Picture a jigsaw puzzle! Then think about the next candidate you are going to interview. This candidate is like the jigsaw puzzle you just pictured, a human being put together by many different shapes and forms of puzzle pieces.

Imagine for a second that you only have one single puzzle piece and are asked to guess what the complete picture is. Likely an impossible task, wouldn’t you say? (more…)

This message is not for you if applicants and candidates are queueing up outside your office every day looking for job opportunities, and you have absolutely no problem in finding and hiring people. Google, Apple and Starbucks come to mind.

Your corporate brand and value proposition may be so unique and spectacular that applicants will be on their knees begging for a job. At that very moment, they will take any abuse and arrogance just to get in the door.

If you recognise yourself and your company in the lines above, you may stop reading now; better check in with me next month. (more…)

You be the judge. A candidate forwarded me this email sent to a recruitment company where she was interviewed recently. She is well aware of my frank and candid opinion of those third party and in-house recruiters who still to this day have an air of arrogance in the way they treat applicants and candidates.

I have not heard from you for a few weeks since the last time we talked. I am wondering what the status of my candidacy is. I assume that you are either super busy or my candidacy is not making it to the next step.

However, I expect a big professional recruitment firm has the courtesy to send at least an e-mail to the candidates who didn’t make it to the shortlist.
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Why is it such a surprise that many employee and employer relationships end in what I call “recruitment divorce’: Employee Leaves Employer.

It is said that 50% (or more) of marriages end in divorce. That’s a scary prospect that makes many think hard before proposing or walking down the aisle.

Love at first sight during the interview process often turns sour because the assessment was artificial and the employer fell for the candidate’s well-practiced dance.

Too many get duped into assessing presentation over performance. You have just been outmaneuvered by a candidate who had prepared better than you. Basically, you have fallen victim to the 4A syndrome. (more…)

It’s one of these questions an inexperienced hiring manager or over-smart recruiter may ask you next time you attend a job interview. Hat’s off to you and my respect, if you have the guts to answer: “To be honest, I am not sure I want to leave”.

If you are a candidate who was nurtured and convinced by an executive search firm or a recruitment company to consider an opening with one of their clients, if you agreed to an appointment with their client to explore a new job opportunity, you definitely have the right to say that you are not sure if you want to leave your current employer. If you are an interviewer, read on to learn what you really should ask instead.

What if the interviewer asks you: “How did the recruitment company find you?” (more…)

If recruiting talented people is one of your top priorities (and it should be if you want to stay a top manager), then spending an hour of your time with your HR Department or your preferred Headhunter is critical to the success of the hiring process.

I’m always puzzled when executives don’t take this briefing more serious because it leaves your hiring partner (whether HR or Headhunter) with a lot of guessing to do. When your hiring partner is left to fill out the blanks with their own ideas on what the job really is, you probably have a better chance of winning in the lottery than getting the best candidate for the job.

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If you are open to an argument about why it’s better to partner just one recruitment agency at a time, and not three or four, this article is for you and a must-read!

There are three good reasons why hiring companies multi-list their job orders and expect recruitment agencies to fight it out over the very same job vacancy. If the hiring managers just knew, this madness would end sooner rather than later. Here is why.

Mistake 1:

Do you believe you are increasing your chances of filling the position by 300 to 400 percent if you engage and work with several recruiters at the same time? You may think that the three to four recruiters have different databases with their own unique candidates, and the recruitment agencies each press a magic button to unveil never-ever-to-be-seen candidates. The truth of the matter? (more…)

If you think all situations are black and white, it is obviously a simplification of what happens in the real world. There are always exceptions to the generally accepted rule of how agency recruiters make their money. On the other hand, famous author Tom Peters said: “Perception is reality”. You be the judge this time.

1. Don’t use a recruiter who will not meet you

Recruitment agencies typically charge a fee, which is based on the placed candidate’s compensation, somewhere around two to three months’ salary and allowances; but charged in full only after you have hired their candidate.

You can compare the recruitment agency’s work as playing a lottery. They are not paid if their client does not hire their candidate. The consultant does not receive any commission, if the client chooses a candidate from another agency.  As a client has no obligation to the agency whatsoever, except to pay if they hire a candidate, the client will often engage several agencies at the same time for the same position. They do so because it’s free, nothing to lose and because they think each agency has their own pool of candidates (which in fact they don’t; most candidates register their resume with many recruiters, so the pool is pretty identical no matter where you go). (more…)

Are you thinking of getting yourself a new job next year? Perhaps getting back to the gym and in shape again? Quit smoking? A visit to Bhutan? Proposing to your…