Storyboard Your Recruiting Script: Article by Bill Radin

Tips for Recruiters
Table of Contents
Twelve fact-filled articles about candidates, employers, and key elements of the placement process

1. Recruiters Add Value, Not Redundancy
Is candidate "ownership" your only claim to fame? If so, extinction is a distinct possibility

2. Finding the Recruiting Script That Works
How to combat the cookie-cutter approach to recruiting new candidates

3. Stimulate Candidate Referrals and Fill More Jobs
Improved relationships will increase the flow of candidates

4. How to Expand the Supply of High-Quality Candidates
Thirteen additional sources of new referrals

5. Intelligent Internet Recruiting
How to convert raw data into interviews and placements

6. Storyboard Your Recruiting Script
How to create a sense of excitement and urgency when you talk to candidates

7. The Power of Interview Preparation
Give your candidates the competitive edge when interviewing for your jobs

8. Candidate Control: The Key to Recruiting Success
Understanding your candidates' motivation for change

9. Fight the Counteroffer Bug
Find out how early detection can prevent disaster

10. You're Worth the Fees You Charge!
Why you should hold the line on search and placement fees

11. Negotiate for Higher Recruiting Fees
Increase your earnings from improved client relationships

12. Fee Negotiation Tactics
How to fight the pressure to slash your fees

[MORE Tips for Recruiters]

Storyboard Your Recruiting Script
By Bill Radin

You can look at a job order like most recruiters, and see a classified ad. Or you can look at it like I do, and see an episode from The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Think about it. Every day, a zillion candidates are being pummeled by recruiters who use the black and white version as the basis of their recruiting script---a script that sounds strikingly similar to last Sunday’s classified ad:

“Hi, my name is Rob Petrie, and I’m a recruiter specializing in broadcast media. Have you got a moment? Good.

“I’m working with a Fortune 500 media client in the Midwest that’s looking for a Network News Anchor. The job requires a four-year communications degree plus three to five years of broadcast experience, preferably in news or features. The candidate must have the ability to look directly at the camera, read from a script, observe visual cues and take direction from staff writers and producers. The client offers a competitive salary, a standard relocation package, plus an incentive program based on Neilsen ratings. Do you know of anyone with these qualifications?”

Boring, Boring, Boring!
Why not hire a telemarketing firm to read the ad and put the recruiter out of his misery? I’d rather tell an interesting story and add value to my work, as in:

“Hi, my name is Bill Radin, and I’m a recruiter specializing in broadcast media. I’m working with a news program in Minnesota that’s got a bull in a china shop, and I’m hoping you can help me by making a recommendation. Is this a good time to talk?

“Good. This is not too complicated, but it needs a little explanation. Let me begin by saying that the current staff consists of a great bunch of people, who’ve worked together a long time and really care for each personally, as well as professionally. As a team, they’re first rate---their writing is funny, insightful and award-winning, and they take great pride in what they do.

“Unfortunately, the anchor on the show is totally out of synch with the rest of the team. He can’t read what they write, can’t take direction on the set, and---worst of all---spends more time in front of his mirror than he does in front of the camera. Because of the anchor’s obsession with style, not substance, the show’s lost a lot of its credibility, and much of its audience.

“We know that the structure’s already in place to make the show a total winner---all it needs is a new front person to pump some energy over the airwaves. And, once that happens, it’ll put the show right back on top, where it should be.

Do you happen to know of a TV personality that really sparkles, and might enjoy breathing new life into a news show with great potential?”

Take your pick. Which presentation do you think would generate more interest and elicit the greater response?

Four Steps to a Dynamite Presentation
It goes without saying that the recruiter who tells a compelling story has a huge advantage over someone who fails to understand---or can’t put into word pictures---the relevancy of a particular search. I’ve found that by storyboarding my presentation, as in a Hollywood action sequence, I can concisely convey information in logical, bite-sized bits.

The greater your ability to tell the client’s story in an engaging manner, the more you’ll increase your chance to “hook” the candidate---which is the first step in creating a dialogue, building a relationship and earning the right to ask for referrals.

Storyboarding is easy, if you follow these steps:
• Set up your presentation. Explain who you are, why you’re calling, and what you hope to accomplish.
• Describe the dilemma. By its nature, a job opening creates a degree of tension that demands resolution. The more you engage the candidate in your client’s employment puzzle, the more the person will want to help you solve it.
• Suggest a happy ending. Ride into the sunset with the candidate by describing the hoped-for outcome that would solve the puzzle and benefit the client.
• Ask for the candidate’s help. This is the proverbial call to action, in which you hope your efforts will be rewarded---in the form of a direct referral, a suggestion of where to look, or a declaration of interest on the part of the candidate.

Recruiters often fall into the trap of trying to “close” a candidate without having sold the person on the dynamics of the job and the unique personalities of the staff. Then, with no new referrals in hand, the recruiter has no choice but to move on to the next prospect, where the cycle of failure is repeated.

By strengthening your presentation, you’ll shorten the search gestation period and reduce the sheer number of candidates you’ll need to call in order to fill a position. After hearing so many ineffective presentations over the years, I’m suspicious whenever a recruiter tells me that he’s just talked to a lousy candidate. I’m tempted to reply, “There are no lousy candidates, just lousy recruiters.”

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