How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for Your Team - Even If You Don't Have a Recruiting Department

Book description

How to find great employees, make great hires, and take your business to the next level

It is always easy to find people who want a job, but it's never easy to find and hire A-players. In How to Hire A-Players, consultant Eric Herrenkohl shows owners, executives, and managers of small and medium-size businesses where and how to find A-player employees. It is these individuals who will help keep quality high and growth and profits strong.

Herrenkohl explains how to use your existing marketing, sales, and networking efforts to find top candidates. He provides current examples of companies that consistently hire A-players without big recruiting departments as well as step-by-step explanations for making these strategies work in your own company.

  • Shows you how to find and hire top employees.

  • Ideal for owners of small businesses, executives and managers of large businesses, as well as corporate recruiters and HR specialists who need new ideas

  • Herrenkohl's client list includes privately held businesses in over 50 industries as well as big corporate names like Bank of America, Edward Jones, and Northwestern Mutual Life

A-player employees are the life blood of any growing business. This handy hiring guide shows you where to look, what to ask, and who to hire to boost your business today

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. About the Author
  4. Introduction: Where Do I Find Great People?
  5. 1. The Value of A-Players
    1. 1.1. Thriving Businesses Are Built by Teams of A-Players
    2. 1.2. The Impact of Just One Great Hire
    3. 1.3. One A-Player Can Give You Your Life Back
    4. 1.4. One A-Player Can Keep You from Getting Divorced
    5. 1.5. One A-Player Can Help You to Sell Your Business
    6. 1.6. You Can't Turn Midgets into Giants
    7. 1.7. The Best Coaches Are the Best Recruiters
    8. 1.8. Get Passionate about Finding and Hiring A-Players
    9. 1.9. Make Money Next Year from the A-Players You Hire This Year
    10. 1.10. Focus on the Value of A-Players
    11. 1.11. A-Players Beget A-Players
    12. 1.12. Isn't This HR's Job?
    13. 1.13. The 80/20 Principle Is Alive and Well
    14. 1.14. Where Are Your Talent Choke Points?
    15. 1.15. Challenge Your Leadership Team
    16. 1.16. Payoffs from This Management Discussion
    17. 1.17. The Team You Need versus the Team You Have
  6. 2. Would You Know an A-Player if You Met One? Defining Your A-Player Profile
    1. 2.1. Where Do I Start?
    2. 2.2. Interview More People!
    3. 2.3. Get Better Results from Job Advertisements
    4. 2.4. How to Define Your A-Player Profile
    5. 2.5. Documenting Your A-Player Profile
    6. 2.6. Using Your A-Player Profile to Improve Recruiting Results
    7. 2.7. Get Clear on Your "Knockout Factors"
  7. 3. Three Steps to Creating an A-Player Team
    1. 3.1. Create an A-Player Mind-Set
    2. 3.2. Interview All the Time
    3. 3.3. But What if I Don't Have a Job to Fill?
    4. 3.4. Building Your Farm Team
    5. 3.5. Recruit Before You Need To
    6. 3.6. Should You Advertise for Your Farm Team?
      1. 3.6.1. Every Manager Has a Farm Team
    7. 3.7. Explain the Farm Team Approach to Job Candidates Up Front
    8. 3.8. The Power of Staying in Touch
    9. 3.9. The Secret to Dealing with Poor Performers
    10. 3.10. Employee Referrals
    11. 3.11. Referrals Wanted—Always
    12. 3.12. Develop an Internal Farm Team
    13. 3.13. Building Your Brand to Attract A-Players
    14. 3.14. Create a Great First Impression
    15. 3.15. Authenticity Is Attractive
    16. 3.16. Attract A-Players by Serving the Community
    17. 3.17. Keep It On
  8. 4. Right under Your Nose: Leveraging People You Already Know
    1. 4.1. Friends and Family
    2. 4.2. Your Customers
    3. 4.3. Turning Customers Down
    4. 4.4. Use a "Soft" Approach to Recruiting Customers
    5. 4.5. Have a Simple Employment Application Process
    6. 4.6. Treat Everyone Well
    7. 4.7. Customers as Referral Sources
    8. 4.8. Your Vendors
    9. 4.9. Create an A-Player Target List
    10. 4.10. Don't Make Up People's Minds for Them
    11. 4.11. Remember that C-Players Often Sell Themselves Better than A-Players
    12. 4.12. Internal Hires
    13. 4.13. The Critical Role of Assistant Manager
    14. 4.14. Turning B-Players into A-Players
    15. 4.15. Tapping into the Contacts of New Hires
    16. 4.16. Taking Action to Tap into Your Network
  9. 5. Don't Just Sit There. Reach Out
    1. 5.1. Recruiter in Chief
    2. 5.2. Running with the Big Dogs
    3. 5.3. Industry Conferences and Continuing Education
    4. 5.4. A Note on Recruiting Salespeople
    5. 5.5. Stay until the Quesadillas Are Scorched
    6. 5.6. The Difference between a Contact and a Business Card
    7. 5.7. Don't Wallow in the Shallow End of the Networking Pool
    8. 5.8. Quality Is More Important than Quantity
    9. 5.9. Develop Connections to Influencers
    10. 5.10. Recruiters from Other Companies
    11. 5.11. Office Managers
    12. 5.12. Take Your Time
    13. 5.13. Follow Through
    14. 5.14. Become an Influencer Yourself
      1. 5.14.1. Join a Board
    15. 5.15. Become an Adjunct Professor
    16. 5.16. Cultivating Referral Sources
    17. 5.17. Do I Really Have Time for This?
  10. 6. Finding New Pools of A-Player Talent
    1. 6.1. Women Reentering the Workforce
    2. 6.2. Spouses of Relocated Executives
    3. 6.3. Single-Mother Waitresses
    4. 6.4. Big-Firm Lawyers Who Don't Want Big-Firm Hours
    5. 6.5. How Do You Find Them?
    6. 6.6. Restaurant Personnel
    7. 6.7. How Do You Find Them?
    8. 6.8. Teachers
    9. 6.9. How Do You Find Them?
    10. 6.10. Starbucks and Other Well-Operated National Retailers
    11. 6.11. How Do You Find Them?
    12. 6.12. On-Campus Interviewing
    13. 6.13. Students and Irregular Hours
    14. 6.14. Internships
    15. 6.15. Even One Intern Can Make a Difference
    16. 6.16. Alumni Networks of Large Companies
    17. 6.17. Former Entrepreneurs
    18. 6.18. How Do You Find Them?
    19. 6.19. Find a Talent Pool and Go Deep
  11. 7. The Basics of Online Recruiting
    1. 7.1. Your Company's Web Site
    2. 7.2. Employment Web Page
    3. 7.3. A Great Example
    4. 7.4. Simple Works
    5. 7.5. Remember Your Knockout Factors
    6. 7.6. Following Up on Employment Applications
    7. 7.7. Make It Easy on Yourself
    8. 7.8. Online Job Boards
    9. 7.9. Will I Be Overwhelmed with Resumes?
    10. 7.10. Additional Sites to Check Out
    11. 7.11. Industry-Specific Job Boards
    12. 7.12. Craigslist
    13. 7.13. Social Media
    14. 7.14. What Is LinkedIn?
    15. 7.15. Posting Jobs on LinkedIn
    16. 7.16. Sending Direct Communication via LinkedIn
    17. 7.17. Conducting Due Diligence on Job Candidates
    18. 7.18. Facebook: Is a Candidate Giving You Reasons to Say No?
    19. 7.19. Twitter
    20. 7.20. The Advantages of Twitter over Traditional Job Boards
    21. 7.21. Great, but How Do I Make This Work?
    22. 7.22. Get Some Outside Help
    23. 7.23. Train Your Employees
  12. 8. Using Recruiters Wisely
    1. 8.1. When to Use Recruiters
    2. 8.2. Finding the Right Recruiter
    3. 8.3. Criteria for Selecting a Recruiting Firm
    4. 8.4. They Know Your Industry
    5. 8.5. They Listen
    6. 8.6. They Have a Transparent Process
    7. 8.7. They Are Good Ambassadors for Your Business
    8. 8.8. You Have a Relationship Based on Trust
    9. 8.9. Contingent versus Retained Recruiters
    10. 8.10. Contingent Recruiters
    11. 8.11. Retained Recruiters
    12. 8.12. Specialists versus Generalists
    13. 8.13. Hire the Recruiter, Not the Firm
    14. 8.14. Checklist for Interviewing Recruiters
    15. 8.15. Check Recruiters' References
    16. 8.16. Negotiating the Contract
    17. 8.17. A Word about Fees
    18. 8.18. Lessons Learned from the Best Recruiters
    19. 8.19. Ask for Referrals Constantly
    20. 8.20. The Internet Is Not a Replacement for Networking
    21. 8.21. Cast a Wide Net
    22. 8.22. The Process Is King
  13. 9. Interviewing and the Economic Value of Good Looks
    1. 9.1. A-Players Are Attracted by High Standards
    2. 9.2. Create an Interview Process that Works
    3. 9.3. Always Start with Your A-Player Profile
    4. 9.4. Capture and Quantify Your A-Player Profile
    5. 9.5. Create an Interview Scorecard
    6. 9.6. Conduct Multiple Interviews
    7. 9.7. Use Multiple Interviewers
    8. 9.8. Create Interviewing Teams
    9. 9.9. Interview Candidates, Don't Educate Them
    10. 9.10. Ask the Right Questions
    11. 9.11. Open-Ended Question
    12. 9.12. Closed-Ended Question
    13. 9.13. Always Ask Follow-Up Questions
    14. 9.14. Don't Be Afraid of Silence
    15. 9.15. Take Notes
    16. 9.16. Implement a Post-Interview Review
    17. 9.17. Avoid Hiring in Your Own Image
    18. 9.18. Leverage Reference Checks
    19. 9.19. Put People at Ease in a Casual Setting
    20. 9.20. Don't Oversell
    21. 9.21. "Live-Fire" Interview Exercises
    22. 9.22. Take Candidates with You
    23. 9.23. Have Candidates Make a Sales Call
    24. 9.24. The Paid Interview
    25. 9.25. Have Them Create an Action Plan
    26. 9.26. Passion Is Demonstrated by Preparation
  14. 10. Popping the Hood on Candidates Using Assessment Tools
    1. 10.1. Solving the People Puzzle
    2. 10.2. Creating a Common Language
    3. 10.3. Avoid Hiring Landmines
    4. 10.4. Revealing the Gaps between People and Positions
    5. 10.5. The Sweet-and-Sour Effect
    6. 10.6. Who Will Be Motivated to Do the Job?
    7. 10.7. Avoiding an Organ Rejection: The Importance of Cultural Fit
    8. 10.8. Are People Driven to Achieve?
    9. 10.9. The Difference between Drive and Self-Esteem
    10. 10.10. Integrating Assessments into the Interview Process
    11. 10.11. Proven Tips for Using Assessments Effectively
    12. 10.12. Bring Job Candidates into Your Office to Complete Pre-Employment Assessments
      1. 10.12.1. Assess Early in the Interview Process
    13. 10.13. Find Assessments That Work and Trust Them
    14. 10.14. Background Checks and Drug Tests
    15. 10.15. Legal Compliance
  15. Conclusion: Keeping the A-Players You Hire
    1. A-Players Want to Work for Strong Leaders
    2. Define Your Organizational Strategy
    3. Be Objective and Make the Time
    4. A Close Look at Your Organizational Chart
    5. Coaching and Keeping A-Players
    6. I Was Thinking about You
    7. Look to the Future
  16. Web Sites for Free Additional Resources
  17. Notes

Product information

  • Title: How to Hire A-Players: Finding the Top People for Your Team - Even If You Don't Have a Recruiting Department
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: April 2010
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470562246