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Permalink Reply by Nate Fischer on January 6, 2009 at 2:47pm

There is no perfect way to do this; however, having the best possible organizational skills and a good candidate database that has superb search capabilities helps.

I also tend to utilize Outlook and Google Desktop for everything I do. If I keep a catalog of all the positions I work on by using a code, and then the ability to cross reference new positions with the old codes, I can keep track of the candidates I have spoken with for previous similar positions for networking/sourcing of new candidates.

"If clients knew how to write job descriptions, and candidates knew how to write resumes, I would be out of a job" - Nate

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Houston on January 6, 2009 at 4:26pm

Hi Nate - thanks for your reply. Good ideas. Google Desktop, huh? Interesting... going to explore this further.

Nate Fischer said:

There is no perfect way to do this; however, having the best possible organizational skills and a good candidate database that has superb search capabilities helps.

I also tend to utilize Outlook and Google Desktop for everything I do. If I keep a catalog of all the positions I work on by using a code, and then the ability to cross reference new positions with the old codes, I can keep track of the candidates I have spoken with for previous similar positions for networking/sourcing of new candidates.

"If clients knew how to write job descriptions, and candidates knew how to write resumes, I would be out of a job" - Nate

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Permalink Reply by Nate Fischer on January 7, 2009 at 1:11pm

Thanks Ravi. Many of my coworkers laugh at my funny notes, quips, and stories here, that quote is my most famous.

Ashley, Google Desktop, Im pretty sure, is free, it creates an open database of sorts that is hosted on your machine that allows you to keyword search anything that you have accessed, Word Documents, web browsers pages, heck it even catalogs my Monster and/or careerbuilder pages I have accessed.

Whenever a call comes in, Ill google desktop the number from my caller ID to see whether the person calling is someone I have spoken with before (of course regardless I answer it anyways) but if I have spoken with them before, they tend to be quite impressed that months later, I remember who they are, and what I originally contacted them about.

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Houston on January 7, 2009 at 3:20pm

Excellent! Thanks for the overview on Google desktop - I have not previously used it but can see the advantages. Thanks again--


Nate Fischer said:

Thanks Ravi. Many of my coworkers laugh at my funny notes, quips, and stories here, that quote is my most famous.

Ashley, Google Desktop, Im pretty sure, is free, it creates an open database of sorts that is hosted on your machine that allows you to keyword search anything that you have accessed, Word Documents, web browsers pages, heck it even catalogs my Monster and/or careerbuilder pages I have accessed.

Whenever a call comes in, Ill google desktop the number from my caller ID to see whether the person calling is someone I have spoken with before (of course regardless I answer it anyways) but if I have spoken with them before, they tend to be quite impressed that months later, I remember who they are, and what I originally contacted them about.

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Permalink Reply by Amanda Blazo on January 7, 2009 at 3:51pm

Ashley, the best advice I can give you is the same advice I give all of my clients. Code, code, code!!! Code the data!!! You won't be able to easily locate data for similar roles unless you've coded it properly. Use industry codes, education codes, skill codes etc. Every time you speak to someone you should update the coding even if you speak to them every month.

We do this for our clients as we find and enter date into their databases. I've had clients who didn't see the importance of this before and basically said "nah, I don't need to worry about that now". And my answer to that was "I'm sorry but unless we can code the data so you can find it again later, I don't see any reason for you to pay us to find the data in the first place".

Honestly, so much time and money is spent to get to the data. It only makes sense that it is coded properly so that it can be searched on and found again from within your database or ATS later.

Ashley Houston said:

Excellent! Thanks for the overview on Google desktop - I have not previously used it but can see the advantages. Thanks again--


Nate Fischer said:

Thanks Ravi. Many of my coworkers laugh at my funny notes, quips, and stories here, that quote is my most famous.

Ashley, Google Desktop, Im pretty sure, is free, it creates an open database of sorts that is hosted on your machine that allows you to keyword search anything that you have accessed, Word Documents, web browsers pages, heck it even catalogs my Monster and/or careerbuilder pages I have accessed.

Whenever a call comes in, Ill google desktop the number from my caller ID to see whether the person calling is someone I have spoken with before (of course regardless I answer it anyways) but if I have spoken with them before, they tend to be quite impressed that months later, I remember who they are, and what I originally contacted them about.

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Permalink Reply by Ms. Carter M. Hoyt on January 7, 2009 at 3:54pm

With a good searchable database, a recruiter can categorize a candidate by skill set and then label the candidate as an MPC (most placeable candidate). Then later when the recruiter needs to find a candidate with a particular skill set, he/she can pull up all of his/her MPCs with that skill set.

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Permalink Reply by John A. Erickson on January 7, 2009 at 3:56pm

Ashley - I have found that my best use of a contact data base with specific codes for each candidate helps tremendously. We code everyone based upon their company, present and past position, and then we have a cross reference with outlook. All of our correspondence is coded by candidate or job order.

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Permalink Reply by Mark McKee on January 7, 2009 at 4:00pm

I think it's as simple as setting up Word Doc folders with the titles of the "hard-to-fill" jobs listed at the top and inserting the hot candidates' resumes into the folder once you find them and pre-screen them. When new job reqs come through always check your Word Doc folders for the corresponding job title and you may have 3 or 4 superstars to call right away. You may want to call those superstars every month to check on their work status and keep them "warm" in case of new job reqs coming open.

If you have a fancy ATS you should be able to tag the hot candidates as just that and then later you can do a keyword search on their candidate status and should be able to find and sort them.

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Houston on January 7, 2009 at 4:19pm

Thanks for your reply to my post. So true. Oftentimes we think we'll remember a candidate, but 500 candidates later we wonder why we can't...! So - thanks again. Coding is key.

Ashley Houston said:

Excellent! Thanks for the overview on Google desktop - I have not previously used it but can see the advantages. Thanks again--


Nate Fischer said:

Thanks Ravi. Many of my coworkers laugh at my funny notes, quips, and stories here, that quote is my most famous.

Ashley, Google Desktop, Im pretty sure, is free, it creates an open database of sorts that is hosted on your machine that allows you to keyword search anything that you have accessed, Word Documents, web browsers pages, heck it even catalogs my Monster and/or careerbuilder pages I have accessed.

Whenever a call comes in, Ill google desktop the number from my caller ID to see whether the person calling is someone I have spoken with before (of course regardless I answer it anyways) but if I have spoken with them before, they tend to be quite impressed that months later, I remember who they are, and what I originally contacted them about.

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Permalink Reply by Chuck Radcliff on January 7, 2009 at 5:07pm

Simple... Create a file system. Paper or Digital... Put them somewhere you wont forget. Try to categorize them. Try to put some level of the Dewy Decimal system into play. Use post it notes... Something. If you are a recruiter and you can not organize, you will probably be a bottom feeder...

Also, now is the time to market people. Take your best and fish like its Sunday. A good resume can open a door and if there is no need now, there will be. Managers are more likely to call someone who has shown the good instead of someone talking the goods.

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Permalink Reply by Jean Fenwick on January 8, 2009 at 6:48am

for database check out chameleoni.com - they're brilliant and free to first user!

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Permalink Reply by Jeanne Ritterson on January 8, 2009 at 9:31am

I have been taking this time to create some tools for tracking candidates. Traditionally, in-house recruiters have sought active candidates and have been less interested in "pipeline" -- not so any longer. But, our ATS is not a good CMS. I have been working to design a spreadsheet-to-Outlook system, because I don't have the option of buying ACT or another CMS.

On the spreadsheet, I qualify talent and determine their fit and then if they are pipeline I put them into Outlook, using the six flag colors (hot, warm, network contact, in house referrer, in play and do not contact) to flag candidates for follow-up. I can then use the Outlook merge to email a different message to each flagged group -- emails are personalized through the merge process.

My spreadsheet is a complex spreadsheet that allows me to sort based on role, area, date, etc etc so I could literally manage hundreds of people on my spreadsheet -- but it doesn't allow the email blast option.

I have also created an MS Access database for contacts but decided that it didn't interface with Outlook well and was creating duplication. I would be willing to share my database.

Contact me if you would like to talk more -

Jeanne Ritterson
jeanne.ritterson@ecolab.com

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