In the last few articles (1,2,3), we discussed the importance of proactively executing a series of indirect contacts with candidates in your talent pipeline.  It’s a challenge to consistently make these “small contributions” to your contacts, but perseverance pays off. 

We all know that seeds grow in soil that is well-prepared by the gardener, but the seeds still have to be planted.  Likewise, there is a time for more direct recruiting contact with a candidate.  Here are some principles that will help you more successfully connect with potential candidates:

1.  Get face-to-face with the candidate.  As you know, a lot of communication happens in the non-verbal realm.  Contacting a candidate via phone and email has limitations that are difficult to overcome. 
 
Think of ways you can spend time with the candidate in a natural setting.  Are there professional activities that you can attend where you’ll likely cross paths?  Are there mutual clients, acquaintances, or business scenarios where face-to-face connections are likely?  Are there non-work-related restaurants, clubs, charitable activities that a candidate is known to frequent?  I’m not talking about stalking a person—certainly this could be pushed too far.  But, if you’re sitting behind your desk, and have no face-to-face contact with any candidates, you’re at a disadvantage.

2.  Identify a crisis/problem that you can actively help solve.  Everyone has problems and difficulties in their professional lives.  During a discussion, try to discover a specific issue with which a person is struggling and then deploy your own personal efforts, or the resources of those in your network, to help alleviate the pain.

This can be very simple… For example, I have a friend who works in the building supply industry for a company that supplies windows to commercial buildings.  During a discussion last week, I mentioned that we were thinking about updating some of the interior doors in our house.  He was quick to provide me some information on how doors are made, distributed, and sold to end-users.  He also introduced me to a contact who would be willing to sell low-cost “seconds” (doors that had small flaws).

If you are the person who consistently provides timely answers and solutions, it becomes both natural and desirable for a candidate to envision working on a team with you.

3.  Pop the question:  “Are you really getting what you need?”  You may remember from science class in high school what Sir Isaac Newton taught us about motion:  A body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.  While Newton was describing the nature of physical motion, the same principle applies to recruiting – People will tend to stay in their existing jobs unless they are dislodged by some external force.

Most of these external forces (they have a fight with their boss, they get their benefits cut back, they lose a sale because of an incompetent co-worker, etc.) you cannot control.  But, you can help a person identify a potential escape hatch.  When you ask a person to consider joining your organization, this may be the last bit of dislodging they needed in order to make a move. 

Even if it’s not quite the right timing yet for your candidate, you’ve made your intentions clear and the candidate will store this away (along with your other positive interactions) for possible use in the future…