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

Chapter 4. Right under Your Nose: Leveraging People You Already Know

I hope you've begun to determine exactly what kind of talent you need by honing in on the A-Player Profile for key roles in your company. You have also embarked on creating an A-player mind-set about your team both inside and outside your organization. Now you have to find the right people to hire.

The first step is to reach out to your existing network. Envision your network as a series of concentric circles with your closest relationships at the center and people with whom you are less connected in the successive outward circles. (See Figure 4.1.) Each of these circles contains potential A-player hires and referral sources. Let's first focus on the "bull's-eye" of this circle—people you already know to whom no introduction is required. Members of this group would be glad to take a call or receive an e-mail from you.

It's likely that over time, at least some of the individuals in this group have developed some pretty impressive resumes. Perhaps a friend from elementary school is an officer with a Fortune 500 company, or a contact you made through volunteer work runs a successful, privately-held company. Your roommate from college might be a successful sales executive. Pay increasing attention to your peers as your career advances. I've observed that sometime in their thirties or early forties, businesspeople become aware that they are now building a network to sustain them through the rest of their careers. Your ...