only have the relevant information for their original goal job.
2. Location, location, location.  Skip the wordy objective paragraph at the top of your resume and get right into the heart of your experience.  Employers are trying to read through dozens of resumes and are likely to skim for the information they want.  Make it easy to find.  The most important information to an employer is how ready you are to to handle the position they offer.  The best way to demonstrate that is with relative prior work history.  If your work history is at the bottom of your resume it may never get read!
3. Ditch the fancy font.  Recruiting companies and employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to collate applicants and their resumes.  A resume in an odd format (only use Word) with fancy font may not even be able to be read by the ATS.  Employers with lots of applicants will simply skip over an application that cannot be read by their system.  They will not take the time to contact an applicant and request something else.
4. Use real data.  It isn't enough to say you were the sales leader, or had create customer satisfaction numbers.  Give an employer hard numbers to substantiate your claim.  Quantify how many thousands or millions of dollars you had in sales.  Document your actual customer satisfaction rating.  Everyone says best sales numbers, most don't back it up.
5. Check your address, email, number, and typos.  Be sure your resume has your full contact info, including present address, cell number, and email.  We receive applications every day with wrong addresses, and regularly employers will tell us to reject the candidate if they cannot even bother to update their resume with their present address.  Applications without contact info are routinely rejected.  Employers aren't going to work to get a hold of a candidate.
6. Page 1 is all that matters.  Sell your resume like Amazon sells books, if page one is dull the book never sells.  If you have to have a resume that is longer than one page make sure the info that will really matter to the employer is in the beginning.  If they aren't convinced your resume is worthwhile on the first page everything after that doesn't matter.

Happy hunting for your next perfect job!

H Gregory Gershman - Managing Partner - Recruitment HQ

Every job hunter ask themselves, "What can I do to get my resume read?".  Google the term resume writing and a dizzying array of websites come up.  Thousands of different takes on what makes a great resume.  We have taken the time to ask our employers and read tons of great advice so we can give you the most concise methods for getting your resume read by prospective employers.

No matter the position you seek or your experience level here is what you need:

1. One size does not fit all.  Be prepared to have multiple resumes tailored to the job you seek.  Many times we will look at a candidate for a client and wonder why they are applying for a particular job, even though their resume doesn't list the necessary qualifiers.  After speaking to the applicant we find out there is information they are missing, because they originally started shopping for a different type of job and only have the relevant information for their original goal job.
2. Location, location, location.  Skip the wordy objective paragraph at the top of your resume and get right into the heart of your experience.  Employers are trying to read through dozens of resumes and are likely to skim for the information they want.  Make it easy to find.  The most important information to an employer is how ready you are to to handle the position they offer.  The best way to demonstrate that is with relative prior work history.  If your work history is at the bottom of your resume it may never get read!
3. Ditch the fancy font.  Recruiting companies and employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to collate applicants and their resumes.  A resume in an odd format (only use Word) with fancy font may not even be able to be read by the ATS.  Employers with lots of applicants will simply skip over an application that cannot be read by their system.  They will not take the time to contact an applicant and request something else.
4. Use real data.  It isn't enough to say you were the sales leader, or had create customer satisfaction numbers.  Give an employer hard numbers to substantiate your claim.  Quantify how many thousands or millions of dollars you had in sales.  Document your actual customer satisfaction rating.  Everyone says best sales numbers, most don't back it up.
5. Check your address, email, number, and typos.  Be sure your resume has your full contact info, including present address, cell number, and email.  We receive applications every day with wrong addresses, and regularly employers will tell us to reject the candidate if they cannot even bother to update their resume with their present address.  Applications without contact info are routinely rejected.  Employers aren't going to work to get a hold of a candidate.
6. Page 1 is all that matters.  Sell your resume like Amazon sells books, if page one is dull the book never sells.  If you have to have a resume that is longer than one page make sure the info that will really matter to the employer is in the beginning.  If they aren't convinced your resume is worthwhile on the first page everything after that doesn't matter.

Happy hunting for your next perfect job!

H Gregory Gershman - Managing Partner - Recruitment HQ

The Labor Department just brought out its latest job report and unemployment is now at 5.0%, the lowest since the bubble burst in 2008.  Over 270,000 jobs were created last month, with both the Retail and Food Services industries seeing marked gains in hiring.

This is great news for consumer confidence and will help get more people in the market for larger ticket items, such as cars.  Automotive sales have climbed back to pre-2008 levels, and indicators show a likely increase for 2016.  Higher sales volume, and tightening employment market is going to create fierce competition for quality sales staff.

How can small to mid-size business, like automotive dealerships, compete for the talent?  Here are a few ways to stand out.

1. Update employment pages.  The better the applicant, the more likely they are to research the company prior to interviewing.  The business career page is the first place a candidate will go to get a first impression.  Look over your website's about us, and career page.  Do they speak to why someone would want to work for your company?  Will a candidate understand the culture and benefits of signing on with your business?
2. Give an interview orientation tour.  Welcome applicants like they are part of the family.  Assign a person to take each applicant that comes in through your store, like they are a prospective customer.  Many times candidates have to wait until the Manager is ready for the interview, have a greeter or other staffer use that time to walk the prospective employee through your facility.
3. Engage with good questions.  A potential new employee only has a few data points to establish their thoughts about your business.  The quality of the interview is one of the only ways a candidate can judge the quality of your business.  Questions need to be intelligent and concise.  The interviewer needs to be an active listener.

With the dwindling supply of quality new employees it is imperative to motivate the best candidates we receive to work for us.

H Gregory Gershman - Managing Partner - www.RecruitmentHQ.com

The Labor Department just brought out its latest job report and unemployment is now at 5.0%, the lowest since the bubble burst in 2008.  Over 270,000 jobs were created last month, with both the Retail and Food Services industries seeing marked gains in hiring.

This is great news for consumer confidence and will help get more people in the market for larger ticket items, such as cars.  Automotive sales have climbed back to pre-2008 levels, and indicators show a likely increase for 2016.  Higher sales volume, and tightening employment market is going to create fierce competition for quality sales staff.

How can small to mid-size business, like automotive dealerships, compete for the talent?  Here are a few ways to stand out.

1. Update employment pages.  The better the applicant, the more likely they are to research the company prior to interviewing.  The business career page is the first place a candidate will go to get a first impression.  Look over your website's about us, and career page.  Do they speak to why someone would want to work for your company?  Will a candidate understand the culture and benefits of signing on with your business?
2. Give an interview orientation tour.  Welcome applicants like they are part of the family.  Assign a person to take each applicant that comes in through your store, like they are a prospective customer.  Many times candidates have to wait until the Manager is ready for the interview, have a greeter or other staffer use that time to walk the prospective employee through your facility.
3. Engage with good questions.  A potential new employee only has a few data points to establish their thoughts about your business.  The quality of the interview is one of the only ways a candidate can judge the quality of your business.  Questions need to be intelligent and concise.  The interviewer needs to be an active listener.

With the dwindling supply of quality new employees it is imperative to motivate the best candidates we receive to work for us.

H Gregory Gershman - Managing Partner - www.RecruitmentHQ.com

As a service to our employer clients and their candidates Recruitment HQ surveys each person that goes on an interview.  The results give key information to our clients about how to motivate the best talent to say yes to their job, and improves the experience of our applicants.

One of the key scores is about wait time.  We asked our candidates to rate, on a metric of 1 to 5, how satisfied they were with the wait time to meet with the interviewer.  The average rating is 3.2, or 64%.

To understand what this means during the hiring process you have to look at the net effect it has on candidates accepting a position when offered.  

Not one candidate that rated interview wait time below 80% accepted the position they were offered.

The most talented applicants that visit your business for an interview expect their interviewer to value their appointment time.  In the same way an interviewer is unlikely to hire a candidate that shows up late for their interview.

Happy hunting for your next rockstar employee!

As a service to our employer clients and their candidates Recruitment HQ surveys each person that goes on an interview.  The results give key information to our clients about how to motivate the best talent to say yes to their job, and improves the experience of our applicants.

One of the key scores is about wait time.  We asked our candidates to rate, on a metric of 1 to 5, how satisfied they were with the wait time to meet with the interviewer.  The average rating is 3.2, or 64%.

To understand what this means during the hiring process you have to look at the net effect it has on candidates accepting a position when offered.  

Not one candidate that rated interview wait time below 80% accepted the position they were offered.

The most talented applicants that visit your business for an interview expect their interviewer to value their appointment time.  In the same way an interviewer is unlikely to hire a candidate that shows up late for their interview.

Happy hunting for your next rockstar employee!