Cold, as in cold-calling. I realized recently over 75% of the candidates the Recruiting team is presenting to our clients for consideration were sourced, poached directly from our clients’ competitors, or ‘found’ in some way. Basically they were unknown to us before the search began. No easy feat - it’s a very difficult recruiting method and dangerous in some respects. Passive jobseekers take more time to prepare for presentation to our clients (they don’t likely have a resume updated or the time to prepare it in a timely fashion), they find it harder to make time to interview, and in the end they are more likely to accept counter-offers. After all, they weren’t really looking.

Knowing all these risks, we continue to rely heavily on sourcing and cold-calling to obtain candidates on our clients’ behalf. It’s time intensive and exhausting for our team but usually pays off and everyone is happy. HOWEVER, twice this week we had client offers extended where the offer was literally embarrassing to extend. These candidates were not only NOT offered their desired salary, but actually less than their current salary. Both involved a relocation to a city of greater cost-of-living. Both had been approached by Talent Zoo without having been in a job search. We’re still negotiating to help them

Please, Employer - help us to help you. You expect us to dig deep, find the passive candidates, and deliver your perfect fit on a silver platter. You can help seal the deal by presenting a fair offer, the first time. Sure, you have more money and will add it to the salary when the candidate asks for it, but in this day and age where candidate availability is scarce, it’s a very bad idea if your objective is to hire the best of the best. Don’t skimp on a few thousand dollars if you’ve got it in the budget. It can easily be construed as low-class and disrespectful, which is not an image any employer can afford.