  |
|
Bird Dogs At some point in time during your recruitment tenure, and quite likely when you were a rookie, you heard about the “Bird Dog.” A Bird Dog is typically a sharp person that is well connected in his/her industry or someone with whom you can consult to provide valuable insight into a search. Every recruiter has or should have his/her own list of “Go-To” people as they, if managed professionally, can often be counted on for a good percentage of placement leads. The obvious image of a Bird Dog is a senior manager or executive with a solid industry background and reputation to boot. Naturally those occupying roles at the upper echelons of corporations tend to be well networked and as such become obvious Bird Dog candidates. Individuals holding positions in professional organizations tend to be excellent Bird Dogs as well. Their involvement suggests a level of commitment toward the development of the profession and of their colleagues. There also exists the small-b Bird Dog or the “internal” bird dog. For lack of a better term this individual plays the role of the corporate leak. This is likely an acquaintance or perhaps an old candidate with which you have established a good rapport and by virtue of your relationship refers potential candidates at his/her current employer. Here are four excellent reasons why you should develop a first class team of Bird Dogs. Bird Dogs recommend good candidates; or should we say they don’t recommend bad people? Either way you win. Nothing damages a reputation quicker than a bad decision or a poor recommendation. “Go-To” individuals establish reputations from making sound judgment calls. Bird Dogs will save you valuable search time. Consulting a Bird Dog’s opinion is like eliminating a lot of cold calls you would have made that turn up empty. You won’t just be getting one or two potentially good people, you’ll eliminate all the average performers or underachievers an uninformed person would tend to recommend. In the event that you don’t reach the person you’re searching for, you’ll be speaking to a person who’s in a great position to provide yet another referral or become a good future candidate. Referrals are usually accompanied with a pre-assessment about the potential candidate. It’s like conducting a reference on the person before making contact with them. If you have the opportunity to mention your referrer’s name when making contact, you’ll likely avoid the barriers typically associated with cold call recruiting. Associating yourself with reputable people in your industry says a lot about you and your professionalism. Relationships are built on trust and trust is built with time. The depth of your relationship will determine how much your Bird Dog is willing to help you. Good judgement, honesty, confidentiality and returned favors are necessary if you expect them to be around for the long haul. Successful relationship management is key to building a solid team of Bird Dogs. How often do you keep track of people that provide you with referrals and furthermore, those that refer candidates you end up placing? How many of your contacts actually receive follow up thank you calls or cards? Go above and beyond the expectations of your contacts when returning favors and keep in mind that you need them more than they need you. |
 |
 |
