We’ve had a couple of disappointments in some recent searches for our clients: one of them hired the perfect candidate (and very senior) who then failed to turn up at work as agreed – and promptly resigned; and the other where we have undertaken an exhaustive search across the country, interviewing dozens of candidates, but where the final short listed candidate still wasn’t up to the client’s expectations. In both cases we are back to square one, and starting the searches again.
After having spent at least two months on each search this is a major blow for us and just one question is, how do we keep motivated to continue? Well, it helps that we are being paid for it – one benefit of being a retained search firm. Another aspect is that we certainly now have a very clear idea of what our clients expect and we just have to go and find (more) ideal candidates. But what if those people aren’t out there? How do we keep on searching, talking to people, assessing their suitability and then presenting them to the client, knowing what we know?
Part of our responsibility to our clients is to give them market knowledge and feedback; to counsel them in decisions that we want to result in finding the ideal person. We also see it as our duty to bring an unbiased market view to the client, to show them what the outside world thinks of them and their opportunities. Sometimes we have difficult news to tell our clients; sensible ones welcome this feedback.
I’ve talked in this column before how some companies – mercifully NOT our clients – can get carried away with their own importance and believe that everyone outside must be begging to work there. Well, news flash: they aren’t.
But in recruitment there is no time to be precious. We have a job to do and we get on and do it. It’s difficult and it’s time-consuming but the end result makes it all worthwhile: a happy client with a superb new employee, and a happy person who we’ve helped to find themselves a great career move with a super new employer (and usually getting paid more too). Oh, and we get paid for all of that too, so that’s the cherry on our cake.
As usual, let me know if you have any particular topic you would like to see covered here.
