Episode 8
Creating Your Candidate Creed
The relationship between candidate and recruiter is a two-way street. Avoid having to have a West Side Story-style dance battle over that street by finding out how to create your own "candidate creed", outlining how you as a recruiter are going to advocate for them, and what your candidate needs to do to hold up their end of the bargain.
Transcript
Hi, and welcome to the Talent Trade.
Stephanie Maas:This is Stephanie Maas, partner with Thinking Ahead Executive Search.
Stephanie Maas:Today I want to talk to you about a candidate creed.
Stephanie Maas:This is a short verbal agreement, not upholdable in the court of law, but just an agreement between you and the candidates that you work with that hopefully set the stage for an easier By the way, one of my favorite things to ask candidates when I get them on the phone is to ask them, Hey, what has been your experience working with recruiters in the past?
Stephanie Maas:This is so incredibly telling.
Stephanie Maas:You're going to get one of three responses.
Stephanie Maas:One, I've never worked with a recruiter, which isn't good or bad, but just an indication you're probably going to have to do a lot of teaching and leading because they don't know what they don't know about working with a search firm, especially not with you.
Stephanie Maas:Two, they're going to tell you great things, which again is fantastic.
Stephanie Maas:Note them, make sure you do them because they're telling you these are the things that I liked or they're going to give you horror stories.
Stephanie Maas:Again, super great information.
Stephanie Maas:It's going to tell you what to make sure that you don't do.
Stephanie Maas:Typically I like to do a candidate creed when I am done doing a profile.
Stephanie Maas:See another episode of the talent trade for profiling candidates, but a candidate creed.
Stephanie Maas:I personally like it to be rather casual, but I definitely want buy in.
Stephanie Maas:So typically you've probably spent the last 30 minutes talking about their skillset, their compensation, their motivation to make a move.
Stephanie Maas:And we've had some pretty personal dialogue, conversation, exchange of information.
Stephanie Maas:Before I let them go, I'll say, Hey, real quick, before I let you go, I know different folks have had different experiences working with recruiters.
Stephanie Maas:And I just wanted to let you know what you can expect from me and what I'm going to ask of you in return.
Stephanie Maas:How does that sound?
Stephanie Maas:And they go, yeah, okay, fine.
Stephanie Maas:Whatever.
Stephanie Maas:First and foremost.
Stephanie Maas:I'm going to be honest and I'm going to shoot you straight.
Stephanie Maas:If you bomb an interview, it'll be painful for me to tell you, but I'm going to tell you if you're number two in the hiring hierarchy, I'm going to be honest with you.
Stephanie Maas:Hey, they're going to go after the number one candidate.
Stephanie Maas:You're number two.
Stephanie Maas:You know, if things don't work out with number one, which they often don't, they'd like to come back to you if it's okay, or they're going to make another hire in 90 days.
Stephanie Maas:They'd like to keep you in consideration.
Stephanie Maas:So I'm always going to be honest.
Stephanie Maas:I'm going to shoot you straight.
Stephanie Maas:Number two is I'm always going to give you timely feedback.
Stephanie Maas:I hear this more than anything else from candidates that they hate when recruiters don't get back to them.
Stephanie Maas:They don't know how they did an interview.
Stephanie Maas:They don't know where things stand.
Stephanie Maas:They hate being ghosted by a recruiter.
Stephanie Maas:So, good, bad, or indifferent, if I have any information, I promise I'm going to communicate that to you in a timely manner.
Stephanie Maas:Just so you know, timely for me is typically within 24 hours, but often sooner.
Stephanie Maas:The third thing that you're going to be able to expect from me is no pressure.
Stephanie Maas:My career, my year.
Stephanie Maas:It's not going to be made or broken if you take this job.
Stephanie Maas:If you're interested, I will be your advocate and do everything I can to help you be the candidate of choice.
Stephanie Maas:If you are not, we are going to bow out gracefully, protect your reputation, and I'll call you on the next one.
Stephanie Maas:My kids don't need you to take this job for them to have a great Christmas.
Stephanie Maas:So you're never going to get pressure from me.
Stephanie Maas:If it's right for you and your family, and you can tell me that it's right, I'll help you navigate the challenges of making a change, but you got to be the one that tells me this is what you want to do.
Stephanie Maas:Fourth, I will let you know where you stand at all times.
Stephanie Maas:So you can best process the information to make a principle based decision.
Stephanie Maas:And then lastly, as long as you want the job, I'll be your advocate.
Stephanie Maas:Anytime you don't, we'll stop the process.
Stephanie Maas:And we'll move on to whatever's next.
Stephanie Maas:How does that sound?
Stephanie Maas:Does that sound fair?
Stephanie Maas:And go, okay, if I could, there's a couple of things I'd like to ask of you.
Stephanie Maas:One, just be honest with me, shoot me straight.
Stephanie Maas:Let me know where your head is at and why to communicate your interests with me.
Stephanie Maas:There's going to be a time and a place to negotiate, play hard to get all these different things, but it's not between you and me.
Stephanie Maas:It's kind of like that scene with Jerry Maguire when he's talking to Kuba Gooden Juger and he's like, help me help you.
Stephanie Maas:Yes, I get paid by the client, but candidates are my lifeblood.
Stephanie Maas:Without them, I cannot deliver to my clients.
Stephanie Maas:So it's critical that you and I have a really good relationship.
Stephanie Maas:So I just need you to let me know your interest in the opportunity and the timing.
Stephanie Maas:Number three, I'm going to ask that you keep me aware of any changes in your situation.
Stephanie Maas:Whether it be other opportunities that come up, anything that happens in your current role, that changes, you know, anything at all.
Stephanie Maas:I'll try and ask every time we talk, if there's anything new or different, but sometimes I do forget.
Stephanie Maas:So I'm going to ask your help that you just keep me aware of anything new or different on your end.
Stephanie Maas:And then lastly, I believe that this is a partnership for the long haul and not that I want you to jump around, but I always do want to be a valuable resource for you.
Stephanie Maas:And I believe this is the beginning of the partnership.
Stephanie Maas:So let's just treat each other accordingly.
Stephanie Maas:And again, if anything changes, no harm, no foul.
Stephanie Maas:Just like you hated being ghosted by recruiters.
Stephanie Maas:We don't love it either.
Stephanie Maas:Just let me know what's going on.
Stephanie Maas:And I promise I'll always be able to take it well.
Stephanie Maas:Sound good.
Stephanie Maas:And that is the candidate creed or candidate agreement or whatever you want to call it.
Stephanie Maas:Again, I know folks that like to be really hard and firm and you better do this or I'm going to drop you.
Stephanie Maas:That's not my world.
Stephanie Maas:My candidates would be like, okay, bye Felicia.
Stephanie Maas:So if that's your style and it works, Hey, stick with it.
Stephanie Maas:But if that style makes you slightly uncomfortable, like it does me find a style, a way to communicate this, but it gets their buy in.
Stephanie Maas:That you guys are working together on this.
Stephanie Maas:Hope that helps.
Stephanie Maas:Thanks for listening to this episode of the talent trade.
