Recruiters and the Instinct of Immediacy: Doing it NOW!
The most powerful tools a recruiter can have—even before he or she masters tactics—is immediacy and proactivity. To do a thing immediately, acting in anticipation of future problems, needs or changes.
A few Examples:
You have a new job order? If it’s workable, recruit for it—make a submission happen—market someone in NOW!
Your client expresses interest in a candidate you present? He wants to phone interview at the end of the week? Influence him to do it NOW! Tonight, not tomorrow or the end of the week! Once a client expresses an interest in a candidate—even at the beginning of the process—you have an obligation to protect your client’s interest—time is your enemy!
You have a hot, marketable candidate identified and he/she has agreed to send a resume in a few days or next week? Type it yourself and submit it NOW!
Your client wants to make an offer? Your candidate receives the offer and wants to “think about it for a week or two”, or even a few days? The candidate should be prepped to accept NOW. All questions should be answered and he should just be waiting for the offer to be extened.
A note about the quest for immediacy: Don’t allow it to harm the closure of a deal either. There may be times when some people, when pressed for decisions, would rather make the wrong decision rather than a timely one. A candidate may decide not to interview or to decline an offer because they feel pressured for time. It’s amazing how many candidates would rather not take action at all if they feel uncomfortable with the timing of that action.
The place to start in developing the Instinct of Immediacy is to force yourself to ask one question regarding every action and activity you have on your desk right now—whether it’s how you’re planning and executing or how your deals are running—”How can I make this happen NOW?” Examine how you can bring proactivity to every element of your business.
It’s easy to be lulled into a trance by a challenging marketplace. You stare out there at all the objections and your eyes glaze over. And that’s exactly what your competition wants you to do. They want your blood to run nice and slowwwww, they want you to put off what you could do today. They want you to sit at your desk listening to the ocean waves. WRONG!! This is one of those instincts that can be developed that, over the long haul in our business, will bring more and more benefit as time goes on. It will save you deals, it will give you business, it will separate you from the mediocres. And the best thing about it is that you can start doing it NOW!!
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Michael Greig was absolutely fantastic in every way! 
