When it comes down to the final candidate, the recruitment process is a lot like a negotiation between two parties, ideally arriving at a “win/win” for both. There’s a great deal of sharing of information, a search for common ground and a resolution of issues to reach agreement on the job, compensation and joining the company. Recruiters fully understand what it takes to get things done on their side of the “win/win” process. Like every negotiation, knowing as much as possible about the issues of the candidate improves the understanding of the candidate and his/her issues, and can help to shape the terms of the deal.

But, what is happening on the job seeker side?

During the weeks and months prior to a first meeting with a recruiter, a job seeker, whether actively of passively looking for an opportunity, spends dozens, perhaps hundreds of hours on the job search process. Let’s review what it takes to land a job in today’s market and hopefully offer some insights to recruiters for better negotiations.

Job Seeker Experience
Finding the right career opportunity in today’s job market is a steep learning curve. Consider some of the basic issues and for job seekers:

• Research: Job seekers get help from all the resources they can find, including books, the Internet, the library, colleagues in their profession, trade organizations, informational interviews and more to learn about their specific career segment(s) of interest and opportunities. Some seek professional coaching and career counsel to gain greater insight into their skills, aptitudes and interests in order to both improve their search for the right opportunity and their presentation of themselves as candidates.
• Core Skills for job search: Methods for job search include crafting resume content focused on accomplishments, attendance at networking events use of the Internet for job leads and company research, training in phone skills and interviewing and much more. Job seekers who are actively looking attend two or three networking events a week to share ideas, gain information and contacts in relation to their specific job search goals and assist other job seekers.
  
  Key fact: Five out of ten job seekers consistently report that they land their opportunities through networking.


• Planning the Job search: As a job seeker gains proficiency in the search process, a typical weekly plan will include 20% of time on the internet, 40-50% of time at networking events and informational interviews, and the balance of time on research and preparation for phone screen calls and interviews. A job seeker sets aside up to a day or more to prepare for a phone screen or an interview.
• Reality Check: Job seekers know that 95% of their efforts are unproductive, but 5% produces a job offer! The challenge of every job seeker is that they do not know up front which 5% will yield success! And every job seeker has a unique 5% success story to share as well.
• Career Management: Based upon surveys, average length of employment is 2.5 to 3 years. A job seeker invests a few hundred hours in a job search, building resources and contacts to connect with opportunities. Once a new assignment is accepted, many (formerly) active job seekers move to a “passive” job search mode during their new tenure, maintaining their networks and relationships for potential need in the future. Network events normally have up to one-third employed attendees, many of them recently employed, participating to maintain their relationships.

Recruiter game plan
Background: The employment rate in the US today is 95%+. According to a recent Yahoo Hotjobs survey, less than 20% of the workforce are actively looking for new employment, so over 80% are either not looking or qualify as “passive job seekers.” When passive job seekers are asked what resources they will use for a job search, they report one or more of the following:

• Local newspaper (56%)
• National job board (41%)
• Local newspaper Web-site (37%)
• Phone or in-person networking (36%)
• Professional/industry Web-site/publication (26%)
• Corporate Web-site (25%)

Given the general plans of job seekers, how can an employer correlate staffing plans to connect? The short list of resources for employers includes:

• Company web site and ad campaigns around promotion of the site to attract visitors to the career pages
• Job posts on national job boards to maintain a visibility and presence as well as attract candidates of interest
• Development of plans to create relationships with social networks of job seekers and connect with the market niches of greatest interest to the company

Aligning staffing plans with how job seekers conduct their job searches will increase potential for attracting quality candidates and successful selection.

Negotiation points
Key Questions:In the meeting with the final candidate, here are some key questions to pose to walk in the shoes of the job seeker and position the offer:

• How long have you been in looking for an opportunity?
• How many hours have you spent on your job search?
• How many networking meetings have you attended?
• What did it take for you to get to this point with us?
• What will it take to get you to stop looking?

Understanding the job seeker experience is a key component of negotiation!

Bill Broderick
224-484-8926
Bill.Broderick@fennimoresolutions.com
bbroderick@workministry.com