I like asking top recruiters how they reached the top. Doug Beabout’s answer starts with the Boy Scouts and ends with the telephone.

This interview first ran on ERE in January 2016. You can read the original on ERE here: https://www.ere.net/articles/this-eagle-scout-hunts-heads-by-telephone.

About Doug

Growing up in Ohio, Doug earned Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts, and he credits scouting with opening many doors for him, including his post as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. “I would not have done what I did without being an Eagle Scout,” he told me.

He might not have become the recruiter he is without it, either. Doug is a great believer in honesty and integrity, and he says that makes him stand out to clients. “When something is great, I tell them. When it’s bad, I tell them. They don’t get that kind of honesty from many recruiters.”

When we spoke, Doug had been president of his firm, the Douglas Howard Group, for 23 years. With a resonant bass voice reminiscent of the actor Sam Elliott, he also speaks on the lecture circuit and has written for The Fordyce Letter. He took the Scout oath to heart: duty to God, country, others and self.

The Interview

Joe: How old are you, where do you live, and what is your family situation?

Doug: I am 65, married with five kids, and live in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, outside of Destin.

Joe: What two or three skills let you break away from the pack?

Doug: The first thing to do is stop being transactional and pick up the telephone. My efforts are on a personal level. Being extremely personal and professional appeals to clients, and I find they become better employers and better clients. I practice the next level of honesty. When something is great, I tell them. When it’s bad, I tell them.

They have to see me as more than a resume monger. I have a proprietary matrix. I only deal with hiring decision makers, and I keep them in the loop.

Joe: So the telephone is more personal than other technology?

Doug: It’s more intimate. It’s more honest. It’s more refreshing.

Joe: Where did the idea for your matrix come from?

Doug: I hate resumes. Employers don’t like them worth a hoot. The information is so subjective. It’s like sitting on a three legged stool; it just doesn’t do the job. The matrix is fact based, line by line.

Joe: What does the matrix look like?

Doug: It looks like windows. There are three squares. First, skills and duties. Next, the challenges of the job and the goals of the successful employee. Finally, the definition of the employer’s workplace culture.

Joe: Do you work harder or smarter?

Doug: I try to work smart, but the level of effort is also central to success. My work is important to my well being. I can’t take more than two weeks of vacation because I want to get back to work. My wife says I will probably die with a phone in my hand. To me, working smarter means defying the negative stereotype of our industry while earning full fees and influence with everyone involved.

Joe: What are the stereotypes?

Doug: That recruiters are impersonal and shallow and don’t have much of a shelf life. That they take a job order from a job board and a candidate from LinkedIn and never get back to you if a fast match isn’t found online.

Some people come into this business just to make a buck and think a quota is the way to recruit. But numbers are not as important as fit.

Joe: You’ve said recruiting is going through a difficult transition. What do you mean?

Doug: The talent pool has shrunk, and we have a generation that has not learned to pick up the phone. A lot of recruiters have only ever found candidates through job boards, LinkedIn and Twitter. They take the path of least resistance, while companies leave some positions open for three to six months.

Joe: What are your hours?

Doug: I’m generally an early bird. I work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. But I can take any three day weekend I want, and I take three or four day weekends 10 to 12 times a year. Plus, I live in a vacation spot.

Joe: What three lessons do you have for an up and coming recruiter?

Doug: First, get training from a current practitioner, not a former one, in a recruiting process that works today.

Second, apply the process with total diligence.

Third, engage the person you’re speaking with. Talk to people the way they talk. People relate to themselves more than anyone else, but be honest above all else.

My Takeaway

Pick up the phone and tell the truth. Forty years into this business, I can tell you those two habits still separate the great recruiters from everyone else.

I’m Joe Pelayo, an executive recruiter for 40 years and founder of Joseph Michaels International here in Dallas. We recruit for roles with base pay from 75K to 2 million, and one call to me reaches our network of 700 recruiters. Right now we have 1,619 open jobs.

Let’s Talk

Want a recruiter who will give it to you straight? Give me a call.

Call me at 1-800-786-1099 or email info@josephmichaels.com.

Joseph Michaels International, 13355 Noel Road Suite 1360, Dallas, TX 75240