Tip of the week - Great recruiting takes great relationships

When people are considering new job opportunities, I always tell them "Make sure you consider who you'll be working with, who will be mentoring you, and who you can get access to because of this job. Usually that's more important than the money or even the work you'll be doing because it's the PEOPLE that will make the biggest impact in your career and your life."

Apparently today's top young talent is thinking the same way. My former writer/editor Ian Ybarra is a co-author of a new book (his first, by the way, and I'm quite proud!):

RECRUIT OR DIE
How Any Business Can Beat the Big Guys in the War for Young Talent
By Chris Resto, Ian Ybarra, and Ramit Sethi

They did surveys and interviews with more than 1,000 college students from over 180 schools and found that the number one thing in the minds of top young talent when considering where to start their careers is "Which job can advance my career the most?" And a big part of that is about the people – their potential colleagues, bosses, mentors, even their predecessors who have gone onto other companies.

If your organization is trying to recruit young talent, here are three important relationship lessons from the book that I've expanded upon to help you.

-------------------------------
1 – Get help from people who are influential in your recruits' lives. (Remember: You can’t get there alone!)
-------------------------------
Build relationships (before you need them!) with university staff who interact with lots of students. Educate them about your organization and the opportunities you offer. If they know you and like you, they'll be powerful partners when students go seeking third-party perspectives from people they respect and trust.

-------------------------------
2 – Sell your PEOPLE 
-------------------------------
Introduce your recruits to as many people on your team as possible, and tell them about every one of your people who started where your recruits are and went on to do interesting and amazing things inside your company or even with other companies.

-------------------------------
3 – Deliver on your promises
-------------------------------
Nothing makes recruits think you don't really care about them as much as not calling when you say you will or not returning their emails. From the smallest details to the biggest issues, just doing what you say you will goes a long way in relationships. Your biggest opportunity comes when they are interns or new employees on the job. Even if you think they might leave after a couple years, make sure they have a great experience. You’ll get the most out of them while you can. Plus, they will remember how you treated them and become enthusiastic recruiting partners even after they leave your organization.
-------------------------------
 
Read the introduction to RECRUIT OR DIE at http://alwaysrecruiting.com/book-excerpts

And for anything else on this topic, you’re welcome to contact Ian at ian[AT]alwaysrecruiting.com.

Look forward to your comments on relationships for recruiting, too.