Cold Calling Is A Hot Topic

There’s been a lot of talk about Passive Recruiting these days. With regard to the McGladrey account, a large part of our success, both with the client, and in finding the right talent, comes from our passive recruiting efforts. I’m sure several of you are experiencing the same with some of your clients. This past month, our fearless leader, Bruce Ferguson, was a keynote speaker at the McGladrey HR & Recruiter’s Conference. The topic was… you guessed it, on Passive Recruiting. Back in day, when I initially learned what Passive Recruiting was about, I shied away. The thought of calling targeted, unsuspecting contacts and convincing them that my company had the career opportunity of a life time brought me great anxiety. After speaking with several successful leaders in the recruitment industry I came to find that the key to their success was being able to pick up the phone and dial. Great! The one sourcing tool that made me want to curl up in the fetal position and cry could potentially be the key to launching my career to a higher level.

Wanting to experience a higher level of success as well as uncover that hard to find talent, I took the plunge (thankfully the waters were deep) and incorporated cold calling into my daily recruitment process. Armed with a call list, script, phone (and 40 mgs of Vicadin to calm the nerves – just kidding) I made my first cold call; then my second, then my third, then my one hundredth and so on. The more I called the easier it became. Before long I was forming lasting relationships with voice mails all over the state. In the rare chance someone actually answered their phone I became elated and went full force into my sell message. Even if the candidate wasn’t ready to make a move at that time, I was still planting the seed. There have been times when I realized that every person at a particular level in a specific industry has either talked with me personally or has a voice message from me. Talk about some serious branding!!

There are several nay sayers in the industry who strongly disagree with cold calling; and that’s fine for them. I’m here to tell you that it works! Recruitment is about building relationships. Cold calling is another avenue to get you to building these relationships. You’re building relationships with prospective candidates as well as your client who will be pleased to see your dedicated efforts on their behalf.

Don’t be afraid to make that first call. Don’t be discouraged when you’ve placed 200 calls and no one, with the exception of your mother, has called you back. Eventually, the hard work will pay off and you’re pipeline will yield the targeted talent your client’s are looking for. Go ahead… pick up the phone and start calling. I dare you!

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