Recruiter Confidence High!!!

Yesterday I received an email from ExecuNet which had a link to a recent post on their website: “Recruiter Confidence Jumps Amid Positive Economic Indicators.” In the article they explain that they poll Executive recruiter’s confidence quite regularly and explain that in their most recent poll 61% of respondents were either “confident” or “very confident” that executive hiring will improve over the next six months.

What really struck me was the chart that showed the results of their polling since 2007. As you may recall from 2003- Mid 2007 were really good times for the recruiting industry. The third quarter things started to look a bit scary and by the end of the fourth quarter we were seeing signs that there may be serious danger ahead for the economy and job market. You could see in their chart that less than 50% they polled were confident from the end of 2007 until May of 2009 with the exception of January, 2008. Then again, the first quarter is typically the biggest quarter for recruiters so it makes sense that those who responded in January would have been confident. My point is that those that respond to this poll are seemingly pretty smart.

I know for many of us 2010 was a difficult year, although please keep in mind that the chart asks search professionals about their confidence toward hiring over the next 6 months. I hope those that were “very confident” were very right this time for all of our sake and although I didn’t see or reply to the pole I would have been in that category.

Please check out the article and chart here http://tinyurl.com/22mwdjp .

To those of you who are still down or concerned about the job market and the recruiting space know things will get better. In the spirit of this report and the corresponding Jimmy V week “Don’t Ever Give Up!” What, you don’t know who Jimmy V is or about his foundation for fighting Cancer? Then click here http://tinyurl.com/6s6xlq . Need some more inspiration? Then check out one of the most inspirational speeches I ever heard; Jimmy Valvano’s 2003 speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards here http://tinyurl.com/5l62xd .

This Candidate is Really Smart! Really?

Often times in recruiting you hear recruiters and hiring managers discuss the intelligence of a candidate. Typically, recruiters lose this discussion regardless of whether they are right or wrong. Sometimes they may lose because the lack of hard evidence or data and other times the hiring authority may something like “I don’t care how smart he/she is I want someone who is a fit,” and once that’s said it’s typically game over. Yet when it comes to who is going to be Commander in Chief of the United States of America there seems to be a ton of emphasis on how smart the candidates are or aren’t.

This debate has never been greater; largely due to one woman and one comment that turned Sarah Palin from overnight sensation to instant (in) famous for being stupid based on her statement that she “could see Russia from her house.” Everyone knows Sarah Palin is stupid, just ask Chelsea Handler, or watch this clip from recent TV appearance http://tinyurl.com/37hfwzl.

I had been wondering about the comment so I did what most people would do if they have a question these days, I googled it and the funny thing is that you actually could see Russia from Alaska. Not exactly Moscow, but you could see parts of Russia. Here’s one article that explains what parts you could see from where in Russia http://tinyurl.com/59v7q3 . So now we have someone who is not a fit to be Vice President because she said something inaccurate that in fact appears to be accurate. On top of that, she is famous for this “stupid” remark. Wow, I can’t wait to see if she runs again and how she does on her next interview. After all, aren’t we all qualified to tell how smart one candidate is versus another?

That last question was rhetorical, actually, unless you are a trained industrial psychiatrist or reading scores from a standardized test who are we to theorize and state unequivocally how smart or stupid someone is? Maybe the hiring manager or executive who is more interested in someone who has a fit for the job than someone who is smart is right or maybe if he is interested in IQ he wants proof. I know one of the things that we offer and that some of our clients do on their own is have executive level candidates tested to see just how smart they really are or aren’t. Even the NFL uses the Wonderlic test to get an estimate of a person’s IQ, especially when evaluating Quarterbacks. Thus, it would be easier to compare the IQ of Steve Young to Vince Young for example than it would be to compare Bill Clinton to Barrack Obama – both seem smart. While we could assume that someone who went to an Ivy League school is smart is that the most prudent thing to do?

In recruiting for technology positions for example if a candidate needs to know Java we could have them tested and show the scores along with the resume to the hiring manager. If it is an executive position we could have an Industrial Psychiatrist perform a battery of tests to show not only how smart they are, but how they think and even give some insight to their soft skills. Though, when it comes to running for office, apparently where you went to school and the court of public opinion matters most.

How silly is that? I just googled wonderlic, it’s a 50 question test and Ryan Fitzpatrick, Harvard graduate and now starting QB of the Buffalo Bills scored a 48 in only 9 minutes.(Last link, I promise http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderlic_Test ). Maybe he should run for President? Then again, does being smart make him a fit? I don’t know, but I also don’t know unequivocally how smart or dumb Sarah Palin is and neither does Chelsea Handler. If IQ testing is good enough for the NFL and good enough for corporations looking to hire executives, shouldn’t it be good enough for Americans as part of our decision making process on who to hire to run our country?

Don’t get me wrong, I actually am a huge fan of Chelsea Handler; her show “Chelsea Lately” makes me LOL every time I watch it, I just think that she and many others were unfair on their rush to judgment of Ms. Palin based on one comment she made that actually seems to be valid. I also think that if a client cares how smart someone is or how good they are at a particular skill maybe they should test them or ask their recruiter to have them tested. And, since apparently IQ is one of the most important determining factors on who to vote for, each candidate should take the same test and if they want to run for office their scores should be made public. Certainly if an NFL QB could finish the test in 9 minutes, someone who wants to rule the country should be able to find the time to take the test, even if it takes them two or three times as long.

You May Say I’m a Dreamer ...

If he were alive today, John Lennon would be celebrating his 70^th birthday and by now, as he probably did nearly 30 years ago, all of his dreams, except unfortunately world peace surely would have been realized. Most of us have some kind of dream; whether we chose to go after that dream or not is a choice we make.

Initially, my dream was to be a professional boxer and then a pro football player though much to my dismay there is not a lot of demand for guys who are 5’8” and take at least 5 seconds to run 40 yards in the NFL. By the time I reached college I knew the only thing I ever wanted to do was to have and grow a company. After falling into recruiting I was initially terrible, failing to close a deal in my first 6 months. Then, after a 10 day break where I reflected on all the deals I wasn’t making I went on to be the most prolific recruiter at TSG in Phoenix over the next several years. During that time we were named the “Fastest Growing IT Staffing Company” in the country by a leading industry magazine. I knew I was a big part of that and loved the feeling of growing a company since the Phoenix office was only a year old when I joined. In fact, I remember hearing that when the General Manager was asked for a reference several years later he said that I was the best recruiter he ever saw.

Eventually I would leave TSG to go to New York because like so many other people I always had a fascination with the big Apple and grew up in nearby Jersey (yes, I’m from the Jersey Shore and no I don’t know Bruce or Snooki). During this transition the woman who placed me, Sarah Lovelace, said something that touched me in a way perhaps no other words ever have. She said: “Everyone knows that anybody that’s any good in this business (referring to recruiting) eventually goes out on their own.”

Once again I went on to become the most prolific recruiter in the NY branch during my tenure. About 4 years later in 2007 I was reading my commission spreadsheet that showed all of my placements, the revenue I brought in and comparing that number to my actual paycheck and it made me sick to my stomach; it could have been the reason why at 32 years old I had 2 ulcers.

So ExecuSource was born and we were going to focus on the kinds of jobs I enjoyed filling most, executive level positions. I didn’t have any clients and in hindsight it may have been a little crazy but what did I have to lose; I could always go back and be a recruiter if things didn’t pan out.

The first year was rough in every way; from an appendectomy, to major issues with Vista (the bain of my existence), a break-up and making next to no money. Since then things have changed quite a bit; we built a social network of recruiters to support our clients, we formed several strong relationships with Pharmaceutical, Financial Services and Interactive companies and moved to a contained search model. It hasn’t been easy and we haven’t grown as much or as fast as I would have liked but I’m getting the feeling that the only dreams that ever happen overnight are the ones that occur when we’re sleeping.

I remember one of the first meetings I had my future client asked me why I went out on my own and I didn’t know what to say – I didn’t want to come off like a braggart or a dreamer so I sidestepped the question. Today, I realize that the answer to the question is two fold: Firstly, “Everyone knows that anyone who’s any good in this business eventually goes out on their own,” and secondly “You may say that I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.”

"I'm Afraid of Americans"

“I’m Afraid of Americans!”

I know half of my audience will be thinking of the P-Diddy song from a couple of years ago when they read the title although I took the title from a David Bowie song of the same name. I’m not even sure if it is the best title for my ensuing blog; perhaps I’m afraid for Americans would have been more suitable. In any case, this fear has been brought on by what I’ve seen from American’s during the downturn and what appears to be a current slow turn-around in the job market.

The last two placements our firm made (and the hearing of the Bowie song at a local café) inspired me to share these stories. Names have been changed to protect their identity (and myself from them). The first person that scared me was Michael, a supposedly savvy veteran with nearly 20 years experience including a VP role at prestigious financial services firm while the other, an up and coming superstar, Carlos worked at a major financial services software vendor.

Michael and I began our courtship via LinkedIn where he was a part of my extended network and had the looking for career opportunities section checked on his profile. When I first contacted him and gave him my phone number he initially questioned – “Who are you, how do you know me and how did you get my information?” I was a bit taken aback since it was clear that he was part of my extended network and I had his phone number because he gave it to me in his reply – this should have been my first clue that something was off with this person. Once I was able to make him feel comfortable enough with me to discuss his background and learn about the position I was certain he was a great fit for the position and I presented him.

Soon after the client requested an interview and within a couple of weeks he met with 6 people and he got 5 very strong endorsements. The 6th person was the decision maker who was on the fence and decided he would prefer to offer Michael the position as a contract-to-hire rather than direct hire. Michael eventually decided contract to hire was OK as long as everything regarding the contract and his permanent offer be received up-front in writing. This included vacation time, guaranteed bonus and a title of Director (which would be equal to Sr. VP - a step-up from his previous position). Michael would call me every day, sometimes 2 or 3 times to see if I received his offer in writing.

Michael and I eagerly anticipated receiving the dual-offers. He was relentless in his pursuit; there was the time I was at my company softball game and Michael called, then Easter Sunday (how did he know I was Jewish) and then there was the time I was at the Pharmacy. My personal favorite was the time he called me to tell me that the client made someone else a Director and that his co-workers were laughing at him because he was only going to be an Associate Director. He was serious. The hold-up all along was because of his demands. Eventually my contact called to tell me that they couldn't do it because legal objected. I shared the news with Michael and he went ballistic. He sent me a very nasty e-mail about me, my client and their hiring process. I was so upset I sent the note to my client and they hired him anyway. He eventually did go full-time and I hope that he pans out. Actually, most of all I hope that I don’t see him on the news.

Next was Carlos, the rising superstar about 26 years old from what I could tell. Carlos was very nice at first although he was tough to reach – he was working 60 hours a week (he claimed). He also was very concerned about his current project and couldn’t start for a couple of months because he had to finish the project – what a nice guy! Then he grew frustrated as his company’s client, a bank in South America delayed the project again and then again.

After the second delay he called us and said that he had had enough and was ready to join our client whenever they wanted. The offer was for $120k, which he demanded even though he was currently making $96k and was bumped up to that in January from about $80k. He was sure he was worth it and deserved it and because he had such a unique skill my client obliged. The investment bank offered this 26 year old (at most) kid $120k plus a bonus and 4 weeks vacation…awesome! It wasn’t good enough for Carlos. He had earned 5 weeks vacation at his current company and didn’t want to give up that 5^th week – he earned it! Eventually, he accepted the position and during his final few weeks before he started and after work (between band practices) we were able to meet. He was a very nice guy in fact and very likeable. As much as I liked him I still can’t quite get over the entitlement of him or Michael. All I could think is scary…I’m afraid of Americans.