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Recruiting
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by Bill Radin
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The
Recruiter's Digest
Recruiting
News, Training & Commentary by Bill Radin |
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June, 2006 |
Recruiting Scripts Made Easy
(Warning: This article contains subliminal messages)
A few years ago, I completely re-tooled my recruiting script. Instead of
paraphrasing the job description (dull and boring), I began to
tell stories about the company's unique problems, and how the right
person might solve them (interesting and engaging).
Sure, I could have blathered on about the job's technical requirements
(unrealistic), the salary (average) or my client's mission
statement (who cares). But then, I would sound just like all the
other recruiters in the world (telemarketer at dinnertime).
I wanted to get people excited whenever I pitched a job. With a
more powerful presentation, I figured I could do a better job of
stimulating interest and generating referrals. And in the process, I'd
build my professional reputation (and make more money).
So, I came up with a novel concept: Why not stop torturing
innocent candidates with dry facts and figures, and make recruiting
calls a lot more fun?
We All Love Stories
It's human nature, and it starts in our infancy, when mommy or daddy
tucked us in with Mother Goose. A good story not only entertains us and
grabs our attention; a good story can also help teach a lesson, prove a
point or communicate an idea.
Unfortunately, a typical job description (blah, blah, blah)
does very little to reveal the "back story" that led to the job's
creation in the first place. But by probing for details and by using
a little imagination, you can
paint a more vivid picture in the mind of your candidates and
put some top-spin on your presentation.
To convert facts into word pictures, try using a template like this to
storyboard your recruiting script:
|
"Hi, my name is
, and I'm a recruiter specializing in
. I'm working on an interesting assignment that I want to
discuss with you. Is this a good time to talk? Great. |
|
"The job is with a company that
___
,
and they need to hire someone to
so that they can
. |
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"It's especially important that the new hire can
; otherwise the company will find themselves in a situation in
which
. |
|
"However, if we can find the right person, it will not only mean
for the company, it could very well represent
for you. Is this something you might be interested in?" |
Putting It Into Practice
And here's how I filled in the blanks, based on what my client told me
about his company's problem:
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"Hi, my name is Bill Radin, and I'm a recruiter
in the instrumentation market. I'm working on an
interesting assignment that I want to discuss with you. Is this a
good time to talk? Great. |
|
"The job is with a company that
makes control panels for luxury yachts and off-road vehicles,
and they need to hire someone to
run their engineering department so they can
bring new, innovative products to the market. |
|
"It's especially important that the new hire can
act as a bridge between the people in sales and the people in
engineering, otherwise the company will find themselves in
a situation in which
the two different groups will continually fight to protect their
own turf, to the point of paralyzing the company." |
|
"However, if we can find a technical person who has strong
diplomatic skills, it will not only
bring peace and
prosperity to the company, it could very well represent
an important and
visible leadership role for you. Is this something you
might be interested in?" |
Scripting your presentation is not only fun, it forces you to pay
attention to what you're sayingand to what the other person will be
hearing. Of course, you'll want to tailor your style to match your
market.
I've learned that if I can get a candidate's attention by
telling an interesting story (Gotcha!), the rest will fall into
place. And as a result, I'll fill a ton of jobs and keep my clients
happy. (They love me!
They really love me!).
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