12 Oct Hiring Managers: What’s In Your Black Book?
🖋📖 DO YOU KEEP A BLACK BOOK? 📖🖋
Okay, I personally don’t keep an actual black book, and most recruiters and talent acquisition folks have some sort of ATS, but to the civil engineering leaders out there, do you keep a black book?
Maybe it’s a folder in outlook, or an app on your phone, or a Google doc, you catch my drift.
Recruiting top talent is a major pain point for all #civilengineering leaders these days.
Internal and external recruiters are stretched thin, working their tails off, and can only do so much.
Talent acquisition activities must be an “all hands on deck” process.
That said, along with your wallet , your keys, your phone, and in my case, your 🕶readers🕶 , you should have your “black book” with you at all times for all events related to your work.
Why?
It’s the perfect way to begin keeping track of those folks you interact with as you look to build out your team or your organization as a whole.
In what situations might your “black book” come in hand?
Let me give you a few examples:
👉 You visit a job site and you run into a field #surveyor who takes meticulous notes, and from what you can gather, is very skillful with the robotic technology he or she is using. Noted.
👉 You attend a major #floodcontrol conference in your region and you witness a speaker who offers up some unique solutions to solving drainage and storm water management issues. Noted.
👉 You interview a really good candidate for an open position and for whatever reason the timing is just not right. Noted.
👉 You witness a calm, cool, and collected civil engineer gracefully handle questions and concerns from local citizens at a public meeting. Noted.
👉 You enjoy the content that a well established #civilengineer posts on LinkedIn or has published in an industry blog or magazine. Noted.
👉 You take note of any self-employed civil engineers who specialize in a service line that you are currently in, or would like to branch into. Noted.
👉 You hear a fellow professional from a competing firm on a civil engineering podcast who makes a positive impression on you. Noted.
Whatever the situation, with some sort of physical or digital “black book” you can easily jot down some notes. In less than a minute you can jot down the date, name, company, situation, and what you liked about what you heard.
❕❕❕You may have an immediate need.❕❕❕
6️⃣📅You may have a need six months from now.6️⃣📅
No one likes to make cold calls (well, I guess I do)…
But I don’t know too many civil engineers who like to make cold calls.
So when the need arises within your organization to hire an experienced professional with a special skillset that applies to one of the folks in your “black book,” you can now make a warm, complimentary call that can easily open up lines of communication, which could lead to an interview, which could lead to a hire.
There are many tools you must have in the talent acquisition toolbox…make sure a “black book” is one of them!
No Comments