What you are about to read could very well shock you.  You may want to write me hate mail (or "hate email" in this day in age, I guess).  You may wonder if I am completely crazy.  But here goes anyways...

 

Fellow recruiters, please end your call that you are right now, put down the headset, and roll your chair back from your desk.  It is time to leave the "dialing for dollars" mentality behind...

 

Okay, maybe I am a little off the beaten path with this one, but I really think we need to stop being strapped to our 10-keys and stop looking like we work in a call center for some Fortune 500 company.  It is possible, and in fact, might even be crucial to your existence in this industry.

 

See, the market is ever-changing, and right now the competition is EXTREMELY tight.  We need to explore guerilla recruiting tactics, and we need to start now.

 

Don't get me wrong, the phone is never going to go away.  We are still going to have to look for those 200+ minutes a week of quality new candidate recruiting phone calls (on top of the 100 other things we do to keep our pipelines rolling and placements coming).  The phone still needs to be our friend since it is the fastest, cheapest, most effective way to reach numerous candidates in an hour, day, or week.  But maybe, just maybe, we could hit the phones hard for four days, and use Friday for new approaches that will have higher pay-outs a year or two from now.  Here is what I am thinking...

 

Spend Monday through Thursday attacking your job orders that you can fill this week (or within the next 4-6 weeks).  Hit it hard, do your sourcing and prospecting, pound the phones, qualify those candidates.  Keep tabs on the time you spend on the phone and how many you can make.  Then, on Friday, try different recruiting approaches outside of using the phone.  Maybe it is blogging or hitting some discussion boards.  How about going to some local networking events?  You could probably get two or three in during the course of one day (check the Business section of your local paper to see all the events that are going on that day).  How about going to play a round of golf or a couple sets of tennis with a candidate you know is placeable, just not right now.  Don't you think they would remember something like that next time they come available and are looking for a job?  I bet they would.  How about holding a 2-hour session on some career-related topic and invite candidates you want to build relationships with.  Pitch to them that they can learn something and network with a handful of others in their related field.  You can keep the cost low (or to even nothing) if you hold the session at a local community center and make it free to attend.  Hand out your flyers, business cards, etc.

 

I could go on and on and have countless ideas in my head.  I just think the most important part is to get out there - show your face around town.  Build your brand!  Think of your recruiting strategy being similar to your 401(k) plan - start banking your relationships now for further down the road.  Your Monday through Thursday work will pay your bills now... Your Friday work will keep you employed years from now.

 

Robert Stanke