I see every new recruiter do it and some experienced ones as well. They get the client on the phone and. rather than getting a thorough job order and beginning to build rapport, they rush the client through it, getting them off the phone as quickly as possible.
News Flash: You already have the client on the phone and engaged so take your time and get a quality job order so you can fill that position.
At my firm there are a few key elements you have to know by the time you hang up the phone with your potential client before we’ll even consider it a job order. A fully filled-out job order form is what we look for every time, especially from experienced recruiters, but giving the benefit of the doubt to the newbies, here’s the minimum:
FIRST – The Who, What, and Where
- Who’s the decision maker in the company that’s going to ultimately decide whether or not they hire?
- What job are they looking to fill?
- Where in the country (we work nationwide) is the job.
Spending your time building rapport with the HR coordinator when the principal is the one who makes the decision doesn’t make a lot of sense or get you very far.
Not getting the details on what the job is, and it’s requirements and intangibles will just frustrate the client when you send over resumes that don’t match up to what they are looking for.
Finally, the where is a key component in success at my firm. We have a great database, and knowing where in the country we need to search saves us a lot of time, effort, and energy. Furthermore, if we don’t have a fit for that role in our database it also serves as a key driver to determine whether or not we want to source for the role. If the job is in El Paso, Texas then chances are we won’t spend much time on it because the market is so small and El Paso is not a very desirable area to live in.
SECOND – When, Why, and How Much?
- When do they need this candidate by? Is it a strategic hire and they’re in no rush, or did they just lose a key team player they need to replace ASAP, which ties into the why.
- Why is important because you want to know if the company has a lot of turnover and what’s the story behind that, or if they are just in growth mode and need to add more staff.
- Finally is the How Much? I don’t expect my recruiters to get me an exact number, but I do expect they can get me a salary range. It’s pretty important to understand what this client is willing to pay for this role and whether it lines up with the salary range the market is dictating. If the numbers are skewed one way or another we need to find out why. Is it cost of living, cost of labor, etc.?
To sum it up if you’re lucky enough to get the client on the phone and you’ve got them engaged, take a deep breath, relax, and work your sheet. 90% of getting a job order is just getting the decision maker on the phone and willing to talk. 90%! That’s means 10% of your job from that point is to thoroughly fill out your job order sheet so you can find that client the right candidate and make your placement.