Minnesota Technical Recruiters Network :: Blog

2010 First Quarter Over - Contract Recruiter Jobs on a Roll!

Doug Franklin — 2010-03-30T13:35:13-00:00

Well, the first quarter is almost over for 2010 and I can honestly say that is has been better than all of 2009 put together. My own search firm has been extremely busy and my Yahoo Group ContractRecruiterJobs has seen many new posts for Contract Recruiters.

I sort of use the Yahoo Group activity level to predict how the level of hiring activity will be and which direction it is headed. In late 2009, the Group had very few open Contract Recruiter position posts. So far in 2010, the posting of open positions has risen dramatically, and we are even starting to see virtual positions again.

One of my firm's retained search clients has begun to analyze how many of their management staff they may lose in 2010. They are fearful that when people once again begin to consider new opportunities, that they will have a mass exhodus.

Here's hoping for a great second quarter 2010 and beyond!

Doug Franklin

Epic Business Strategies

DougF@Epicstrategies.com

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/contract_recruiting/~3/BKxDjTYDuqM/ Doug Franklin

2010 - Year of the Contract Recruiter!

Doug Franklin — 2010-03-05T06:49:50-00:00

2009 was a tough year for all recruiters and I think Contract Recruiters took it even harder. Many corporations (agencies as well) were forced to lower costs and do without that valuable and flexible contractor. Well, I think 2010 will be the year of the Contract Recruiter comeback.

After the economy tanked, many companies put their hiring on hold and requisitions were torn up faster even then paychecks and pink slips. But now with positive economic signs on the news daily, we can expect to see hiring begin again. And hopefully it will be sustainable even growth all year. As a result, we Contract Recruiters can expect to see opportunities coming back as well. Agencies and the corporate world will first add contract staff to allow them to make sure that the recruiting requirements are real and will continue. My Yahoo Group (ContractRecruiterJobs) is sort of a barometer for me. Late last year it went totally dead for the first time in several years. However, over the last few weeks, more and more companies are posting great Contract Recruiter opportunities on it.

So, hopefully 2010 will be the year of the Contract recruiter and opportunities for professional Contract recruiting jobs will be abundant!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/contract_recruiting/~3/jMwplbt-TKI/ Doug Franklin

Finding that Next Contract Recruiting Opportunity

Doug Franklin — 2009-05-26T20:52:28-00:00

Finding that next great Contract as a Contract Recruiter can be tough with the current cutbacks at many companies. In previous Blogs we discussed setting your goal and creating a plan for your search.

Once you have your plan started, the next step may be to create your own marketing materials. Make sure you have a good email address, small portfolio of your past work, and a solid resume to use in the search process. Once you have the basic marketing documents in place. you are ready to begin looking for that next great Contract Recruiting role.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/contract_recruiting/~3/q5BOIZwi2EY/ Doug Franklin

Contract Recruiter Job Search...Defining the Goal!

2008-11-30T08:21:01-00:00

Last month I wrote about the sometimes tedious and always time consuming job of looking for a new Contract Recruiter position. The steps can be remarkably easy however, if you create a search plan and stick to it.

The action plan has several steps and can look something like the following:

Define the Goal of the Search âEUR" âEURoeTo Identify New Contract Recruiting Job OpportunitiesâEUR¦âEUR?
Refine Your Marketing Materials (Resume, References, Recruiting Specialization and Examples)
Build and Expand Your Brand
Market Research
Networking
Managing Your Search âEUR" Tools of the Trade
Action Items
Plan Measurement Dates

In this post, IâEUR(TM)d like to address the first and maybe most important stepâEUR¦Defining the Goal of the search. Now I know you are probably thinking, âEURoeI just need a new Contract position and that seems pretty straight forward!âEUR? OK, IâEUR(TM)ll give you that. But, sometimes the Goal of our job search and Contract search can be modified and therefore change our direction and improve our success.

Here are a few modifications of just finding a Contract Recruiter job:

Network with direct contacts in the Contract Recruiting industry and make them aware that I am looking for a new position
Establish my brand in the Contract Recruiting industry through blogs and article writing for future Contract Recruiter job opportunities
Reach out to 100 past candidates to inquire about Contract Recruiter job opportunities at their companies
Identify the top Recruiting Agencies and contact them about Contract opportunities
Etc.

I know these goals are all similar and all have the key focus on eventually finding a new Contract Recruiter opportunity. However, the difference is the way you look at Contract Recruiting and whether you intend to build your position in the Contract Recruiting world or just survive for the next gig. Whatever your goal, make sure to write it down and come back to visit it a couple of times before you create your Contract Recruiting job search. Good luck!

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/contract_recruiting/~3/470353239/736FC82864A34D4E81094A442B2DB7FB.asp

Contract Recruiter for Hire!

2008-10-28T08:29:01-00:00

Over the last year, I have seen the peaks and valleys of job demand for Contract Recruiters. Recently, my Yahoo Group (ContractRecruiterJobs) has been deluged with postings from Contract Recruiters looking for a new Contract Recruiting opportunity. I guess it goes without saying that the economic crunch we all are feeling is also hitting the Contract Recruiting business.

So, as I sat the last couple of days thinking about what to blog about (sorry I have been out for a while and not doing any blogging), I wondered what I should use for a catchy title for this small entry. Then it occurred to me early this morning that the real issue was simply finding work for Contract Recruiters, not a catchy title. Well, with that thought in mind, I decided to write a series of blog entries over the next few weeks and months to specifically cover the topic of finding new âEURoeContract RecruitingâEUR? opportunities.

IâEUR(TM)m an old marketing and sales guy from the world of manufacturing and distribution. So, when I come up against a challenge, I tend to reach back to my marketing planning days and put together a step by step action plan. With the challenge of finding Contract Recruiting opportunities really being very similar to a job search or sales plan of sorts, I think it makes sense then to put together a written plan of action and get out there to find that next great Contract Recruiting position.

Over the next few weeks, I will cover a multi-step action plan which I have actually used to find past Contract Recruiting jobs. I hope each of you in this great profession will add your thoughts and ideas to this fairly simply action plan:

Define the Goal of the Search âEUR" âEURoeTo Identify New Contract Recruiting Job OpportunitiesâEUR¦âEUR?
Refine Your Marketing Materials (Resume, References, Recruiting Specialization and Examples)
Build and Expand Your Brand
Market Research
Networking
Managing Your Search âEUR" Tools of the Trade
Action Items
Plan Measurement Dates

Next time we will spend some time on âEURoeDefining Your Search GoalâEUR?. If you know where you want to go, itâEUR(TM)s easier to figure out how to get there. Good luck for great Contract Recruiting.

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/contract_recruiting/~3/434679279/796631DC3D004971904C66C9C0697CDB.asp

Free Gasoline!

2008-06-07T10:12:01-00:00

Many Contract Recruiters have contacted me over the last couple of years to inquire about "virtual" Contract Recruiting opportunities. Well, with the price of gasoline reaching $4.00 per gallon, maybe it's time to get serious about virtual Contract Recruiting? Certainly, it's time to suggest it to our current employers.

So what holds back companies and agencies from setting up Virtual Recruiters? I think the answer may just be "out-dated thinking"! I think they are afraid that if some recruiters do virtual recruiting that everyone may want to do it. I also think they don't understand the technology of today supports virtual Contract Recruiting. After all, we recruiters are hooked to a telephone and internet connection for most of our normal work day. The big exception might be when we spend time with candidates or clients, but those are and should be scheduled events. The rest of our day doing sourcing, database mining, recruiting, telephone screening, and other recruitment tasks can all be accomplished quite efficiently anywhere we can get a phone line and internet connection.

It appears that the biggest concern with virtual recruiting is to make sure Contract Recruiters are efficient, motivated, and actually getting the work done. Seems like all of those issues can easily be accomplished and verified first with the "professionalism" which needs to be a part of all Contract Recruiter's efforts, and secondly with some goal setting or metrics which recruiters can provide to employers to substantiate their high performance. Bottom line, if you don't fill the positions, you are not effective right?

As a virtual Contract Recruiter, you should reach out to your employers and suggest ways to be more effective and efficient. I think virtual recruiting at times can make the most cost effective sense. After all, you don't even need a desk, office space, or water fountain to gather around if you are virtually recruiting.

As gas prices continue to rise, more Contract Recruiters will join the ranks of "virtual Contract Recruiters" in the coming months and years. It only make sense to get a VOIP phone and a high speed internet connection in your home office and spend at least part of your week doing recruitment work and not pumping gas!

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/contract_recruiting/~3/306806228/65A62A1A1B874689BF0D39C3017227A0.asp

Alternative Energy...Contract Recruiters!

2008-04-20T10:03:01-00:00

Every day we hear about the price of oil going up and of course gasoline and other fuels going up just as fast or faster. It takes a fifty dollar bill to fill my SUV! We also hear about some of the work going on in alternative energy products and strategies for fixing our energy problems in the future. Well, I am here to tell you that there is an "alternative energy" source right here in the recruiting industry which we can all start utilizing tomorrow. It's a Contract Recruiter!

OK, not in the car or lawn mower, but for sure in the recruitment industry where today's recruiting challenges need extra energy to get the job done. I'm talking about that spurt of energy that comes to an agency or recruiting department when a new face shows up or dials in from a virtual recruiting location to lend hand in the tough recruiting challenges facing the industry more and more each day. I'm talking about bringing a new perspective for those impossible to fill positions.

Whether we agree or not that economic or other trends are making recruiting more challenging in 2008; we all must agree that sometimes pulling in new recruiting talent through Contract Recruiters can save the day when everything else seems to fail. A talented Contract Recruiter can hit the road running and initiate a new approach to success on that difficult to fill open position or search assignment that has been going on for months. Contract Recruiters face each new contract with vigor as well as excellent past experience at taking on the tough assignments and winning. They are pros and are not worn down by traditional recruiting techniques or strategies. Contract Recruiters are independent thinkers and love the ability to succeed where no other recruiter has gone.

As a Contract Recruiter, we can bring fresh ideas to the sourcing strategy, or creative technique to the screening interviews to present better candidates for the hiring manager. We also are able to look at a job specification and compare it to a large variety of past assignments we have worked on to reach in to our bag of tricks and successfully complete or fill the open positions.

So the next time you stop at the pump and shell out the gold for that ole gas guzzler you are driving, thank the Contract Recruiter spirit for solving the most challenging of alternative energy and recruitment assignments. Who says we need that oil in the middle of the desert? We've got Contract Recruiters!

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/contract_recruiting/~3/274092102/4F085AAE2802418C99D0FDC5D6A87342.asp

Contract Recruiters...in High Demand!

2008-03-12T17:00:01-00:00

As many of you know, I founded and moderate a Yahoo Group for Contract Recruiters. It is called ContractRecruiterJobs and is open to all Contract Recruiters, Agencies, and Corporations who employee Contract Recruiters. There are almost 4,000 members to date and literally daily, job opportunities are posted, or contract Recruiters list there resume looking for new opportunities.

I created the Group to of course help Contract Recruiters and employers find each other. I was very surprised and pleased to see the Group grow so rapidly and become so effective in helping this talented sector of the Recruiting world. What has also come from the Group is an awareness or almost barometer of the state of Contract Recruiter opportunities.

Recently, as we hear more and more about economic cutbacks and woes, I have noticed that the Group continues to grow and even more Contract Recruiter opportunities seem to be posted. So, at first I figured maybe the obvious was happening; that companies were laying off full time recruiters and hiring Contract Recruiters. But then, as I watched the job postings a little closer, it seemed to indicate that many companies are actually bolstering there existing recruiter staff with additional Contract Recruiters so as to process internal search assignments even more quickly than the past.

I'd love to hear from you Contract Recruiters who have recently started a new contract or gig on what the circumstances were that drove your employer to add Contract Recruiting staff? Are you there to bolster the existing recruiting talent or replace it?

Looking forward to a Great 2008 in Contract Recruiting!

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/contract_recruiting/~3/250362883/FD2430747E9A40038F857AF91680E176.asp

Are Contract Recruiters Insulated from the Economic Woes in 2008!

2008-01-31T09:22:01-00:00

OK, so all day and night I have been flipping channels trying to get away from the election results and the bad economic forecasts, bummer! But it got me to thinking about the Contract Recruiter world and how Contract Recruiters may be impacted if 2008 continues to be doom and gloom?

If you look at some of the opportunities out there for Contract Recruiting positions, it appears that in some ways the professional Contract Recruiter is insulated from huge economic swings up or down? When times are good, companies and recruiting agencies are in a position to add Contract Recruiters to quickly bolster their capabilities to meet hiring manager's needs. Then, on the other side of the coin, when the economy slows, Contract Recruiters are brought on to fill gaps in the recruitment department without having a long term commitment by hiring direct employees. All in all, Contract Recruiters are the perfect solution in either economic situation!

Then why do Contract Recruiters fear the unknown of these economic swings? I think it's because of the lack of planning and proper market position. In other words, we need to do a better job of planning for the upswings and falloffs too. So how do we do that you say? Well, I think we need to have a plan for our "careers". We shouldn't just hop from contract assignment to contract assignment and never reinvest in our futures. Here are a few thoughts on the things we can do to bolster our long term success and insulate ourselves from these economic gremlins:

Ø Create a marketing plan for our Contract Recruiting career. Include the proper materials like business cards, portfolio with past experiences, and a great resume.

Ø Challenge ourselves to find new contacts and opportunities "before" we are in need.

Ø Stay current in technology and training for recruiters.

Ø Establish ourselves as an expert by function, market, or some other differentiator.

I'm sure there are many other ways to improve our Contract Recruiting careers. I'd love to hear from you and also whether you think that Contract Recruiters can stay insulated from the economic swings of 2008?

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/contract_recruiting/~3/226597549/CA64D77CB2BA46B78ED840C1B4BF1003.asp

The Gift That Keeps on Giving!

2007-12-27T18:06:01-00:00

No, it's not the "jelly of the month club", it's Recruiter Training. And it's time for every good professional Contract Recruiter to plan on giving yourself the gift that will improve your career and earning power in 2008 and beyond.

So where do I get this training you may ask? Of course, right here on ERE and other very helpful web sites where you can find all sorts of helpful information and training ideas. There's also a host of books, webinars, and training tools out there that deal with recruiting which are applicable to Contract Recruiters as well.

I'm proud to have recently written the foreword to a recruiting training book by Dr. David Sweet. The book is called Recruit, Becoming the Top Biller, and it's a blueprint for all recruiters who want to help their own careers and improve their own performance. Dr. Sweet writes the book from the angle of a contingent recruiter, but it's great points are applicable to the entire recruiting industry and all Contract Recruiters.

So, take some time over the holidays to decide how you are going to enhance your training in 2008 and maybe take a look at this nice easy reading book from an industry leader in training recruiters, Dr. David Sweet. His book can be found on Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/Recruit-David-S ... qid=1198157849&sr=8-1

Good luck for a great 2008!

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/contract_recruiting/~3/207274560/F1EB28DAE6934152B76898FC3C05962E.asp