A Confidential Search And A Simple Mistake
Back when I had just started in recruiting, our firm was asked to take on a search for a vice president position at a major retailer. The client made it clear this was a "confidential search" - that is, the candidates we identified should not be told the name of the hiring company as they were attempting to replace the current vice president who was still there, and they did not want that person to know he was going to be terminated.
Our client wanted a very particular type of person. So after an extensive search, we were elated to have identified a strong candidate. Like many candidates you run across in these types of situations, this candidate was very, very interested in knowing the identity of the hiring company. She was also very, very clever - and like a suduko master, in three strategically couched questions to me, she had it all figured out.
The next day, I submitted the candidate's resume accompanied by a strong written recommendation. I put the fact that the candidate now knew the company's identity out of my mind - and forgot all about it.
In a day or two, I received an email back from my client thanking me for doing such a great job. They wanted to see her. Great news! She also asked me if I had revealed the name of the company to the candidate - when I read those words, I quickly broke out into a cold sweat.
NOW what was I to do? If I were to admit I was careless, I risked losing the client. If I lied, I might have been found out later by the candidate.
I decided to do the right thing and come clean. I replied with an email taking full responsibility for revealing the company to the candidate, though it was totally unintentional. There was a conspicuous silence for an additional day as I awaited for some kind of punishing email telling me what a bad boy I was.
Fortunately, the client appreciated my honesty, and even though she was a bit peeved, she and the hiring manager saw fit to forgive me.
Nevertheless, I learned a great lesson from this episode and to this day, when a candidate tries to tug the name of the company out of me during a confidential search, I just tug in the opposite direction.
Article by Clifford S. Yurman, President, Marketing Pro Resources, Inc.
Copyright ©2008 Clifford S. Yurman. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 and 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written consent of Clifford S. Yurman. Once permission is received, article must appear in its entirety, unedited, including this paragraph and all preceding paragraphs. The copyright owner may be reached at: info@marketingproresources.com.
Our client wanted a very particular type of person. So after an extensive search, we were elated to have identified a strong candidate. Like many candidates you run across in these types of situations, this candidate was very, very interested in knowing the identity of the hiring company. She was also very, very clever - and like a suduko master, in three strategically couched questions to me, she had it all figured out.
The next day, I submitted the candidate's resume accompanied by a strong written recommendation. I put the fact that the candidate now knew the company's identity out of my mind - and forgot all about it.
In a day or two, I received an email back from my client thanking me for doing such a great job. They wanted to see her. Great news! She also asked me if I had revealed the name of the company to the candidate - when I read those words, I quickly broke out into a cold sweat.
NOW what was I to do? If I were to admit I was careless, I risked losing the client. If I lied, I might have been found out later by the candidate.
I decided to do the right thing and come clean. I replied with an email taking full responsibility for revealing the company to the candidate, though it was totally unintentional. There was a conspicuous silence for an additional day as I awaited for some kind of punishing email telling me what a bad boy I was.
Fortunately, the client appreciated my honesty, and even though she was a bit peeved, she and the hiring manager saw fit to forgive me.
Nevertheless, I learned a great lesson from this episode and to this day, when a candidate tries to tug the name of the company out of me during a confidential search, I just tug in the opposite direction.
Article by Clifford S. Yurman, President, Marketing Pro Resources, Inc.
Copyright ©2008 Clifford S. Yurman. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 and 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written consent of Clifford S. Yurman. Once permission is received, article must appear in its entirety, unedited, including this paragraph and all preceding paragraphs. The copyright owner may be reached at: info@marketingproresources.com.
posted by Clifford S. Yurman, President at
3:12 PM
0 Comments
