1. Becoming a
Sector Specialist
Part One
Presented by Michele Martin

2. To begin. . .

3. What is the goal?
PLACEMENTS!!!!

4. Placements=
Qualified Applicants Job Openings

5. Two Ways to Work
• Work the job • Work the job order
seeker—find jobs —find qualified
that they are applicants to fill the
qualified to do. jobs.

6. Sector Specialists
• Industry-specific recruiter—work the job order first.
Filled job orders build relationships with employers!
• Focus on relationships, not transactions.
• Deep knowledge of industry & job openings
• Deep knowledge of applicant pool
• Expand the applicant pool to meet employer needs.
• Expand the job order pool to meet job seeker needs.

7. Working with Employers
Thinking Like a Recruiter

8. Recruitment
Value-Add
• Speed—How can you reduce the time it takes to
identify, screen, interview and hire a qualified
candidate?
• Quality of referrals—Are you a consistent resource for
high quality referrals?
• Price—What does it cost to get high-quality applicants
quickly?

9. Remember
Companies will PAY for quick, high
quality referrals, so price by itself will
not provide you with a competitive
advantage.

10. Also. . .
Aim for relationships, not transactions.

11. The process
1. Initial research
2. Develop list of target employers
3. Build company profiles
4. Develop relationships
5. Build quality job postings/information
6. Work job leads
7. Follow-up
8. Track for Success

12. Initial research
1. Who are the employers in 3. What job openings do
your sector? they have?
• Who is already in the
system? 4. Who are the key decision-
• Google Maps Search
makers?
• C-Suite and Directors
1. Of these employers, who • Avoid HR if possible
is hiring?
• Job postings—in system,
on their website, on other
boards
• “Follow the money”

13. Develop Target List
• Identify Top 25-30 employers in your sector—most
likely for you to get placements.
• Analyze:
• What do you already know about them?
• What can you easily find out about them through more
research?
• Do you have a relationship with them?
• What is the nature/quality of that relationship?
• What have you done for them in the past?
• Focus your efforts!

14. Build Company Profiles
• Company Basics—location, # of employees, etc.
• Key Decision-Makers
• Work Environment/Company Culture
• Key Employment Success Factors
• Recruitment & Hiring Practices
• Referral Preferences
• Relationship history

15. Build Relationships
• Based on trust
• Quality work
• Understanding of employer needs
• Consistent
• Making/keeping commitments
• # 1 way to build trust is to fill jobs quickly and with
minimal hassle.
• #2 way is to build relationships, not focus on
transactions.

16. Two Relationships
• Existing Customers • New Customers
• What is your current • How can you use your
relationship? network to get connected?
• What have you done for • How can you get a “face-to-
them in the past? face?”
• What has worked/hasn’t • Where can you immediately
worked? (refer to Tracking provide them with a quality
for Success) referral?
• How can you build the • What other
relationship? information/resources could
• What can you do to you offer to begin building
improve placement rate? trust and goodwill?
• Build your network--“Who
else should I be talking to?”

17. Build Quality Job Postings
• Communicate that quality postings allow you to make
quality referrals of applicants.
• Better screening
• Chance to market company to top applicants
• Get detailed information:
• Requirements vs. Preferences
• KSAs
• Education/work experience
• Salary, benefits, work environment
• Corporate culture— candidate success factors. “Who is your
ideal candidate?”
• Document in job order.

18. Work Job Leads
• Identify job openings
• In system
• From other sources
• Search for qualified applicants
• In system
• If necessary, expand pool—do a search on LinkedIn
• Refer* at least two qualified applicants within 48
hours OR notify employer of progress.
* “Refer” means you send resume directly to employer.

19. Follow-UP
• Phone or email to employer:
• Quality of referral
• Timing of referral
• Additional information to refine referral quality/process
• Document!
• Rinse & Repeat

20. Track for Success
• Use key recruiting measures to track success
• Track for individual employers
• Track overall for the sector
• Analyze/review results to refine what you do.

21. Measures for Success (1)
• To meet employer needs, track the following:
• Job Order Coverage Ratio--% of open job orders where
at least one qualified resume has been submitted to the
employer. (Higher is better)
• Job Order Response Time—average time it takes to
submit a resume after a job order has been received.
(Shorter time is better)
• Quality of Candidates Submitted—how many resumes
are submitted before a “sendout” (candidate being
interviewed by a hiring manager)? (Lower is better )

22. Measures for Success
(2)
• To meet employer needs, track the following:
• Sendout to Placement Ratio—The number of sendouts it
takes to get a placement (3 or 4:1 is good)
• Job Order Fill Ratio—Ratio of job orders written to job
orders filled. (Higher is better)
• Time to Fill Ratio—Length of time from receiving a job
order to filling it. (Lower is better)

23. Troubleshooting
• What if your job order coverage ratio is low?
• What if your job order response time is high?
• What if your ratio of resumes submitted to sendouts is
low?
• What if your sendout to placement ratio is low?
• What if your job order fill ratio is low?
• What if your time to fill is high?

24. Ongoing
Relationship-Building
• Track and share industry-related articles targeted to
your employers’ needs.
• Connect with them on LinkedIn to keep track of and
acknowledge professional accomplishments.
• Email “tickler” file—keep in ongoing contact.
• Refer high quality applicants even if there are no
current job openings.