Different projects demand different types of strategies and tactics.

Ultimately, our services fall into one of two categories:

Full Lifecycle Search (or unbundled services, such as):

• Candidate Identification - contact information for a specific number of candidates
• Candidate Negotiations - third-party negotiations to salvage or secure a difficult hire
• On-Site Recruiter (Recruitment Outsourcing) - Having a Knight Bishop employee on-staff to achieve a set of pre-determined objectives.
• Hourly Recruiting (Offsite or Onsite) - Paying by the hour for recruiting or consulting services.
• Candidate Assessment - videoconferencing or in-person evaluation of prospective candidates

Staffing Services - as an alternative to permanent placement, we provide the talent you need for short-term or long-term projects. In addition, we serve as the Employer of Record so as to eliminate any liability.

No two Clients are the same, and not all hiring processes are identical.

The truth is that we are experts at our own Surgical, Highly Targeted, Recruiting and Selection approach, while our Clients are experts at their own Internal Hiring Process.

During upfront discussions, we'll take the necessary time to understand your very own internal approach. From there, we'll customize and weld our external process to your own. Frankly, this will likely be happening without you even knowing it - it's part of our job.

Being flexible is not only a pivotal cornerstone of our business, but more importantly, we believe it's absolutely imperative in today's business climate.

We imagine you came to this page expecting between a 35 and 93-step process dissertation explaining how we locate, attract, engage, and recruit the very best talent in our practice sectors, right? But the point is to keep you reading, not to inundate you with Powerpoint nirvana!

For the record, there's more like 32 defined steps to our process, but that's neither here nor there. At the front end of our recruiting partnership, we will set aside some time to let you in our "secret sauce". However, in our experience, Clients like you are looking for us to help you achieve one major objective:

To place you in a extremely competitive position of selection, whereby you are able to offer employment (with guaranteed and predictable, positive results) to either the "best of the best" or extremely niched professionals in your sector.

These talented professionals often go by the moniker, "Purple Squirrels", and if you've ever hunted one, you'll never forget it. And since you likely have 2000 other positions to fill in the next 30 days, not to mention 14 reports due by the close of business today, we're here to bring those elusive squirrels to your front porch for you.

And if I may toot our own horn, we're pretty good at making the impossible happen, too . . . but that's just talk. We'd rather prove it, so let's talk today about what it will take to wow you on your next critical role that you'd rather not roll the dice on.

Zale Tabakman is a smart guy - a really smart guy. Better than that, I can think of no other individual who is giving legitimate, real-time, where-the-rubber-meets-the-road advice that yields job hunting results. Before I post Zale's "Top 10 Job Hunting Tactics", let me include one of my own that you, as a job seeker, should deeply consider:

Reach out to a Recruiting or Staffing Firm (such as Knight & Bishop Technical Resources) that specializes within your niche. Why? Because highly specialized, niche-focused firms not only have a deep network of contacts within organizations that can hire you, but also because they understand the intricacies and unique elements at play within the sector. Instead of going into battle alone, bring a firm like ours with you. And without further ado, here goes Zale:

"Looking for a job is frustrating, depressing and seems like an endless cycle with little that is positive.

This is especially true if your main job hunting tactic is “Click and Apply”.

You know the one, everyday, checking out the different job boards, finding a job you are suitable for and then clicking on the link and applying for the job. Wondering why you are not getting called.

And in fact you do know why, you are one of the thousands of other people doing the same thing. The reality is that the chances of getting a job with the “Click and Apply” tactic ranges from poor to useless.

The best way to get a job is to be in front of an employer before they post the job, to be in front of the employer when they say to their staff, “Do you know anybody that can fill this job?“.

Here is my list of top 10 Job Hunting Tactics:

Have a list of the top 20 companies you want to work for.

This doesn’t mean limit your job hunt to these 20 companies, it means focus on this this list as your starting point. The focus will bring other opportunities to you. Make sure you know everything about these companies, Where they are growing, Where they are experiencing problems, Who their top 3 competitors are, Which recruiters they use, Where they have offices. Become an expert in these companies.

Know 12 problems that you can solve in your 20 companies that increases sales or saves the company money.
Companies hire people to solve business problems. If you know the problems you can solve, and how, then the you will be the person being hired.

Know your three strengths.Yes, I know you can do many different things. But, there are three things you can do better than anybody else you know. Know what they are, know how well you do them. Using these three strengths are how you solve the 12 problems.

Create a cover letter and resume for each of the 12 problems you can solve.These cover letters and resumes must demonstrate how you will solve the business problems. For every job opportunity that you discover, you will modify one of the 12 cover letters and resumes for the company.

Write a White Paper that clearly demonstrates your knowledge of a topic. Use the white paper as a way of marketing yourself. The last page will be a brief summary of your experience. Have a different white paper for each of the twelve problems.

Have a dollar budget to spend on getting a job.Getting a job is a marketing problem, nobody starts a marketing program without a budget. Decide how much money you are going to spend getting a job. The budget can include clothing, a website, job hunt training, getting your resume reviewed, and business cards, . The amount for each each item should be equivalent to how many days you can expect the item to save in finding a job. For example, if you need help creating a resume, and you feel a good resume will shorten your job hunt by a week, then the template can be budgeted at less than a week’s pay and you have make money on the investment.

Have a detailed plan for getting a job.Create a detailed plan of all the things your are going to do to get a job. Assign milestones and deliverables for each of the tasks. Set a date when each milestone will be completed. Finding a job is not one single thing, its a combination of many different things. Serious job hunting takes at least 40 hours a week.

Schedule 10 job information meetings a week. This is two each and every day. They can be on the phone or in person. The better ones will be more effective in person. Your goal is to know what is going on. You need to find out what people are doing. You need to know what is working and what isn’t working. The best way to by talking to people. When you talk to people they get to meet you and feel comfortable with you.

Have a powerful LinkedIn.com profile that sells you. The profile is not your resume online, it includes your LinkedIn Answers and questions, who and how you recommend, and the size and depth of your network. For ideas, see how I did mine at http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/ZaleTabakman.

Each day find a new job hunt tactic. Not every tactic works for every person in every situation. But, if you keep finding new tactics each weekday, and two work for you, then at the end of the month you have 8 more tactics beyond “Click and Apply”. Each new job hunt tactic you use, shortens the time before you start your new job.

Pet Peeve time today at the Capitalist - the topic? Pay and the free agent market....

Here are the scenarios that slay me...

Scenario A - Hiring Manager is contemplating making an offer, and wants to know what the range is. Two things generally occur for the hiring manager who asks this question. They either 1) want to pay the minimum, or 2) want to proceed directly to the midpoint.

Scenario B - Candidate wants to know the range for the position in question. If you give that information up, generally by providing a minimum to midpoint range, guess what the candidate does? Sets his entry level expectation directly to the midpoint.

Here's what both parties don't understand. The market level for an offer to a candidate is based on just that - THE MARKET... What's the right comp level for an offer? One that's consistent with your current comp strategy, fair to both parties, but above and beyond all else - ONE THAT THE CANDIDATE WILL ACCEPT WITH MINIMAL COUNTERS.

Say it with me - the market rate for any candidate is the $$ amount they will accept. They've got info about what they are worth, you've got info about what they are worth. When it all comes down to it, ranges give guidance, but you can't rely on the extremes in the offer process. You use the range to close business.

To be fair, all hiring managers and candidates don't have issues with this concept. But those who do have a hard time understanding that ranges, and at times pre-dispositions, mean nothing when it comes to the market rate for talent.

The market rate for any candidate is the $$ amount they will accept. Everything else is noise...

So, if you have a candidate who grudgingly accepts a fair offer, don't feel bad. Adam Smith would say the acceptance, even with the static, is the free market at work.