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Permalink Reply by Kunal on December 12, 2008 at 2:16pm

Oops!!
The actual title is "Questions on submitting resumes to a new client"

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Permalink Reply by Laura Reiley on December 12, 2008 at 2:25pm

I am new to recruiting, I have less than 2 yrs under my belt so with that said here is what I think...
Whether I am dealing with a new client or old client I view myself as their gate keeper. I only submit candidates that highly qualified for a job. If it is a new search and I am starting from scratch, meaning I don't have a candidate pool already from a similar search I let the client know it might take me a few days to get up and running. Then I wow them with quality candidates and I work hard to make those difficult placements in a timely manner.
-Laura

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Permalink Reply by Kunal on December 12, 2008 at 2:38pm

Thanks for your comment Laura.
If I call my new client on a very first day and tell them that I don’t have quality candidates, don’t you think that will create a bad impression on them.
Shouldn’t I present at least two OK resumes to them?

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Permalink Reply by Julie Bouman on December 12, 2008 at 2:43pm

I agree with Laura, I find that my clients actually respecting me more after learning that I "do not just push pieces of paper on them"; quality rather than quantity. I explain to my clients that with any new search, in can take me anywhere from 3-5 days to research/source and reach out to candidates, a day or 2 to get their resume to me and forwarded onto them, etc. The clients were a bit wary at first, but when I explained that I tend to look for candidates that aren't exactly looking (i.e hopping from job to job); although these days I have a surplus of resumes ready to go as multiple layoffs keep occurring. On the other hand, I feel that after a couple of years of recruiting now I have a pool of candidates that I remain in contact (almost too constant contact, Ugghh) with and ready to go as soon as their ideal opportunity comes across my desk.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on December 12, 2008 at 2:44pm

Good question Kay. You'll probably get several different viewpoints on this and I'll follow the thread with enthusiasm!

Part of your answer really lies within the discussion you should be having with your client. You are going to come to an agreement with them as to timeline, deliverable, etc.

They may want to "see anyone close" to the skill they are searching for. This may be due to several factors - they might have a lower than average salary grade, they may have a "distorted" reputation in the market. Could be lots of things.

They may have a very specific requirement and have already had several agencies try to "push" the near-fit candidates their way. They may be looking to you for a fresh new pass through the target audience.

So to answer your question - ask your client.

In most cases there is no reason to send a wrong fit to your client unless they just want a sense of "who's out there" or something to that effect.

Some searches take more than a day or two.

Constant feedback is far more important than blasting resumes within 24 hours.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Irina Shamaeva on December 12, 2008 at 2:50pm

Kay,

In short, I agree with Laura. Here is my response:
When I was a beginner recruiter I got advice that really helped me from an experienced recruiter Lou Volpe. Lou is one of the Founders of www.recruitalliance.com, a site for employers and recruiters.
We had a discussion about a candidate who, I thought, was worth considering but didn't quite meet one of the must-haves requested by the employer. Lou said to me: submit only "A" resumes. If you have to argue your case do not submit the resume.
So, my answer to your question would be: submit only your "A" resumes when and if you get them.

-Irina

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Permalink Reply by Chaaya on December 12, 2008 at 3:08pm

Hi Kay,

As a Recruiter we earn the respect and trust of our clients when they feel that we can feel the real "beat" of their recruitment needs. So for me, the golden rule is to first be able to feel the beat of both our clients and candidates. Keep a proper flow of communication going all sides and create the match in due time.

Hope that helps !

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Permalink Reply by Kunal on December 12, 2008 at 3:20pm

Great!! Thank you very much for all your responses.
I think I will talk to my client and than submit only "A" resumes.
I generally have a tendency to submitting couple resumes and than ask my client whether they like them or not, what were they lacking etc.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Fournier on December 13, 2008 at 1:44pm

Hi Kay,

I don't submit the resume until I've done my phone screen a deem them worthy of a phone interview by the client. Prior to my first phone interview I create a "summary of qualifications." This is usually is a dozen or so areas of competence for which the position demands. These areas are used as a template for my initial phone screen. If the candidate provides me with enough real life examples of how their work experience fits into these areas, then a completed summary of qualifications is then submitted with the resume. Usually that leads to an official phone interview by the client; a face-to-face, another meeting w/the C folks and the job offer.

Anyway, it's been working for me in my short recruiting career.

Dan

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Permalink Reply by Leslie Lopez on December 13, 2008 at 2:59pm

This is a great question. The last firm I worked for wanted us to send resumes within hours because they were afraid another firm might respond sooner and we would end up loosing the order - which never happened! When you rush submissions you end up looking for more people in the long run and spending more time on an order that shouldn’t have taken that long to begin with.

Like everyone suggested. Explain your reason to the client, take your time, and then WOW them.

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Permalink Reply by Faisal on December 14, 2008 at 8:30am

Kay,

If the client is yours than first check what are the key skills they are looking for. Don't rely on job description, they are too lengthy to go through and to search for a perfect match. Better to understand it from hiring manager that what would be the role and responsibilities (instead to reading job descriptions) so you could screen all the qualities while going through the resume.

If you are working as a recruiter than ask account manager for all these details and try to grasp every information related to mandatory skills, total experience, university/degree preferences, salary/billing rate, benefits, incentives and clients profile and domain. It will help you a lot in finding better guys and to end up with closures.

Hope that it will help!

Regards,

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Permalink Reply by Faisal on December 14, 2008 at 8:33am

Go through this as well

Faisal said:

Kay,

If the client is yours than first check what are the key skills they are looking for. Don't rely on job description, they are too lengthy to go through and to search for a perfect match. Better to understand it from hiring manager that what would be the role and responsibilities (instead to reading job descriptions) so you could screen all the qualities while going through the resume.

If you are working as a recruiter than ask account manager for all these details and try to grasp every information related to mandatory skills, total experience, university/degree preferences, salary/billing rate, benefits, incentives and clients profile and domain. It will help you a lot in finding better guys and to end up with closures.

Hope that it will help!

Regards,

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