Ultimate Candidate Sourcing Hacks
Glen Cathey Cathey Advisory Group
www.booleanblackbelt.com
SEARCH | HUMANS | TIME
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
I cannot teach
anybody anything.
I can only make them
think.
Smart people learn from
everything and everyone,
average people from their
experiences. Stupid people
already have all the answers.
Socrates Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Source: Quora - http://bit.ly/2a9jm3C Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
*From the 5 Levels of Talent Mining: http://bit.ly/1QSZqeS
Universal Search Hacks
• Visualize your results
• Iterative Search
• Maximum Inclusion
• Implicit Search*
• Strategic Exclusion
• Semantic Search*
• Indirect Search*
• Reverse processing
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Visualize your search results
Tasha Bergson-Michelson Currently Instructional and Programming
Librarian
Formerly Search Educator @ Google
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and
I will spend the first four sharpening the
axe.
Abraham Lincoln
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Continuous Query Improvement
1. Develop your query (hypothesis)
2. Execute your query
3. Review results specifically looking for patterns
of relevance and irrelevance
4. Modify your search based on observed results
5. Observe changes in # and relevance of results
Observe
Plan
Do Check
Act
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Maximum Inclusion
Sales ("sales manager" OR "account specialist" OR "account manager" OR "account executive" OR "sales consultant" OR "sales engineer" OR "sales rep" OR "sales representative" OR "sales professional" OR "sales executive" OR "sales leader" OR "business development")
Top Performer (winner OR "president's club" OR "of the year" OR highest OR most OR platinum OR presidents OR top OR exceeded OR exceeding OR award OR awards OR awarded OR "top sales" OR "top account" OR ranked OR achieved OR "quarter" or "top producer" OR "top producers" OR "sales records" OR won)
Substation (arcflash OR "arc Flash" OR grid OR transmission OR "power station" OR "power stations" OR "P&C" OR CDEGS OR "Protective Relays" OR "Load Flow" OR "IEC 61850" OR "Transmission Lines" OR MVA OR "Motor Starting" OR Earthing OR "Power Flow" OR "Power System" OR PLS-CADD OR ETAP OR "Single Line Diagrams" OR CYME OR EasyPower")
Hadoop (Hadoop OR MapReduce OR MapR OR HDFS OR Pig OR Hive OR HortonWorks OR Yarn OR ZooKeeper OR Hbase OR Cassandra OR Ambari OR Tez OR Mahout OR Cloudera OR Spark OR Avro OR Chukwa)
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Implicit Search & Strategic Exclusion "project manager" AND ("data center" OR "data centers") AND (mov* OR
consolidat* OR migrat*) AND (storage OR SAN) AND NOT EMC
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Semantic Search In linguistics, semantics is devoted to the study of meaning, as inherent at the levels of words, phrases, sentences, and larger units of discourse.
Semantic search can be manually accomplished by searching for exact phrases or noun/verb combinations.
Image: Duncan Hull - https://flic.kr/p/YtT4q
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Semantic Search (manual)
Beyond nouns - searching for what people have done
(implement OR implemented OR implementing OR implementation OR implementations) (configure OR configured OR configuration) SAP SD
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Semantic Search (manual)
Leveraging Proximity
(SAP OR SD) NEAR (implement* OR config*)
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Semantic Search (automatic)
Textkernel
A 3 word user query = 60+ word system query
Image: Duncan Hull - http://bit.ly/1sNoQ9s
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Indirect Search
Who can you search for that has likely worked with and knows people in your
target talent pool?
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Processing Results
20%
80%
Where are the "best"
candidates?
Viewed
Unviewed
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Hacking the
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Talent acquisition is all about people. So why
aren't sourcers and recruiters more focused
on understanding people, what motivates them,
and how to best communicate with and
influence them? Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Social engineering is the art, or better yet, science, of skillfully maneuvering
human beings to take action in some aspect of
their lives...
Chris Hadnagy Security Consultant & Social Engineer
Creator of the Social Engineering Framework
https://www.amazon.com/Social-Engineering-Art-Human-Hacking/dp/0470639539 Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
When you are finding and
engaging potential candidates, what decisions
and actions are you looking for them to make?
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Social engineering is the human element of
sourcing candidates*
* aka outbound recruiting Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Source: Stack Overflow survey of 26,086 developers from 157 countries
http://bit.ly/1JaglKW Source: Indeed Inbound Recruiting eBook: http://bit.ly/1QoCPMP
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
"Similar to recruiters, salespeople must master many people skills. Many sales gurus say that a good salesperson does not manipulate people but uses their skills to find out what people's
needs are and then sees whether they can fill it. The art of sales takes many skills such as
information gathering, elicitation, influence, psychological principles, as well as many other
people skills." – Chris Hadnagy
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Manipulation | Persuasion | Influence
Manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the behavior or perception of others through abusive, deceptive, or underhanded tactics.
Persuasion involves causing someone to believe something to do something, especially through reasoning, argument or sustained effort. Persuasion can be used to spur someone to action or to make a decision without actually earning their sincere buy-in.
Influence is defined as "the power to change or affect someone or something: the power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen" and involves moving someone to think or act because they want to - inspiring them to take action or make a particular decision.
"True influence is elegant and smooth and most of the time undetectable to those being influenced." - Chris Hadnagy
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
As a sourcer or recruiter – what is
most often your first opportunity to make
a first impression?
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
First Impressions The stereotype content model (SCM) is a psychological theory that suggests that flash judgments are really based on two data points:
1. Warmth: Do I like you? 2. Competence: Are you good at what you do?
In other words, people ultimately reduce everyone they meet into four buckets:
1. Warm + Competent 2. Warm + Incompetent 3. Cold + Competent 4. Cold + Incompetent
You never get a second chance to make a first
impression
A person's first impression will
influence their overall opinion of you
New research suggests that first impressions are so powerful they are more important
than fact Source: The Muse - http://muse.cm/2arKtTE Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Source: The Muse - http://muse.cm/2arKtTE Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
• How can you come across as competent?
How can you immediately exude competence? Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
What can you do to be likable?
Likable: Easy to like; having pleasant or appealing qualities
recruiting
People like people who like them
You have to like interacting with people, care about them and be genuinely interested in helping the people you're trying to influence
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Make them smile
http://amzn.to/2cphZgn Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
http://bit.ly/1rxEbcb http://bit.ly/2dtZ46o
Don't be afraid to leverage humor - being funny makes you likable and making someone smile makes them feel better…
I think you should take your job
seriously, but not yourself – that is
the best combination.
Judi Dench
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect Southwest flight attendant video: http://bit.ly/1eJKwoU
Be Likable
Photo: Just Ard Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
• Have fun!
• Be a human first and a sourcer/recruiter second; use a friendly and conversational tone
• Project a confident and positive attitude – they can read/hear your smile. What you project onto others is what they are more likely to feel
• Compliment them (genuinely!)
• Ask lots of questions, actively listen and be genuinely interested in what they are saying
• Establish rapport
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
It's Not About You
Unfortunately, when messaging or speaking with prospective candidates, many recruiters talk only in their own language and the subject of the message/conversation is me, me, me: my company, my opportunity, etc. Instead, it should be about them, them, them – the prospective candidate: Their current situation, their challenges, their plans and desires. Speak in their language in order to build rapport.
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
"Filling a need for the person you are talking to drastically increases the
chances of building rapport. Do it without appearing to
have an end game, do it with a genuine desire to
help, and be amazed at the results. Perhaps no other
avenue is more valuable for social engineers than being able to meet these needs."
Chris Hadnagy
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Ideal Recruiting Process
1. Developing the relationship
2. Creating/Identifying the need
3. Preventing/overcoming objections
4. Filling the need/providing benefits
5. Advance/close
Source: http://www.ere.net/2008/07/10/stop-telling-and-start-selling/ Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Common Recruiting Process
1. Filling the need/providing benefits
2. Developing the relationship
3. Creating/Identifying the need
4. Preventing/overcoming objections
5. Advance/close
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
How can you fill a need for someone if you don't take the time to discover their need first?
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Objections/Conversation Stoppers Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Source: 24 seconds in http://bit.ly/2cCWP1I Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Anticipate | Preempt | Address
"If you wait to think about how you will handle potential conversation stoppers or disruptive influences until the first time you hear them you will most likely fail to handle them. That presents an interesting thought then. You have to sit back and think like the target: what objections would he raise? When a person he does not
know calls or approaches him, what might he say? What objections might he raise? What attitudes would he portray? Thinking through these things can help you to
make a game plan for these potential problems. Write down your thoughts and the target’s potential objections and then role play. Practice until you feel comfortable, but not scripted. Remember the comeback is not to be structured so stiffly that you
cannot alter it at all."
-Chris Hadnagy Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
The ability to understand and share the feelings of another
Empathy is the key to rapport and is hard to feel if you think you have the
solution to someone's problem. Empathy is the tool of the social
engineer. Nothing builds rapport more than when people feel like you "get
them." – Chris Hadnagy
Listen | Understand | Reflect
Source: Agilitrix: http://bit.ly/2cFocCE
Empathy
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Mirroring "By matching the client’s volume, tone, and rate of speech (paralanguage), they often can overcome the client’s reluctance to communicate."
"Once interviewers establish rapport, barriers disappear, trust grows, and an exchange of information follows."
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect Source: FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin: http://bit.ly/2dic9jB
Framing
A frame of reference is a set of ideas, conditions, or assumptions that determine how something will be approached, perceived, understood or reacted to.
Anything that can alter people’s perceptions or the way they make decisions can be called framing.
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Understand your prospective candidate's frame and look for ways to either align yours with theirs or
transform theirs into yours. Be aware that everything you write or say will evoke a frame.
"Painting a picture with words is a powerful way to use framing. By choosing your words carefully you
can cause a target’s mind to picture things you want him to picture and start moving him to a frame you
want." – Chris Hadnagy
Miracle question If there were one thing you would change about
your current situation, what would it be and why?
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Preloading
Preloading involves using words, language and imagery to "preload" the target with ideas and information to: • Influence them before an event
• Get them thinking in your desired mindset/frame
• Be more receptive and react positively
• Take action
• Build anticipation
Source: Social Engineering - http://amzn.to/2ajMItm Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Preloading examples • "What is the next step in your career?"
• "What would your dream job be?"
• "Not sure if you would be interested in opportunities that involve ________"
– Working from home
– A shorter commute
– Exciting new development
– Working with a top notch team…
• "Most of the people I talk with aren't actively looking to make a change"
• The best time to look is when you don't need to…
• "…I won't waste your time…"
• Mention a personal or shared interest (preloading rapport/likability)
• Pay them a genuine compliment (preloading rapport/likability)
• Be very specific with regard to their experience (preloading competence and potential match)
• Preloading for honestly and disclosure: "Now think very carefully before you answer my next question…"
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
So, I would normally leave these first-contacts short and sweet, but I am really intrigued by your statement "What
you look for in that dream opportunity..." It is the most interesting statement I've come across [and it] makes me feel human. Out of mere excitement about the question,
here's my first shot at answering it:
candidate response
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.
W. Edwards Deming,
Engineer, statistician, professor, author, lecturer, and management consultant.
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Elicitation
To draw forth or bring out or to arrive at a conclusion (truth, for instance) by logic.
Alternatively, it is defined as a stimulation that calls up or draws forth a particular class of behaviors.
Source: Social Engineering - http://amzn.to/2ajMItm
To draw or bring out or forth; educe; evoke: to elicit the truth; to elicit a response with a question; to arrive at a
conclusion (truth, for instance) by logic.
In social engineering, it can also involve a stimulation that calls up or draws forth a particular class of behaviors.
Elicitation
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Source: http://bit.ly/2aJc8RO Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Elicitation
You can fashion questions that draw people out and stimulate them to respond and take the behavior you want.
Expert elicitation can result in your target wanting to answer your every request.
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Elicitation Techniques
• Appeal to their ego – Be genuinely complimentary, but don't overdo it, and never be insincere
• Express a mutual interest – One of the easiest ways to be immediately likable
• Make a deliberately false or debatable statement – Many people feel compelled to correct wrong statements and share their opinion on
polarizing topics
• Volunteer information – Offering up information in conversation almost compels people to target to reply with
equally useful information
– Reciprocity & mutual disclosure is largely automatic and unconscious
Source: Social Engineering - http://amzn.to/2ajMItm Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Are you:
• Looking?
• On the market?
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Intelligent Questions
• Open-Ended questions – Sometimes open ended questions can be met with some resistance, so using the pyramid
approach can be helpful: Start with narrow questions and then ask broader questions at the end of the line of questioning
• Closed-Ended questions – Not used for gathering information. Typically only one of two answers, used to lead the
prospective candidate where you want
• Leading questions – Leads the prospective candidate where you want them to go, but allows for the opportunity for
them to expand. Common examples include stating a fact and asking for the prospective candidate to agree or disagree.
• Assumptive questions – Questions phrased in such a way that you're assuming the prospective candidate has a
particular motivation, opinion or some specific knowledge to determine whether or not they do
Source: Social Engineering - http://amzn.to/2ajMItm Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Why does elicitation work so well?
• Most people have the desire to be polite, especially to strangers
• Professionals want to appear well informed and intelligent
• If you are praised, you will often talk more and divulge more
• Most people would not lie for the sake of lying
• Most people respond kindly to people who appear genuinely concerned about them
Source: Social Engineering - http://amzn.to/2ajMItm
Getting people to talk about themselves and their accomplishments is remarkably easy!
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Scarcity
People often find objects and opportunities more attractive if they are rare, scarce, or hard to obtain because they are viewed as having more value
Scarcity is often used in social engineering contexts to create a feeling of urgency in a decision-making context.
Leverage #FOMO and competition
Source: Social Engineering - http://amzn.to/2ajMItm Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
If you would persuade, you must appeal to interest rather than intellect.
Benjamin Franklin
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Appeal to Curiosity
In 1994, George Loewenstein, a behavioral economist at Carnegie Mellon University, provided the most comprehensive account of situational
interest. It is surprisingly simple. Curiosity, he says, happens when we feel a gap in our knowledge. Loewenstein argues that gaps cause pain. When we want to know something but don’t, it’s like having an itch that we need to
scratch. To take away the pain, we need to fill the knowledge gap.
One important implication of the gap theory is that we need to open gaps before we close them. Our tendency is to tell people the facts.
Chip Heath & Dan Heath, Made to Stick: http://bit.ly/U437rB Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Appeal to Emotion
Use quotes and tell stories - the brain processes stories differently than
other information.
Appealing to emotion forces the listener to use their imagination. Ask questions and using phrases such as "What happens…" or "How do you
feel when…," which will require them to imagine something to answer,
evoking a frame and corresponding emotions. Source: Neuromarketing by Roger Dooley: http://bit.ly/1sK1UA1
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
"Knowledge is what prepares a person for action, logic convinces him the action is good to take, but emotion is what makes the action happen. If you are emotional about your "cause" the target will feel that emotion."
- Chris Hadnagy
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Social Proof
Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation.
Source: Barry Feldman http://bit.ly/2cR3lMx
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Social Proof Stating or even implying that others have taken a particular action can increase your chances of success.
– "Most of the people (specific titles/roles) I speak with aren't actively looking to make a change…"
– "The folks I've been speaking with have said ___________" – "I've heard back from # of others so I'm hoping to get in touch with you" – "I've been speaking to folks from X, Y, Z" (companies - and even same
company when accurate) – "People who have recently interviewed have said _____________" – "We've recently hired folks from X, Y, Z and they've said ___________"
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Obligation & Reciprocity
• Providing others with something of value can make them feel obligated to reciprocate – What can you provide prospective
candidates that they would find valuable?
• Follow up compliments with requests to leverage obligation – Compliments can also help make people
more agreeable to influence
• Even something as small as a question can create obligation – leverage the power of silence
• Simply being persistent can make people feel obligated to respond
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Listen & Assume
• Be a good listener – Repeat back what they share with you for rapport and
confirmation that you get what they're expressing to you
• Assume, assume, assume – Assume the prospective candidate will respond and act the
way you want – Assuming that what you want to happen will happen affects
your mindset. Being positive and confident increases the probability of the desired response.
– Resist the urge to always ask, "Is now a good time to talk?"
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Referrals Referrals
Source: Jobvite: http://bit.ly/2949dQY
#1 Source of quality hires
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Why would someone give you a
referral?
Why not?
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Execute a 5 Whys Exercise with your team
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Referrals
• What's your why/story? Sell, don't tell!
• Don't ask on first contact unless they've absolutely ruled themselves out. First contact is and should always be 100% genuinely about THEM.
• "Who do you think would be interested in being considered for this opportunity/working for _______?
• "The manager/director/vp of ________ is interested in identifying talented (insert target talent), who would you recommend?"
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Source: Kung Fury: http://bit.ly/1AwJ75I Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
You can't manage time, it just is. So "time management" is a mislabeled problem, which has little chance of being an effective approach. What you really manage is your activity
during time, and defining outcomes and physical actions required is the core process required to manage
what you do.
David Allen Productivity Consultant
Creator of the time management method known as "Getting Things Done"
Source: http://bit.ly/2d1Y4qL Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Multitasking
Reactive/Tactical
Finding Contacting Responding Screening Packaging Submitting Intakes
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Multitasking Lowers IQ Research also shows that, in addition to slowing you down, multitasking lowers your IQ. A study at the University of London found that participants who multitasked during cognitive tasks experienced IQ score declines that were similar to what they’d expect if they had smoked marijuana or stayed up all night. IQ drops of 15 points for multitasking men lowered their scores to the average range of an 8-year-old child.
Source: http://bit.ly/2dbybkk Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Source: http://bit.ly/1yPoFVP Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Monotasking | Activity Blocking
Proactive/Strategic
Finding Contacting Responding Screening Packaging Submitting Intakes
Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
Key Takeaways Search hacks • Visualize your results • Iterative Search • Maximum Inclusion • Implicit Search • Strategic Exclusion • Semantic Search • Indirect Search • Reverse results processing
Time hack • Avoid multitasking and leverage
monotasking wherever possible – at the very least for sourcing and engagement
Human hacks • Engineer great 1st impressions • Be likable & project competence • Be positive, have fun & make them smile • Make it about them - discover their needs • Leverage framing • Anticipate & preempt or address objections • Be empathetic - seek & communicate
understanding • Leverage mirroring, framing and preloading • Master elicitation • Leverage scarcity & social proof • Appeal to emotion & curiosity • Leverage obligation and reciprocity • Listen & assume the best outcome
www.linkedin.com/glencathey www.glencathey.com www.booleanblackbelt.com www.twitter.com/glencathey Glen Cathey | #TalentConnect
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