Sweat the Details - Or Lose Out

By Frank Mulligan, Talent Software

Iím just back from New York where I presented at the Executive Search Summit which was held by Kennedy Information.

China was my subject of course, and itís worth noting that China is sufficiently hot for large group of headhunters in the US to want to hear more about what is happening on the ground here. The feedback after the presentation was good and I am still dealing with the emails.

One of the things I suggested was that China was a íBack to the Futureí market for the US. That is, China has broad and deep shortages of talent, and the US will have the same problem soon. This is because of the demographic bust, recovering economy and Web 2.0 effect in the US.

Item number one on my list of things to do was to íSweat the Detailsí. By this I meant that every detail in the search is critical in China. Every-single-detail.

Deja Vu, All Over Again

On my return I find that a client has not followed up on a candidate that has been identified but not screened. This professional was for all players in the game a íperfect candidateí. One of those rare individuals that offered all of the skills and experience needed for the job. In addition, he was happy to consider the less than pefect location, and didnít seem to have high demands for salary.

So we all should have been on top of this guy like a ton of bricks, right?

Not quite. Although everyone agreed that he looked perfect on paper, the relevant line manager was travelling and insisted he only wanted to do a face to face interview when he came back. He is due back next week but when he arrives he will be empty handed.

While he waited the candidate was interviewed and offered a job by a major competitor (last week) and will be on board in his new job next month. He has made his decision and wants to hold things where they are now. No amount of talking or persuasion will change this candidateís mind. Believe me, we have tried.

Sweat the details. Oh, and donít leave the country for more than 24 hours.

Comments to: frank.mulligan@recruit-china.com