Learn to recruit from the US military

This is how most companies recruit: When a vacancy arises, the department manager contacts Human Resources, hoping someone will fill the vacancy right away. A recruiter in the Human Resources department called the local newspaper to place an ad. Candidates' resumes are scrutinized and qualified candidates are called for interview. If all goes well, the newcomer can go to work after a period of time. This time can be as long as several months, because most people have other jobs and can't take the job immediately.

Corporate managers should learn from the rapid, proactive recruiting model of the U.S. military.

US Army Mode: Preemptive Strike

There are military recruiters working in almost every town in the United States. The recruiters are always waiting during working hours. Those who want to join the army and serve the country can come to the door at any time. If a potential applicant calls, there will definitely be a real person answering, not a voicemail.

Companies can learn a lot about recruiting from the U.S. military, which employs a proactive, ongoing recruiting strategy. The Navy, for example, is always "looking for some good people." The U.S. military has long placed great emphasis on building recruiter profiles and using that information in new recruits.

The U.S. military is a leader in creating job ad slogans such as the well-known "Be all that you can be". Many of these slogans are fashionable today in many successful companies, and the effect is still amazing. However, the U.S. military has used it for decades. The U.S. military is also leading the way in applying high-tech recruiting technology, using CD-ROMs and dynamic and personalized websites that many companies cannot match.

What lessons can companies learn from this? The first is to recognize where the company went wrong and where the U.S. military got it right.

The U.S. Army invites a carefully selected small number of candidates for interviews and finalizes the best candidates. For the second, third, and fourth candidates, they took a rather peculiar approach: they stayed in touch with those candidates for a period of time. Although every recruiter's style is different, most recruiters do this: Decide which jobs or interests are most interesting to the applicant, and after three months of contact, most recruiters will send the interviewer A targeted follow-up record or appropriate manual or updated information. Such correspondence will only be terminated when the candidate has given a clear negative response.

The recruitment process for the various branches of the US military, including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, is continuous and proactive. They never give up this characteristic when they sometimes come under attack for not meeting their recruiting goals. Their strategy is to go back and reassess what went wrong and then completely reinvent themselves to fit the recruiting market. They are very effective and often win over people who would otherwise be in business.

The US military is not the only example of a preemptive recruiting model. Fundraisers, sports scouts and executive search firms also offer guidelines for recruiting elite employees that companies can adopt or adapt.

Fundraiser Model: Discovering Gold

Fundraisers can be considered the ultimate employer. They must be particularly good at persuading people to pay for a particular cause. We can assume that funders are their recruits. In many cases, they recruit funders who are barbarically lobbied, urging them to fund another company instead of this one. Securing funding from a funder can often take months or even years, but a wise fundraiser is patient enough to get his hands on the target.

So, what's the fundraiser's motto? is to identify and persuade potential funders. Fundraisers believe that their job is to learn who has the time, interests and funds to help make their cause happen. Often, it takes months or years to identify a potential funder. Fundraisers—these smart networkers—know that hard work pays off handsomely with patience and perseverance. As a result, they continue to recruit funders using a variety of methods, such as fundraising events and elaborate PR campaigns.

Good fundraisers thoroughly research potential funders, and they may be very concerned about the funder's personality, friends, and causes they've funded.

Keeping a list of potential funders who are less active may be a proven approach for fundraisers. As a fundraiser, you need to ask yourself, which potential funders are you interested in bringing in to your company? What are their occupations and personalities? What are some ways you can let them know how well they fit into your company?

Recruiters must search for potential employees as fundraisers search for potential funders. Who does the company need to discover? The answers are: those who have recently been featured in newspapers and trade magazines; former employees who have been attracted to leave the company by attractive offers; second and third candidates in the company's last round of recruiting; those who have turned down job offers from the company A candidate; a person recommended by a company employee; someone who has previously attended a job fair or has applied for a job position.

Sports scouting mode: Treat "stars" well

The competition for talent is heating up. Many employees don't stick to the top salary, preferring instead to choose compensation packages that are tailored to them, including salaries, benefits, job flexibility, and allowances. The pay package addresses their biggest concern, which is "what do I get out of it."

A tech company pays engineers a starting salary of $80,000, plus a $100,000 signing bonus. But that's not all of the remuneration, as stock options, settlement payments and other perks are included in the deal.

"It all looks good," you might think, "but our company isn't going to sign a million-dollar contract with anyone. What's the consequence? Lost face?"

The answer is outright no. Treating employees like stars, however, can be very cost-effective. Example:

From the start, make the candidate feel like a king or queen. Make sure that the receptionist, human resources department, and staff in the hiring manager's office who are handling candidates are cordial, comfortable, and friendly. Conversely, too many candidates have experienced the "don't call us, we'll contact you" attitude from many companies.

Consider giving candidates candy, flowers, balloons, tickets to concerts or theatrical performances. You've probably never heard of anyone doing this, but for good reason, it shows candidates that they're different and your company is different. What company has ever treated them so thoughtfully? What other company has ever taken action to show that it really likes a candidate it likes?

Headhunting Firm Model: Building Networks

One of the ways headhunting firms obtain information about managers is to participate in professional organisations and social, business and community activities. They can even sponsor these events to increase their exposure in a specific talent market and thereby collect business cards from the various people attending the event. Networking with the right people is a core job of an executive search firm.

Here are some recruiting tips you can learn from executive search firms:

Set aside a monthly budget for hiring managers and recruiters to develop relationships with potential candidates. Consider the traditional method of bringing these people together in a wonderful restaurant or sports venue.

Regularly research the market to find out which companies have great talent and why they stay there. Then consider what actions you should take to lure them into your company's doors.

Maintain an updated database of: past model employees; trainees and interns; individuals applying online or in person; second or third candidates for a position.

Headhunters and fundraisers build complex databases, use each campaign to nurture and attract target people, and then keep the database up to date. A useful tip is to do quarterly or bimonthly direct mail marketing electronically or by letter. In this way, keep updating candidate profiles so they don't run out of your control.

When it comes to recruiting, the U.S. military, fundraisers, sports scouts and executive search firms face much the same problems as commercial companies. To keep pace with the times, and not just to fill vacancies, companies should constantly reinvent themselves and update their recruiting strategies.

Original text excerpted with permission from Indispensable Employees: How to Hire Them, How to Keep Them by Martha RA Fields, Career Publishing (Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, USA), copyright 2001 by the author . Translated by Huang Daowen.

Author Martha RA Fields is an author and speaker in the fields of human resources and management, and is currently President and CEO of Fields Associates.