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Part - III

The reality is that a number of candidates are either taking a break from working for as long as they can afford to or biding their time in a placeholder job until the economy starts picking up again. If you have some placeholder employees in your organization, think about the investment you've already made in them. They represent precious talent and knowledge. Also, there's a significant cost-per-hire to replace an employee who walks out the door.

Integrating your efforts to re-recruit your placeholders while conducting your external recruiting efforts for new hires is certainly challenging, but imperative. Doing something about this now can also make a big difference when you work your new hires into the organization, which oftentimes engenders a kind of caste system of the haves and have-nots. Think about what you can do now to engage your current placeholder employees (the potential "have-nots"), particularly those who are highly likely to leave when their job prospects begin to brighten.

Ask yourself: What are some high-impact, cost-effective ways you can invest in their commitment and development? How can you offset the risk of not only losing this precious resource later on, but also making them more productive and more job-satisfied?

In my book, Hiring the Best and the Brightest, I discuss the 7Cs that are key in retention strategies aimed at keeping your talent. They include: core values and culture, connectedness, commitment to people, communication, career development, continuous learning, and compensation.

An effective and enduring recruiting program covers four key phases. These phases and the to-dos for each include: -

• Upfront preparation: assess needs; research and select schools; cultivate key relationships; schedule interviews; formulate communication strategy and messaging.

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* Sherrie Gong Taguchi was the VP of Univ. for Recruiting at Bank of America and director of Corp. HR responsible for staffing, exec. dev., and reorganizations at Dole Packaged Foods and Mervyn's Deptt Stores. She has also served as the asstt dean at the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she headed the Career Mgmt Center and Mgmt Communication Program. Her two popular books - Hiring the Best and Brightest & The Ultimate Guide to Getting the Career You Want and What to Do Once You Have - are helping thousands of job seekers and career changers worldwide - whether just out of school or at the executive level.