Real-Life Communication
To succeed as a technical recruiter, it's crucial to develop excellent
communication skills. "Communication skills are extremely important," says
Carolyn Steers, a technical recruiter. "Basically, it's all you do."
You
are a technical recruiter working for a company that specializes in information
technology. You're part of a recruiting team responsible for finding qualified
computer professionals to work for the company. The accounting manager at
your firm needs an Oracle programmer by Monday to begin working on a three-month
project.
Until this morning, you believed that you had found a candidate
to fill the position. Your initial interview with the candidate went well,
as did a second interview conducted with the accounting manager present. But
when you sat down with the candidate for the third and final interview --
meant to confirm details such as salary and starting date -- he announced:
"Oh, didn't I tell you I can't start for a month?"
With a three-month
project looming, that is too long to wait. You explain this to
the candidate. He declines the job offer.
You're annoyed with him,
but even more annoyed with yourself for not discovering the problem sooner.
Worse, there are no other qualified candidates available. The only other potential
candidate has less than six months' experience using Oracle. Furthermore,
a careful reading of his resume reveals several lengthy, unexplained gaps
between jobs.
The accounting manager -- a person you've experienced
difficulty dealing with in the past -- is demanding that you find and hire
an experienced Oracle programmer by Monday. Otherwise, he insists, the project's
three-month deadline will be threatened. What can you say to ease the tension?