1. Presented By:
Steve Lowisz
Candidates in the
Switching Gears to Competitively Recruit
in a Candidate Driven Market
Author, Educator,
International Speaker

3. A shift in Mindset
• Major trends have altered the mindset of job seekers and employers in the U.S.
o Shift from the recession – more freedom of career choice
o Level of connection and networking – digital connections at an all-time high
o “Live to Work” vs “Work to Live” or “Traditional” vs “Free Agent
• No more ‘Active and Passive’ – 53% of employed workers are open to new opportunities
o 73% have engaged in job search activities even if they aren’t unhappy in their
current role
o 69% of workers say searching has become part of their ‘regular routine’
Candidate Driven Market

4. A third of talent is looking to
change jobs in the next year
• More candidates are turning down job offers (42%)
• Economy: Qualified Candidates Market
o THEY have more control over where to work
o THEY decide if the culture of a company is right
o THEY have more control of what they do
• Makes it more difficult to “sell” the opportunity
Candidate Driven Market

5. Return of the War for Talent
• 60% of new jobs being created require
skills only 20% of the population has
• By 2015, 76% of jobs will require highly
skilled workers
• The demand for college educated
workers will surpass the supply of this
population by 300,000 a year
• 43% of business owners say
they are having trouble finding the
right talent to fill the role
- Forbes
Candidate Driven Market

6. The World According to…..
• Attraction, Retention and Engagement will really matter
• “The war for talent is over, and the talent won”
• Employees are not looking for just a career, but an experience.
• HR/Talent Acquisition need to be reskilled.
• High performing companies invest in HR skills development (Training,
Certification), external intelligence and specialization.
• Talent acquisition should be working hand in hand with marketing – build the
brand.
Candidate Driven Market

7. Fundamental issues with Recruiting in this Market
• We live in an industry full of Oxymorons
o We stress quality and drive quantity
o We stress employee development yet we don’t train our recruiters
o We stress candidate experience yet we lack communication
o We stress the right candidate but deliver any candidates
o We stress needs assessment but rarely know the why
o We stress automation for efficiency and we speed up disaster
Candidate Driven Market

8. Fundamental issues with Recruiting in this Market
• Automating an already broken process speeds up failure of the process!
o Relying too heavily on technology – recruiters don’t fully understand how to pair digital
communication with human interaction, personalization, proper follow up
o Feel obligated to use every tech tool out there without correctly using the ones they
have the right way
o Candidates ignored, put on hold
• Recruiters lacking basic fundamentals
o Struggle to understand candidate’s true needs
o Struggle to understand hiring manager’s true needs
Candidate Driven Market

9. There is a war for talent but its different than in the past
PAST
• Skills
TODAY
• Skills
• Generational
• Unappealing employers (Brand)
Candidate Driven Market

10. In this Presentation…
3 Core Strategies to Survive in a Candidate Driven Market
1 Communication
2
Brand3
Speed

12. Communication
Recruiting often serves three masters……
Human Resources Hiring Manager Candidate

13. Communication
HR Relationship
To engage with candidate, this relationship needs to be streamlined first
o Problem with an Unclear Life Cycle Between Recruiter & HR
o Who owns the candidate relationship?
o Recruiting focus – belief anything that impedes the process is bad!
o Natural competition – who is creating the most value?

14. Communication
Google results for “Recruiters & HR”

15. Communication
HR Relationship
Communication Goals
 Establishing trust
 Building a relationship
 No more finger pointing!
 Working as a team
 Leverage expertise
 Clearly defined roles

16. Communication
Develop a Healthy Working Relationship
• Meet and engage in dialogue prior to the project to
build foundation
• Both parties must realize:
Mutual survival depends on success of the process!
• Make a deposit in each other’s emotional bank account
• Spend time in each other’s shoes to get an appreciation of
value each can bring to the process

17. Communication
Hiring Manager Relationship
• Understand the common predisposition
to recruiting
• Lead your manager – build credibility
• Communicate the good and the bad!
• Learn to be subject matter savvy
• Don’t rely only in e-communication

18. Communication
Candidate Relationship
Common Issues:
• Lack of communication leads to candidate disengagement,
pipeline drop-off
• 52% of candidates feel like they aren’t being treated
like an individual (TMP Worldwide)
• Different generations communicate differently – do you know
how to engage them?

19. Communication
Candidate Relationship
Repair the Timeline
• Embrace full transparency
• If you say it – do it!
• Communicate the good and the bad
• Communicate often – live AND electronically
• Tell the truth but don’t be stupid

20. Communication
Candidate Relationship
• Get to know your candidates as individuals
o Identify, Build and Engage
o Work to maintain the professional relationship –
basics of communication
o Actually listen!!
• Learn how to identify their goals, values, wants and needs
o Present compelling opportunities to address those needs

22. Speed
Streamlining
It is crucial that Recruiters work with employers to streamline the
hiring process to avoid losing their top pick
• Understand that qualified candidates have
options and they know it
• What drive candidates to accept offers
elsewhere when in the middle of the
recruiting process?
• Prepare the company, hiring manager and
candidates to encourage a streamlined
and efficient recruiting process

23. Speed - Manager
“My manager doesn’t know what they need” is a common
excuse that can be avoided by a more structured approach to
streamlining
• Many Recruiters do not ask the right
questions, in the right way, to solicit the
needed response
• Responsibility as Recruiters to ask the
leading questions that get a Hiring
Manager to properly describe the
necessary skills and experience
of the candidate

24. Speed - Manager
Hiring Manager
1. Set expectations upfront on the process and
their role.
2. Drive the intake session to identify the “bar”
and gain agreement.
3. Present candidates against the agreed upon
bar – avoid bad comparisons.

25. Speed - Manager
 Don’t blow off the importance of the intake to the process!
 Question, Question, Question
 Be realistic–Does the perfect candidate exist?
 Have your manager rank skills/competencies
 Eliminate “Years of Experience” from the list up front
 Establish skills in which the candidate must be Proficient
 Agree on “Must Haves” and “Like to Haves”
Recruiting Process Streamline Checklist

26. Speed - Candidates
Use the Same Streamlining Tactics to Build
Relationships With your Candidates
• Listen – STOP Waiting to Speak!
• Take the time to sincerely listen and develop questions
based on what the candidate says
• Avoid “I need” or “I want” in your communication
strategy - Focus on what THEY need and want
• The more you know about their needs, the faster you
can fill them!

27. Preparation
• Do you know how to Google????
• Did you talk with your HR partner?
• Where did the last successful candidate come from?
• Your might not be Picasso, but can you paint a picture of the position?
• What’s Plan B?
o What if I can’t get a hold of the Hiring Manager on deadline?
o What if the star candidate drops out of the pipeline?
o What if they won’t give me the information I need?
Speed - Preparation

28. Speed - Technology
Why don’t these tools make us faster!
• Use technology tools the way they were meant to be used!
• Drop the excuse of time – Time Warner.
• Don’t overuse or over-rely on technology!
• Leverage appropriate tools for the situation:
o Different Approach – Inside Connector
o Recorded Video Interviews
o Video Conferencing/Facetime/Etc.
o Etc., Etc., Etc.,

30. Brand – Employer
Building a Brand
Your Brand is your professional face to the world
• Today, brand is more important than ever to
entice top talent who have a choice of where to work
• As an organization seeking the best talent, every
company is under the microscope
• The challenge becomes creating a positive employer
brand of which they’d want to take part

31. Brand – Employer
Building a Brand
Today’s Top Talent is:
• Highly Educated
• Social
• Well Connected
• Technologically Proficient

32. Brand – Employer
Becoming a
Destination Employer
• In today’s world, candidates look
for more than salaries
• Does your company offer enough
to be chosen?
• How do you build an employment
brand with a reputation for
helping employees build a long-
term career?
Top Career Drivers
for Millennials:
• Giving Back and Being Civically Engaged
• A Boss that Acts as a Coach or Mentor
• A Collaborative Work Environment
• Flexible Work Schedules
• Work-Life Balance
• Feedback, Engagement, Encouragement
• Professional Development
• Personal Projects
• Leadership Opportunities
(Forbes)

33. Brand – Employer
Company Culture
• As employer or recruiter, work to
prove the company has the right
culture by holding true
to these aspects of the organization
• Selling the company as a fun, laid
back environment that offers great
benefits and flexibility? Make sure
it’s true!
• The reputation of companies is spreading faster than ever – backing statements with
satisfied, happy and engaged employees will attract best available talent

34. Brand – Employer
Building a Brand
1. Building a brand is creating awareness
2. Awareness leads to traffic
3. Leverage traffic to drive engagement
4. The right engagement leads to influence

35. Brand – From Awareness to Influence
Define your goals
1. What is the Message you are trying to get across and why?
• What is important to the audience?
• Are you positioning the organization’s civic responsibility? (Cause)
• Are you promoting an event?
• Are you promoting a vision?

36. Brand – From Awareness to Influence
Define your goals
2. What is the desired result of your message?
• Drive attendance to an event?
• Increase followers on Social Media?
• Drive website traffic?
• Gather contact information
• Share information
• Convert followers to real connections? (Conversions)

37. Brand – From Awareness to Influence
Define your goals
3. Where do people go to discuss what you are
promoting?
• You must understand who your audience is before you
can become an active presence in their lives
• Design content around solving problems, answering
questions, showcasing expertise, and showing why
you should be chosen over the competition
• Ask your candidates about likes and dislikes, thoughts
and opinions, ask for suggestions; find out if you’re
giving them what they want and need

38. Employer Brand
“An evolution in the marketplace of talent has
quietly but irrevocably changed how people look
for work and how companies find workers. The
faster your company adapts to the new ways of
acquiring talent, the more competitive your
business will be.” - Dan Finnigan, Forbes

39. Presented By:
Steve Lowisz
Candidates in the
Driver’s Seat
Switching Gears to Competitively Recruit
in a Candidate Driven Market
Author, Educator,
International Speaker