Headhunter Insights

As a headhunter, I often have A+ candidates who have gone all the way through the interview process with a client, only to have to turn them down toward the final stages – an often heartbreaking but necessary evil in the hiring process. My message to hiring managers and HR professionals is this: the way you go about letting someone down matters!

For anyone who has ever been turned down for an opportunity with a vague explanation like, “we’re going in another direction”, it can absolutely leave a sour taste in a candidate’s mouth, and jeopardize the opportunity to build a strong, ongoing relationship…

As executive headhunters, we know that hiring better is the key to rapid growth in any company. Your people are your greatest asset. PROFITguide.com writes, “The leaders of the PROFIT 500 have hired a lot of people in the past few years; they created more than 34,000 net full-time equivalent positions between 2008 and 2013, so they’ve mastered the art of screening and bringing in candidates”. Here are our top 5 favourites. We use these tactics every day here at IQ PARTNERS to hire internally, and advise our clients to do the same:

It may seem like an impersonal approach to hiring, but I believe that, when used well, ATS’s can actually help you create an exceptional candidate experience, maintain relationships with top candidates, build your company brand, and ultimately attract more top talent. I’ve seen way too many mid-sized and even larger companies who have yet to get on board with an ATS to help them organize job candidates. The right people are the most important part of your company, so you cannot afford not to invest.

The goal of every job interview is to differentiate yourself from every other candidate and stand out as exceptional. Here are 9 examples of what not to say during your interview that will help you rise above the crowd.

I have an admission to make; in the past, I have acted like a loser. Let me explain.

A few months ago, I was in a slump. Though I have been successful in my career, and I have been blessed to work with wonderful co-workers and clients, a slump seems to come around every 2-3 years whether I like it or not. And this slump was a bad one. In spite of knowing better, I chose to act like a loser.

So, how does this relate to you and your job search? Here is how I (incorrectly) handled my slump:

In my career in Executive Search, I have been overwhelmed by candidates’ negative experiences with companies throughout the hiring process. A negative experience during this stage can not only lose you the candidate, but also kill your company brand in the marketplace. Also, whoever you do end up hiring will already have a bad taste in their mouth, even before their first day on the job!

IQ PARTNERS’ Founding Partner, Bruce Powell, was recently interviewed by the Financial Post for an article on culture fit in hiring. The article discusses the importance of hiring for culture fit and some tips and strategies that top companies are using. You can read the full article here:

Every hiring manager should be gunning to hire the best in the market while staying within budget. There is nothing worse than investing countless recruitment hours into a top quality candidate and then losing them in the offer negotiation stage. Here are some tips to help you effectively manage the negotiation process.

Imagine you had your very own board of directors for your life to help you make wiser decisions before you made tough choices. Guess what? You probably do; you just haven’t learned how to identify and tap into your network. Tapping into your network for advice on hiring decisions can pay off ten-fold, helping find you that A+ hire and often making the hiring process a much smoother one.