“Growth and renewal in the United States: Retooling America’s economic engine

In all the years I have been in the Infrastructural Engineering Executive Search business, I have seen Infrastructure product lines come and go due to levels of importance. The only difference now is, the money is not getting out anywhere. Why? Well everyone has an opinion, Bankers, Politicians, and the guys that give out statistics.  The fact is, this is real time and some of the finest engineers of our time, from the Schwarzkopt, Baby boomers, X-gen and Y-generations are not happy. You should see the level of candidates I have the privelege to work with every day. Highly educated, hard working and they are the Infrastructure Designers and Builders of America. They aren't complaining however, they are just working and trying to jump start this country back to health. Sadly, McKinsey Global Institute showed the world where we truly are, "almost even with Namibia. (no offense Namibia).  Got any ideas on how we can get the word up the hill?  Stop complaining and get off your collective political backsides and just "try something".  As the old man's sign on the side of the road says,  "Will work for Food". Engineers are ready to put their "hands on that shovel", just give them a shovel.

New Report: America’s Poor Infrastructure Is Holding Back Economic Growth » INFRASTRUCTURIST

Why won't you recommend someone to a recruiter...

Being the Search Execution Director with Hygun Group, Inc.  I can’t tell you how often I hear the words, "I don't know anyone", when I ask for a recommendation.  Is that really true?  Everyone knows people.  I am stunned on a daily basis by the lack of interest in recommending a friend, colleague or former coworker for an opportunity; especially in the Engineering field, where logic reigns supreme.  Why?  If this is a good opportunity and it makes sense for someone (which is the only way they would take it), what harm did you do?  You helped a person advance their career, make things better in some way for them and their family.  You just did something good, something great for someone else, something I bet you would appreciate them doing for you.  If my opportunity is not going to be better in some way, then they will obviously stay where they are.  But, we are also told "I don't know if they are looking".  It doesn’t matter.  We aren’t trying to find someone that is looking.  We want the recommendation of someone that this opportunity would be good for.  When someone hears that a fellow Engineer went to work for another firm or advanced their career, it is probable that you had no idea that they might be interested in a new our opportunity.  You are probably a bit surprised on a daily basis when you hear someone left one firm for another.  So, from now on, please take a moment & think about your fellow colleagues.  Maybe you would be doing a good thing for someone be recommending them to us when we call. 

What are you making? ~ Why you shouldn't answer that question during an interview....

As a candidate begins their search for a new job opportunity, do they ever wonder what the biggest benefit of using an Executive Recruiter is once they are introduced to a new company?  One benefit in having an executive recruiter market your skills is during the negotiation of the offer package. Your recruiters’ job is to find a fair win/win that makes sense for the candidate and the client.  Often times a potential employer will ask during the interview “What are you making?” or “What are you looking for in a salary?”  Your recruiter will advise you on how to answer or not to answer at all.  Why shouldn’t you answer that question?  Honestly, because you can only hurt yourself.  You have no sense for what the opportunity is worth in the marketplace, what different salaries do to the internal office structure or the mindset of the person asking.  You may have been way underpaid in your current job and unfortunately, the hiring manager might think a 10% bump is fair (just like the old days).  By answering the question without any ‘coaching’ from your executive recruiter, may have just cost you thousands of dollars in salary or additional benefits.  Allowing your recruiter to work on your behalf means you get the right salary/benefits package and no target on your back and the potential employer gets a new employee that feels appreciated.  Contact Hygun Group, Inc. for additional information on the services that we provide.

Recruiter and Candidate Partnerships

The most important quality in a recruiter and candidate relationship is TRUST. Without trust, the process will break down in one of many different ways, time and again. The recruiter and the candidate must be able to work together if they are going to reach the desired outcome.

Trust – Be HONEST- The more that the recruiter knows of your situation and your wants and needs the more accurately he will be able to match with an opportunity, and save from wasting a lot of time. This is the main reason that things go wrong, so you must be able to be honest with yourself early on in the process

Responsive – Be ACCESSABLE- Your recruiter is going to need to be able to get a hold of you. Everyone talks during their work day, but if you are busy, always return a call promptly and set aside a time to talk

Uunderstanding – Be OPEN- take the advice that the recruiter is giving, they do this every day and deal with a hiring authority all day long. This is a recruiter’s living and their insights are going to help you be a better candidate than your competition.

Steadfast – Be LOYAL- It is important to maintain confidentiality if only for your reputation and to keep the appearance of a commodity in the market. That means that you should only work with 1 recruiter, that you trust. This recruiter should keep you in the loop for every move and should never send your information anywhere without discussing it with you first. Tell all other recruiters that call that you have professional representation and that they should call your recruiter.

Timely – Be FLEXIBLE- You should understand in the world of opportunities 'time kills all deals'. You need to be able to find time to talk with people, meet with people and even travel. If you can’t do these things, then you need to evaluate if you are going to make a change at all or at least discuss the process with your recruiter.

Why Retain an Executive Recruiter?

"Why Retain an Executive Recruiter?”  -  Have you asked yourself this before, when it came down to finding the right candidate for the opportunity you have?
 
The ads didn’t work, the candidate database you spent A LOT of money on is…. well….monstrous, and you just aren’t getting any good leads from internal referrals in the office, associations, or networking gatherings. The contingency recruiters you have called, and have called you, netted resumes of candidates you have already passed on or don't even fit what you are looking for.  The next big questions are: "Have you looked at what this empty position has now cost you?";  “Have you reviewed the time spent on man hours for interviews, travel expenses, plus all the work that is not getting done while this position remains open?” Well, that kind of answers “why retain an executive recruiter” doesn't it?

With a retained search, the client is guaranteed that there is a team working all day, every day, dedicated to finding the right candidate, as described by the client, for their need, as fast as possible.  A retained search firm’s livelihood is based on their capability to bring the best candidates to the table so their clients can fulfill their hiring needs.  We want our clients to come back again and again knowing we can find what they want.  Retainers also offer the ability to spread out payments on a search, and with multiple retained searches, the client can get discounts for the searches they have open.  The only reason I can see that contingency recruiters are willing to take on searches at a discount is that they simply are not going to put in the time on a search that they would on a retainer.  Otherwise, why would you take on more risk for less return?  My business classes in college taught me that goes against any successful business model.  My guess is they know of a candidate or two in the market that could fit the search requirements, and they can make a few calls.  If that doesn’t pan out, well, they can move on to the next contingency search.  We call it low hanging fruit.
 
Don’t get me wrong, my firm does recruit on contingency searches, for our retained clients, or clients that we are developing into retained clients.  When we apply our "retained" search methods and benefits to a "contingency" search the clients begin to see the answer to "Why Retain and Executive Recruiter."

I'm always interested in feedback from our recruiting brothers and sisters and clients.  “Why Retain an Executive Recruiter?”

Christian Hydrick
COO
Hygun Group, Inc

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Executive recruiting is like any other profession in that you have The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. There are good, ethical and well-respected recruiting professionals. Unfortunately, you also have bad and unethical and downright miscreants. As a potential candidate (and everyone is a potential candidate) it behooves you to know the differences between them.

Any good executive recruiter should be able to answer the basic Who, What, When and Where questions when they approach you as prospective candidate.

Who represents both their firm as well as their respective client. A professional recruiter should identify themselves, their company, and alert you to the nature of their call. They should also identify the client with which they are working. Be capable and willing to answer any questions regarding their own firm and their respective clients firm.
 
What applies to the opportunities description. A good recruiter will provide you with an outline of the position which would include minimum requirements, responsibilities, amount of travel, company reporting structure; just to name a few.

When & Where relates to the urgency of filling the position. Typically, once a recruiter is involved this represents an immediate need for the hiring Client. And where is the location of the company and respective opportunity.

When an executive recruiter is unwilling or unable to answer the basic four questions, it is time to run and find a true professional recruiter. One that is an expert in your field.  Hygun Group, Inc. welcomes the opportunity to discuss how me can assist you with managing your engineering career.

Honor MLK Day

The civil rights leader Martin Luther King delivered the greatest and most well known speech "I Have A Dream" to hundreds if not thousands of supporters on August 28, 1963 on the Mall in Washington DC during the "March on Washington".  One of the greatest quotes follows: 

 

 

“From every mountainside, let freedom ring. When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”