Now, 2 years after the GDPR start and 2,5 years after preparing for it, it was time to go over all my contacts here on LinkedIn and in my CRM as well, because no one wants a lot of nominal members in his database.
So, after some GDPR emails, which separated the wheat from the chaff, it feels better now, after 13 intensive years on #linkedin and with clients and candidates to have fewer contacts, but active contacts and those who are from similar mindset or who are interested in my work and collaboration.
It's 80ties style in sales, if you to cold calls(yes we also do sometimes) and collect a to of data and people, which are just an amount of people in your database but not pro-active contacts.
It's the same with a network, it lives from its active members, not from numbers, that's why I also like more boutique headhunting partners or companies, than a big titanic, where thee employees are just numbers and replaceable, anytime.
Another thing is, that during my 21 years of my career as a recruiter and headhunter, I place maybe 1-3 positions from the database, and mostly is this more staffing than headhunting, so for positions like a shop assistant or a secretary, all other placements are with candidates from direct search and a lot of work and video calls, talking to at least 100 people per project personally and working with recommendations too.
I also have headhunter friends who start every project from scratch without any database and work successfully in executive search with this, because they talk (like we do too) to every interesting person from the market.
Today, recruiting is not about knowing how #lnkedin works, it's more, it's about your own network of friends and the art of selecting the right people who fit the mindset of a client and his employees and this needs time and experience. No, we are not slow, but I would say our projects last from 3 to 6 weeks, and during this time period we move a lot of interviews.
So, do your own spring-cleaning, even on LinkedIn and in your database and so you can breathe free and work in the future with pro-active people, who are like friends, instead of trying to convince people, who do not want to work with you, but give you the feeling you have a big, important network. Sometimes we lie to ourselves and we have to rethink old habits to develop new and innovative ideas and products.
Best regards from Vienna
Thomas
PS:
If you had an invitation email to our executive webinar with my partners, you are one of some privileged contacts we want to work with, in 2020/21/22/23/24/25 :-). Congrats!