<![CDATA[ProSource Mgmt - Headhunters for VC-backed Growth

<![CDATA[ProSource Mgmt - Headhunters for VC-backed Growth - ProSource Blog]]>Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:24:59 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[When Should You Think Twice About Salary Negotiation? <WSJ.com>]]>Mon, 01 Mar 2021 23:44:09 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/prosource-blog/when-should-you-think-twice-about-salary-negotiation-ltwsjcomgt

]]><![CDATA[Navigating the Great Pause of 2020]]>Fri, 10 Apr 2020 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/prosource-blog/navigating-the-great-pause-of-2020Ten and twenty years from now some of us will look back on this event as the catalyst for huge life changes - health, family, societal, our life purpose - some discovered, others permanently altered or rapidly accelerated. As business leaders, we can be a positive catalyst for our People - employees, customers, prospective customers, partners, vendors, investors.

Some practical tips you might be doing already or worth considering.

1. Show Calm, Empathy, build Resilience

In the face of uncertainty and disruption, you don't have to have all the answers. Focus on the known, not the models. The future will reveal itself daily (or hourly as the case may be). Fearful and anxious people want to feel certainty and control. Employees want to know that their job is safe - for a period of time. Many are unaware of their abilities to adapt and be resilient; you can guide them and encourage them to push through their fear.

2. Re-evaluate Anything
If you've felt that a system, process, cohort was sub-optimal or broken before, this is the time to scrutinize, reassess and re-tool. Now, more than ever, your people will be very open-minded and less territorial or resistant to big changes. Especially if they understand the logic and know it is necessary for the company/departmental to survive or thrive. From work assignments, to pay plans, to silos, informal orgs, WFH, nearly everyone is willing to wear more hats, rethink, and pitch in to help others.

3. Have Plans
As of this writing, the outcome and timing of recovery is unclear. Therefore, the importance of creating multiple plans, or What-If scenarios. You’ll want to evaluate the new health of your market – your clients’ individual industry, prospects, persona, competitors, suppliers, employees. Does this reshaped marketplace really need your product or service? Should you or can you pivot into a new product-market? What will your financial condition allow, and how can it be improved? This is not a static exercise; it will be evolving in real-time and so you want to consider new data as it arrives. Stay laser focused on your micro-economy, rather than the overall economy. We know recoveries are usually spotty, not evenly distributed.

4. Talk, Talk, Talk to Key People
Leaders, Customers, Key Staff, Investors, Industry Influencers - are more available and accessible now than ever, (as long as you aren’t bothered by babies, dogs, bedhead and other WFH realities). Customers and prospects will appreciate a collaborative, in-the-foxhole approach. Board members, Industry leaders and others are more open to sharing ideas, identifying opportunities, offering introductions and other tangible support. For us WFH experts and veteran managers of remote teams, your expertise and management tips could be valuable to your peer department heads and customers who are newbies adjusting to their newly decentralized teams.

5. Keep them Busy
Most employees still desire the routine and rewards of accomplishing work, almost secondary in some cases to getting paid. Your WFH staff can be highly productive given cloud-enabled apps. The pivots or re-tooling options mentioned above can be delegated right now. Salespeople: can reassess territory plans, clean up their Salesforce, rehearse product presentations (Zoom video competition, anyone?). Marketers can research new markets, enhance and better-segment their ABM systems, redesign messaging and branding to acknowledge The Crisis. Product management can build and catch up on enhancing product. Employees are now extra-motivated to show value to their organization. They know there could be job cuts, and a job market recovery could be delayed.

See who rises up, takes initiative and shows exceptional leadership qualities. A McKinsey study shows the value of a Network of Teams approach with specific behaviors and mindsets. Lean on your go-to leaders. Share as much as possible and encourage your teams to do so.

Final words
Adversity reveals one’s true character, including your own. Let it blossom this spring.

This might sound premature, but I’ll say it anyway: For the bold believers, this Crisis or Pause will serve as a gigantic reset button, allowing them to leapfrog competitors, gobble up market share and execute game-changing new strategies, products, services. The World's game board has been reshuffled - stake your claim. The past means nothing. Today it’s all about the future. How many Recession Inventions (i.e. iPod after 9/11) will we be talking about years from now?

Most importantly, may your family, those important to you, and our fellow humanity be healthy, strong and safe as possible through this unique time in history.

-Mike Perry

]]><![CDATA[Interviewing for Cultural Fit]]>Fri, 11 Oct 2019 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/prosource-blog/interviewing-for-cultural-fitJob interviews are sort of like first dates. Candidates are typically nervous and they are in 'performance mode'. This can make it difficult to determine if they’re the right match for your team and company. But don’t panic! There are ways to break the ice and get the candidate to relax so that you can uncover their true self and determine if they’re a fit for your business.

Start by asking questions like:

Can you tell me about a time when you had to innovate a workaround or new process?
What are two lessons you learned from your first job that have helped you get to where you are today?
What are your favorite productivity hacks and how did you adopt them?
What would someone who doesn't like you say about you?

These types of questions show you more about the candidate and their potential fit than standard interview questions. They also set the tone for the interview and make it a more relaxed and conversational experience for all involved.

When looking for cultural fit, it’s important to talk to potential hires about your organization's mission, values and interests. Those who genuinely nod and ask follow-up questions are more likely to be a good cultural fit than the candidates who simply listen with no expression or interest. What’s more, when candidates engage in these types of discussions, it shows that they already envision themselves as part of your team and fitting within your company’s culture before they’re even being hired.

Beyond talking of mission and value statements, share the nature of the overall working environment with potential hires during the interview process. This can include how long the typical workday or week lasts and if salaries are determined upon that structure. Throughout this discussion, ask questions about the candidate's ability to function both independently and within a team environment based upon the work dynamic. Those candidates that are an ideal cultural fit will possess the ability to be both flexible and adaptable to the ebbs and flows of your company’s current productivity requirements.

Learning about a candidate's education and skills are important, but you also need to know about the candidate and their personality. This means you shouldn’t shy away from asking questions about their goals, both professionally and personally. Look for someone who has ambitions outside of work and is looking for more than just a paycheck. Ideally, the best cultural fit is the candidate whose professional and personal ambitions tend to align with the organization's mission and values.

When you interview for cultural fit instead of just position fulfillment, it allows you and the candidate to determine if the organization and opportunity is a good match. It also creates a more relaxed discussion, makes everyone feel heard, and that the time was well spent - regardless of outcome.

]]><![CDATA[Is it time to wave the white flag? Know When to Surrender and Ask for Hiring Help]]>Fri, 13 Sep 2019 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/prosource-blog/is-it-time-to-wave-the-white-flag-know-when-to-surrender-and-ask-for-hiring-helpYour time is valuable. When you have a missing team member, you must pick up the workload, handle your own responsibilities and try to fill the vacancy. It can spread you so thin that nothing gets your full attention.

The fact is attracting, procuring and retaining top talent is difficult in any market, but especially right now. When employees leave for another position, go off on their own or retire, the process to fill their vacancy can be daunting, especially if they held a vital role or were a key player in your company.

Then, of course, the added stress and workload don't help much either.

In many cases, Human Resources is often your best ally, but they can also be overwhelmed with benefits issues, employee relations, and all of the other projects and roles HR fulfills. Some companies don't have a HR professional on staff, let alone a whole department. It’s times like this when partnering with a recruiter may be your best bet.

I want you to think of recruiters as the designated hitter on your team. Since we live and breathe talent acquisition, we can deliver only the best candidates to the companies we work with. But that’s not all.

Recruiters add value to hiring managers and HR

While headhunters may not seem like the best friends of hiring managers and human resource professionals, we should be! Here’s why:

We make the hiring process more human by performing the initial assessment, pre-interview prep and post-interview debriefing
As an outsider in your company, we provide unbiased advice and guidance, especially in terms of strategies to attract the difficult, hard-to-find and passive candidates that can make the difference in your company’s future
We help companies perfect their hiring process through feedback from candidates who interviewed with them and by adopting best practices across the industry

To get the best experience, make sure you vet recruiters as to what EXACTLY, SPECIFICALLY and PRECISELY they do to attract talent on your behalf. Some firms only send resumes off databases or LinkedIn, while others of us take a more aggressive approach to uncover talent that’s not actively looking.

So ask your potential talent agent what their people acquisition strategy is. If a great process is important to you (and it should be), don't just hire a recruiter because they agree to a low fee. You should be comfortable that their process, along with their experience, will yield you a portfolio of outstanding talent.

Opting for a talent procurer is a great step in winning the war for talent, especially as the job market changes. When the decision is made to partner with a recruiter, it’s necessary to make certain it’s a firm that understands the needs, goals and culture of your company. This should almost feel like courting a new employee, testing the waters to see if it’s the right fit. And, in the end, if you can find the right person to help with talent acquisition, it takes some pressure off of you and benefits the company, as well.

So if attracting, hiring and procuring top talent is proving to be more difficult than you anticipated, it’s time to wave the white flag and bring in reinforcements by hiring a highly capable headhunter to do the searching for you.

]]><![CDATA[Knowing When to Surrender]]>Mon, 09 Sep 2019 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/prosource-blog/prosource-blogIs it time to wave the white flag? Know When to Surrender and Ask for Hiring Help

Your time is valuable. When you have a missing team member, you must pick up the workload, handle your own responsibilities and try to fill the vacancy. It can spread you so thin that nothing gets your full attention.

The fact is attracting, procuring and retaining top talent is difficult in any market, but especially right now. When employees leave for another position, go off on their own or retire, the process to fill their vacancy can be daunting, especially if they held a vital role or were a key player in your company.

Then, of course, the added stress and workload don't help much either.

In many cases, Human Resources is often your best ally, but they can also be overwhelmed with benefits issues, employee relations, and all of the other projects and roles HR fulfills. Some companies don't have a HR professional on staff, let alone a whole department. It’s times like this when partnering with a recruiter may be your best bet.

I want you to think of recruiters as the designated hitter on your team. Since we live and breathe talent acquisition, we can deliver only the best candidates to the companies we work with. But that’s not all.

Recruiters add value to hiring managers and HR
While headhunters may not seem like the best friends of hiring managers and human resource professionals, we should be! Here’s why:

We make the hiring process more human by performing the initial assessment, pre-interview prep and post-interview debriefing
As an outsider in your company, we provide unbiased advice and guidance, especially in terms of strategies to attract the difficult, hard-to-find and passive candidates that can make the difference in your company’s future
We help companies perfect their hiring process through feedback from candidates who interviewed with them and by adopting best practices across the industry

]]><![CDATA[The 4 Biggest Candidate Turn-offs Revealed]]>Fri, 09 Aug 2019 04:00:00 GMThttps://www.prosourcemgmt.com/prosource-blog/the-4-biggest-candidate-turn-offs-revealedIt’s no secret that finding and hiring top talent is a time consuming and costly endeavor. But sometimes hiring managers make mistakes in the process causing top candidates, those who you want to hire, to turn away and lose interest in your company.

Yet when you can expedite the hiring process and keep those key candidates’ interest piqued, you can minimize the impact on your organization’s budget and workload, procuring the best fit.

To have this happen, you must avoid certain pitfalls. Here are the top four candidate turn-offs encountered during the interview process:

1. Not valuing a candidate’s time

Regardless if the interview is over the phone, via video or in person, arriving late is one of the biggest turn-offs to potential hires. Many times, the candidate has arranged to take several hours or the entire day off from work for the interview. This isn’t always an easy task and can be extremely stressful. When the interviewer is late, it gives the impression that the candidate's time is not valued or not as important as the interviewer’s. And if their time is not valued during the hiring process, it leads to uncertainty of how the company would view their value as an employee.

2. Getting too personal

There is a fine line during the recruitment stage between being personable and being personal. Even the most confident and experienced hiring manager can feel nervous during the interview process and may, unknowingly, break the tension by getting personal. The opposite can also occur, in that the hiring manager feels a connection with the candidate and leads into a discussion more as friends than professional colleagues. Regardless of the reason, entering into too personal of a discussion during the interview process can cause increased tension in the candidate and should be avoided.

3. Giving false hope

In almost all cases, a decision cannot be made during the interview to hire a candidate. There are multiple decision-makers and factors to consider and the interviewer’s job is simply one step in the hiring process. It’s easy to get excited when Ms. or Mr. Perfect Candidate is sitting across the table, but it’s not okay to get caught up in the excitement and say things like "You’re a perfect fit for this position" or "You’re my top pick.” This gives the candidate a false sense of hope and unless the interviewer is the final decision maker in the process and ready to present an offer, they should make an effort to refrain from such statements and not give false hope to candidates.

4. Ghosting on the candidate

Highly qualified, top talent is often being pursued by different headhunters and businesses and they may be considering multiple opportunities simultaneously. When the are left hanging, it can make a company lose out of their first, second, or even third choice candidates. So don’t follow the "no news is good news" approach. If a candidate is not a good fit for the company’s team at this point, inform them as soon as the decision is made. On this same note, top choice candidates should be kept informed of moving on to the next step in the hiring process. If for some reason there may be a delay of a week or more, stay in contact with the candidate until a final decision or offer is made. Ghosting on potential hires reflects poorly, not only on the hiring manager, but upon the organization as well and can hurt a company’s reputation if the word gets around.

Remember, today’s top candidates have more options than ever before and the most highly qualified hires in talent-scarce markets are likely entertaining several offers during their search. So avoid these common candidate turn-offs and reduce the risk of losing the people you want to hire to the competition before you can even make them an offer.

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