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Applicants want to be addressed individually

People prefer to work on something they are truly good at and enjoy. They wish to find a meaningful occupation and a good working atmosphere. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly important for personnel consultants and head hunters to get to know the whole candidate and not just his qualifications and CV.

Around 90% of all employees are not actively searching for a new job. This is one of the results of the newest Gall Up Study. “Based on those numbers it comes to no surprise that the amount of applications that companies receive is continuously declining”, says personnel consultant Hans Ulrich Gruber. Especially in specialized industries, such as the construction or IT industry it is almost impossible to find suitable specialists with the help of classic job advertisements.

For personnel consultants this implies that next to a good network and inventiveness, human intuition and in-depth industry knowledge are now needed more than ever. “In practice I noticed that top executives are actually annoyed by calls of unprofessional recruiters. Often those have little knowledge about the relevant industry and are thus not able to communicate a clear picture of the job offer”, knows Gruber. The newest studies show that personnel consultants are highly sought after due to the lack of specialists. According to Gruber “a professional appearance, general interest in people and specific industry knowledge are the basic prerequisites to convince managers and specialists”.

Direct approach by trust worthy personnel consultants

For some time now, it holds true for personnel consultants that only the direct approach with potential candidates leads to successful placements. And even than many respond that they are “kind of content” with their current job. “There are many employees with strong dissatisfaction, however, they are only getting active once they are approached by a highly competent and trustworthy personnel consultant”, reports Hans Ulrich Gruber based on his own experience.

For many years the personnel consultant from the Upper Franconian city of Kulmbach was working in international firms as a manager and executive. He places executives and managers in industries in which he is well versed. Next to the construction sector he for example places specialists in the IT area, sales or management. The guiding principle of an experienced head hunter is to give centre stage to the person with its talents, experiences and qualifications. With this principle Hans Ulrich Gruber was able to accompany many applicants even through a change of industry or on their way abroad. Because as the lead investigator of the Gallup-Study Marco Nink told the German magazine “Wirtschaftswoche”: “Five times more important than the salary is the possibility to work on something at which you are exceptionally good at”.

Meaningful occupation desired

According to Nink the following factors are furthermore decisive: The leadership quality, to have a challenging, diverse and meaningful occupation, as well as the colleagues. “To make sure that those parameters add up it is essential to get to know the applicants and the respective company and to mediate with experience and intuition”, says Gruber. “To put people into a new position in which they are and stay satisfied is my aspiration.”