How Many Names Do I Need For One Immediate Hire?

We published a blog article from Maureen Sharib (a renowned American telephone names sourcer) recently on "What and Who Makes A Good Name Sourcer?". 

This article looks at how many names sourced names you will need to produce one immediate hire in:
Outside Sales Reps  30 - 50
Inside Sales Reps   20 – 30
SAP anything   100
Sales Managers      30 - 50
Construction Supervisors  50
Marketing Managers  30
Group Marketing Manager  50
Sales Engineers    30 - 50
Engineering (Software)  30 - 40
Engineering (Hardware)  40 -100
Note: really depends on skillsets/level of technology you’re seeking
Research & Development (Pharma) 100 - 200
High Yield Research Analysts    50
Disability Examiner  30
C Levels      50 – 100 Note:  depends on the C (CEO, COO, CIO, CSO, CFO, etc.)
Call Center workers   20
Financial Analysts  30 – 50  Note: really depends on market vertical
Commercial Underwriters  25
Consultants Big 4  30 - 50  Note:  really depends on market vertical
Business Development Managers 50
HVAC Technicians  30
Patent Attorney    50 - 100
Commercial Loan Officers  30 - 40
Defence     seems like 1000 Note: one of the toughest sectors because of the current political climate

These numbers come from what my customers report back to me, my own experience in the sourcing process, the size of my average jobs and my intuition. Nothing scientific, mind you.  The industry is also very important; in general, the hotter the industry, the more people you’re going to need.  Location is important.  You’re going to need less people upfront if you’re not going to have to move them.  If you do have to move them be prepared to see your names need estimate numbers double, maybe even triple depending on the desirability of the location. Warm climates attract more people than cold, so if your job location is cold, you’ll probably need more  if you have to move them in.  It’s a common sense thing.

I remind you, these estimates are entirely predicated on what industry you’re working in.  The more highly paid the individual, the more implanted/invested (stock-optioned) s/he is in the company, the brainier the candidate needs to be…all these things impact your Sourcing Needs.  If I had to pick a number, I tell people 50 names, nine times out of ten, if worked and pipelined correctly, should produce a hire.  The “if worked” caveat is important – make sure the names you source get called!  It’s amazing to me that some names just seem to fade away – the recruiter never gets around to calling them.  I can’t understand this thinking, so I’m at a loss to explain it.

Maureen is co-owner of TechTrak, a telephone names sourcing firm based in the US Maureen has been telephone names sourcing since 1996, having stumbled into this arcane business after twenty plus years of selling small businesses. You can read her articles around the nitty-gritty tips and techniques of name sourcing (how to get names from a telephone directory, how to title-identify those name, how to deal with scary gatekeepers, how to fill your internal pipelines with skilled, valuable candidates, how to read “between the lines” and hear clues in the silences) on her website at www.techtrak.com.

Comments

[Ian Brodie]

This is a really useful list for recruiters and yoru customers. I've never seen these type of numbers documented publicly before - but they seem to make sense for the areas I know a little about. Thanks for publishing them.

Ian

[Jephcott Associates Professional Recruitment]

A fascinating article. Many thanks for including it.