Job Seekers and Warren Buffet

I am currently reading the book, “The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life” by Alice Schroeder. It is an interesting biography on Warren Buffet’s life starting as a small child.  Some of the more interesting parts highlight what influenced his thought processes about everything from money to how he treats people.

I haven’t finished the book yet, but as I was reading it two sentences stood out. To me, these two sentences explained exactly why so many candidates stay in a job search so much longer than need be. I have known this for a long time. The candidates I work with one-on-one in our job search coaching programs often start out the same way.  I interview and speak with hundreds of candidates a month. It use to surprise me the number of people who acted this way. Not any more, I just accept it. I don’t understand it, but I do accept it.

When Warren was a teenager he read the book, “How to Make Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. Just about everyone has heard of this book.  His biography addresses the impact this book had on him. How it “honed his natural wit, above all it enhanced his persuasiveness, his flair for salesmanship.” Obviously, this one book influenced him so much that decades later he still remembered it and gave it credit.

It was  the two sentences before this which stood out and relates to the vast majority of candidates I encounter. Alice Schroeder writes, “Unlike most people who read Carnegie’s book and thought gee, that makes sense, then set the book aside and forgot about it, Warren worked at this project with unusual concentration; he kept coming back to these ideas and using them. Even when he failed and forgot and went for long stretches without applying himself to the system, he returned and resumed practicing in the end.”

This is what grabbed my attention. As soon as I read it, I thought this is exactly what most candidates do. This is exactly why so many candidates spend so many extra months searching for a new positions. They read a book, attend a webinar,  read a blog article or listen to an audio file and think, “Gee, that makes sense, then set it aside and forget about it.”

Few, my guess less than 10% do as Warren did. Read the sentences again. Does anything stand out to you as it did me? What did Warren Buffet do different than all the others?

I see this constantly.  People will return our job search workbook with a note, “Already know all this stuff.” At first I was stunned. When we wrote the book we spent an extensive amount of time identifying the mistakes candidates continually make. We  then worked extremely hard to provide solutions  to those mistakes. So it struck me as strange, that so many people knew all these mistakes, but just kept making them. How could this be?

I’m sure the many other excellent authors of books on this subject have experienced the same thing.

So I decided to test if it was true these people really did know all this stuff. I started doing some follow-up. I would call the person and ask for feedback. As I got bolder, I became more direct. I started asking very specific questions of those that “already know all this stuff?” For example, I would ask:

• Since you already know the only three things which can be measured during a phone interview, what do you do to properly prepare?
• As you know, there are only three types of questions asked in an interview. How do you identify which type of question is being asked and how do you prepare for each type of question?
• Of the ten most important questions to ask in an interview, which ones in your opinion were most helpful and of those which ones do you use most often?
• How long have you been using the cover letter we recommend and what has been your experience with this style?
• How often have you found yourself in anyone of the 5  positions in the Circle of Transition and how do you handle it? This could be really helpful to other candidates?
• How is your networking business card different from your interviewing business card?

It didn’t take long to discover these people may have read the book, but unlike Warren Buffet, they didn’t embrace the ideas with “unusual concentration.” Instead it was, “Gee I already know this stuff.”  When in fact, from their answers, they had no idea what mistakes they were making and how the book provides solutions.

Warren Buffet read Dale Carnegie’s book over and over again. He referred back to it time and time again. He practiced regularly. When he failed it was back to the book. That is what made him unique. He didn’t just know it all, he implemented the concepts. He didn’t blame the book when things went wrong, he adjusted and tried again.

I know from the one-on-one job search coaching we do, when we get candidates to stop knowing everything and start doing things the right way, they find job leads that eventually lead to offers and employment.

Although it might appear as an attempt to sell our book it really isn’t. There are many great resources available to candidates. Many are 100% free. It is positively an attempt to get candidates to stop saying, “Gee, that makes sense, but I already know it.” It is positively an attempt to get candidates to learn from Warren Buffet. To get candidates to refer back time and time again to excellent resources. To re-read the books, re-listen to the audio recordings and to take this advice to heart with “unusual concentration” as Warren Buffet did.

I have discovered the reason there is so much written for job seekers is because job seekers need so much help. If candidates did everything so perfectly there wouldn’t be a need for all the books, blogs, articles and webinars.

The next time you read anything designed to help you in your job search don’t let your first thought be, “Gee, I already know that.” Rather force yourself instead to ask, “Good advice. How am I implementing that in my job search?” Attack it the same vigor and “unusual concentration” as Warren Buffet.

Try this approach first and you will find yourself gainfully employed a whole lot sooner.

OK, now this is a blatant attempt to sell you a book. You can get our job search workbook to review for free. Just pay the $5 shipping. For details on this offer CLICK HERE.

Test your job search effectiveness by downloading our free Job Search Plan Assessment Scorecard. Find the strengths and weaknesses in your job search. Then attack the weaknesses with “unusual concentration.”  CLICK HERE to download.

For a FREE example of a cover letter that recruiters, HR and hiring authorities  like and will get your resume read, CLICK HERE.

I welcome your comments, thoughts and feedback.

Brad Remillard

Two Types Of Recruiters – Retained and Contingent

90% of recruiters fall into one of two categories, they are either retained or contingent. The difference is significant and a candidate should know the difference so that they know what to expect from each. Granted there are other types, but they are few and one rarely encounters them.

Since September of 1980 I have been an executive recruiter. I still run an executive search firm, IMPACT Hiring Solutions. For the first 13 or 14 years I was a contingent recruiter and since then have been a retained recruiter. Having worked both sides of the street, I will explain the difference and why it is so critical as a candidate that you know which type of recruiter you are working with so you can properly set your expectations. I hope this will reduce some of the frustration in dealing with recruiters.  I know it will not eliminate it.

As a starting definition:

1) Contingent recruiters get paid when the candidate starts working. Until then they are working for free. Think of them as a 100% commission sales person. No sale no income.

2) Retained recruiters get paid by progress in the search.  This payment stream varies by agreement between the company and recruiter, however, as a general rule it is the first third of the projected fee to begin the search, the second in some period of time usually 30 – 45 days, and the final third when the person starts or in some agreed upon time frame. The retained recruiter is guaranteed, if not all of the fee, at least two thirds regardless of whether a person is hired or not. Much like a lawyer or tax accountant, the fee is independent of the results.

One is no better than the other and both serve a purpose and market. Either type of recruiter can be professional and unfortunately unprofessional. There is no rule that guarantees that you will get a highly skilled and professional recruiter with either type, anymore than you can with a lawyer, accountant, counselor, or any other profession. There are good and bad in all professions.

So what should you expect from each of these and how does this differ in the real world and the day-to-day workings of each type of recruiter?

First some ground rules: 1) This is “Recruiters 101″ so I will not be able to cover every aspect and every situation. 2) This is an overview, so I will be discussing generalities. There are exceptions to everything. 3) Unless otherwise specified, I will be assuming a professional recruiter and not the flakes that are out there. 4) Don’t confuse recruiters with career counselors or coaches, resume writers or outplacement consultants. There is a big, big difference in all of these. 5) When possible I will try to contrast the two to help you understand what to expect from each.

Contingent Recruiters

Since they are basically 100% commission sales people, closing the sale is critical and so is time. When a company uses contingent recruiters, most of the time they engage more than one. Depending on the discipline and geographical area, that could be up to 10 recruiters working the same position. The company is also attempting to fill the position so the recruiter is not only competing against other recruiters but also the company.

Time is critical to contingent recruiters. The first recruiter to get the resume to the company is considered the recruiter of record and the one that will get the fee if that candidate is hired. Since candidates send their resume to multiple recruiters, having an inventory of candidates is critical. A good contingent recruiter wants active candidate’s resumes on file so that the minute a company calls with a job opening the recruiter can email resumes  before another contingent recruiter working with the same candidate can. This makes them the recruiter of record. From a candidate’s perspective, don’t send your resume to just any recruiter if you don’t want it sent out to companies without your knowledge. Contingent recruiters don’t want to take the time to call or email you, wait for a return call or email, to find that while they are waiting some other recruiter emailed your resume to the company.

Over screening resumes is the worst thing a contingent recruiter can do.

Contingent recruiters may or may not meet the company and hiring manager. This is not a requirement for contingent recruiters. Some will and some won’t. I always met every candidate before sending them out to a company. They may not have even been to the company, or ever met the hiring manager, so as a candidate you may not be able to expect all of your questions about the company, position, and future boss to be answered.

Retained Recruiters

Since retained recruiters get paid regardless of the outcome, they aren’t as driven by time as much as match. Retained recruiters generally have much longer guarantees so it is very important that the candidate is successful. For example, we have up to a year’s guarantee.

Retained recruiters are expected to be very selective. This is frustrating to candidates that think they are qualified, but the retained recruiter isn’t impressed. A big mistake candidates make is that they assume retained recruiters are looking for qualified candidates.  Retained recruiters aren’t looking for qualified candidates. The company can do that on their own. Retained recruiters are looking for exceptionally qualified candidates that the company can’t find.  As close to perfect as we can get.

Most retained recruiters have a very close working relationship with the company and hiring manager. They generally have spent a fair amount of time with the hiring manager, they should have a complete understanding of the position, and know what type of personality works well in this culture and with the hiring manager. Also, most retained recruiters will have an extensive screening process before the candidate moves on to meet the company.

A candidate should expect to be one of  4 or 5 candidates presented to the company for any one position.

The retained recruiter is not competing against other recruiters or the company. They know that if the candidate fails, this may be the last time they work with the company. Generally, they have a long relationship with the hiring manager and that is the person that hired them.

That is Recruiters 101, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

For more, join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking Group. CLICK HERE to join.

To learn more about the retained executive search process CLICK HERE.

If this was helpful to you then please pass it on to others. Consider emailing it to your network, updating it on your LinkedIn or Facecbook status, or mentioning it on Twitter. The more you help the better.

I welcome your comments and thoughts.

Brad Remillard