Investor's Business Daily, September 5th, 2007
To boost your firm's recruiting efforts, start by asking questions that target your audience, say career development experts Chris Resto, Ian Ybarra and Ramit Sethi, authors of "Recruit or Die."
Zero in on these action steps and questions:
Check career paths. What are your recruits accomplishing? Firms known for retaining talent are also known for building fast-track cultures, says executive coach Emmett Murphy, author of "Talent IQ."
"If past new hires have moved on to new, exciting positions" in your firm or with rivals, trumpet that when recruiting, say Resto, Ybarra and Sethi.
Monitor exit interviews. What's the most common reason people give for leaving your organization?
Ensure follow-through. Does the work experience match what you've promised? "Some financial services firms lose new hires after only six months or a year because they've overpromised how intellectually stimulating" the work is, said Resto, Ybarra and Sethi. "In cases where the work may be less than scintillating, firms will land better-fitting and longer-lasting recruits by selling their intense environments and the potential for great compensation."
Check the buzz. What do your firm's youngest employees brag or complain about to friends? Do you offer development programs that expand their knowledge base? Is your business a fun place to work?
"One of the quickest ways to honestly assess your organization's strengths and weaknesses is to think about how you describe it candidly to family, friends and professional contacts when you're not recruiting," said Resto, Ybarra and Sethi.
Tell it. What are your firm's core values? How well do you communicate them at recruiting events?
Make it companywide. Does your firm's recruiting program reach from the corner office to human resources? It does at Florida-based Power Systems Manufacturing, which has more than 100 engineers on staff. Co-founder Bob Kraft attends campus career fairs and takes an active role in hiring.
"Every engineer who works for us, I've interviewed personally," Kraft said, "because making sure we get the right people for the company is one of my most important jobs, if not the most important."
Get input. Do you use your best and brightest workers as evangelists? Enthusiastic workers are among your best sales tools at recruiting fairs.
In addition to spreading the word about your company, they can get feedback about your firm's reputation with young prospects.
Look inward. If your child were a new college graduate, would you recommend he work for your firm? "We often meet hiring managers who desperately want summer interns who return for future internships and full-time employment, but (they) advise their own children to switch employers" in search of greater opportunity, said Resto, Ybarra and Sethi.
"If you don't think your organization provides enough opportunity for growth," realize that "other talented prospects feel the same."
