Are you open to new ideas to grow your business?

As we work hard at connecting Specialist Recruitment companies to the value that a job board can bring, I am learning a lot about the industry that I have found myself in. In this day and age, there are so many ways to connect to both prospective customers and business associates that trying to find the right way in can be confusing.

Every recruiter knows about LinkedIn – in fact most recruiters appear to spend an inordinate amount of time looking for candidates on this platform – candidates that every other recruiter is also approaching. Everyone is looking for a point of difference, something that sets them apart from the competition, a tool that will help them get on that elusive PSL. Or even better become the exclusive provider for all recruitment needs.

When something comes along that is genuinely a different way of working that offers a solution to the everyday woes of a recruiter it amazes me just how cautious some people can be. The general reaction to job boards tends to go as follows:-

“I’m not interested.”

“I’m only interested if I can have a free trial.”

“Oh you’re not selling advertising space on an existing job board?”

“Well, let me have another look at your website.”

“This is great and exactly what I’m looking for right now – thanks for contacting me!”

“Where do I sign up?”

We all make snap second judgements and decisions, its part of human nature. A recent humorous tweet suggested that all recruiters were born with an innate ability to assess a CV within 10 seconds. That same CV that a candidate has spent (hopefully) a considerable amount of time putting together is dismissed in seconds. It’s the same with any business venture – when you truly believe in the value of a service / product / brand etc, you want the person you’re speaking with to really see the benefits of your offer.

Last week I arranged a phone call to discuss a job board via twitter – this was a first for me. With over 20 years’ experience in Sales, either face to face, phone or email the Social Media explosion in business is new to me. An exciting change for sure – the world moves on, and begrudgingly the business world follows suit. We are all creatures of habit but taking yourself out of your comfort zone is the only way we grow and develop, be it personally or professionally (see my previous blog about Career change).

The outcome of that tweet – an excited new partner! We’re working hard at setting them up with their own job board right now!

We are working with some very exciting partners here, people who see an opportunity to grow and develop their business taking ownership of whatever corner of the recruitment market they operate in. It excites me when we get to that point – to actually be working with customers who want to GROW their business. Bizarrely enough, the fact that I don’t have any history in recruitment is actually a positive – my customers become more relaxed and actually listen rather than dismissing.

What will you do? Will you listen, or will you dismiss?