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10 massive blunders I have made in recruitment

Running a great recruitment business is difficult. The competition, the compliance, the cash flow issues and most of all, the people complexity creates an ideal environment to screw up. Here are 10 of my biggest blunders, some of which I have made several times. I offer them up as a guide on what NOT to […]
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The amazing day our client put the placement fee UP to 60%!

Regular readers of my blog will know that I have predicted for some time that clients will expect more from recruiters as the market recovers. I have said that we can expect pressure on our fees, particularly as employers invest in other ways to access talent. But it’s also true that market forces will prevail. […]
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This is what ‘competing in recruitment’ is NOT (Part 1)

The one word that seems to be synonymous with our industry is ‘competition’. We are forever telling each other how ‘competitive’ it is and how many ‘competitors’ we have. And it’s all true. But the areas most recruiters compete on are rarely the ones that truly differentiate us. Going forward, the recruitment industry is going […]
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What to say when your client drops the “C” word in a fee negotiation.

Last week I blogged about how you need to move the focus away from dollars and percentages when clients negotiate fees, and on to your value and your differentiators. One of the comments on my blog from Matthew Lancey raised the point that sometimes clients keep pushing, and they say something like “but your competitors […]
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Client wants a discount? Don’t talk dollars, talk value

It’s a fact of recruiting life that clients will push you to negotiate your fees. And with so many recruiters quick to drop fee percentages to secure briefs, that can be a hard discussion to deal with. The starting point for successful fee negotiations is, strangely enough, to get the conversation off the fee percentage, […]
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Changes at Aquent and who exactly is Firebrand Talent Search?

Regular ‘Savage Truth’ readers, or those aware of Aquent as a business, might be interested in a substantial shift in strategy, and a new business initiative we have launched across the world today. From the 11th of October 2010, Aquent will focus entirely on providing clients with temporary, contract and temporary-to-permanent staff in marketing and […]
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Managing candidates’ salary expectations

Successful recruiting is about lots of small interactions, handled well.  The real job of a recruiter is to manage outcomes in the interests of both client and candidate. This week I have another micro recruitment consulting tip – the key skill of managing the candidate’s expectations around salary. It’s not that we want to find […]
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Don’t give up on exclusive job orders! This is how

A great recruiter will be totally articulate in positioning why a client is doing themselves tremendous harm by getting recruiters to compete. By all means, let recruiters compete for a client. No problems there. That’s capitalism at its finest. But we should not compete on the same job. That is just dumb business by all […]
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Big Biller Summit: Free seminar with world-class speakers

Next week, I am speaking at Big Biller Summit, and ‘Savage Truth’ readers are invited to attend as my guest, for free. Secure your free pass now! This event runs from September 20-24 2010 and is the world’s biggest “virtual” conference for recruiting and staffing professionals. You can participate by telephone and/or the web – […]
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