Here’s a question I once asked a room full of recruiters at a speaking engagement, and it became one of my ERE columns:
How fast do you respond to your voicemails and emails?
- A. Within 60 to 90 minutes
- B. Within 4 hours
- C. Before I go home
- D. Within 24 hours
Hands went up for every answer, and then I asked one more question: who called? Because that’s what really matters.
I Don’t Return Every Call
Many recruiting firms have a policy of returning every call within 24 hours. I don’t. I don’t return voicemails from candidates who are outside my area of expertise and don’t match what I’m working on. I don’t return calls from the salesperson selling copiers, no matter how often he calls. How many of us return calls just because of what someone might say about us if we don’t?
Les Brown says, “You don’t have time to respond to your critics.”
The Exceptions
Don’t get me wrong. If a good client asks you to talk to his son who just graduated, you call, even if you don’t place recent graduates. And when your heart goes out to someone, always help that person. Just avoid the trap of calling everyone because that’s the way you’ve always done it.
If you called a CEO you didn’t know at a big company, would they call you back within 24 hours? Probably not. Would you think less of them? No. You’d think they were busy and successful. That’s you, friend. Act like it.
My Time Management Rule
- A. Do the thing that could make the most money first.
- B. Do the thing that makes the second most money second.
- C. C stands for “See ya!” on everything else.
This column first ran on ERE in April 2007. You can read the original on ERE here: https://www.ere.net/articles/voicemail-master-or-slave.
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 1,633 open jobs.
Let’s Talk
Calls about great people and great searches always get returned. Try me.
Call me at 1-800-786-1099 or email info@josephmichaels.com.
Joseph Michaels International, 13355 Noel Road Suite 1360, Dallas, TX 75240