CV Distribution

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 - Job Application

CV Distribution:

Why it doesn’t work, particularly for UK Executives

As participative residents in modern society, we all know on a daily basis how much junk mail we get on the door step, let alone spam in our eMail box. It is annoying, time consuming, and resource wasting. In summary, mostly it’s irrelevant. So why does it keep coming?

Because, in light of the costs versus the amount of business it creates, it is cost effective. Simply, in business terms, junk mail and spamming works. Much as though the industry average rate of response is between 1% and 3%, the cost of dumping 1000 flyers on your communities doorstep, or 10,000 eMails, is cheap. In example, 1000 flyers might cost as little as £200 to print and distribute, with the biggest costs now being in design and creation. But multiply the number of flyers by 100′s or 1000’s, and even design becomes a relatively small percentage cost.

So why do Executive Job Seekers still think that CV Distribution of their Executive CV work for them? Simply because such tactics are normal operation in the North America. Hence similar CV Distribution services have started up in the UK since the 2008 recession, offering paid-for CV Distribution to Executive Recruiters.

CV Distribution Services

What’s the result? Well in our recruitment business inbox, between 10 and 100 new CV’s per day. When we place around a 100 new people per year, do you think that we need all those CV’s? No, so most of them go in the junk mail bin.

If we need a new job applicant, where do you think we – and just about every other bespoke recruiter and head hunter – goes? The answer in priority order is:

1. Candidates we have placed: we go and ask people we have placed who they know that could fulfil this new position
2. People in the industry we know
3. We undertake a Boolean search: using tactics deployed on open Social Media sites, starting with LinkedIn

In summary, we avoid all of those CV Libraries and CV Distribution services simply because of one driver: our own business!

Three recruiters and out rule

There is a hidden rule in the recruitment business, particularly the Executive Recruitment business, called the three recruiters and out rule. So, let’s say in example you are looking for a new executive position, and you call our office. After a few pleasantries and some general chit chat, we ask you a few things in this order:

1. Who are you, and what’s your situation?
2. What are you looking to do next, and why?
3. The key headhunters question: give me an example of when you have achieved the desired business outcome in this market?
4. How many other people have you talked to?

You can do as well as the best CEO or director in the world on the first three questions, and be the brightest and best candidate for my client ever. But tell me or any other head hunter in question4 that you have already spoken to at least two or three other recruiters/head hunters about similar positions, and I’ll be as be as nice as apple pie to you on that telephone conversation, but never will I put you in front of my employer client. Why? Because of one of two reasons:

• Your are a desperate job seeker: you have fallen into Any Job Will Do syndrome, and will just about anything to get employed
• You have compromised my fee: by registering or talking to three or more recruiters, I recognise that your Executive CV is in play. Hence if I put you forward to my client, either they may have your CV already, or they may get a duplicate copy from another source. The result of which is that either I won’t get paid, or I will get paid a half fee

So that I don’t run that risk, I won’t be putting you forward. Like many recruiters, I conclude that my reputation in front of my client of not putting a candidate forward that everyone else has, will be better in the long run; and secondly, that I don’t waste effort in a compromised fee.

CV Distribution Services

So why does CV Distribution work in North America, and not in the UK? Simply because of geography and hence distance. The United States has a population six times that of the UK, in an area 50 times bigger. The result is that their recruitment system is much more reliant on:

• Finding out who is willing to move to that area: hence CV Distribution
• Telephone interviews: distances are large, even planes are expensive

In the UK, you can legally drive from Lands End to John O’Groats in less than 24hrs. If you as a job seeker really want that job, you’ll get in a car or on a train and get in front of that employer.

But specifically in the Executive Recruitment market, if you are who you claim that you are in your market place, and really are a leader, then if I make contact with people in that geographic area and ask around, then your name should come up. So who needs CV Distribution?

Executive Networking

One of the techniques we use in our Executive CV Service is that of proactive job application: targeting, researching and then networking into the employers that you really would like to work for. This means knowing what your long term career desires are, and than making your personal brand clear: an X in a Y market place as I like to put it. So do you think that a recent job request that I saw on People Per Hour will really work:

• Seeking a new Interim Management assignment/project
• Require mailing list of Chief Executive officers/Managing Directors/high net worth individuals of Small/Medium sized businesses ideally in North-West England that my CV can mailed to
• Target employer is usually businesses that require additional support to undertake a “sort out”, rationalisation, sale, integration etc
• I have an extensive career of business success that has included acquisitions, disposals, and/or additional safe pair of hands at Board level
• Have worked in numerous industry sectors; management skill set can usually work irrespective of specialist trade knowledge

This sounds more like a lazy junk letter marketing exercise to me, than a true “I know what I offer, I know what I am, therefore I know who I should be speaking to” interim executive job search. In the current market place, when interim rates are down and the number of interim executives are up, I can’t see this executives job search being a short one.

The keys in the Executive Employment market place are:

• Know what you offer, in which market, as a business result
• Market your brand and results, but keep your Executive CV in your pocket until you see or are offered the right opportunity

Much as though our America cousins use CV Distribution, it doesn’t work over here and you will get rejected, resulting in a longer job search.

Good Luck!

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2 Responses to “CV Distribution”

1. Mario Lacobelli Says:
   August 23rd, 2011 at

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2. Carole Seline Says:
   August 24th, 2011 at

   Enjoyed looking through this, very good stuff, Thank You!