CHRIS: Whether you asked for a job transition or not, searching for a new position can be scary, frustrating and disheartening. Times and technologies change quickly, and there’s a lot to organize! But the journey can just as easily be exciting, fruitful and rewarding. I’m Chris Pinto.
NANCY: And I’m Nancy Pinto. Together we own Pinto Employment Search, an executive recruiting firm specializing in the supply chain and logistics industry. Our combined experience in transportation jobs and recruiting is over 50 years! We’re here to help you navigate the world of resume writing, job applications, interviews, negotiating compensation, and everything in between - to help you land the job you want!
CHRIS : We will also regularly drop a bonus episode where we announce current job openings we’re working on. It’s set to music and state trivia, and we think it’s more fun to listen to job descriptions than read them, so give it a listen and share!
NANCY: Welcome to the Job Search SOS Podcast! Let me start by saying that we love our customers - AND our candidates too. It’s an amazing thing to realize you’ve changed someone’s career by helping them get a new job.
CHRIS: In a lot of our episodes, we have advice for job seekers. Today we wanna talk to hiring companies in the hopes of strengthening the relationship between them and their external recruiters. We thought it might be valuable to shed some light on our side, so that companies know where recruiters are coming from.
NANCY: As always, we recognize that different companies have different ways of doing business, and that there may be exceptions and extenuating circumstances. Our insight is based only on our experience over the past 17 years.
CHRIS: In the last episode, we briefly explained the two main ways recruiters are hired and paid. One way is on retainer, the other on contingency. Pinto Employment Search works on contingency, meaning we do all the recruiting work and only get paid if the candidate is placed. We don’t charge for time spent on the phone, emails, coordinating...nothing. That’s not a complaint - that’s actually a beneficial set up for both parties!
NANCY: Most recruiters will have a contract, aka fee agreement, that needs to be signed before recruiting activities are started. There’s some legalese that lawyers make us put in there in the rare event of a serious conflict, but in reality doing business with us is pretty uneventful - in a good way!
CHRIS: Pinto Employment is a small business - just Nancy and I - and we pride ourselves on being easy to work with. If something goes wrong, we wanna fix it. The key to success is communication and information, so that we can find the right people as fast as possible.
NANCY: Feedback is HUGELY important. After a company signs our agreement, and we have all the available information about the job vacancy, we get to work behind the scenes. We write a unique job description, start advertising the job (under our name) on all the appropriate sites, and personally reach out to people we think could be, or could lead to, a match.
CHRIS: We put our eyeballs on all the resumes that come in, and call up the candidates that match the job requirements. Besides technical skills and work history, we’re looking at their personality, communication skills, career goals, and attitude.
NANCY: We don’t present resumes without having had a conversation with the applicant first. That’s why our introductions will be filled with specific information about why the candidate should be considered for the job. HINT HINT, since we already screened them, you should definitely, at the very least, have a phone interview with them too.
CHRIS: When we present a candidate, we need prompt feedback, hopefully that you would like for us to schedule an interview! We’ve sold the company to the candidate, and got them even more excited about the opportunity. If you’re passing on this candidate, we’d like to know why, so that we can update the parameters for our search.
NANCY: Maybe you already have this person’s resume from another source, or you see something that makes them not the right fit. Maybe things have changed and you no longer need to fill the position. Either way, we need to know, so that we can take the next appropriate step, and not leave the candidate hanging. We understand you’re busy, but, respectfully, so is everyone else. And the irony is that we’re trying to help you solve that problem by helping you hire someone!
CHRIS: When you request an interview, please let us know whether you’d like it to be over the phone, video or in person. And it would also help to get an idea of your availability so that we can coordinate with the candidate’s schedule.
NANCY: Once we pin down a good day and time for both parties, we prep the candidate with everything they need to know to prepare for the call or meeting. After the interview takes place, we request feedback from both the candidate and the hiring company.
CHRIS: If both parties are interested in moving forward, we encourage the hiring company to conduct as many interviews as they need to make sure this is the right person for their team. We also recommend that the interviewee ask as many questions as they need to feel comfortable before making a move.
NANCY: Meanwhile, we will continue to facilitate the 2nd, 3rd, and umpteenth meetings, answer questions from both sides, and continue to search for more candidates if appropriate.
CHRIS: We ask that all job offers and salary negotiations are made through us, even if these have been discussed in an interview with the candidate. Recruiters should never be cut out of a negotiation. We recognize that it’s in everyone’s best interest for our client and our candidate to be happy and work together for a long time, and we can help massage the process to the satisfaction of both sides.
NANCY: Once the stars align and a candidate accepts a job offer, it’s time for us to let the onboarding of the new employee begin directly between the hiring company and our candidate. Congratulations to all!
CHRIS: I think now is as good a time as any to share a few more dos and don’ts for the hiring company.
NANCY: DON’T take forever to make a decision on a good candidate in the pipeline. Good candidates aren’t going to be on the market forever. Seldom will you get someone who has 100% of the qualifications you’re asking for. Sometimes you have to settle for just most of them, and a training period to fill in the gaps.
CHRIS: DON’T use interviews to poach ideas from candidates. It’s okay to present a hypothetical situation, to ask them about a difficult issue they’ve handled, or to have them explain how they’d tackle the job in the first few weeks. But to ask them to develop a business plan so you can get some free ideas is just tacky.
NANCY: DO communicate all specific needs when asking a recruiter to conduct a search. I.E. Please think carefully about what you need. We know things can change, but, for example, one former client asked us to search for a seasoned Warehouse Manager at all costs. Salary was open! But when they started to receive resumes that fit the bill, they panicked and downgraded the position and the salary.
CHRIS: DON’T be unrealistic and cheap. Another former client wanted to pay supervisor-level salaries for high-level branch managers. They thought people would just be naturally attracted to the prestige of an astronomical amount of responsibility!
NANCY: Low salaries will either not get you the best employees, or the available ones will take the job out of necessity, but spend their time looking for a better opportunity elsewhere. In that case, you’re risking the time and money invested. And you’re back to Square One.
CHRIS: DO consider having flexibility in terms of hours and work from home options (of course, if this is conducive to your line of business and doesn’t disrupt the work). If your customer service team routinely interacts with colleagues in different time zones, consider staggering the department into shifts.
NANCY: DO evaluate the company’s policies with regard to health benefits, retirement plans, time off, and other perks. These should be as competitive as possible.
CHRIS: DON’T reject a candidate for a paid, full time job, but then contact them behind the recruiter’s back to work on other business opportunities where they would still be working for you in some capacity, such as on commission.
NANCY: DO pay your recruiter on time - just like you would any other vendor! During tough times, which we all have, they may be able to work with you; for example, maybe paying in installments. But ignoring the invoice, or trying to renegotiate the fee after the work has been done, is not cool.
CHRIS: Neither is taking the new employee for an extended “trial run” to see if they work out BEFORE paying the recruiter. Read the contract and know the guarantee period. Ask questions if something is not clear in order to avoid misunderstandings.
NANCY: DO tell your recruiter immediately if they send you a resume for someone you’re already working with through another source. This doesn’t happen often, since 99% of the time we tell the candidate the company name before presenting them (the other 1% is due to extreme circumstances requiring confidentiality). A solid fee agreement will have covered this possibility, so you should be familiar with it when you sign up with a recruiter.
CHRIS: We understand most companies use multiple sources to fill their staffing needs. Being organized up front can save a lot of headaches later, if the same candidate is presented by two recruiters.
NANCY: DO know that your recruiter appreciates your trust, your business, and your referrals, and is doing all they can to make that placement. We can’t always find your purple squirrel, but we damn near die trying.
CHRIS: Please let us know what we hit and what we missed today! Would also love to get your ideas for future episodes.
NANCY: Our next episode will be a bonus episode announcing the hottest logistics jobs we’re working on.
CHRIS: Our website and contact info will be in the show notes of every episode, so please feel free to share with anyone you know, and reach out with comments, questions, or just to say hello!
NANCY: We would also like to thank and credit the following websites and all artists for use of their music and sound effects: pixabay.com, freepd.com, fesliyanstudios.com, mixkit.co, freesound.org, and incompetech.com.
CHRIS: Thank you for listening to the Job Search SOS Podcast!
Please visit www.pintoemployment.com and feel free to reach out to us. See you next time!
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