The Approach to Recruiting

There are several recruiting methods deployed by head hunters, employment firms and referral networks. Whether it’s the military enlistment, college enrollment or a dating site, they all have algorithms and sorting approaches to their filtering systems. Many companies have best practices and established recruiting cycles to ferret out the general population or specific industry. But they all have one thing in common and that is consistent contact through online advertisements, social media campaigns and direct mail pieces.

In the financial services industry, first contact with a potential insurance agent and/or registered representative is generally through email blasts or phone calls. Recruitment activity is based on the theory of large numbers. Often good recruiters are making 200 calls a day to generate 12-15 contacts that fall within the parameters of the company’s search criteria. Hopefully two or three of those contacts have the basic qualifications to move forward for a second conversation.

The value proposition of the company needs to be direct, pithy and to the point. A well-defined and well-crafted proposition can increase the ratio of potential candidates. Most firms have an ideal candidate in mind. Not all recruits fit that ideal profile, but some may have the potential to grow into it. The challenge of potential is to gauge the time and involvement it will take to bring the recruit up to speed. 

Three guiding principles in recruitment are: work ethic, organizational skill sets and 

being on time. Everything else is more specific to your recruitment profile. Monitoring your daily recruitment activity can give a quick assessment of your progress and you may be able to see a pattern emerge, either good or bad, that will enable you to modify your process. Live webinars and/or online video may be more effective for mass evangelism. In 2015, video became the number one medium for education and entertainment, surpassing written content. Another transformative online campaign is moving your recruitment advertising from your web site to a stand-alone landing page with links back to your web site. The landing page can collect data from the page visitor and your follow up team can move forward and make contact.

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