INSIDE THE 
NEWS + ADVICE
A Successful Strategy to Recruit Polygraph Professionals
Source for candidates with specific skill sets and polygraphs.
Contact the candidate via email and phone.
If there is mutual interest, have them sign a contingent offer.
Then match the candidate to an appropriate position when it becomes available.
That’s the approach that works for Corey Eveler, Technical Recruiter with Sequoia Holdings. Build a bench of qualified candidates and then be first to the ball when a client has an open position. It’s a twist on a traditional recruiting strategy, but one that works very well for a small and nimble company. At the beginning of the year Sequoia had 50 employees, and in less than 2 months they have over 60 on staff.
Corey has been recruiting for nearly nine years after serving in the Army and falling into recruiting with a small IT firm. That was a happy occurrence for his father, who is also a recruiter and always wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.
Taking a different approach
Corey shares, “If you’ve ever recruited people with polygraphs, you understand that it’s a different beast. I find it’s beneficial to talk to anyone and everyone with a polygraph that I can get my hands on.”
In a traditional scenario a recruiter or sourcer recruits based on the requirements of a specific position. Sequoia takes the opposite approach and talks to everyone they can who has skills that fit their contracts. “That way we can be reactive and proactive at the same time,” states Corey. “I’ll search for a systems engineer. Any resume that matches and has a poly, I reach out and try to have a conversation. I want to establish what they’re looking for and the compensation they’re seeking.”
If there’s a fit, the candidate is sent a contingent offer. Once signed, they start receiving positions from Sequoia as they become available.
For any recruiters who have been in the business for 10 years or so, this is similar to the bench strategy that many contractors used to employ when obtaining clearances was a bit easier: Hire the candidate, put them on the bench until they got their clearance, then put them to work. Sequoia’s process doesn’t have the costs associated with that more traditional bench-building strategy.
How it works
When a hiring manager or contract manager announces a position announcement, it’s time to act. “I’ve submitted candidates within 30 minutes of receiving the announcement. I go to my active candidate list and review my signed contingent offers seeking a match,” Corey continued. “My goal is to get them in front of the hiring manager first. If your resume is 15 down in the stack, chances are they’ll find someone in the first 10 and not even get to that 15th candidate. That has helped us set up more interviews and place people in a very timely manner.” It’s sourcing ahead of the game, or building a candidate pipeline with a twist.
His best path for contacting candidates is old-fashioned email, followed up by lots of after-hours follow-up calls. That’s an approach that is confirmed by a recent survey ClearedJobs.Net made of cleared job seekers: 63% prefer recruiters contact them via email and 22% by phone. Very few candidates want to be contacted via social media or text.
Corey doesn’t send positions to candidates until they have signed a contingent offer. “I’ve run into less candidate resistance than I anticipated with that requirement,” Corey replies. The candidate has nothing to lose because the contingent offer is non-binding. There’s no reason not to sign.
“If the contingent offer is signed for x amount, but the subsequent offer is for a more robust position or requires shift work, we’re flexible in allowing the candidate to negotiate compensation again before being submitted for the role. They’re not locked in,” Corey explained.
Leaving no stone unturned
Another strategy Corey employs is looking at a candidate’s full experience vs their most recent position. “If I’m searching for a Systems Engineers, but I find someone who has moved on to Project Management, I still want to talk to those people. They may be interested in being a Systems Engineer again. Quite likely they know other Systems Engineers with polygraphs too.”
Will this work for you
It’s not a strategy for everyone. Getting commitment letters upfront is a unique combination of recruiting and headhunting that isn’t for every organization or every recruiter. For Sequoia and Corey though, it’s a home run!
