It's Your Move

The 5 Most Difficult Candidates (And How To Recruit Them)

By Bernie Reifkind, CEO of Premier Search, Inc.(www.psihealth.com)

Recruitment success depends on presenting and placing the most qualified candidates. Often times that depends on motivating difficult people to consider a complicated subject: job changing.

1. Stickers

Stickers are people that have been at their same job for more than 10 years. They stick around, though maybe a bit too long. Of course job stability is a big factor when hiring but sometimes one can get stale from not growing and moving on to other opportuinites.

How to recruit them: Understand that change can be traumatic when one has been at the same job for too many years. Make sure that the reason that they are changing is not only for the money. Stickers need time and reassurement and should not be pressured. A job offer too quickly can sometimes scare off a Sticker!

2. Procrastinators

Procrastinators mean well, but they can be indecisive and ultimately waste your most precious resource: time.

How to recruit them: If they are genuinely interested in the job, give them small deadlines to meet along the way. May I have your resume by Wednesday? What time on Tuesday are you available to meet? What time tomorrow will you call me back?

3. Big Shots

Big Shots are usually at the top of their game: and they know it. In addition, they keep reminding you! Big Shots are excellent candidates, but can be very difficult to work with.

How to recruit them: Acknowledge their success and show the proper respect when due but understand that a big ego can be dangerous. Try not to get bogged down with "war stories" that have no relevance to the job at hand.

4. Needies

Needies are outstanding candidates that quite simply are a bit over anxious. They call or send too many emails and can appear to be desperate when in fact, they are just excited. They need to know!!! (When, who, where, why, etc?)

How to recruit them: Be patient and understand that for Needies, waiting can be agonizing. Let them know as much as you know (about the topic) and make sure that you set limits. "I'll call you Tuesday when I hear something", "I'll send you an email tomorrow with the details", "I won't have a decision for you for another 2 weeks."

5. Tappers

Tappers are great candidates that are toe tapping and sampling the market place by interviewing. Tappers may have even convinced themselves that they are ready to make a job change but a true Tapper is simply fact finding with regard to salary, management styles and ego gratification.

How to recruit them: Make sure that their reason for interviewing is not to just "see what's out there!" This is a very common reason given for going on a job interview. It is classic Tapper behavior. Do you really understand why they are going on an interview? Does is make sense? Is the timing right? (No pun intended!)

The BIG 3: Talent, Talent, Talent!

By Bernie Reifkind, Founder, CEO, Premier Search, Inc.www.psihealth.com
(800) 801-1400

Hire people in this economy? Absolutely.

As professionals in the Assisted Living industry (or any indrustry for that matter) we've all navigated business cycles before. We should never forget that this is a cycle and things will change: big time.

In this, I mean to say that as the baby boomers are aging and with an industry that will always depend upon people giving care to others, I predict that the AL industry will be at the forefront of new and creative ideas and exciting business opportunities as we move forward. Dynamic paradigms are being anayzed, people are re-tooling and with new technologies being created each day, there is much to look forward to.

Now is the time to talent scout. Find that rare breed that can manifest the unmanifested.

Any thoughts?

Squeaky Shoes and Dental Floss = Customer Loyalty

Because of squeaky shoes and dental floss, I learned a powerful business lesson. Let me explain.

Many years ago, in my early career as an executive recruiter, I went shopping at Nordstroms and purchased a $250 pair of the most exquisite black business shoes that I had ever seen. In those days, $250 was a fortune for a pair of shoes (it still is!), but I reasoned that these shoes would be an investment for my business career. So I made the purchase and the next day I proudly wore my shoes to work. I wore those shoes at least 3-5 times per week for 6 months. They looked great except they squeaked every time I walked.

It didn’t bother me at first, but then it started to get on my nerves. I felt like everyone knew when I was entering a room because of my squeaky shoes! Yet, I let this linger for 6 whole months.

One day I went back into Nordstroms and asked the sales person if there was some type of shoe oil available to get rid of this annoying squeak. Additionally I asked how much it might cost to have them repaired. Can you even repair squeaky shoes? He politely asked me what size shoe I wore. I told him size 10 not knowing why that even mattered. He told me that he would be right back. He then went into the back room (I always wondered what it looked like in the back room of a shoe store!) and returned with a brand new pair of the exact shoes. He politely asked me to try these on, which I did. They were heavenly and just as important, no squeak!

He replaced my shoes for free. Even though I had worn those shoes for at least 6 months, they were replaced for free. I couldn’t believe it. I felt guilty about accepting a free brand new pair of shoes. The sales person told me that it was Nordstroms policy to replace the shoes and that customer satisfaction was more important than the shoes.

To this day, Nordstroms is the first place that I go when I look for new shoes. I trust them and I know that they will stand behind their product. Nordstroms went the extra mile for me and I will remain a lifetime customer.

Many years later on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving weekend at 11:00 PM right before going to bed, I was flossing my teeth when a piece of dental floss broke off and got stuck between my back teeth. After many attempts, I could not remove it and it was driving me crazy. If you’ve ever had dental floss stuck between your teeth than you know how painful this can be.

The next morning I opened up the yellow pages and began calling every dentist in the phone book and almost all of them were closed on that Thursday Thanksgiving morning.

Except one.

Dr. Witkowsky’s office was open because he was a new dentist in the area and he had a family to support. He needed the business. He agreed to see me right away. And right away, he removed my well lodged dental floss. He went the extra mile for me by seeing me on Thanksgiving day. I became a very loyal patient.

Dr. Witkowsky was my dentist for more than 10 years. Unfortunately, I moved to a different town or he would have been my dentist for life.

So squeaky shoes and dental floss taught me a powerful business lesson which has significantly increased my business through the years. Business is all about relationships. Relationships foster trust, trust fosters loyalty. Loyalty means repeat business.

Go the extra mile for your customers and create a relationship. You’ll never regret it.

Bernie Reifkind is President of Premier Search, Inc. one of the nations most successful health executive search firms specializing in the placement of long term care and assisted living processionals. Please email him at bernie@psihealth.com or visit: www.psihealth.com. (310) 247-8900.

Are you hiring a lawsuit? Here are 7 red flags whenever you hire someone:

By Bernie Reifkind, CEO of Premier Search, Inc. (800) 801-1400

1. Applicant fails to explain gaps in employment history. It is critical to look for unexplained employment gaps. There can be many reasons for a gap in employment. However, if an applicant cannot account for the past seven to ten years, that can be a red flag.

2. Applicant fails to give sufficient information to identify a past employer for reference checks. If an applicant does not give enough details about past employers, that can be a sign of trouble. Verifying past employment is a critical and important tool for safe hiring. Some employers make a costly mistake by not checking past employment because past employers may not give detailed information. However, even if a reference check only reveals dates of employment and job titles, this critical information eliminates employment gaps. In addition, documenting the fact that an effort was made will demonstrate due diligence.

3. Applicant failed to indicate or cannot recall the name of a former supervisor. Another red flag. Past supervisors are important in order to conduct past employment checks.

4. Explanations for employment gaps or reasons for leaving past jobs do not make sense. A careful review of this section is needed and anything that does not make sense must to be cleared up in the interview.

5. Applicant fails to explain reason left past jobs. Past job performance can be an important predictor of future success.

6. Applicant does not sign application. An applicant with something to hide may purposely not sign the application form so they later cannot be accused of falsification.

7. Applicant is playing “hard to get”. If you are trying too hard to hire an individual that is non responsive- though your job opening is dire- you may be hiring a flake that can damage the morale of your entire organization.

Behind The Scenes: A Day in The Life Of A Health Care Recruiter

Coming Soon

Bernie Reifkind is CEO of Premier Search, Inc.

Your Resume

by Bernie Reifkind, CEO of Premier Search

Are resumes still relevant?

Yes!!!

Unfortunately, the employment world does "judge a book by it's cover" and your resume is the very first impression that is made about you.

The quality of your resume speaks volumes to your future employer. It needs to be easy to read, right to the point and relevant to the job being sought.

How do you know if your resume is good? If you have to ask, then it probably needs some adjustments.

So here's my offer : if you're not sure about the quality of your resume, email it to me and I will let you know, for free. I've looked at thousands of resumes through the years.

Assisted Living Federation Association (ALFA)

By Bernie Reifkind, CEO of Premier Search, Inc.

I'll be in Philadelphia this week attending the annual ALFA conference. I hope that if you are attending the conference, that you will look for me and say hello!

Recruitment :101 , by Bernie Reifkind, CEO of Premier Search, Inc.

Anyone who watches or reads employment news in the recent past has been flooded with information about the state of the economy as it relates to employment.

The good news is that the worst of the economic and employment meltdown is likely behind us. Why I am so optimistic?

My team of professional recruiters are filling critical job openings like crazy! There are plenty of good jobs available in the health care field.

I have some simple advice to share with you: Stop listening to the bad news and stop reading the bad stuff on the internet!!!!!

"The race isn't won by the fastest man, it's one by the man who thinks he can"- Bernie Reifkind.

Find a Health Care Recruiter by Bernie Reifkind, CEO of Premier Search, Inc.

The single best piece of advice about finding a recruiting firm to work with is to find one before you need one!

Here are the top 5 ways to find a health care recruiter to fill your critical job openings:

• 1. Ask and ye shall receive: Referrals are the single most effective tool in finding an established and successful recruitment firm. Ask every source, every vendor, and every business contact in your Outlook file if they can make a referral and then find out what their experience was like working with that search firm.

• 2. Do your due diligence: when you have a potential search firm that you would like to enlist to assist in finding candidates, ask for no less than 3 references and make sure that each referral speaks to the search firm’s ethics, response time, costs, etc.

• 3. You get what you pay for: sometimes the firms with the cheapest rates are firms without the resources to find the very best talent. This does not mean that you have to overspend, however rates do vary. It’s better to spend a little more to find the very best than pay the cost of each day that the position remains unfilled.

• 4. Find a specialist in your area of operations. Recruiting firms vary within the health care field. If you are hospital, work with a search firm that specializes in making placements in hospitals. If you work in home health, find a specialist in home health.

• 5. Integrity First: Find the health care search firm that has a long history of integrity, honor and moral code. Results are ultimately what you are looking for but always remember that the search firm represents you to the candidate and to the community. The way in which a search firm conducts its business will ultimately be a reflection on you and your operation.

Retention, Assassins, Google and Jobs by Bernie Reifkind, CEO of Premier Search, Inc

Stare down the shark.

Retention: Hang on to your best people. Extend the highest salary that you can afford.

Assassins: Go after the best people and pay what it takes. Fire the deadbeats.

Google: Google dominates the earth, we just live there.

Jobs: Be ruthless in your pursuit of finding or filling that job.