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The Elusive Candidate

Your success as a recruiter depends largely on 2 things.

1. Getting new jobs from your clients.

2. Finding the candidates for your clients before other recruiters or your client does on their own.

Today, we tackle point 2.

How do you find that elusive candidate?

These days, clients don’t use recruiters unless it’s close to impossible to find. In other words, no low hanging fruits to pluck from.

When I receive a job from my client, usually it is tougher than running a full marathon under 2 hours.

The usual guerilla way of searching for candidates does not work. You can outsource to companies that claim they build long list of potential candidates at the blink of an eye but mostly you are just getting generic information like names, emails, their LinkedIn profile and occasionally their contact numbers.

The good thing about a long list is that you can show these to your client so that they get the impression you are doing “work” but work without the fruits of labor is not work at all. People are much more discerning these days.

I have worked with agencies such as these. I don’t doubt their efforts but the results were dismal. If you are running such an agency, take this as feedback, not an offensive tackle against your business.

This is not good, because the last you want to do as a solo recruiter is to DO A LOT. Going through a long list is time consuming and you are better off searching on your own and coming up with a short list.

At least, your short list is pre-screened by yourself and you have a narrower target range to work on.

But what if your shortlist doesn’t produce the One?

Here’s what I’m going to teach you today.

Most people rush to search when they receive a new job. I do the same, I’m just another human.

But over time, I realize unless luck is on your side, you can’t improve your odds. The only way is to increase your luck surface area. What that means is to do the activities that improves your luck.

How do you do that? Start building a network by focusing on the first potential candidate you can find for that job. If he/she is open to explore, that’s a great start.

Even if she/he isn’t, you are connected to them, you can ask for referrals and connect to similar profiles that often show up on LinkedIn side column.

My favorite is of course, the referral ask.

People shy away from asking for referrals. They think “Why should I trouble them or why would they even help me?”

That is why every time before I ask for referrals, I invest time to reach out to this candidate and have an in-depth chat. I ask what I can do for them even if this role doesn’t align and by all my means, ensure I follow up on what they ask for. Usually they are keen to know what’s available out there in the market, sentiments etc.

People really care about how you make them feel, aka your sincerity.

A promise to serve them has to be kept even if it doesn’t lead to any financial rewards.

By doing this, you get to work with a network of professionals who gradually support your growth because they know you are a person of your word, and your services are of value to them.

It’s a brilliant win-win.

Ask not for what your candidate can do for you, but what you can do for them first. This is the first and only golden rule.

Does this work?

It’s not an overnight elixir, but I assure if you invest in this effort and make it your daily activity, it has an ROI beyond your imagination.

Most recruiters don’t do this even I share it with them. It’s due to inertia and comfort zone. I don’t blame them but it is what it is. Doing the same search and trying to beat the odds is hopeium.

Real case study.

I was referred a French candidate by my network. As much as it seems that there was and will never be a collaboration, 3 months in, I placed him in a regional role with my client who was searching months for “him”. ROI was $55,000.

What I did differently was to accept connecting with the French candidate, listen to his motivation and because I was truly listening, I got the gist of what he was seeking for and his strengths in Asia despite coming all the way from France. That active listening and willingness to support him make the difference and what a massive difference it was.

TL:DR: Ask for referrals, build your passive but incredible network of elusive candidates.

p.s. Follow me on LinkedIn and DM “The Solo Recruiter” if you want to learn how to create genuine long lasting economic opportunities with and through your network.

Joo Kwang
​Author of Solopreneur’s Guide to Recruitment Business

​About this newsletter: You are receiving this email because you subscribed to my weekly TSR (The Solo Recruiter) newsletter. Every week, you learn the strategies that successful recruiters use to grow their businesses. So you can also do the same and launch your business.