“I’m ready to make a change in my career, can you represent me?” At JESSI Search, we hear that a lot. We’ve earned a reputation in our field as a recruiting partner who can be trusted to know the talent market, finding candidates with the right set of competencies for the roles our clients trust us to fill, and who are open to making a change now and will stick with our client companies for years to come.

Knowing the talent market and who is available is part of our process and value to our clients. However, representing candidates through their search for a new opportunity, is not what we do.

That said, it does not mean that our candidates don’t love us. We commonly hear comments like, “Working with you is awesome. It is far better than I expected!” Because we love making the ideal match, we invest significant time and resources getting to know our client’s true business and hiring needs and also getting to know the candidates who we present to clients for consideration.

If you’re a future candidate who wants to get placed in your ideal role, it helps to understand our business before reaching out. Here are some tips to gain time with an executive recruiter:

• Do your research on the Recruiter and their Company before reaching out to them. Find a way to personally connect with them.
• Use your networking skills to gain an introduction by someone you know. You’ll increase the likelihood that they’ll open up their time for you.
• Be flexible. Make it easy for the conversation to take place by offering different ways to communicate and days/times to speak if you’re having a phone call.
• Introducing yourself and being upfront about the purpose of your call will convey that you value their time and busy schedule.
• Prepare for the call like it’s a mini-interview. When looking for your next career move, avoid spouting a rambling list of experiences, qualifications, wants and needs, without even taking a breath. It is easier to retain more with an interactive conversation rather than a barrage of information all at once.
• Maximize your call by asking who else you should speak with, as this is an ideal time to expand your network with the right people.
• You’ll also set yourself apart if you remember it’s not all about you! Ask how you can help. For instance, maybe there are positions that you aren’t interested or qualified for but you know someone else who might be a fit. Providing relevant candidates when a search is on, is a big benefit, and guarantees you’ll be remembered!

If you don’t get on a recruiter’s calendar or don’t get a call back right away, don’t take it personally. Be sensitive to the many demands recruiters have on their time and attention, especially in today’s hot talent market. If you don’t get a response, review the list above and try again later! Recruiters like to be in touch with great talent, but sometimes it’s just hard to make the time to do so.

In today’s market it costs more to recruit and takes a higher level of expertise now more than I’ve ever experienced. Hiring today requires a recruiting expert who is connected with the candidate pool and has the tools and expertise to access the ones who fit for your business needs and can match your talent value proposition with those candidates who it will attract. If you aren’t finding the best candidates and would like to learn more, contact us to have a conversation.

I recently read a post about how the gig economy is affecting business, productivity and profits.  If you are experiencing employees who seem unmotivated and not as fresh or on top of their game as previous times, they may be moonlighting well into the night.  This can be especially damaging if it’s impacting your sales team because they’re not continuously working to fill their pipelines and find potential deals.

The post gave an example of a salesman who went from earning $200,000 annually in his base + commission position, to just over $50,000. His sales leader discovered that he traded the long-term success that required planning, persistence and effort for the short-term gain that he could bring in small dollar doses from Uber after each ride.

I was curious, is this an anomaly or something more widespread? I speak to sales candidates on a regular basis. I shared this story with them and many were quick to jump in with their own stories of someone on their team who was doing the same – essentially, some sales execs are treating their jobs now as gigs with benefits.

What should you do to prevent your sales team from getting caught up in this phenomenon?

Keys to keeping your sales team engaged:

• It starts with communication. Make regular communication with the team, individuals, keeping your door open and being aware of changes in their communication patterns a priority.
• Set sales goals at the beginning of the year, making sure your team understands how they were set, have given their buy-in and are rallied to do their part to meet them.
• Set metrics to measure the right things and review them individually and with the team regularly.
• Provide tools and training to keep your sales execs sharp, focused and successful.
• Experience makes me a fan of sales comp that includes a fair base, an individually-based commission, team-based commission component plus a year-end bonus potential for extra achievement.
• If someone on the team seems checked out, check in with them. They may have something going on in their personal life that would benefit from your support. If they’ve lost their motivation and drive, don’t let them pull the team down. Move them out or reassign them, if they no longer fit your sales team’s culture and winning attitude.
• If you do find yourself in a position to expand your team or replace someone, invest well in hiring. If your hiring track record could be higher or you don’t have the experience, time or resources to hire well, consider working with an expert.
• Finally, go the extra step of using an assessment that measures competencies to ensure and validate that the candidate’s background and skill set match your candidate profile and job requirements, before finalizing your hiring decision.

Invest in your team to keep the best and help the rest to move on to the gig that fits for them!