You may think that talking to a recruiter is only something people do when they are searching for a job. But to truly set yourself up for the best opportunities, Stephanie Maas says that those conversations should start much earlier — when you aren’t even looking. She explains why these conversations are so valuable in the most recent episode of The Talent Trade:
Stephanie:
Today I want to have a conversation with you about having the conversation.
When in doubt, go find out.
It’s very interesting: For my personal search desk and business, one hundred percent of the people I talk to are bankers. Five percent are in the category of, “Hey, I’m really happy. My next step is retirement, and that’s in the next six months to a year. I’m not going anywhere, and nothing could possibly change that.”
The next five percent say, “Oh my gosh, thank goodness you called me. I am miserable. What do you have?”
I’m most likely not going to place either of those people. As a recruiter, where I spend most of my time is talking with the remaining 90 percent. These are the folks who are not actively looking but are actively listening, talking to recruiters when they get the chance. My counsel to them is ‘you never know.’
Actively looking is very different than actively listening. Great opportunities don’t come along every single day, and even if you are happy, you can’t bury your head in the sand.
Now, that certainly doesn’t mean that you change jobs every two years. That is absolutely the wrong path. But what it does mean is that you stay listening. And if you’re not sure if an opportunity holds any appeal, go have a conversation. It can’t hurt. It’s not active interviewing. It’s just listening.
One of the unique aspects of my job is that I spend just as much time talking to hiring managers about how to hire more effectively as I do with candidates about how to make better job decisions, whether they’re staying or leaving.
I love that I play for both sides. In the past, I have worked with hiring managers who only wanted to interview folks if they absolutely believed that, based on their resume and some conversation that we had when I represented them, they were absolutely hands down a fit for the job.
And usually that was okay. But times have changed, and if you ever watch the best recruiters, whether it be college coaches or professional sports, they actually start recruiting years before the talent that they want becomes available. It’s an intentional strategy.
So, maybe you look at somebody and they’re not quite right. I’m going to be pretty insistent that you go have the conversation anyway. Maybe they’re not a fit right now. But maybe in two years when they are (and trust me, you’re going to have an opening), they’ll remember the conversation and how much they enjoyed it, and they’ll want to come talk to you again. So why not stack as much in your favor as you can by going out, having conversations and leaving folks with the impression you want them to have of your organization.
Earlier this week, I was talking to a potential candidate about an opportunity. Before we got too far into the dialogue, he said, “hey, let me do a little research. I’ll call you back with any questions.” I hadn’t really had an opportunity to tell him much other than the name of the position and the bank.
A couple of days later, he sent me an email and said, “I read the job description and did a little bit of research. I don’t think this is the right fit for me, but I’d still like to talk to you because I think I do want to make a move sooner rather than later.” So, we got on the phone a few days later. I said, “Hey, I’m just curious. What did you see that you didn’t like?” Come to find out, he had misinterpreted a few parts of the job description. But once we had an opportunity to really talk through what the job was, what the responsibilities were, what the environment was like, he said, “oh, I am really interested in that. I like the bank; I just thought the role was more like this instead of how you’re describing it.”
This just made me think for a second. How many times do we write things off because we only glance over it? We’re just so busy these days. We don’t take the time to really find out. He could have missed out on his next great opportunity.
So maybe you hear about an opportunity that may or may not be for you. Go find out. Go have a meeting. I know that sounds self-serving from a recruiter’s perspective, but chances are it’s serving all parties.
Now, at the same time, candidates, listen up. Historically, I don’t love the idea of window shopping. I think it wastes everybody’s time. I think it sets you up to look unfavorable. However, there is a difference between window shopping and having productive conversation. If you’re working with a recruiter, make sure they represent you appropriately.
I tell candidates all the time, “I don’t know if this is right for you right now, but there’s something going on at this organization that you need to know. So let me do you a solid and send you to go have a conversation. You hear it from them directly, then we can decide what to do.”
These are good, healthy, productive conversations. And whether you’re a client or a candidate, you should be filling your days and weeks with these types of conversations all year long. So, when in doubt, go find out. Talk to a recruiter.
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Tune into The Talent Trade every Thursday for bite-sized, practical-packed chats with Stephanie Maas, a top-tier recruiter with over 20 years of experience in the industry. You can find the show anywhere you listen to podcasts.
