At some point in your career you’ve probably worked for a boss that wasn’t your favorite person in the world. Whoever it was, they probably had an ego, talked down to employees and thought they were the smartest person in the room. Praise for a job well done was hard to come by but criticism was around every corner. Going to work every day was anything but enjoyable. Everyone complained about this person and staff morale suffered.

Since then, maybe you’ve moved up and now you’re in a position where you not only manage people, but are in charge of hiring and firing as well. You’ve probably become skillful at hiring quality folks and your employees probably look up to you as a manager. But maybe you’re still a little reluctant to hire people that are smarter or more adept at a certain part of the job than you. Whatever the reason might be, most hiring managers shy away from hiring these types of individuals and they shouldn’t be. Below we discuss why hiring people that are smarter than you can be beneficial for your team and the entire company.

Check Your Ego at the Door

If you’re going to find the best people for the job, you have no choice but to check your ego at the door. While it’s understandable that you might be intimidated by candidates whose qualifications or experience exceed your own, you should only be concerned about finding the candidates that allow your company to grow. In all reality, the likelihood of someone you hire taking your job is pretty insignificant. Much to the contrary, you’ll likely be lauded for making such a great hire.

You Get to Learn

Most hiring managers do a great job finding the candidates with the most experience and best qualifications, but few take the extra step and ask what they might be able to learn from a potential hire. When you find someone that has the capacity to contribute fresh ideas and new ways of thinking, they are certainly worth considering. Not only can these candidates be a great asset for your organization, they can be a tremendous resource for you to learn and grow as well.

Diversity Is Essential

While logic might dictate that hiring a team of people that perfectly execute their respective job descriptions is ideal, such thinking is limiting. Sure, all of your employees need to be able to fulfill their minimum responsibilities, but finding people that can go above and beyond is key. As an example, some individuals might crush it on the technical side, but they might lack the skills necessary to clearly write a procedure to keep systems running at their best. When you hire people with diversified skillsets, you allow them to stay in their lane and maximize their capabilities. Instead of having a group of individuals who perform a number of functions adequately, your goal should be to create of team of rock stars that all contribute to your company’s success in their own way.

Reorganization Isn’t Always a Bad Thing

The term reorganization is often dreaded in the workplace. We are all familiar with reorganizations that happen when companies are sold or merged and there’s no doubting that cleaning house is something that happens on a regular basis. Reorganization within a company isn’t always a bad thing though. When you come across a candidate that possesses the skills to make a real impact, it can often be beneficial and cost-efficient to create a position just for them. Doing so might mean that other members of your team have to take on new roles or be reassigned to other departments entirely. As long as it’s properly communicated to everyone involved that they aren’t being demoted and are still a valuable part of the team, most employees understand that sometimes change is necessary and can be a good thing.

There’s no questioning the fact that depth of talent in the workforce today is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Industries across the board are more competitive than they’ve ever been and if your company isn’t constantly seeking ways to improve, they are falling behind. For these reasons, attracting and hiring the best talent available is paramount. Even though it can be difficult to hire people that are smarter than you, doing so can not only increase your bottom line, but give you a chance to learn and grow as well.

If you need help hiring a top employee in the life sciences industry, contact me, Jeff King. I help business owner and employees in the Bay Area.

We’ve all been there. Whether you’re still employed and looking for another opportunity or switching careers entirely, updating and customizing your resume is the first step when beginning the job hunt. You’ve probably downloaded a template from the Internet and filled it out in chronological order with places of employment, title, lists of your duties and a section at the end that highlights your skills and other interests. Maybe you’ve even spent hours going over it with a fine-tooth comb to sure it’s squeaky clean. This is all good and well, but have you thought carefully about the words you choose? Sadly, the resumes most people submit to prospective employers use language that is either too basic and antiquated or too sophisticated and over the top. To help you out next time someone asks for resume, we’ve come up with a list of the most impactful words to include.

Numbers

No, we don’t mean the actual word “numbers.” We’re talking about metrics like revenue you generated, money or time you saved, people you managed, etc. It doesn’t mean much when you say that “you reduce the time required to X.” Your employer is going to want to know by how much. A better way to put it would be “reduced processing time by 40%.”, or “cleared out a backlog in 7 months” Bottom line, if there is anything you did in a previous job that can be expressed in numbers, it better be on your resume.

Modernized

Maybe a responsibility you had in your last job was to improve existing systems or come up with new ways of doing things entirely. While you might be tempted to write “updated policies and procedures manual” on your resume, simply exchanging the word “modernized” for “updated” is like a switch to the hiring manager. In their eyes, anyone can update a simple document, but to modernize or streamline it? That’s powerful stuff.

Value

When companies are looking to hire someone for a position, they want a person who will add value to the organization. If you make it known on your resume that you’re hard-working, that only goes so far. Sure, hard work is commendable, but it doesn’t always achieve results. By using the words value or valuable, you make it known that you think about the work you do in terms of how it will improve the company at large.

Action Verbs

Action verbs are words like supervised, authorized, guided, managed, unified, initiated and designed, to name a few. These words show your ability to succeed. Moreover, they tell a hiring manager that you have been trusted with significant responsibility in the past. When choosing which action verbs to use, it might be a good idea to create an extensive list and carefully choose the ones that best communicate the message you’re trying to get across.

Orchestrated

Anyone can say that they’ve led a team or organized a charity event. Sure, those are qualities that are favorable to an employer but if you use the word orchestrated instead, you communicate that you were the one in charge.

Spearheaded

The last place you want to appear modest is on your resume. Much like the word orchestrated, spearheaded emphasizes your level of involvement. For example, instead of saying you “created a new submission procedure,” telling the employer that you “spearheaded the modernization of the submission process” is much more specific and conveys confidence in your abilities.

Committed

Simply put, employers want to see that you’re committed to your work and to your employer from the beginning to the end. While it’s great if you can use this word specifically, using any type of language that evokes loyalty and dedication places you ahead those that don’t.

Results

While stating what you do and what you are responsible for is good, listing what you accomplished while in your role paints a much clearer picture of what you can do for your employer and the impact you can have.

Skimmable

Again, we aren’t talking about using this word specifically. Your resume needs to be skimmable when someone reads it. Interviewers are going to look over anywhere from dozens to hundreds of resumes so you want yours to not only stand out from the rest, but be easy to read as well. Avoid excessively long sentences and exclude any information that isn’t relevant. Remember, your resume is your personal highlight reel and nothing more.

Edit

We can’t emphasize this enough. Your resume is your first impression so you need to make it count. If you have any grammar or spelling mistakes, you might as well kiss the job goodbye. Even though it might be tedious, take the time to edit your resume so it’s perfect. When you think you’re done, give it to a trusted friend to review.

Ask any interviewer and they will tell you that the number of bad resumes they receive is astounding. While some are just flat out awful because they’re riddled with bad spelling and grammar, others just don’t seem that exciting because the language is simple, vague and boring. Even if someone else is more qualified than you, the words you use in your resume can paint you in a favorable light and put you ahead of the competition. Next time you have to go polish it up, try using some of the words above to emphasize your accomplishments and abilities. Doing so just might be what it takes to get you the job.

As a Regulatory and Quality Assurance Recruiter, I can help you refine your resume. I help employees find jobs that fit in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device industries.

Never before has hiring the right person for your organization been so important. With such an emphasis on specialized skill sets and company culture, finding the perfect candidate is vital to the success of the entire company. While knowing what questions to ask and how to gauge responses during an interview is a necessary skill, there are other things you need to take into consideration as well. One facet that often goes overlooked is thoroughly vetting a candidate through their references. Sure, a person’s references are most likely going to speak highly of them but if you ask the right questions, you’ll glean some useful insight that you might have otherwise missed.

What is Your Relationship to the Candidate?

If you ask this question at the outset of the conversation with a reference you gain context to process the information that is shared. Did the reference oversee the candidate in their previous job? If so, their insight might be especially valuable. Is the reference a co-worker that shared the same responsibilities? In this case, the information you get might be a little biased one way or another.

Can You Verify A Candidate’s Job Title and Dates of Employment?

While this question seems like a no-brainer, it’s amazing how many hiring managers fail to ask it. Even this rudimentary information can tell you a lot about a candidate. Were they in the same position with a company for a long time or do they show a history of never being in one spot for very long? Based on their job title, what were their responsibilities? Do these responsibilities align with what they would be doing in their new role with you?

Can You Tell Me About their Job Performance?

It’s easy for anyone applying for a job to beef up their resume with items like inflated sales numbers or claiming responsibility for managing a huge budget and large number of people. The only way to make sure the information on someone’s resume is accurate is to ask. If a reference is able to verify the information, great! On the other hand, if there are gaps in the information, it’s a sure sign you need to ask some tougher questions to get clarification.

What Are the Candidate’s Strengths and Weaknesses?

This question is worth its weight in gold. When you’re considering hiring someone, you’re going to want to know how they’ll fit in culturally and if they have the skills needed to excel. Equally important however, is having an idea of what their weaknesses are. Weaknesses aren’t a bad thing, everyone has them, but knowing what someone’s shortcomings are will allow you to further deduce if they are a good fit. There’s no more reliable source for this information than a previous employer who knows the candidate well, so make sure you don’t let this question fall through the cracks.

What Was it Like to Work With the Candidate?

When you ask a reference what it was like to spend a day working with the candidate you’ll gain some critical insight into who they are as a person. Were they jovial and fun-loving? Or were they task-oriented preferring to keep to themselves? Did they get along well with others and demonstrate a willingness to work as a team? Or were they primarily concerned with fulfilling their own duties? How well did this person take direction? Were they open to new ideas and ways of doing things?

Why Did the Candidate Leave Their Previous Job?

While this question can reveal red flags like someone being let go from a previous job, it also gives you an idea of how long they might stay with your company should you end up hiring them. Does this person have a tendency to jump ship thinking the grass is always greener? Or have they demonstrated loyalty in their previous posts?

Would You Hire This Candidate Again, and Why or Why Not?

If you only have time to ask one question, this should be it. A reference’s response to this single question can sum up everything that might be revealed in a lengthier conversation. If the reference says they would hire the individual back in a heartbeat, you’ve probably got a quality candidate. However, if they say no or seem unsure, you might want to do a little digging.

Hiring the wrong person for the job can be costly. A 2017 survey conducted by Career Builder found that companies lost an average of $14,900 for each bad hire they made. While there is no way to tell for certain how a candidate will perform until they’re hired, consistently hiring the wrong people can be devastating for the bottom line. If you think it’s difficult to manage with the position open, just imagine how difficult it will be to manage a bad hire.

If you ask the right questions in the interview and take the extra step to ask references some poignant questions, you’ll arm yourself with all the information necessary to choose the right person for the job.

As a Regulatory and Quality recruiter, I can help create a list of essential questions to send to candidate’s references. I help life sciences employers in the biotech, medical, and pharmaceutical industries in the Bay Area. Contact me, Jeff King, at jking@rqfocus.com or (541) 639-3501.

YOU DON’T NEED US if the position(s) you have to fill are not considered critical, AND you can take whatever time is necessary for the right person to see your job posting, AND you have the time to review all submitted resumes to find the ones you want to interview. If this is the case traditional methods of recruiting may work for you.

BUT, YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER US if filling the position(s) quickly and with the right person is critical, and you need someone with the experience and understanding to do the first level screening to weed out all but the top 3-5 candidates for you, AND you are not getting much response to your current recruiting efforts. Top caliber candidates are NOT scouring job postings. They’re too busy getting their work done. They also take less time to get up to speed.

WHAT MAKES US ANY DIFFERENT OR BETTER THAN OTHER RECRUITERS?

• I worked for 4 years as an Engineer designing new medical devices, and 5 years as a Marketing Product Manager developing and launching new products to the market.
• I’ve spent the past 20+ years filling critical positions in the Bay area with experienced, top performing Regulatory, Clinical, and Quality professionals.
• I’m also a career counselor to several local Regulatory, Clinical, and Quality professionals and understand what they’re looking for in their careers, and know how to approach them to have them consider your opportunity.
• I am a certified Facilitator for Everyday Engagement methodology for building High Performance Teams.
• I take the time to get to know the “personality” of my client companies so I can better match the personalities of the candidates for a better and longer lasting fit.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM US

• I will take the time to understand what problems you are trying to solve and what type of person would perform best in that role and send you the top 3-5 pre-screened candidates to consider.
• Weekly updates on the status of your search so you KNOW it’s being worked on.
• I have a 74% accuracy rate on submitting candidates you want to interview.
• I have a 93% success rate on getting your offers accepted and having the candidate ready to go on day one.
• Periodic follow ups with the candidate and the hiring manager during the first year to ensure a good fit.
• A 5 year replacement policy to ensure you’re happy with the outcome.

TESTIMONIALS

“…I know that Jeff is not in the business to make ‘a quick buck’. He is a reliable, trustworthy resource who has my best interest in mind. In my fifteen years of experience, the proof is always in the end result. Candidates represented by Jeff have gone on to become key contributors and successful team members. When staffing needs arise, Jeff King is the first person I contact.” – J. Cook QA/RA Director

“…Jeff is thorough in understanding the requirements of each open position. He is considerate of my time, as well as conscientious in his follow up. He is a pleasure to work with.” – M. Ashburn HR Manager

When writing your CV, you may get sidetracked by what you think the employer wants to hear. This can lead to buzzwords that weakens your resume rather than making it stand out – or at least stand out in a good way!
Keep the following buzzwords out of your CV to avoid getting shortlisted by the hiring manager:

Hard Working

Stating that you are hardworking is not enough to prove your work ethic to potential employers. Instead of using the buzzword, mention times when you went the extra mile for your company. This could be an additional project that led to a promotion. Prove that you are a hard worker. Don’t just state it.

Creative

Would a creative person list that they are creative or show that they are creative on their resume? Most likely, a creative person would find a unique way to depict their creativity.

Creative Opportunities for Resume

• Color Blocking
• Font Choice (but not too wild or hard to read)
• White Space
• Infographics
• Prioritize Information

Strong Communication Skills

Every employer wants an employee with strong communication skills. However, a more professional method to depicting your strong communication skills is to use well-structured sentences, and perfect spelling and grammar. Also, organize your CV so it is easy to read.

Works Well in a Team

A great team player is important for almost every job position. Demonstrate your ability to work well on a team with job descriptions. Include your interaction with co-workers and clients.

For example:

• Format information for internal and external communication – memos, emails, presentations, reports
• Be the point of contact between the executives and company employees/clients and manage information flow
• Screen and direct phone calls and distribute correspondence

Results-Driven

Everything is motivated by needing a result. Therefore, even if we only get out of bed during the day, we are all results-driven. Employers do not want to hear that you are results-driven but HOW you are results-driven.

• Did you create a new program at your previous job leading to an increase in efficiency?
• How did you generate revenue?
• Did you streamline a process?
• What projects did you deliver?

Show your employer tangible facts and figures of how you create results. Don’t just talk about what you did, talk about what was achieved.

Thought Leader

A thought leader is the informed, go-to expert in their field of expertise. Examples of thought-leaders are Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates. If you are thought leader than you are probably not writing a resume anymore.

A more modest approach would be to explain your expertise in the field, including awards and achievements or any special recognition from your employer or associations.

A great resume can determine whether you receive an interview. The trick is knowing what to include and exclude. Deterring from these cliché buzzwords can help your chances of standing out and getting the job.

Communication is one of the biggest complaints candidates have throughout the recruiting and interviewing process, and is one of the key reasons you may be missing out on some of the best candidates. It is important to use a recruiter who establishes a strong communication system with employers and candidates and keeps both sides informed at each step of the process. This can prevent you from losing valuable candidates.

Important Steps to Remember

Your recruiter should be following up with candidates after an interview and providing you feedback from the candidate’s perspective.

Many recruiters tell their clients, “I will let you know when I have news,” but that is not good enough. Your candidate should hear from you within 1-2 days to do a debrief of their interview experience. It is respectful to the candidate and keeps them engaged with your position, but also gives you valuable feedback on how your company and interview team are being perceived by candidates. It is also the first chance to identify and clarify any possible “miscommunications” that may have come up during the interviews.

Many recruiters or hiring managers choose to use email to follow up with candidates, and that is certainly a good option and better than no contact with them at all, but you get a much better picture of where things stand by having an actual conversation with the candidate. That is where a good recruiter can use their relationship with the candidate to get honest feedback for you on the interview and also see if they are interviewing elsewhere and if there may be other competitors for this candidate.

If you choose to use an email to follow up with candidates after an interview, here is a template that you can use to follow-up on an interview:

Dear [X],

We would like to thank you for coming in to interview with our team. We are in the process of collecting feedback from all of the interview team members to let you know their decision, and it may take a few more days to hear from everyone, but I didn’t want you to think I had forgotten about you.

You may have questions for me, and I hope you’ll let me know if that is the case. I will be in touch as soon as the interview team’s feedback is complete, but I am always happy to answer your questions in the meantime.

Thanks and have an outstanding day!

Yours,
[X]

This simple email made a positive difference in the candidate’s interview experience.

The stronger the candidate, the stronger the expectations. Make sure you are using a recruiter that builds a strong communication system with your candidates.

Jeff King of RQ Focus follows through with each candidate to make sure you know how the he or she feels about your company and opportunity, and helps you prepare an offer for your chosen candidate that is fair and will be accepted. His professional methodologies help ensure that you hire the highest-quality candidate.

Since Recruiters are paid strictly on a commission basis, we are constantly evaluating our workload to determine where we should be focusing our efforts. We do this for two reasons: 1) to ensure our client company’s needs are being met, and 2) to ensure a placement is made, and a commission is earned.

The elements of a search assignment that we use as a basis of our evaluation are as follows:

• An urgent need to fill the position.
• A well defined and realistic idea of the job candidate you are looking for.
• An open line of communication with the hiring manager.
• A commitment to work as a team to attract and hire top talent.
• Prompt return of phone calls and feedback on job candidates submitted and interviewed.
• A fair and competitive salary is being offered.
• The company is attractive to potential job candidates.
• A fair fee agreement has been signed.

When we receive a job order, we evaluate these elements to categorize the search into one of three classifications:

“A” Search – This classification means the search contains all of these elements. This type of search will get our full attention, meaning we will:

• Conduct a thorough search of our database of current, qualified job candidates.
• Conduct a search of our database of job candidates we know that have the right background, but are not yet qualified job candidates.
• Tap into our networks for referrals to qualified job candidates.
• Cold calling into competitor companies to lure their employees to your opportunity.
• Give weekly updates as the search progresses.

“B” Search – This classification means there are some elements missing, but it’s still a pretty good search. It will still get our attention, but takes a back seat to the A searches. For this type of search we will:

• Conduct a thorough search of our database of current, qualified job candidates.
• Conduct a search of our database of job candidates we know that have the right background, but are not yet qualified job candidates.
• Keep the position in mind as we recruit for our A client companies.
• Submit job candidates only after our A client companies have had first right of refusal for them.

“F” Search – This classification means most or all of the elements are missing. It’s not important to the client company, so it’s not important to us. For this type of search we will:

• Keep the position in mind as we recruit for our A and B client companies.
• Submit possible job candidates only after the A and B client companies have had first right of refusal.

ACTIONS THAT LOWER A CLIENT COMPANY’S CLASSIFICATION

Let’s elaborate on some of the search elements listed above, and how a client company’s actions can reduce the attractiveness of a search assignment.

Prompt Feedback on Job Candidates

If it takes more than 2 or 3 days to get some initial feedback on a job candidate, it can kill the momentum and interest the Recruiter has worked so hard to instill in the job candidate. It also tells the Recruiter that filling this position is not urgent. Also, the better job candidates usually have other options. There is ALWAYS a need for top talent and they will most likely choose to go to a place that shows interest in them and appears more organized during the interviewing process.

Bottlenecks in Communication

If a Recruiter is told “you have to direct all communications through HR”, in most cases that will drop the search to at least a B level search, if not an F. This is not an insult to HR departments, but is more indicative of the problems with this type of approach. The person in HR is usually a lower level person that may not fully understand what a hiring manager is looking for in a job candidate, and probably also has several other open requisitions on their desk, as well as other duties outside of the recruiting process. Often times these people are overworked and outside of their area of expertise. It’s inefficient to ask them to funnel the appropriate job candidates to you when they might not know what that job candidate looks like, or how to select them.

Also, as part of matching a possible job candidate to a company and job, a Recruiter needs to have some contact with the hiring manager to get a feel for personality fits and departmental culture (management style, departmental priorities in the coming months, etc.). HR should certainly by kept in the loop in all communications and activities with the job candidates, but if that is the ONLY communications allowed with a client company, it is extremely rare that that client company will ever get to the “A” priority.

Too Much Authority in the Wrong Hands

In cases where a lower level HR representative is given the authority to review job candidate resumes, or conduct an initial phone interview, and then make the decision of whether or not the hiring manager will even see the job candidate’s resume, we will decline the search 90% of the time. This may seem like a stream lined approach to recruiting, but it often backfires in the following ways:

• VERY few people in the lower levels of HR have a strong enough understanding of the roles of Regulatory, Clinical, and Quality to be able to decide who is a good job candidate and who isn’t.
• An HR employee or contract Recruiter intentionally stalling on a Recruiter’s job candidate to see if they can find someone stronger by themselves to preserve job security.
• An HR employee showing favoritism for a particular search firm’s job candidate because they like that search firm better, or got a nice gift basket from them.

The hiring manager misses out on some very good job candidates and is unaware any of this is going on. The Recruiter can move on to another search assignment, but the client company’s job remains open.

If One Recruiter is Good, Maybe Five Would Be Better

Don’t count on it. You may be thinking that you will have more eyes and ears in the market looking for you, however, there is a limited supply of job candidates in the Regulatory, Clinical, and Quality fields, and even fewer that are considered top talent. If several Recruiters are calling the same people, two things will happen; none of which are good for you.

First – the qualified pool of job candidates will begin to wonder what’s wrong with that company, thinking that they are really desperate needing so many Recruiters because:

1. The opportunity isn’t very appealing.
2. The company must be disorganized.
3. The job opening has an overwhelming workload, and no one else wants to step into that situation.
4. The company is looking for just any “warm body” to fill the position.

Second – the Recruiters will hear that these job candidates are getting calls from several other Recruiters for this position, and they will immediately drop them to a B or F level search.

You may think you have 4, 5, or 10 Recruiters out there working for you when in fact you have 4, 5, or 10 Recruiters that have placed your search on the back burner and have moved on to searches that have a better chance of being filled.

Cutting the Recruiter Out of the Interview Process

This is one that really makes no sense and, luckily, doesn’t happen too often. The Recruiter submits a job candidate you like and you want to interview them. You decide to handle setting up the interviews and contacting the job candidate yourself, without involving the Recruiter. It sends the message you don’t trust the Recruiter. Even more important, you shut yourself off to the inside knowledge the Recruiter has already obtained during their screening process to see if the job candidate is right for your job. For example, we inquire as to whether the job candidate is motivated by salary, title, a new set of responsibilities, etc. Job candidates are less guarded about discussing their concerns with their Recruiter than they would be with a potential employer. If the job candidate gets hired, you still have to pay the Recruiter’s fee – why not get the absolute most for your money? Let the trained Recruiter do their job and earn their fee.

Deteriorating Facilities

You may think this is not very relevant to the decision-making process for a job candidate that is considering an offer from a company, but it’s actually in the top 3 or 4 factors on their list. A job candidate is not only looking for a good opportunity, with a chance to progress in their career, but also a pleasant place to spend 40+ hours a week of their lives. If the building is run down, dimly lit, and depressing, you are fighting an uphill battle in the war for talent.

When we have a job candidate turn down an offer, and the money, title, and scope of responsibilities are all in line with what they are looking for, the next reasons that come up are either the commute, or the facilities. After a job candidate’s first interview, we always ask them if they can picture themselves working for the company. If they say “not without getting a good shrink”, you will have a difficult time getting them on board and offering more money probably won’t do the trick.

Reverse the roles for a minute and consider this. If a job candidate came in to interview for a job wearing ripped jeans and a tee shirt with their favorite band on the front, and had little life to their personality, chances are you would pass on that job candidate. Even if they have the perfect background for the job, and you also have another really good job candidate (but not quite as good as the sloppier job candidate) that is in contention for the job, who showed up dressed much more professionally, you will most likely choose the one that made the better impression. It’s no different for a job candidate considering a new job.

Too Many Decision Makers in the Interview Process

The more people involved in the interviewing process that get to cast a deciding vote, the more likely the job is going to remain open for a very long time, or possibly never get filled. While you will want the job candidate meet with all of the people that are considered critical, and the people they will be working directly with, you should try to limit the number of people that can cast a “deciding” vote to 2 or 3. Any more than that and you significantly decrease your chances of getting a unanimous approval.

If you’ve had some difficulties getting results from recruiters on past searches, maybe you can look back and see where some of these elements may have contributed to the poor results. Or if a recruiter was doing a good job for you and then stopped producing, call them and ask if anything has changed on your search. Sometimes things are going well with the recruiter and the hiring manager, but they keep running into roadblocks or getting different instructions from HR (or vice versa) causing enough confusion and conflict to lower your search ranking.

Of course, it could also be that you were choosing the wrong recruiter for the job. But that’s a discussion for another article.

If you have comments or a story to share, we would love to hear them. And if you have questions, we would love to hear them too.

The time between accepting an offer and the end of the first week on the new job can be an emotional time for a new hire.  During this period your new employee will feel disconnected from the job they had, and uncertain about what lies ahead.  This makes them extremely vulnerable to a counter offer.  There are a few steps that you can take to make them feel welcome and confirm to them they have made the right decision.

Once your offer letter has been signed and returned to you, you need to start preparing to bring your new employee on board. These are small actions on your part, but have a huge, positive impact on a new hire. The suggested steps are: