You are a full-time recruiter

The third step of my Hire The Best Avoid The Rest hiring process includes a key encouragement: YOU are a full-time recruiter. Here is an example of one way a top company demonstrates this:

I was in a Starbucks the other day. In the area where they offer cream, sugar, etc. there were business cards from the district manager (not the store manager). Here are some interesting things about the card design:

1. His title, "district manager," is in lowercase letters.

2. Below his title is a small icon, possibly like coffee leaves, and the title, "Coffee Guy"

3. It lists his cell phone number, a corporate toll-free phone number and his e-mail address.

4. The full list of contact information is:

• Cellular 
• Fax 
• His toll-free corporate voicemail 
• His email address 
• www.starbucks.com/careers

5. The left side of the card as the Starbucks logo, company name and address of that location.

6. The back of the card is most interesting. It says:

We are looking for people we can call partners.

That's what we call ourselves. If you ask partners why they enjoy working here, they'll probably tell you it's the people, the experience and the great benefits for those who qualify, which may include:

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• Tuition reimbursement
• Paid vacation
• 401(k) savings and stock programs
• Discounts on our great coffee

Apply online at www.starbucks.com/careers

Starbucks is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse work team.

Often your best source of great people to hire is from your most loyal customers. They are, if you have not noticed, already raving fans of your company. If you are hiring this year, why not brainstorm with your people how to better reach people who already believe in your company?

Meeting Ideas

Take my last suggestion and apply it in a meeting. How can we increase the number of people who know we are hiring so we can attract new team members from people who already believe in us (customers, people who read our blog, vendors…)? Should we add a hiring message to:

1. The back of our business cards (similar to Starbucks’)
2. Every company employee’s email signature
3. Every thank you note to clients, vendors and community
4. Every business review meeting with key clients (not that we want to hire you, but “If you hear of anyone, we are hiring people for the following positions…”)
5. Should we try to get an article placed in our local newspaper describing the hiring process we go through, how difficult it is to hire qualified people…” (Maybe team up with 3-4 other businesses and everyone shares their story.)