"Lipstick On A Pig"- By Jon Bartos

Here is an article that my partner, Jon Bartos just wrote for you!

Understanding what your Real Job is as Recruiter

By Jon Bartos

I had lunch with a long term client this week. This client is one
of those that have used me exclusively for years. Recently, I had
switched them over to shared risk (Retained search). During lunch,
I asked him the all important question "why do you use me as your
exclusive recruiter, as opposed to any other option?" That's one
of the those questions that fall under the category "be careful
what you wish for", because you will get an answer, although maybe
not the one you were looking for!

His answer floored me.

He said "Well Jon - You do find great talent that we can't get
to." (Which is what I was hoping he would say, by the way) But
then he said "More importantly, you don't put lipstick on a pig."

He went on to tell me that 90% of the recruiters he has worked with
in 25 years in the business are focused on making a commission
check and not in helping him build an industry leading, world class
organization. They present candidates who are not qualified, not
successful or not a good fit - and thus put" lipstick on a pig".

I did explain to him that there is a good reason why most
recruiters do that. I also shared with him that it's often the
CLIENT's Fault for how they agree to work!

Which recruiter are you? Do you help your clients build industry
leading world class companies or are you a Make Up Artist for
Swine? Truthfully, most of you are swayed to latter, because the
client and your work model leave you little choice!

To be a top 10% Elite recruiter in the industry - you KNOW what
your real job is. You BUILD Industry leading companies. You do it
by partnering with your clients on a mutually committed basis and
jointly working towards that goal.

How do you determine if you are a Lipstick on a Pig (LOP) Recruiter?

- If you send resumes that are 50-80% matches for the
positions you work on - you may be a LOP Recruiter

- If your number one goal is to deliver candidates quickly
for fear of losing the race to other recruiters - you may be a LOP
recruiter

- If you send in a candidate - just because it's been too
long and you need the client to think you are working on their
position - you may be a LOP Recruiter

- If you need to make a placement no matter what to pay the
bills - you may be a LOP Recruiter

- If you omit information or have to significantly change
the resumes to make your candidates look better - you may be a LOP
recruiter

For those of you who do some of these things, maybe keep some
lipstick on your desk as to reminder NOT do these things. The best
way to fix this is to permanently change. Become a Shared
Risk(Retained) Recruiter.

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