Contents:

Recruiting:	Developing a recruitment strategy
Hiring:	The Iceberg Technique to questioning
Ask the Expert:	When to use a headhunter
Commentary

Well, it is now official, we are experiencing the lowest unemployment in recorded history in the United States. And, as I just got back from delivering a presentation in Europe, the problems are just about the same throughout the world. There are just not enough good people to fill all the open positions.

The focus of this newsletter is to provide you with some real-world, cost-effective solutions to the problem of finding, hiring and keeping great employees. So let's get right to it:

Recruiting
I get asked all the time in my presentations, "What is the best source of candidates?" My response is before you answer that questions you need to spend some time working on a recruitment strategy. You recruitment strategy takes into consideration the market conditions, how much money you have to spend, how desperate you are, your compensation program, your reputation in the market and the amount of resources you have to throw at the problem.

You can NOT choose a best recruiting source until you have analyzed each of these critical areas. Also, each of these variables will change over time leading you to a different answer. Change on and the others may change as well.

Let's look at a typical example. When you are a new company you lack both money and name recognition. Your recruiting strategy forces you to work you network where your personal reputation will have a large impact on your recruiting activities. As you get bigger, you have more money and name recognition. This allows you to advertise, use recruiters and a number of other options.

Each time you have to fill an open position, take a few minutes to develop a strategy and you will find the best candidates in the most cost-effective manner.

Next month: Testing and Tracking Your Recruiting Efforts

Hiring
This month I am going to discuss my favorite subject; interview questions. Your goal in an interview is to get as much information (data) as possible. The surest way to accomplish this is to ask effective questions. And, the best type of question to ask is the "example" question.

You want to get examples of things the person has done that are the same or similar to those things they will need to do on your job. Get examples of successful sales efforts if you are hiring a sales rep. Get examples of successful products if you are hiring an engineer.

Here is a "visual" that helps when you are questioning a candidate. Think of an iceberg. The tip of the iceberg is example you are exploring with the candidate. For a sales candidate you might ask, "What was the biggest sale you closed last month?"

From this "tip", you are going to start working your way down the iceberg and get to all that information that rest just below the surface. Your initial question is followed by a whole series of probing question to get more information. How long did you work on the sale? Who else worked on the sale? Who did you sell to? What objections did you overcome? How did you negotiate the terms of the contract? How did you establish rapport with your prospect?

These are just a few of the probing questions you might ask to determine how the person really handles a sales situation. Keep digging until you are comfortable you know exactly what they did, in what order, and what the outcome they achieved.

When you have explored one iceberg, go on to the next. Don't get sunk in your next interview by not exploring what was below the surface.

Next month: The Six Most Effective Question Types

Ask The Expert: How do I decide when to use a headhunter? M. T. Cleveland, OH

This ties right back into my suggestion that you have a recruitment strategy. I tell my clients to look at three issues before deciding to engage a headhunter. The three issues are budget, workload, and sense of urgency. How desperate are you to hire the right person? How much time do you have to invest in recruiting activities? How much money is it costing you to have the position vacant? How much money do you have to spend on your recruitment activities?

It has been my experience when you ask the right questions, the answer is usually fairly obvious.

Please e-mail your recruiting and hiring questions to staff@selectingwinners.com

Commentary
Each day, each week, each month the war for talent gets more and more intense. And, the gap between the winners and losers continues to grow. At Selecting Winners, we have been teaching people how to hire for more than fifteen years and never has it been more important to make hiring a strategic initiative.

You need to commit the time, energy and resources to your recruitment efforts if you want stay alive. The smaller your organization, the more strategic you need to be.

The good news, even in these very difficult times, is that you can win the war. The companies that are focusing their efforts and resources are attracting the talent necessary to grow and prosper. Take Care!

If you have any suggestions, questions or comments, please contact us by e-mail at staff@selectingwinners.com

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