This is what clients REALLY want from a recruiter.

The truth is that clients are deserting the recruitment industry in droves. In many cases they are cynical about our value and skeptical about our ability to deliver anything they can’t get themselves. As we are all aware, they are building sophisticated systems, and hiring internal recruiting experts, specifically to cut out third-party recruiters. And […]

Posted by Greg Savage
On November 26, 2013
34 Comments

Dear Hiring Manager….

Dear Hiring Manager, So, just to make sure I clearly understand you. You consistently call our entire industry ‘cowboys’, who add no value and who cannot, or will not, build relationships. You often warm to your theme by telling us we don’t understand your business or your briefs, fail to match appropriately, never provide insights, […]

Posted by Greg Savage
On July 10, 2012
46 Comments

Discount! Did you say… discount?

“So let me just clarify your position on this, Mr Client. You spend 30 minutes telling me all the recruiters you have used so far are hopeless, they provide zero value, they can’t find the talent you want, their service is pathetic, and they do not understand your business. Then, we spend hours going through […]

Posted by Greg Savage
On April 3, 2012
30 Comments

The one skill great recruiters nail every time

There has never been a more critical time for recruiters to focus on prioritising their job orders. Clients are tentative and decisions are slow to come, so we simply cannot waste our time on briefs that were never real in the first place. Working with clients who are not ready, willing or committed to hire […]

Posted by Greg Savage
On March 6, 2012
25 Comments

10 massive blunders I have made in recruitment

Running a great recruitment business is difficult. The competition, the compliance, the cash flow issues and most of all, the people complexity creates an ideal environment to screw up. Here are 10 of my biggest blunders, some of which I have made several times. I offer them up as a guide on what NOT to […]

Posted by Greg Savage
On December 14, 2010
32 Comments

The amazing day our client put the placement fee UP to 60%!

Regular readers of my blog will know that I have predicted for some time that clients will expect more from recruiters as the market recovers. I have said that we can expect pressure on our fees, particularly as employers invest in other ways to access talent. But it’s also true that market forces will prevail. […]

Posted by Greg Savage
On November 30, 2010
3 Comments

Competing on price in recruitment is a slippery slope to oblivion

Last week I blogged on how competing on speed and volume alone was not the way to be successful as a recruiter over the long term. Today I turn the attention to price. The question of fees and margins in our industry is a sensitive and difficult one. The fact is that clients resent our […]

Posted by Greg Savage
On November 16, 2010
0 Comment

What to say when your client drops the “C” word in a fee negotiation.

Last week I blogged about how you need to move the focus away from dollars and percentages when clients negotiate fees, and on to your value and your differentiators. One of the comments on my blog from Matthew Lancey raised the point that sometimes clients keep pushing, and they say something like “but your competitors […]

Posted by Greg Savage
On October 26, 2010
10 Comments

Don’t give up on exclusive job orders! This is how

A great recruiter will be totally articulate in positioning why a client is doing themselves tremendous harm by getting recruiters to compete. By all means, let recruiters compete for a client. No problems there. That’s capitalism at its finest. But we should not compete on the same job. That is just dumb business by all […]

Posted by Greg Savage
On September 21, 2010
15 Comments

Recruiters, use your ‘necktop’ when engaging with clients (video)

The savage truth is that most recruiters have no idea how to build relationships with their clients, nor how to develop business opportunities through their day-to-day interaction with customers. It’s an ironic tragedy, but the more technology we have available, the less recruiters actually use that technology to connect with clients and candidates in a […]

Posted by Greg Savage
On August 17, 2010
5 Comments

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