by Stacy Pursell, CPC, CERS
The VET Recruiter®
There are things that Animal Health employers and Veterinary employers must do in the marketplace right now that might seem counterintuitive at first. One of them is interviewing a candidate who does not have a current resume.
However, if you’re an employer looking to hire the top talent in the marketplace, then that is exactly what I recommend you consider doing. In fact, I would strongly encourage you to consider it. Don’t worry: I have plenty of rationale to back this up.
The employment marketplace is extraordinarily hot in terms of job opportunities. The National Unemployment Rate is historically low. It was 3.6% at the end of April, its lowest level in 50 years. It also marked the 14th consecutive month that the unemployment rate has been at or below 4%. That’s a rather impressive streak.
However, the unemployment rate is even lower in the Veterinary profession. How much lower? It’s been hovering around 1% to 1.5% for the past 18 months or so. What does that mean for employers, specifically? It means that 99% of veterinarians have a job and most of the 99% are not looking for a new job. This also means the following things:
#1—These veterinarians may not be aware of your organization’s job opening.
They’re not aware of it because they’re not looking for it. In fact, they’re not looking for ANY job openings. They’re not looking for jobs, period. This is because their current employer is keeping them busy and relatively satisfied. At the least, the organization is keeping them satisfied enough to not want to seek a job elsewhere.
#2—They must be presented with the employment opportunity.
This is the only way that these individuals are going to know about the opportunity. Someone must present it to them. Many times, that someone is an Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter. And just because the candidate finds out about the opportunity does not mean they will automatically be interested in it. It’s the job of the recruiter (or whoever contacts the candidate) to generate interest in the opportunity.
#3—If they become a candidate, they are not “applying for the position.”
This is where I must make a critical distinction. These are passive candidates. Consequently, they did not apply for your organization’s position. Instead, they were convinced to consider the position. These candidates have NOT made the decision to leave their current employer in any way, shape, or form. To assume that they have done so would be a big mistake. Now that these candidates have been convinced to consider your open position, the last thing you want to do as an employer is convince them to not consider it. Which brings me to my final point, which is . . .
#4—They may not have their resume 100% updated and/or readily available.
If these candidates were active job seekers, then yes, they would have their resume 100% updated and readily available. But they are not active job seekers. They are passive candidates. They are not conducting a job search and they absolutely have not made the decision to leave their current employer. However, they are interested in your employment opportunity. Your job as the employer is to keep them interested and make them even more interested during the course of the hiring process, regardless of whether or not they have formally submitted their resume or applied for the position.
And that brings us to the crux of this discussion. More to the point, it brings us to the title of this article. The #1 reason that you should interview a candidate without a resume is as follows:
Because if you don’t, then you’re going to miss out on the chance to hire a qualified candidate, possibly a top candidate in the marketplace, all because you’re placing a greater emphasis on protocol over hiring priorities.
What is the top hiring priority? To hire the best candidate in the marketplace for your organization’s open position? What if you have if the opportunity to interview that candidate? Are you going to refuse to interview them if you don’t have a resume in hand first? If so, then that’s a risky proposition, to say the least.
What you’re essentially saying is that the candidate needs you more than you need the candidate. In this current market, that is false. Top candidates, especially those in the Veterinary profession, do not need you more than you need them. That is the reality of the situation and the reality of the marketplace.
If an Animal Health recruiter or a Veterinary recruiter brings a candidate to you and that candidate does not have a resume readily available, you should interview that candidate, anyway. And here are the reasons why:
- Recruiters identify, recruit, and present top candidates. Just because a top candidate doesn’t have a resume ready right away doesn’t mean they stop being a top candidate. They’re simply a top candidate who doesn’t have a resume at the moment.
- As I mentioned earlier, you want to give these candidates more reasons to be interested in the opportunity. You do not want to give them a reason to not be interested or to drop out of the process. If you tell a top passive candidate that they must have a resume to move forward, then there is automatically a 50-50 chance they will not move forward. You can not put extra steps in front of them or make them “jump through hoops” if it’s not necessary. Their interest will diminish, and so will your chances of hiring them.
- There’s a rule to which I subscribe. That rule is this: if you want someone to do something, then make it easy for them to do it. If you want a candidate to be interested in your job, then make it easy for them to be interested. If you make it difficult, then they are less likely to be interested.
The bottom line is that you can not treat active job seekers and passive candidates the same, especially if you are working with a recruiter. Your organization’s top priority should be to hire the best candidates possible for your open positions. Protocol should be a secondary consideration. That’s why if a recruiter presents a candidate to you and that candidate does not have a resume, you should interview the candidate now and worry about the resume later. We currently have clients interviewing and hiring veterinarians who do not have an updated resume.
We help support careers in one of two ways: 1.By helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals to find the right opportunity when the time is right, and 2.By helping to recruit top talent for the critical needs of Animal Health and Veterinary organizations. If this is something that you would like to explore further, please send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.
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