How To Hire A Qualified Contingent Recruiter
By Allan Marinelli & Laura Roberts
It is important for the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and medical device industries to obtain the most qualified candidates during these fast technological times for either the short- or long-term (i.e., specialized consultants) or direct hire full-time employees. In this article, we’re going to focus on hiring the right qualified contingent recruiter (contingency and retained search).
A contingent recruiter often will have qualifications such as:
- Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC)
- Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP)
- Professional in Human Resources (PHR)
- SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP)
- Senior Talent Management Practitioner (STMP)
Of course, in addition, they should have a consistent and excellent track record.
9 Tips On Finding An Effective Contingency Recruiter
Contingency search is a recruiting service that is paid solely on performance. The recruiter must introduce the candidate hired or there is no fee involved. Here are nine tips for finding a contingency recruiter:
- Determine a path for engaging an outside recruiter — This is twofold:
- Examine the historically “difficult-to-fill” skillsets key to your organization’s productivity. These are often industry-specific, high demand/low supply positions your company needs to thrive. Create a list of these skills and make this the “Contingency Recruiter Use List.” When you have an opening on this list, immediately reach out to the vendors on your “Contingency Recruiting Vendor List.”
- Set an “open time” threshold — if a position is open for any length of time deemed inordinate then it is time to call in a contingency recruiter.
- Define your needs — This entails the job description, responsibilities, qualifications, and any other essential criteria for the position. Separate the “must-haves” from the “nice-to-haves” for each role.
- Research and select recruiters — Conduct thorough research to find a contingency recruiter with your desired quality attributes and a consistent proven track record (e.g:, positive reviews online and offline, a good network of candidates in their queue) as well as a specialization in your industry or the type of position that you are targeting.
Remember, contingency recruiters specialize. Because they get paid for performance, they look to maximize their efforts by specializing in networking within the community of high demand/low supply skillsets. As such, the best way to find a contingency recruiter suitable for your specific needs is to ask the people in the group with an opening which recruiter they hear from consistently. For example, if you will be recruiting for three senior scientist level analytical chemists, then go to the AR&D group and ask them for names of recruiters they know. This will give a very good starting point for identifying a recruiter who has a network in the skillset you need and who you know is consistently in contact with their network.
Another little-known tip for gaining a relationship with a strong contingency recruiter is to pay attention to recruiters who leave voicemails for hiring managers about specific positions either posted on your website or advertised — especially if they say they have someone in mind! Contingency recruiters looking to add clients will not make these calls for candidates who are not well above average; they know what a strong candidate looks like in their specialty. This is a great way to deepen the talent in the department, as well as gain a recruiter worth knowing and having on your vendor list.
- Set up a call/meeting with the prospective recruiter. Provide the recruiter with the position description. During the call, all key players should be present, including the hiring manager, HR, and the recruiter. They will have several questions about the company and specifics regarding the short list of potential candidates.
The involvement of the hiring manager is crucial in gaining the contingency recruiter’s attention. It will also likely lead to the recruiter filling the discussed position within the time needed.
At this meeting, make sure you provide as much information as possible about the opportunity/position/role, such as the company’s culture and any other relevant details that will increase the probability of the contingency recruiter sourcing the most suitable candidates.
- Establish the terms and agreement — Ask the recruiter for their fee agreement or, if your company has a standard agreement for contingency search, then provide that to the recruiter. Ascertain that you have a clear understanding of the terms, assumptions, limitations, and inclusions/exclusions before proceeding any further. Beware of pushing for the lowest fee possible — it may cost you in valuable attention.
It is wise to remember the nature of the word “contingency;” the recruiter must introduce not only the candidate you WANT to hire, but also achieve an acceptance, otherwise there is no cost to the company. These commissioned salespeople do not get paid unless they fill the position. Therefore, how rapidly you respond to the candidate presentations they make is important. Working on the right search is critical to their success. The recruiter must assess the criteria for each search by ensuring the searches remain focused on the priority.
If you want your search to represent the top of the list for fast feedback, especially on candidates you want to interview, then ensure you set the conditions for the high-priority searches to be set to sort to the top of the list. Smart recruiters are more inclined to discount their fee for companies who perform their part of the search with fast clear feedback on candidate presentations.
- Maintain regular communication — Maintain open and consistent communication with the contingency recruiter throughout the hiring process. Update them on any changes or refinements to the requirements, and provide feedback on candidates they present. This collaboration will help refine their search and ensure they are delivering candidates who meet your expectations.
- Evaluate the methodology on how the candidates were selected — Review the methodology approach on how the candidates were selected despite being initially derived from the contingency recruiter, and provide timely objective feedback on each plausible candidate, including an evaluation on deciphering the validity of the selected candidate.
Conduct interviews and assessments as necessary to determine their fit with your organization or end client/source client. The contingency recruiter may facilitate this process or provide additional support as warranted.
Do not get misled by the recipient appearing to be an excellent interviewee. Even if they answered all of the questions to a tee, do not forget to factor in the following:
- proven consistency of track record performance for many consistent years with no gaps or very little in employment and inquire about the reasons of discontinuing to be employed by those previous companies.
- the ability of the recipient to successfully collaborate with various stakeholders as justified with the available references (Direct Reports; Dotted-Line Reports; The involvement of other Stakeholders during the routine job operations) for a minimum of five tangible references.
- the validity of their academic education — request a certified copy of the official certificate or bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD or other official recognized education.
- a background check dependent of the clearance level required.
- their language skills as assessed from their resume or cover letter — for example, it should be a “red flag” if you encounter numerous grammatical mistakes, spelling/conjunction errors, sentence structure disconnections, or illogical flow from one paragraph to another. Also look out for a lack of communication skills, including written, oral, reading (e.g., Do they actually understand what they are reading?).
Therefore, even if the candidate shines on the interview tool, if they present poorly during the interview process in many of the aforementioned ways, then they should not be accepted for the opportunity at hand.
- Extend an offer — Once a suitable (i.e., in alignment with all methodologies) candidate is selected by the contingent recruiter, a job opportunity/contract can be offered. Coordinate with the contingency recruiter to ensure a smooth transition, as they may assist with additional negotiations in flux prior to reaching a final offer of acceptance.
- Progress up, follow up and feedback — Maintain communication with the contingency recruiter even after the successful placement was successfully executed. Provide feedback on the contingency performance by factoring in the quality of the candidate hired. This feedback will help them refine their process and better understand your hiring needs for future positions.
By factoring in these nine recommendations, you will increase the probability that all involved stakeholders will experience a win-win situation.
About The Authors:
Allan Marinelli, CSV/CSA/CQV/QE/QA/QO/Compliance Consultant is President at Quality Validation 360 Inc.
Laura Roberts, CPC, is Partner & Senior Pharmaceutical Consultant at RJS Associates, Inc.
References:
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