Welcome to the March Hire Score Newsletter. It's great to have all my regular readers back and a special welcome to all the new subscribers.

Let me start by saying, "The sky is NOT falling!" The marketplace is certainly changing and as a result we need to change our recruiting and hiring strategies. If you have read my previous newsletters (available at www.selectingwinners.com/newsarchives.html) you know that recruiting strategies are not static. What works today, may not work tomorrow.

I have a great story that illustrates this point. One of my long time clients hired a new Director of Staffing about four months ago. I had a meeting with him shortly after he came on board to introduce myself and give him some history on our relationship with the company. During the meeting I mentioned to him that they were going to need to adjust their recruiting strategy.

You see, this is a very successful, very fast growing company. They have been able to leverage their reputation and soaring stock price (as their Unique Hiring Proposition) to attract hundreds of candidates in a very tough market. But, during this time they grew from a modest sized company to a large company and their stock was not going to be able to sustain its historical growth.

Thus, the suggestion from me was that it is time to adjust. Unfortunately, this new person, not being a disciple of the Selecting Winners philosophy, made a classic mistake. He started to believe his own press and figured what worked in the past would work in the future. You can probably guess the rest of the story. Layoffs, bad press and tarnished reputation are just a few of the consequences.

I hate to say I told you so but, in this case I will make an exception, I TOLD HIM SO! More importantly, what can we all learn from this situation? First, as mentioned above, don't fall in love with your own past success. Second, you need to constantly evaluate all the factors that affect recruiting including market conditions, resources, reputation, money, availability, compensation plans, etc.

And the most important factor to consider is your own business strategy. I will be delivering the keynote presentation to Hot Jobs University in May. The title of the presentation is "Strategic Recruiting, Matching your Recruitment Efforts to Your Business Model". In this presentation I will be going into great detail on how to develop and constantly adjust your recruitment strategy. But since you are my loyal readers, I will share a bit of the information with you.

All recruiting strategies need to start with your business model. Business models come in all shapes and sizes and the people you need to fuel your model vary just as much. Let's look at an example. If your business model places you as a technology leader, you will need to recruit technolgists and sales professionals to support that position. If you choose to lead in customer satisfaction, you need to recruit a different profile of employee. Your business model will dictate the profile of the types of people you need to recruit. The types of people you need to recruit dictate your recruitment strategy.

And here is the kicker, BUSINESS MODELS CHANGE WITH CHANGING BUSINESS CONDITIONS! The economy has slowed down causing companies to re-think their business models. When the model changes, the types of people you need to recruit change and the strategy to get them changes.

So how do you proceed? Every day, evaluate your business model and adjust your recruitment strategy accordingly. Don't be seduced by past success. As Clint Eastwood says in the movie Heartbreak Ridge, "You need to improvise, adapt and overcome!"

By the way, this is how I would have helped the new Director of Staffing. Their existing Unique Hiring Proposition was "Big Risk - Big Reward". I would have changed it to "Go With a Winner". This attracts a different person, but it is the person they need to succeed under the new model (which was dictated by market conditions).

What else do you need to do adapt to the changing marketplace? First, get rid of the "sky is falling" attitude. This is an opportunistic market. There are more good people on the street today than there have been for two years. This is an opportunity to pick up some great people who otherwise would not be available. You have an opportunity to really distance yourself from your competitors by winning the war for talent.

(A quick note for those of you that may have fallen victim to the recent layoffs; use this as an opportunity to match your goals, wishes and aspirations with those of a company whose model provides you with what you seek. Want to live on the edge? Go with a company that is pushing the envelope. Want predictability? Go with a company with a proven track record. Want security? Get real!! And remember to sign up for this newsletter with your new email address.) Question of the Month

"What do I do if my management won't adopt the things that I learned in your program?" Gene P Sacramento CA John M Seattle, WA

Great question Gene! I wish there was an easy answer. Since I have been known on occasion to sit in a big-time poker game, I will use a poker analogy. First, you have to play the cards you were dealt. Complaining that you are getting bad cards is the same as complaining your management doesn't get it. Take what you have learned and do whatever you can, within the limitations placed on you, to make your job better, easier or whatever. Use your powers of influence to change the organization to a better way. Build a better business case for the change you want to adopt.

The second poker truism is to never play in a game you can't beat. Matt Damon in the movie Rounders said, "If you have been at a table for more than 30 minutes and can't spot the sucker, it is probably you!" I am not advocating you leave your job but, if your model of doing business and the model of your company are not in sync, you need to find a new poker game.

MONTHLY CONTEST
Our winner for last month is Joe Sheriff with R W Smith and Company. Joe took one of my suggestions about ending an interview early and put it into practice. When a candidate is obviously not right (why didn't you figure that out in the phone screen?), Joe uses the following line: "I have all the information I need today. We will be calling those who qualify for a second interview by the end of the day. Thank you for coming in!"

Way to go Joe. This is simple, straight-forward, polite and it gets you off the hook for any more actions. Joe wins a free registration to my upcoming internet-based seminar (a $750 value)

Now to this month's contest. This month I would like to hear about the Unique Hiring Proposition (UHP) you have created. Send me your UHP and how you have used it by April 6, 2001. Remember, the entries have to be emailed to contest@selectingwinners.com. I really appreciate all the responses each month.

Opportunity of the Month
I recently released my latest product, "How to Hire the Perfect Administrative Assistant". This is the simplest and easiest to use product I have ever offered. If you need to hire an office manager, secretary, clerk or any administrative person, this product will simplify the task. You receive a 90-minute video of me showing you how to hire great administrative talent. You get three completed performance-based success profiles to use as templates (in many cases with no changes at all). You get three award-winning recruitment ads ready to submit to your paper (Don't like the headline? I have included 25 proven headlines you can cut and paste).

You get 100 perfect interview questions organized by category. If you want to know if someone exhibits attention to detail, you simply check the category and you will find 7-10 perfect questions. You also get 25 reference checking questions to validate your interview data.

And, you get all the forms and ads on a diskette, which is ready for you to use. It couldn't be any simpler and, this process works!!

The whole kit normally sells for $297 (That is less than the cost of a single ad in the Sunday paper!). But I am going to make it available to my subscribers for $227. But here is the catch. This price is only available until the end of March. And to get this special price, you have use the following link. www.selectingwinners.com/mailform.html Click on the link, fill out the information and you will be contacted by our office for shipping and payment information. I hope you take advantage of this one-time offer.

That wraps up this month's newsletter. Please remember to enter the monthly contest with your UHP for an opportunity to win a $750 entrance fee to an upcoming internet seminar. Also, please keep your questions coming for the question of the month segment. If there is something you would like me to cover in the newsletter, send your request to info@selectingwinners.com.

Have a great month recruiting!

Barry Shamis

Please feel free to pass this along to your colleagues. They can register for their own free subscription by sending an e-mail to join-hirescore@mh.databack.com

If for any reason you choose to cancel your subscription, send an e-mail from this address to leave-hirescore@mh.databack.com

Have a great month recruiting!

Barry Shamis