Anyone who has hiring experience knows that the process can be overwhelming. The sheer volume of candidates alone can leave you staring at a list of resumes that can take days and sometimes weeks to get through. Even though you have made great efforts to clearly state the requirements for the open position, the vast majority of candidates that apply are not qualified.

Is your recruiter spending enough time working on your search?

hiring processYou have an important position to fill. Maybe you tried to conduct the search yourself by using an in-house recruiter, job boards, or word of mouth to find the right candidate, but still find yourself without anyone to fill your critical position. Spending a significant amount of time trying to find someone to fill a vacant position makes finding the right candidate even more imperative. Because you feel pressed for time, you make the decision to hire an outside recruiting firm to find the right candidate. How do you know how much time and effort they will put into helping you find the person you are looking for?

recruitment processIn today’s day and age, there are many ways to go about finding candidates to fill open positions. Most companies prefer to hire professional recruiters to help them find exactly the right candidate because it allows them to spend time on issues that are more relevant to their field. In addition, they assume that professional recruiters will be much more effective in seeking out highly qualified candidates. However, this is not always the case.

Hiring Practices: The Hidden Danger in Waiting too Long to Hire Additional EmployeesIt is always a little scary to hire additional employees. It is a good hiring practice to first make sure you have the business to support them, as you certainly don’t want to let other valuable employees go in order to afford new ones. It is human nature to want to make sure you have “all your ducks in a row” before you proceed with any decision, especially with one as important and costly as hiring for key positions.  It is normal for employers to be hesitant in proceeding with such a significant decision to alter the human capital of their company. As a result of this hesitancy, employers may end up not hiring anyone even though they need additional support to accommodate the increase in their business. Employers might think that resisting the need for additional employees is a pretty good plan, as it will keep their costs down as their profit increases. But wait just a minute - there is a hidden danger in this approach that every company should be aware of.

how to choose the right recruiter for your job searchAnyone who is in a position to hire for their company knows that hiring the right person is critical. If you hire someone who turns out not to be the right fit, you end up in a worse position than when you started due to having to let that person go and start the process all over again. The same is true for hiring the right recruiter. The job of your recruiter is critical.

Recruitment Trends for 2016As 2016 unfolds, we’re taking a look at what businesses in the technical industries can expect in the coming months. This will be a great year for the technology sector. 2016 is expected to bring more private sector, consumer and government business to the sector. How will this affect your recruiting? Will the technical recruitment trends for 2016 make it harder to find top talent for your open positions?

The good news is that you will probably have more business. The challenging news is that so will a lot of your competitors, and they will be looking for many of the same people to hire that you need. We have not seen this in quite a while, but now that the economy is getting better, we are starting to see a shortage of available skilled technical candidates.  

Recently published data regarding employment rates in 2015 shows a continued decrease in unemployment following the 2014 trend. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor provides some hope for the future - revealing that the average unemployment rate for technical occupations is less than half of the national rate.

Hiring the Right Recruiter | Anderson Sterling Associates

By the time you have decided to hire a recruiter, you probably need one with particular expertise that you don’t already have in-house. Also, by this time you probably need to hire for your open position as soon as possible.There are countless recruiting agencies out there to choose from. When it comes time for you to hire one, finding the right one for your needs seems almost as daunting as hiring another employee. Do you want a big national firm or a boutique firm that specializes specifically in your industry? Do you want a sole proprietor who can give your search that individualized attention, but whose contacts may not be as numerous as the larger firm?  

In today’s environment, you are lucky to get the necessary approval to hire the people you so desperately need. You often have to jump through many more hoops than in the past and when you finally get approval to hire someone, often your hands are tied regarding potential salary and cost to fill the position. You are, however, so excited that finally - after needing to hire for the past year or more - you can now get the person you need to help grow the business. So now that you have an open position, you want to fill it with the best possible candidate in the shortest period of time and keep the recruiting costs down as much as possible. This is where your recruiting strategy becomes almost as important as who you hire.

Why Technical Recruiting can be More Challenging than All Other Types of RecruitingAnyone who is tasked with filling technical positions soon finds out that this is indeed a unique challenge. Of course, as with filling other types of positions, you have to make sure that the person you hire is a good fit for the company culture and will also be able to make a positive contribution to your bottom line.

Testimonial

"I have been working with Anderson Sterling Associates (ASA) for over 20 years and have recommended them to our partners as well. What sets them apart is their innovative approach of locating candidates who fit the qualifications we are looking for. ASA has helped find the highest level of talent for the company."
-Max Maggi
VP of Development Programs at Hutchinson Aerospace