Strategic Staffing in a Turbulent Market

One of the top recruiters of executive and leadership talent in the tech industry, Pat Fitzgerald brings deep and valuable perspectives on today’s battles for talent. In monthly episodes, Pat shares his advice on the new types of skills that businesses are seeking and the opportunities that talented professionals are looking for. Today, Pat and Bob Evans are joined by Todd Pearson, co-founder and CEO of AXISolutions to talk about recruiting in a soft market.

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Episode 15 | Building Recruitment Trust

The Big Themes

Contingent agency vs. other recruiting models: The differences between contingent search (fee-based recruitment paid upon successful placement) and other recruiting models, like retained agencies and social recruiting, are explored, emphasizing the value of contingency agencies in today’s job market. Contingency agencies mean less risk for the client.
Connecting with good candidates: Todd explains he has a good team, with many senior people who get that it’s about really understanding who that candidate is. The candidate is an individual not only his or her resume. The focus shouldn’t be on sending a large number of resumes along to the client, but on the quality of the candidates.
Opportunities in a down market: In a down market with layoffs and increased talent availability, there are still critical hiring needs. Companies must focus on essential positions, and this presents opportunities for recruiters who can deliver quality candidates efficiently.

The Big Quote: “LinkedIn is a huge asset, but, because the market is so soft, and there’s so many people in the marketplace, the postings on LinkedIn are more frustration than benefit. Because of social recruiting, a lot of candidates think that they should be following LinkedIn when in actuality they shouldn’t, they should actually be engaging with people like Todd and his team.”