Hurry up and wait...

IT recruiting/staffing is the business I'm in...I can't say that I grew up saying, "When I grow up I want to be Technical Recruiter," but here I am, enjoying every minute of it, even the situations that some may find discouraging.  For me it's part of the grind.

"Hurry up and wait," this is when a client insists that they are in dire need of a candidate, I work hard, burning the midnight oil at times, getting them my best people, then NOTHING...

I sit here and think hmmm...now what?

It usually ends up like this, after numerous follow up calls and e-mails, the client finally responds back 2 weeks later, asking to interview the candidates and they're no longer available, now you are back to square one.

I think the best way to avoid this to set expectations with your client, in order for me to be able to help them, timely feedback should be expected from the client. I'm not saying immediate feedback within 24 hours, but a reasonable amount of time. If this expectation is not met by the client, I think it best to back burner this client and focus on clients that will move just as quickly as I do.

However having the luxury picking and choosing your client base is not always available.  The next best thing is to be prepared.  Find backup candidates that stay in touch with for situations like this, use your network.  Again just be prepared, always hope for the best but expect the worst.

Call Everyone

In recruiting, as I have mentioned before, one of the keys to having a good day is to speak to as many people as you can, whether you're calling them on the phone or in person. Now the question is, who should you be talking to? Now this is something I admit something that I think should be practiced more often but I myself am guilty of not doing as much as I should. As a recruiter you need to speak to everyone, "Call Everyone"!

Obviously you call those that you feel best fits the position you are recruiting for, but do not pass over candidates that may be missing a few required skills, or those you feel may be overqualified, call them. There is a good chance of the following:

• Perhaps they have updated their resume or they have a different version of their resume that focuses more on your requirement.
• They may have referrals, there is a good possibility that they have former peers or managers that may be a better fit for the role.

There are many other reasons why you should not pass them over, but the point is, you'll never know unless you call them and ask, it only takes a few minutes.

I look at this way, at the very least, it helps the day or the hour calling go by faster, again just to reiterate, you'll never know unless you call.

Hope this helps, good luck, and happy hunting.