I particularly seek firms which need specialists in general management, turn-around, operations,
controllership, design, engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing & business development,
or have needs in distribution systems, logistics, automation and robotics, product engineering or
applications, systems integration, or international opportunities which require multi-lingual talent,
or experience in international sales and marketing.

The availability of qualified candidates is as high as I have seen it since Mar 2001 and I expect
that unemployment now at 18 % nationally, shall remain high in the technical sector and
remain a buyers market until Jan 2012. This means that qualified candidates are in a buyers
market & that employers who are interested in attracting and acquiring technical talent will
generally take their time, but may lose qualified candidates because of uncertainty and any
lengthy procrastination. 3,450,000 salaried jobs have been lost in USA since Jan 2008.

A viable alternative in any market is for a knowledgable (HR) person who truly understands his requirements to communicate those completely and accurately to the recruiter, or to put the recruiter in direct contact with the person most responsible for the final decision on who is or is not qualified.

The key element is communication, timely feedback from the client, and an accurate job description and salary target or range. Without communication or feedback, recruiters will spend their time in behalf of some other firm seeking the same candidates your firm may be seeking.

It is incredible to me how many firms 'want to hire' but have no written job spec, or a clear idea of
the duties, the responsibilities, nor what they expect the person to contribute, nor what that
person could earn on the open market (salary range).

I spend my time talking to applicants whom for whom I can get personal interviews within the
next 30 days. I do not bother talking to candidates unless I know the firm is ready to interview
promptly, and do not spend much time on positions paying less than $55,000 per year.

Many firms expect the recruiter to instinctively know what they want, and have a clear picture
of their products, services, size, management style, needs, priorities, never having ever sent any
corporate literature nor a comprehensive job specification to the recruiter.

Yet, employers expect us to work miracles on our own time, at our own risk, with little to go on,
& rarely return or accept a phone call, and often haven't the willingness to allow us personal
interviews with the hiring authority. In spite of that.I can and often do work miracles !
My 42 plus years of experience is a big factor in that ability.

Employers should be able to give some credence to a recruiter who has the 42 plus years
of exeperience that I have, & the quality of his judgement, and the depth of my resources,
my tools, my ingenuity, and my integrity. The recruiter will rely on having the tools and the
ability to fill an interview slot with the most talented candidate available.

The market can be slow and lethargic, but highly specialized candidates are not easily
found. The very last thing a recruiter expects, after generating a world class candidate and
submitting a e-resume, is watching the firm 'sit on' the resume or take three or more weeks
before making any contact at all, and not returning phone calls by the recruiter attempting
to follow up to get basic information on the employers ability to follow up promptly.
Those candidates have generally taken other jobs by then.

Return