In a recruitment network, there can be hundreds of trading partners to choose from and work with. If you have a job order, how do you get the attention of a great exporter to provide candidates for it? And likewise, if you have a great candidate, how do you present it to members with jobs? Here are some helpful tips, straight from some of the most successful members of NPAworldwide:
How to get the attention of an exporter to provide candidates for your position:
1. Some of our members have found that they find success in making splits by writing the job description for another recruiter, rather than for the candidate.
- According to one of our members, if you just copy and paste your client’s write-up into the “job description,” it offers little help to an exporter searching for a candidate for the role.
- For example, if the search is for an Engineering Manager, the Job Description may say something like “you are responsible for maintaining all factory machines.” Makes sense to the candidate, right? Except it’s impossible to do a search on this. If you really want to help the exporter then you may want to add a side note saying something like “the factory produces leather jackets and the machines in use are leather cutters and sewing machines” – the more information, the better (such as how many people work in the facility, how big it is, etc.)
- The more information you can give an exporter about your client and the role, and the more likely they are to find an on-target candidate. So it’s important to talk to the hiring manager and get that additional value-add information for your partners.
2. Don’t just copy and paste… rewrite the job posting
- Most job descriptions are written with the most common tasks first. The primary responsibilities of a position should take precedence and be the first few bullet points.
- Explain who the position is for: ‘A global leader in chemical production’; what the position will do: ‘manage and support assigned unit area’; this position will report to [this title]; have a really simple line describing what the position will do; that’s followed by the requirements (modify these to highlight the must haves).
- If the position description from your client is quite lengthy, condense it and get rid of things like “must be proficient with email” or “must be team player” – those things are a given.
- Add Recruiter to Recruiter comments, like ‘must have distillation experience,’ or ‘I’ve placed X amount of engineers with this client,’ or even write 3-4 questions that can be used to screen potential candidates.
How to present your A+ candidates to an importer:
1. Call the importer first – you want to know where are they are in the process (if there are candidates in play, whether they have people in final rounds of interviews, what the interview process is, whether they have a track record with the client, etc), and what the “must-haves” are for the role.
2. Don’t just send a resume. Treat a trading partner like you would a client, and include a write-up detailing all the reasons why the candidate is a fit. Cover the critical areas like education, certifications, citizenship/whether authorized without sponsorship, relocation availability, compensation requirement, and work experience with targeted bullet-points as to why this candidate aligns to this position.
3. Include selling points & helpful screening questions, like: What size budget do you manage? How many direct reports have you had? Do you have experience with XYZ software? etc., to help better gauge the fit. That way, you are adding additional value and the importer knows that candidate has been talked to about the specific job. That’d save a lot of trial and error recruiting, time, and possibly increased relationship growth between trading partners.