Recruiters Actually Said These…

Recruiting is Sales and Marketing, not Human Resources.

It’s a bit of a fine art.

It’s seducing candidates, coaxing them to have an exploratory discussion (A confidential one, since many are currently working and kicking ass).

Not badgering candidates or bullying them.

It’s not smelling desperate or sending them a link to an online personality profile before they’re even on the hook.

That’s why my heart sinks each time I see great leaders make great mistakes when they try to engage with an ideal candidate.

Here is a list of things you definitely Don’t want to say when you approach an otherwise-suitable candidate.

• “I can’t get on the phone until you send a resume.”
• “We have an exciting new opportunity.”
• “We need someone who is bright and passionate. Our product is one of a kind and slated to be a total game changer.”
• “This will give you great exposure to big data in the cloud, and you will be working with some extremely intelligent technologists!”
• “As a company that specializes in innovation, we want the best and brightest creative visionaries.”
• “We have a tight-knit dynamic team that is responsible for delivering consumer experiences.”
• “Chuck Norris coding skills required.”
• “Think of us as Box.com meets LinkedIn meets Facebook with real privacy.”
• “ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY”
• “Looking for a senior iOS architect with 20-plus years experience.” (The first version of iOS was released in 2007)
• “You’ll be empowered to identify problems and dive head first into the equation.”
• “I came across your LinkedIn profile and was very impressed by your background.”
• “We are a multi-billion dollar company that operates like a start-up”
• “Why do you want to work with us?”

Avoid those – and others like them – at all costs.

Don’t be cliche.

Do the opposite of other employers.

You have a great role to offer, and a wonderful business. Act like it. (But no arrogance, please. That’s perhaps the biggest turnoff to candidates.)

Here’s the article I wrote about other ways to land the Rockstar every time.

Jeff Hyman

Jeff Hyman launched his recruiting career at Heidrick & Struggles and Spencer Stuart, the preeminent global executive search firms. Today, he’s Chief Talent Officer at Chicago-based Strong Suit Executive Search. Along the way, Jeff created four companies, backed by $50 million in venture capital. He currently teaches the MBA course about recruiting at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and hosts the five-star Strong Suit Podcast. Jeff has been featured by Inc., Fortune, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Bloomberg, and other media outlets. He holds a master’s degree from Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor’s degree from The Wharton School.