Vitaver & Associates, Inc.

…ask no questions, the saying goes. This is partially true when it comes to evaluating candidates to fill your positions.

An interview process establishes the fitness of a person to join a particular team and take on certain responsibilities. Simple, uh?

No, not simple at all. Only truly professional Recruiters can do a good job at this, consistently, time after time. Sure, anyone can ‘hit’ once in a while, mostly of out sheer luck, as in a ‘numbers game’ like a lottery winner. Making ‘winning’ a profession, comes only when a Recruiter is endowed with the right personality and works very hard for several years at perfecting the art and science of seeing through the smoke, separating facts from fiction, and sending out good candidates to a Client.

For years, Recruiters relayed on the answers provided by candidates, their prepared statements and history (often ‘stories’) of success, rehearsed references, etc. etc. Those replies where neatly compiled in a document called ‘submittal’, hence leaving the Client with the blunt of the selection job.

Surely, professional Recruiters ask questions, many of them. In fact, they may ask the exact same question multiple times. If the Candidate gets upset or impatient at this (apparent) memory lapse of the Recruiter… he/she may not be a good fit for most organizations that rely on team members able to keep the cool, to be tolerant and flexible.

That Candidate most certainly checked the box “Able to remain in control under stress” and/or similar stock questions. Actually, we may ask some stock questions… multiple times!

The answer to the question may be truth or not, but the emphasis is in ‘how’ the question was answered.

Ideas are just that: ideas, until somebody finds the people who can carry them out (and the capital to finance it all). A Staffing agency understands the need, searches and finds the people and brings them to realize the idea.

By doing so, we change lives, create wealth for all 3 parties and benefit the community at large by bringing good ideas to fruition.

That is what we do, and we love it!

A JD (Job Description, Requirement, SOW or Req.) is a Question: Can you find me a person with this experience, skills and personal characteristics, willing and ready to work for me at the price I am willing to pay, who intends to stay with me for a long time, full of energy, free FF (fatal flaws), a Team Player, ready to help me and be great to work with?

A Candidate is the Answer.

Questions and answers make up the dialogue, the partnership between Clients and Staffing agencies.
Like the famous GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) of computer parlance, a similar rule applies to the Client/SA dialogue. No submittal can survive a bad JD. The Question is as important as the Answer, and there is no good answer to a bad question…

A JD is the marching order for a Recruiter or even a full Team of them to jump and scout the internet, databases, social networks, groups, friends, relatives, neighbors, references, under rocks and behind closely guarded corporate doors, for the right fit. All that effort (sometimes hundreds of hours) are wasted if the JD was wrong, imprecise, incomplete or just a ‘try and error’ approach to bring in the right resource.
That is why our Recruiters LOVE good Clients that took the time to ask the right Question with a complete and thorough JD (and are prompt at reviewing the result of their work).

There is a math formula: the better the Candidate, the least time they wait for a Client to decide.

Conversely, the longer they wait for a decision, the least qualified they are. These are candidates that do not have a line of Recruiters knocking at their doors to hire them.

Just as there is competition to land the best jobs, there is competition for the best candidates.

Adapting a quote from Groucho Marx, ‘I don’t want to hire any candidate that will accept waiting months for me to hire as a member of my team’. (“I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member”).

This is an example of when more is less. On a first view, the more agencies a Hiring Manager (HM) engages in a search, the better the candidates they will get to apply for the job.

A second view shows a very different outcome.

Agencies are private enterprises that need to achieve profit with limited resources, including database views to the big 4 (CareerBuilder, Monster, Dice and HotJobs) plus all other professional and social networks that charge us, the time of the Recruiters, etc. etc. When the chances of making a placement (and generate a profit) are one in too many (as many agencies as you invite to bid), simple math indicates that abstention or limited engagement are the best option for the Agency. We live (and die) by the numbers.

Candidates, when they are contacted by multiple recruiters, realize that for them too, competition will be fierce, so they walk away as they don’t want to use their references (one of their most precious commodities) over and over. References get ‘call fatigue’ and stop providing feedback on the candidates. This often results on the HM losing out on the best workers.

Carefully selecting 2 to 3 Staffing Agencies with solid credentials, reasonable fees and fast turnaround, is the best alternative for a Hiring Manager, in our opinion.

The saying goes ‘forcing a round peg into a square hole’ as a sample of a bad idea. Nevertheless, that is often what recruiters’ attempt, sometimes repeatedly.

Sometimes the pressure to find a candidate to fill a position (and earn a fee) ‘force’ to take liberties with the need of matching a person with the job description. That urgency can have different motivations, but the result is the same: a bad match that will not last will not produce the expected results and will waste time and money (and hurt the Client/Vendor/Candidate) relationship.

This is the temptation to ignore red flags, depreciate ‘must haves’ that are not there, and rush to submit. This quick fix to a perceived or real urgent need, invariably results in disaster.

From all the costs a Client faces when on boarding a new resource, the Staffing Agency fee is the least significant. Training on the specific project or function, waiting the learning curve, all the HR paperwork and procedures, registrations for benefits, security checks, interviews, meetings, delays on having the position finally filled, effect on projects, etc. etc. have a huge cost, of which money may be the cheapest waste.
The rush to send (and hire) a less than perfect match, has enormous implications. All parties need to keep this in mind during the entire process of writing a job description, recruiting, selecting and hiring.

Competition for business is fierce, especially in this economy.

Large businesses providing Staff Aug and Consulting (IBM, Accenture, etc.) give the Clients the Agreements that will rule their relationships.

Everyone else, is provided the Standard Agreement the Client wants them to sign. Mom-and-Pop shops will sign anything just for the opportunity to land some requirements: they know they have nothing to lose, no assets a successful suit brought against them can attach.

The problem is then for the vast majority of vendors, those responsible professional recruiters that want to provide quality services, the fruits of their hard work, but can’t compromise the survival of their business by entering into an abusive, one-sided ‘Standard Staffing Agreement’ as written by overly jealous lawyers working for their prospective clients.

A clause lawyers love specifies that the Client should be able to deny payment or even request reimbursement for work done on T&M (time and material) basis, even months or years after the services have been delivered; at their sole discretion.

Projects do fail at times. Of the many reasons for failure, the Contractor’s work accounts to 15% of them, at most. Lack of ‘buy in’, champion or sponsors on the Client side; bad project management (often provided by the Client); environmental changes (being laws, rules, business plans, etc.), lack of funding, bad specifications, etc. play a much larger role.

Who is the weakest link? Who is more likely to be blamed for such ‘failure’? The vendor, of course. Especially because that will be the only way to recover most of the cost, which is now classified as ‘waste’.
That is why is unfair to put that responsibility, square, on the Vendor, as too often such Standard Staffing Agreements include.

In reality, the Vendor (Staffing Agency) pays the resources (Consultants, Contractors, Employees) within 2 weeks of the services being rendered. The Vendor has absolutely no recourse, no practical way to recover those payments should the Client come back weeks, months or years later asking for a refund.

To include such abusive clause in an Agreement is the way of some lawyers to CYA, without regard to the overall business goals of their clients, since such language makes it impossible for the Client to enlist responsible vendors to partner with them. If, out of necessity, the Vendor does agree to those terms, it will resent the treatment, seeding the relationship from the start with unhealthy elements of mistrust. The Vendor knows that the Client holds a sword over their heads and, at their discretion or whim, can strike.
Such demand from a Vendor equates to you going to a restaurant for dinner every day for a year, and ask for a full refund in all your meals on day 366, because you just ‘discovered that they did not taste very good after all’.

When a Hiring Manager (HM) reviews a submittal from a Recruiter and asks that question… something went really bad!

Look no further that on your choice of Staffing Agency. With a recruiters turnover of 90% (industry average), you are likely working with somebody with less than a year of experience; sometimes just weeks.
It takes years to make a Professional Recruiter, a considerable investment in training, salary, time and dedication. Most business models do not allow for such investment, so it may not completely surprise you to receive a lot of unqualified resumes, sent by aspiring recruiters that are, basically, pushing paper (emails) to you. You do their job.

Some Staffing Agencies have a stable team of recruiters that do a professional, high quality job. Those are real people with real names and you should be able to check them out at the Agency’s website. I.e. you can try http://www.vitaver.com/our_team1.htm

It happened to me, more times than I would like to remember. After many hours of searching, calling and reading resumes, I identify the perfect match. All the skills, experience and credentials are present. Finally I reach this perfect Candidate and a dialog ensues, during which it becomes apparent that he/she is either very tired or has the energy of a potato. Or the enthusiasm of one, or it’s empathy.

While it is obvious that my potato (sorry, Candidate) looks great on paper and he/she really wants this job, the little hairs in the back of my head are telling me ‘drop it’.

My pockets sing a different song: 30% of first year salary of $74,000.00…. $22,200.00 and I really really want to trade-up my car…

You know, if I could just coach, teach this Candidate about attitude, energy and enthusiasm!
Painful as it is, my sole option is to hope I caught him/her at a bad time and attempt the call again the next day. Unless a very different person answers the phone (OK, the same person but a different personality), I know we are both doomed.

Recurrent and consistent experience shows that once ‘bad attitude’ is confirmed, little can be done to change it, at least in the few days leading to the in-person interview. Sending out such Candidate will create a new, negative attitude of my Client towards me!

What is a Recruiter? Consistent with the established principle that people are good at what they enjoy, first and foremost a Recruiter is somebody who enjoys dealing with people and more precisely, helping people. The goal of a Recruiter is to find a place where a Candidate will enjoy going to every day, working and a job they want to do. On the other hand (there are always two hands), a Recruiter needs to match that person with a Manager and a corporation that need, appreciate and respect the Candidate. You could say a Recruiter is a Matchmaker.

Absent these appetites, it is impossible to succeed at becoming a Star Recruiter. Someone can push paper (resumes in this case), but will hardly ever result in a person with a passion for his/her work, and somebody a Hiring Manager on the Client side, will like to partner for a long run.

Like in most jobs, your ideal job is the one you do as a hobby after work hours, what you do (or would do) for free and out of sheer pleasure. Not many people would submit candidates to companies ‘for fun’, but they would participate in social networks, research on Google for subjects they are interested in, make and maintain acquaintances, maybe do some actual ‘match making’ among friends, etc. These are the activities and interests which structured and guided by the job requirement, make up the core of what a Recruiter does.
When you have a history of doing (and enjoying) these activities on your own initiative and ‘just because’, you have the potential to become a good Recruiter.

A new job, a new city … Relocating is exciting – an opportunity for a major life change. But, if not carefully planned, it can also be expensive, stressful and a recipe for disaster.
Here’re some of the major tips how to make your relocation less stressful:
1. Decide if you’re going to move yourself or hire professionals. If you’re hiring a moving company, you’ll need to start the process in advance. Before you hire, know what to look for and how to choose the best. Contact a minimum of three and set-up estimate interviews. 2. If you need to use storage facilities, check out your options, compare prices and book the space.
3. Start looking at what, if any, packing supplies you’ll need. Make a list, and if you’re ordering off the Internet, order your supplies now.
4. Purchase a lockable box and/or file box to keep important documents
5. Arrange to transfer or obtain your child’s school records.
6. Make a running list of people you need to notify of your change of address. Keep it handy (on the refrigerator) so you can add to it as the days tick by. Complete an IRS change of address form.
7. Transfer bank accounts and close safety deposit boxes. Pay any remaining bills and close off the accounts. Keep copies in your files.
8. Cancel subscriptions to local newspapers, magazines, bottled water or any other home delivery service you currently receive.
9. Make all your travel plans such as flights, hotels or calls to family members you might need to stay with at your destination or along the way. If you’re flying your pets, make sure you have the necessary documents and carrier.
10. Pack. Try to label each box with what’s inside, where it goes and any special instructions. Be as detailed as you can. This will make it easier when you’re unpacking to know what needs to be unpacked first. You can even put a big bright sticker on the boxes that contain your essentials, for easy identification.

Here’re some websites which will help you to relocate smoothly:
http://www.movecentral.com/
http://www.apartmentguide.com/<font size=”3″>
http://www.topmovingcompanies.com/
Use tools like salary calculators and cost of living calculators to determine whether you new salary will pay the bills in the local area where you want to relocate.
Salary Calculators will give you average pay for a specific position in a specific location.
• Salary.com is an online salary, benefits and compensation portal that was created to help its users to obtain current compensation information. Individuals are asked to submit their job profile and salary data, which Salary.com compares to statistically determine accurate real-time salary information.
• Jobsearchintelligence.com includes a free personalized salary calculator and career planning tools
Cost of Living Calculators will tell you how far your current salary will go in a new city and/or will compare the cost of living between two different cities.
• http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html
• http://www.bestplaces.net/COL/