Jim was a Director of Strategic Planning at a Fortune 50 organization who successfully led the sales strategy for one of the company’s premier brands. Bob was a Director of Marketing at a Fortune 500 company who received numerous industry awards and professional accolades for innovative initiatives that created product line growth. Dave was a President of a multi-billion dollar Fortune 1000 company who delivered millions of dollars in savings to his company and customers through leading global teams in performance improvement initiatives. Jennifer was a Vice President of Human Resources who developed and led recruiting strategies in a division of a Fortune 500 company during a period of high growth that resulted in over 80% retention of those hires after a two-year period.
What do all of these people have in common? They’re “A” Players who found themselves restructured out of Corporate America at what could likely be called the peak of their professional careers due to mergers, acquisitions or economic conditions outside of their control – and they were all provided outplacement services as a result. But unfortunately, while each of these individuals were going through their career transition period, some companies or recruiters, who were looking for candidates just like them to fill key roles within their organizations, missed the opportunity to recruit them. Why? Because they never considered looking for candidates at an outplacement firm. It could be that these hiring professionals believed that only “passive” candidates were the answer, while some others wouldn’t even have considered the idea of hiring someone who was currently unemployed. (Something must be wrong with them – right?)
To get past some of the perceived barriers in considering candidates in career transition, perhaps we should think of recruiting at outplacement firms for experienced hires in much the same way that we think of college recruiting for entry-level hires. Most companies who hire recent college graduates value the fact that these individuals have spent time preparing themselves for future employment by getting an education. Candidates going through outplacement services have also typically spent the time getting an education and have real-life work experiences that can be shared and evaluated in considering them for opportunities as well, plus they’re also actively involved in completing assessments, working with a coach or counselor and participating in networking activities to prepare themselves for “re-employment”. So, even though both types of candidates are un-employed, why do we sometimes place a stigma on the latter who are likely to be unemployed through no fault of their own?
I’m a Recruiter, and my primary focus is on connecting with business leaders who need help in identifying and attracting leadership talent to their organizations. As a result, I’m also always interested in connecting with top senior-level talent who may be a fit for those opportunities, and I’ve found outplacement firms to be a great resource to efficiently connect with these types of individuals. Through developing relationships with several outplacement firms and Career Coaches, I’m able to communicate my hiring needs to them and receive targeted and vetted referrals for my opportunities. I also regularly receive referrals of the types of individuals they know I’d like to connect with in general and these referrals are a potential win-win for all involved! The outplacement firm/Coach is able to add value to the process for their clients, the clients are able to expand their networks by connecting with a trusted Recruiter and I’m able to connect with high-quality individuals who could be either placements or clients in the future. (And, I’m able to make these high-quality connections without having to wade through thousands of resumes received through job postings or making hundreds of phone calls.)
In fact, I met 75% of the individuals mentioned in the first paragraph above through their outplacement activities or referrals from my relationships in the firm they were working with. To understand the value of these connections to me in my business – I’ve recommended the first individual for an opportunity with a client, I connected the second with his next career opportunity and the third is currently being considered for a position with one of my company’s clients. The fourth – well that one was me – and I landed my current position through networking while going through outplacement. Thankfully, I was referred to the owner of the company where I currently work by my Career Coach because both understand the value of helping and connecting experienced professionals who are going through the career transition process.
Are you missing out on high-quality hires because you haven’t considered sourcing candidates from outplacement services? If so, it’s past time to shed any biases that you may have and start building some mutually beneficial relationships by walking in that candy store today.
Jennifer: a very good post. All recruiters should be in touch with outplacement firms. These are prime candidates, whose company felt it was worth spending money on.
When you’re talking about 3 people you don’t say 75%. It’s odd.
Long posting. You wanted me to work for that wisdom didn’t you.
Nutshell version: You can find decent candidates at outplacement firms. Okay. Let’s say you’re right. You didn’t have to take so long to get that out.
Then you would have had space to tell us how to establish the relationships you recommend.
Isn’t that so? Yes it is!
Boy i hope that “A” player translates into the recruiting world. WE’ll see how uncustomized this one is after a year in the trenches. With all that PC cutesy stuff about that fourth A player being little ole me it could be interesting.
I’m not aware of any perceived barriers in considering candidates in career transition that weren’t fired due to conduct. I’m curious to know where the idea that there are comes from. Are there references for this stigma?
I wouldn’t consider Jennifer though. I question her need for an outplacement agency in her job search. A Vice President of Human Resources who developed and led recruiting strategies in a division of a Fortune 500 company during a period of high growth ought to be her own agency. After a stint like that she should have contacts galore and know how to strategize and network like a wizard.
I would hope she isn’t sitting around waiting for someone to do her work while she’s having a nervous break down. Makes me think she had the VP stripes ripped from her sleeve like an Army Private who couldn’t peel potatoes fast enough while on KP duty.
What percentage of all interviews is based on searches for “C” & “B” level performers? Do C & B performers deserve jobs too? If not, why do so many of them still have jobs when so many “A+” performers are out of work?
Actually, almost every person I’ve ever met thinks they are an “A+” performer – even when they are not.
Some people I have met even have themselves convinced that they could have been even better “A+” performers if it were not for the fact that they are also grossly misunderstood, unappreciated, and victimized by a world full of sluggards, back-stabbers and people who don’t play by the rules.
Of those I have met who are not so delusional; few people are so dim that they will not lie about their sub-super-performer status during an interview.
They’ll tell you they are “A+” performers – even when they know they are not; because to admit during an interview to ever having been a C to B+ performer, is to probably not get the job.
Just who teaches these C & B people how to lie during interviews? Well, try outsourcing organizations; professional networking groups; pay-to-play con-artists; social media bloggers; the list goes on…
No, no, no, no. These guys would never admit that they instruct candidates on how to lie. They prefer terms like “putting on your game face” or “putting your best face forward”… something like that. But we all know it for what it is – those C & B people are being taught how to lie right to our faces.
And it just makes life tougher for HR professionals – and the rest of us, who really are “A+” performers.
When I first started phone sourcing the Internet was just coming online for the staffing industry in a big way. The temptation was there – I bit a piece off and sent it to my customer. He said:
“I thought you were going to stay ON THE TARGET LIST of companies I gave you…”
“Well, this guy looked good and besides, he’s looking for a job…”
“I want you TO STAY ON THE TARGET LIST I sent you -there’s a reason I want people who work at those “A” companies and it’s NOT because they’re looking for a job…”
‘Nuff said.
@Mike – Thanks for stopping by! I agree that many (not all) of the clients of outplacement firms were provided that service because of their level/value to their previous company and their being let go was through no fault of their own. Clients of outplacement firms are no different than candidates in general – some are great, some good and some… not so much. As a recruiter, I know which ones I can help and when it would be mutually beneficial for us to connect. I also know when it’s not, and I’m honest with those that I can’t help.
@Animal – I’m glad you enjoyed the post and stuck with it through to the end since it was so hard for you. And thanks for the idea for a future post on establishing effective relationships. Good idea. However, you need only to listen to my appearances on your own show to understand more about how I feel and approach establishing effective relationships that generate business opportunities. And as I’ve said before – that approach works for ME. I’m not saying it works for all recruiters – which is just fine.
@Fruitcake Lady – Glad you liked the cutesy. I aim to please. And it’s 3+ years in the recruiting world so far, but you can find me all over the Internet if you want to keep up with my progress – here, my blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. Unfortunately, I can’t also keep up with your progress since you have chosen to be anonymous. Too bad.
@Karla – Reference for the stigma on hiring candidates in career transition would be my own experience as a VP of HR with recruiting responsibilities for many years and now as a third party recruiter. I’ve had both internal and external clients state in no uncertain terms that they will not consider someone who is unemployed. Do I agree with that? No. Have I been able to change some minds and influence people when the right candidate warranted consideration – yes. And wow – guess I wouldn’t want to work for you either with your assumptions about me based upon this post! So that makes both of us happy and all remains right in the world.
@Steven – Good points on the A, B & C players. There’s room for everyone – even though most clients state that they want the “A” player. Truth is, not everyone needs or can handle an A player in their environment. My job as a recruiter is to find my clients both what they want/what they need – and if they’re only interested in an A player, they’re expecting me to figure that out before I introduce someone to them. I do disagree with you that (as a whole) outplacement firms teach candidates to lie. Their job is to help candidates package themselves well and put their best foot forward. (in general) That’s fine, because a recruiter’s/hiring manager’s job is to evaluate not just what a candidate tells them but also their experience and results to determine if they are truly “one of the best”. Your point that everyone may say they are the best , but few actually are is well taken.
@Maureen – I think your comment addresses well Karla’s comment asking if there really is a bias against the unemployed. Some clients do feel this way. Thankfully, not all of them do because there are some great people out there who are in between jobs.
Holy Cow, these responses in my opinion are quite disingenuous. Especially considering that these individuals are all part of an “elite” network who and I quote
“When we see a blog posting that’s just begging to be criticized we send a message (like ants) to the other members of the team.
And they all descend on it at the same time and start discussing it back and forth until all of the errors are exposed and corrected.”
I challenge that any One of these “members” even read the post, or actually even respectfully agreed or disagreed with the orginal “basher”
Personally, I am pretty offended at the “comment club” as to me, it appears to be a Full Blown Scenario of Emperor’s New Clothes