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Within the first week or so, you believe you have a solid handle on the search and are excited to get the best candidates into process. Next thing you know, an angry email from your hiring manager shows up in your inbox; or worse, in your boss’s. But you thought you were doing a great job! What went wrong here?

Clearly in an instance like this there was some miscommunication between the recruiter and the hiring manager. When beginning a new recruiting initiative, it is extremely important to set the appropriate guidelines and expectations. There has been more than one occasion in which I received a message from an unhappy hiring manager asking why the position hadn’t been filled, or why no interviews had taken place yet. In hindsight, I don’t blame them at all, and from my past experiences I have learned how to avoid these miscommunications in the future. After all, recruiting is not a hiring manager’s job, but it is your job as a recruiter to explain the process in full clarity.

The best way to begin delivering the right expectations is to set up an introductory call. Every organization has a different name for this, whether it be a “kickoff call,” “intake session,” “intro call” – what you call it really doesn’t matter, as long as it happens.

In this conversation, be sure to discuss the overall mission and strategy for the job search. This is your opportunity to develop upon your partnership — yes, partnership. It is equally as important to receive timely feedback from the hiring manager as it is for you to do your part by sending quality candidates to them. It takes an agreed upon partnership for a recruiting initiative to run smoothly and efficiently. In order to better establish that partnership, here are some processes that should be touched on during this call:

• Sourcing: Explain your process for sourcing and which tools you utilize. Ask the hiring manager if they have had certain luck hiring candidates with a specific skill or from a specific school/company so that you can target them, specifically.
• Screening: Discuss what you want the recruiter’s phone screen to consist of. They will probably want to know the candidate’s salary, reason for leaving, and why they are interested in the role. Are there any other questions they want to include to narrow the candidate pool down?
• Submitting: Would the hiring manager like to receive candidate info as phone screens are being performed? Maybe they would prefer a lump of candidates once per week, instead? Would they like a full summary? Or just the resume and some notes? Figure out what is best for the hiring manager.
• Interviewing: What happens after a candidate is submitted? Will the hiring manager take care of everything afterwards? Would they prefer the recruiter to schedule the next steps? How many interviews will be performed until a final decision is made? Will they be willing to hire the first quality candidate that makes it to final rounds, or are two candidates required to compare and contrast?
• Feedback: Set a timeline for feedback. I usually shoot for 48 hours after a candidate is submitted for a yay or nay. You can also set up a weekly call to gain specific feedback regarding what the hiring manager liked and didn’t like about the candidates submitted. Make sure they agree to the timeline, so they can hold themselves accountable for getting this feedback to you.
• Follow-up: Maybe every candidate you reached out to works at their dream job. What if your front-runner who was a shoo-in drops out before you can submit them? Make sure to follow up with the hiring manager at least weekly to explain the situation. I think most professionals understand that $h*t happens. But hiring managers will get annoyed or upset if they’re not being kept in the loop. Don’t hold off on sending the hiring manager an update because you assume you’ll be able to submit a candidate “soon.” It may take longer than you think and while you’re waiting you’ll be leaving the hiring manager in the dark. Let the hiring manager know on the introductory call that you will let them know the overall status, whether there are candidates in process or not!

Filling a job sounds simple in theory, but once put into motion it can become extremely difficult. As a recruiter, you can’t assume that hiring managers know how long it takes to find a candidate, set up a phone interview, or fill a position. If your expectations are aligned, and agreed upon, the hiring manager will respect your honesty and work, so long as you stick with your side of the bargain. And you can always fall back on these agreements if the hiring manager is being unresponsive or expecting too much from you.

I also suggest tracking not only which candidates you reach out to, but which percentages respond, don’t respond, or aren’t interested in speaking about the opportunity. Of those who aren’t interested, report on the reasons why they aren’t. Use this information to track trends and share these with the hiring manager. Maybe a majority of candidates aren’t interested because it’s a lateral move for them, or maybe the salary isn’t enough to consider it. Once you have this information you can work together with the hiring manager to seek a different type of candidate or increase the salary range.

It’s all about communication! With the right communication, your hiring managers will enjoy working with you, have reasonable expectations, and respect you as a recruiter.

Editor’s note: For more tips on improving your recruiting strategy (and helping your company grow) sign up for the OpenView newsletter.

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It’s always important to get the basics from a candidate when interviewing or recruiting them for a job. Day-to-day activities, reasons for wanting to change jobs, and current compensation are almost always discussed in an introductory call. This is really the skeleton of interviewing. The purpose of these simple questions is to determine if it makes sense to move forward and have the candidate interview with the hiring manager.

As a candidate moves further along in the process, interview questions should become more in-depth. Surface questions that are easily answered should not be the only questions asked in order to gauge quality. It is important to really dig in to someone’s thought processes. It can be too easy to memorize your “biggest weakness” or “five year plan.” The best behavioral interview questions take your candidate a bit off guard — in a good sense — enabling you to see their thoughts in action.

Behavioral interview questions focus on past experiences, behaviors, critical thinking skills, and abilities in order to assess how a candidate reacts in certain situations. I personally like these types of questions because not only are you getting past examples of candidate behavior, you’re putting them on the spot as well. It’s an excellent tool to determine a candidate’s capacity, especially in roles such as sales, where quick thinking and wit are crucial.

The ideal questions can really range, but are always open-ended. You can usually begin with “Tell me about a time when…” and insert what you feel is relevant. Some examples are:

• Tell me about a time when you worked together with members of a team and the result was more productive than working alone.
• Describe an instance when you were unable to make a deadline. What would you do differently in the future? (Everyone has missed a deadline at some point! If a candidate claims they have never missed a deadline, you might want to remove them from consideration. The ideal candidate would admit their mistake and explain how they learned from it.)

You can also assess ethics:

• Tell me about a time when you had to make an ethical decision at work. What happened, and what was the result?

In these examples, you should be assessing the candidate’s response. Ideally, it will be concise without too much rambling, yet also not too short of an answer. The best responses will incorporate the three aspects of PAR:

• P: Problem – How the issue originated. How did they assess that it was a problem?
• A: Action – What steps did they take in order to address said problem. How did they contribute to the solution?
• R: Result – What impact did they make? What was the end result of their actions?

If they don’t immediately hit on these, however, don’t be afraid to push them along a bit in their answer taking care not to sound too invasive. Try phrases like:

• “That’s interesting tell me more…”
• “That sounds tough, how did you manage to solve that?”
• “What was the final result from your hard work?”

Use these additional questions in order to retain a well-rounded response from a candidate. However, if they are still unable to really grasp what you’re asking, it might make sense to not move forward with the candidate.

Using these guidelines on behavioral interviewing will bring you closer to finding that ideal candidate! What are your suggestions for important behavioral questions to ask in an interview?

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The days of scouring through Monster are ancient history. Most recruiters these days find the idea of using traditional job boards laughable, and can you even remember when jobs were posted in the NEWSPAPER? I can’t.

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Whether you want to believe it or not, social media is changing the landscape of recruiting. This is important for recruiters, companies, and candidates, alike, to understand and embrace. I can personally attest to this fact because I myself was recruited into my current job via Linkedin.

When I first started recruiting several years ago, I wasn’t convinced that people actually were getting hired off of any social network. In college, a marketing professor forced us to create a Linkedin account as part of a homework assignment. I obliged for the homework points, never realizing what a crucial role it would play in my professional career and development.

Obviously, as a recruiter, a lot more of my time is dedicated to sourcing for candidates through a variety of different methods – but as a candidate it just as important to realize the vast potential of keeping your social media accounts up to date.

According to this infographic, in 2012, companies are expected to use social media to recruit for over 80% of job openings. The top sites that recruiters use to find candidates are Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook. However, it seems as though Pinterest is becoming a contender as well.

The main reason recruiters are relying on social media to attract talent is to hone in on candidates who have not applied to specific openings. It is also a great way to save money (most of these sites on the recruiting side are free, as opposed to job boards which can be pricey), and increase a company’s brand recognition. It can show that a company is innovative and able to keep up with current trends.

As a candidate, I can’t stress how important it is to create a Linkedin account if you haven’t already. These days it’s not enough to just create an account; take a few minutes daily to check your messages, and update your profile, as necessary. Add a picture, it helps attract recruiters!

If your HR department is relying on the corporate website and waiting for resumes to slowly drip in, it’s time to improve the recruiting strategy. I have hired several excellent candidates off of Linkedin and was able to land a great job myself! At this point, it’s not just a fad or random idea to use social media as a recruiting tool; it’s a fact that usage of these sites is increasing every year – don’t miss out!

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If you (or one of your candidates) is faced with a counteroffer I have some advice: Don’t take it. There was a reason you went out searching for a new opportunity in the first place, right? Even if you weren’t actively pursuing another job, there must have been something that made you open to hearing from a recruiter or going in for interviews at another company. It is important to make sure you are focusing on your long-term goals and interests, rather than falling for a short-term ploy of a higher salary counteroffer.

Here are four reasons to not accept a counteroffer from your current company.

1. There is an underlying reason why you are looking for and open to other opportunities. Pin that reason down. Are you not given enough responsibility? Are you not paid enough? Are you not interested in the work your company does and want to pursue a true passion or interest? These reasons won’t change if you stick with your current gig.
2. Why does it take you leaving for your current company to offer you something more? Do they truly value you or are they not ready to replace you just yet? This is a big red flag. Although tempting to stay for that promotion, or a few extra grand, you need to think if that is something worth your happiness.
3. The cat is out of the bag. Now your management knows you’re looking for another job! The trust there is broken. If there are layoffs in the next few months, you may become a target based on your infidelity.
4. Didn’t you already accept another offer? Typically a counteroffer results after an offer has been extended, accepted, and signed from another company. You are completely rescinding your offer and have tarnished your name at the company you rescinded from.  Now you’ve made a poor impression upon the prospective company as well.  Your decision should have been made when you accepted your offer.

Overall, the counteroffer is like a band-aid. It’s really only a temporary fix for you and your current company. Make sure to look at the deeper, underlying reasons why you were seeking out other opportunities. Will the increase of salary or that promotion you’ve been going after make you happy in the long-term? Or is it time to truly take the jump into something new that you’ve been shooting for. Money shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all here either. Sometimes a new job is a true investment in your future and career growth. That increased salary will come in time, and in the meantime at least you’ll be happy!

These days, it is important to be detail-oriented. I could not emphasize this more when it comes to searching for a new job. A mistake in your resume or even an email could possibly make it or break it. This is especially true if the new job you are seeking requires regular email usage (which jobs don’t nowadays?) and written communication skills.

First of all, make sure your resume is full of details. This single document could be the portal to an amazing job opportunity and you should take it seriously. Under each job you have listed, make sure to write out a summary of your work and contribution to the company. Instead of writing out what you were doing on a day-to-day basis, be specific and think of how you were an asset to the company. Include things like:

• Leadership responsibilities: did you manage people? How many? What did the team accomplish as whole with you   at the forefront
• Specific projects
• How you influenced the bottom line: did you increase revenue? Decrease costs? Did you help figure out new logistics that improved the company
• If you did these things, show facts, figures, percentages, anything to make a valid claim
• Specific tools you are familiar with: Word included! List out what you have experience with even if it’s something you wouldn’t think isn’t all that different. I worked with an ATS (applicant tracking system) at my last position that I used so regularly I forgot it was something different to add to my resume. These types of systems and tools you have experience with may give you an advantage.

Make sure your resume is clean, easy to read and concise. It’s important to add details and specifics but there is no need to write a novel.

As I have mentioned in a previous blog post, make sure your cover letter is addressed correctly and attached to your application (if you choose to submit one).

Although this may seem like a given, make sure there are zero typos in your resume or cover letter. Since you are reading it over so many times, you may be missing something and it could be a good idea to hand it over to a friend to review – or read it out loud to yourself.

The same goes with emails when you are beginning to speak with someone from a company. Keep your emails concise, energetic and without error. I understand that no one is perfect, and sometimes a typo can happen – but I do encourage everyone to read over their emails at once to double-check.

If you are going in for interviews I would suggest making sure you know exactly who you will be speaking with and their role. Take the time to do some research so you know who you will be dealing with. The worst impression to make is after an interview, asking your interviewer what their name is.

Lastly, after any interview, phone or otherwise, it’s a nice touch to send a thank you email. Remember what you spoke about during the interview and address this in the letter, include why you still believe why you are the best fit for the job.

By paying attention to the details from your application and throughout the interview process you will certainly make a greater impression and put yourself a step ahead of the competition.