Scoble threw Z and me a little challenge yesterday in his post How would you hire Calacanis?

Scoble ponders how to attract a specific person (Jason Calcanis of Weblogs, Inc / AOL / Netscape) to his new employer, but the larger issue he raises (how to attract someone who doesn’t need a new job or the money) generated a lot of great comments on his blog.  I commented here.

The bottom-line is that each candidate is different, and a good recruiter (whether you are truly a recruiter or if you are what I call a “recruiting ambassador” – aka an employee always looking for top talent) understands that and gets at what really makes a person tick.  Sometimes it is more money; sometimes it’s job responsibility or the chance to learn a new skill; sometimes it’s title or prestige. 

But, in my experience, most often that key is showing the prospect that you care about him or her (not just the potential IP or manpower s/he’ll bring to your company) and that you genuinely want the person as a future co-worker.  Kindness goes a long, long way in the recruiting business.  

Obviously, this is easier when you have a clear prospect (like Jason), but this “personal touch” can be scaled for larger volume recruiting, too.  The key is to treat your prospect like a real person.  As much as you can, customize the experience to make your prospect feel special.  It’s really not that hard, but since recruiters, interviewers, and hiring mangers are so used to being part-time gatekeepers and part-time used car salesmen, showing genuine “like” and compassion for prospect can feel odd.  Try it next time you talk with a candidate and see how it goes. And again, refer to Niniane Wang’s great article, An engineer's view on what works and what doesn't in headhunting,  for tips that are valuable beyond just crafting cold call emails.
  
Segueing here for a second … This talk about treating candidates like real people got me thinking a bit about my own experiences in the past, and, hey, I thought I’d share.  You like it when I share, right? :)

When I wrote JobsBlog for Microsoft, I used to get solicitations from other companies all the time.  Most of the time, these were pretty compelling companies that would have served my resume (and checkbook) just as well as Microsoft.  But I was content with my role at Microsoft, so companies needed to pull out a little extra spunk if they wanted to catch my attention.   The majority of the emails I received when something like this:

Hi Gretchen – My name is <NAME>, and I am a Sr. Recruiter with <COMPANY>.  I read your blog, and I find it quite interesting.  We have many exciting opportunities here at <COMPANY> based in beautiful <CITY>, and I would love to tell you about them.  Below are the job descriptions we are hiring for.  If you are interested or know someone who is, please let me know.

List of account management recruiter / internet researcher / cold caller (yuck!) job descriptions that clearly didn’t fit my interests if the recruiter had ever read my blog.

Best regards,
Sr. Recruiter

I always wrote back to the recruiter, if only to say “thanks but not thanks.”  To one rather uninspiring email, I did respond back to the recruiter and tell her I was not interested in those specific jobs, but I was interested in her company. (I bet you can probably figure which one) But guess what?  She never responded to me again. ;-)   She failed my test.  Next. :)

But one time, I received a FABULOUS email that really made me pause.  Well, it didn’t just make me pause. It made me get really excited.  And it made me start conversations with the company, even though I wasn’t looking for a job change.  And I probably would have jumped at the opportunity, had the job not required that I move out of state.  I’m going to take out identifying information, but I wanted to share this email with you, too, because I think it’s a great example of how to hook someone.

The first awesome bit:  It was from the company’s Director of Recruiting ... the head honcho … not some lowly recruiter for HR who was just trying to meet a quota.  It was from the person who would be my boss’ boss.  And that’s just cool.

Gretchen,
 
I really want to talk to you.  Your blog, your spirit, your point of view are all so appealing to me that I have to see if I can tempt you to talk to us at <COMPANY>.  I've respected the fact that the last thing you need is the flippin' <COMPANY> Recruiting leader bugging you about coming to work at <COMPANY>.  But I cannot hold back.  You tipped your hand, there's an opening and now I have to make my move.
 
I want to talk to you.  Anytime. Anywhere.  I will fly there to meet you for lunch if you want.  Or dinner.  Or I'll fly you to spend a weekend in <LOCATION> and we'll talk.  Yes, it will be like a timeshare weekend, but I promise I'll stop selling long enough to let you enjoy your time.
 
When????

And that’s how you show a prospect you care.  I was very impressed with this company and my subsequent interactions, and maybe sometime I’ll work with them.  I ended up saying no on the first pass, but if I needed a job tomorrow, they are the first place I’d go.  For sure.

So you see, my philosophy is always to treat your prospect like a unique snowflake ... no matter if you are recruiting a high-profile executive or an entry-level worker bee.  It takes more time, but the short and long term gains are totally worth it.  You may not walk away with a new employee, but you'll certainly walk away with a fan, an evangelist, and a happy customer.

gretchen