One of the most vital skills that you can learn as a recruiter is how to zero in on those clients and searches that will give you the best chance of making a placement and to focus exclusively on them. I once heard that there are three stages in a recruiter’s development in terms of how he defines a client:
Stage one: a client is anyone who will talk to me.
Stage two: a client is anyone who will give me an assignment.
Stage three: a client is someone who will work the way I want to work.
Here are some questions for deciding which clients and assignments should get the full focus of your search efforts:
1. Is there a high degree of urgency associated with this position?
2. Are the key decision-makers cooperative?
3. Are the key decision-makers on the same page in terms of the position specifications?
4. Are we the only firm (or one of a small handful) working on this position or has it been farmed out to everyone?
5. Do we have direct hiring authority contact?
6. Are they responding to our requests within 24 to 48 hours?
7. Is this a marketable position?
8. Is this a marketable company?
9. Is this a hiring manager who will attract top people through the force of his personality?
10. Is the hiring manager willing to sell the opportunity, or is he waiting for someone to come in and dazzle him?
11. Is it a high-salary position?
12. Is it a high-fee client in terms of the fee percentage?
13. Is it a large-enough client to have consistent future business with?
14. Will it be reasonably easy to find candidates for this position or is it a needle-in-a-haystack assignment?
15. Are there similar positions we currently are working on that would double the impact of our search efforts?
16. By working on this position, will we be searching in our preferred hunting grounds or do we have to start the search cold?
17. Do I have a good feeling about this client and my ability to be successful? What is my intuition telling me?
Gary Stauble is the principal consultant for The Recruiting Lab, a coaching company that assists firm owners and solo recruiters in generating more profit in less time. Gary offers several FREE SPECIAL REPORTS, including, “14 Critical Candidate Questions” and “The Search Process Checklist,” on his website. Get your copy now at www.therecruitinglab.com.