Ten Tips for More Hirable Sales Candidates

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The job market is getting tighter, but more so in certain cities and especially in certain industries. With the shrinking supply of candidates, those companies in industries that salespeople find less desirable are seeing fewer applicants as candidates opt for more desirable jobs. Industries that may find themselves having a more difficult time attracting hirable sales candidates are insurance, financial services, telecommunications and others. What can you do if the flow of candidates has slowed? The only things that need to change are:

Your patience - you must still wait for the right candidate. Not hiring is always better than making another mistake.
The frequency of your reposts - the life of an internet posting is 3 days. You must repost at least weekly.
The target cities for your positions - if you're looking for someone in the Midwest, post it as Chicago this week, Detroit next week, St. Louis the following week, etc.
The headline for your ad - It must have 'sales' in the title but beyond that, change it each time you repost it so that it doesn't look like candidates are seeing the same opportunity each week.
The industry classification for your opportunity - select sales one week and your actual industry the next.
Utilize additional job sites. If you are using Monster (and using it effectively), try salesladder.com, careerbuilder.com, craigslist.com, and a well-used local job site.
Get referrals from your salespeople, vendors, customers and friends - but make sure these candidates go through the same process as those who apply online.
Hire a recruiter to locate candidates - but make them go through the same process too.
Make sure your ad describes the candidate's necessary experiences and not the job, opportunity and company.
Make sure there is nothing in your ad that can disinterest a candidate.

Let me know if these tips increase your flow of candidates. Need help with this process? Ask about STAR - my proprietary process for consistently recruiting top sales talent.

Posted by Dave Kurlan on Thu, May 11, 2006 @ 05:57 PM