QUESTION: One of our accounts called us and is looking to hire an executive-level position. We had placed a person with the company for this role a year ago, but the person’s wife wants him to take an early retirement and move to Florida. He is doing that, which is why the company is looking for a new person. They are not asking for a replacement and do not blame us. They said he did a great job while he was there. However, the company called us to get the search going and told us they have an ad online, but they have not gotten much traction yet. I looked up their online ad, and it is the exact same copy I put together when I worked on their search initially, so I cannot put up my own ad I wrote previously since they are already using it. Have you ever encountered this? It does not seem fair for them to do that, especially since we are contingency. But I am sure they will also say they paid a lot of money for us to work for them on the search the first time around and did not see the problem. What are your tips on how to proceed?
Protecting Your Ad Copy in Executive Recruiting
One, I go in from the standpoint of, no matter what the reality is, assuming it was an innocent mistake. If you were the hiring manager or whoever was in charge of this I would call them up. Then I’d say, “I am not sure you are aware the ad you posted is my intellectual property, and I am sure it is probably just an oversight”. My gut feeling is it might be in some folder. Maybe they know you did it, but it protects a boundary and gives them an out like, “Oh my gosh, I thought that was from our HR Department or from our Talent Acquisition Department.”
Getting Clients to Work Exclusively with You
I would say two things. One, you want me to work on the search, and two, you are using some of my art to compete against me. I always like putting out into a situation, “What do you think the best way to resolve this is?” Because a lot of times, they are going to tell you something that may actually be a better outcome than you thought. I usually find people with integrity would say, “We will pull down the ad, and we will put up our own”. “Great, I really appreciate it”.
That goes to the second part of the question, which you did not ask, which is, how do I get them to work with me either exclusively or with a deposit? That is where my mind goes. Now, as good as your ad was, it is not getting much traction. That is the good news for you as a recruiter. I never really used that. I know some people do. It’s not a “don’t” for me because you can stumble across people that can lead you to people from the candidates that reply to me.
Creating Urgency in the Hiring Process
I’d go into the mode of, “How important is this for you to fill because I am on contingency here, competing with an ad. I don’t know if it is exclusive contingency or not – and other recruiters. I can’t go deep on this if you can wait because maybe the person is not going to leave for 4 to 6 weeks.”
Maybe the urgency is down. I would say, “I am not in a position to really aggressively start recruiting on this because the ad is posted, and a couple of other recruiters are working on it. I am not going to say and he is still in the role, but what happens, Mr. or Ms. Hiring Manager, the day he leaves? What are the consequences every day and every week that this position remains unfilled?”
Then, I want to get into a serious conversation, and I want to keep digging there. What is the cost of leaving this position open? These are questions that most recruiters will not ask or do not ask. Based on those answers, if there is urgency, then I would do a great search and dig deeper. Since you have already worked with them I’d go worst-case exclusive contingency. So maybe what you do is say: You posted my ad, I want you to funnel all the candidates from the ad through me and let me take them through my process.
Why Recruiters Add Value Beyond Finding Resumes
There will be a couple of benefits to you, Mr. Hiring Manager. They are going to tell me things they do not tell you. This is all I do for a living, so if the best available person in the market, the small possibility that they show up is through your ad, (1) I am going to give you a portfolio of candidates to compare them to, and (2) the likelihood of them starting with you when you want them to start is greater working through me because of my process than if you did it all by yourself.
And if they go, “Well, I don’t know.” Ask, “How many candidates have you made offers to on your own that turned you down? Or accepted and later called you and did not start, or they took a counteroffer from their employer, or another offer from someplace else?” That is where we add value beyond finding the resume. Those are a couple of quick tips on that.
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