New to Recruiting Placements? Seeking Advice on Portals, Costs, and Strategies from Experienced Pros

Starting a new recruiting placement setup so would like to ask a few things from experienced people who like to help:

1. Which is the best portal for resume access - Naukri, Monster, TimesJobs, etc?
2. At what costs are the portals available? 6-month/Annual Subscription? I know many of you must have bargained hard. So let me know your experiences/tricks :)
3. Is it advisable to go for more than one portal access?
4. I have seen many people sharing portal access. Is this genuine?
5. What are the margins in the staffing solutions - permanent, contractual/temporary?
6. What are the major costs involved here?
7. What is your recommended strategy for a new entrant in this field? I mean things to watch out for, managing market leads, sales targets, tie-ups, etc.

I know the list is long, but I would appreciate it if you could take some time and answer each of them.

Thanks,
Pooja

As of 27th Aug, I have been negotiating with Naukri.com representatives. They have offered me a comprehensive 1-year subscription with 2 logins (by default) for unlimited access to the database at a cost of Rs. 1.25 Lakhs + 12.3% tax. The quoted rate for any additional login by them is 25K + taxes. Furthermore, the payment terms seem very stringent as they require the complete payment within 4 months.

Please let me know if this is a reasonable price or if I should negotiate further.

Regards,
Hala

Hi Pooja,

First of all, I would like to wish you all the success and appreciate your enterprising skills.

Starting a new Recruiting Placement firm in today's scenario is nothing but a "me too" concept. The first step is to decide what would be unique about your firm and how the services will differ from other consultancies in the market.

There will be challenging days initially, but I am confident that you will achieve your goal.

Now, let me address your questions:

1. Which is the best portal for resume access - Naukri, Monster, TimesJobs, etc.?

From my experience, I have found Naukri to be the best portal because it is popular among job seekers and offers useful features that simplify resume database management.

2. At what costs are the portals available? 6-month/Annual Subscription?

These portals have varying rates for different services and features. You can negotiate terms that match your needs and requirements.

3. Is it advisable to have access to more than one portal?

Yes, having access to multiple portals is beneficial if you can afford it. Building good contacts with companies for vacant positions is crucial before searching for candidates.

4. Is sharing portal access common and genuine?

Sharing portal access may be a good start, but establishing your own identity is advisable in the long run.

5. What are the margins in staffing solutions - permanent, contractual/temporary?

The margins in staffing solutions depend on the job level and type. A standard contract with clients specifying services, rates, and contingencies is essential.

6. What are the major costs involved in this business?

Initial investments for working from home include a system, separate phone connection, internet, resume database, traveling costs, and documentation.

7. What is your recommended strategy for a new entrant in this field?

Before starting, study local consultants, present a unique aspect of your consultancy, utilize your industry experience or network, and focus on building client and candidate contacts.

I appreciate your questions, Pooja. It's always better to be well-prepared before embarking on a new venture. Remember to stay determined and put your heart and soul into your work.

All my sincere wishes!

Vidhya

I agree with your last statement. Give it your best shot! I like Nike's tagline - "Just Do It!"

I am sure a lot of people must have similar questions such as:
- How to manage resumes and your own database of candidates? What is the best practice to store them? Should they be in different folders or any readily available open-source software?
- How to manage business leads? This is more important when you have a team rather than an individual working on it. Maybe a CRM software is the answer to it. What is the industry trend?
- How does one define targets for the team? Are there any benchmarks or thumb rules for the same?
- The biggest issue is attrition in the industry. It could be a disaster if your business development team leaves. How do you still hold onto the contacts made by the employees who have left?
- One can start with basic recruiting, like permanent staffing. What is the next step upwards? Temp/Contractual Staffing, Overseas recruiting, HR/Payroll outsourcing?

Hi Pooja,

I hope you are not just testing our knowledge here :icon10:, and believe that you are serious about this new venture. Just kidding :icon6:...........

Well, I will try my best to give the best answers to your new set of questions, but before that, I would genuinely like to know, what are your initial steps towards this venture and what are your current resources and ideas to move ahead? This will help me to suggest the most apt solutions to doubts and queries that you may have.

Thank you,
Vidhya

Hello,

This is Dhaval from Gujarat. I am also in the same field, working as a recruitment consultant. Monster has offered me a package for 95,000 + taxes just a few days ago. The account manager handling my account is Hussain. I can provide you with his contact number: 09849737990.

Vidya,

I am sorry if my questions make me sound confusing. These queries are just the thoughts running across my mind.

My company has interests in other specialized fields of IT, but now the idea is to provide staffing solutions. So we want to put together a team of business development personnel and recruiting specialists. I understand the approach would be to start with permanent staffing followed by temp/contractual staffing.

Let me know your thoughts.

Hi, I am also a new entrant in this market, so this advice helps me as well. Please continue with the valuable information.

Hi Anoop Jacky,

Since you are a new entrant, maybe you can share your experiences till now. Also, if you have any specific questions, please post them here so that "citehr-mentors" could help us.

Sure, friends, I have a lot of doubts regarding margin and all. I will quote it as follows:

1. What's the margin for different levels of appointments?
2. What type of registration do we need? Like Partnership, Sole proprietorship, or Company (Pvt Ltd Co.)
3. How many staff do we need to run the firm smoothly? What are their qualifications? Professional and personal?
4. Is a website essential?
5. Apart from portal access, what are the ways for resume bank?
6. What are the ways to get good valid clients? Personal meetings with prior appointments or?

I have numerous doubts in my mind and I am happy to share my knowledge in this matter with all of you.

I believe that there are three important factors that help to run an HR consultancy smoothly:

1. Candidates Database.
2. Computer (System Availability with internet connection and own website).
3. Clients.

I do believe that there is no difficulty in getting a good client because there are numerous openings, but it's hard to retain them. It's like providing good after-sales service. Additionally, it's challenging to find competent candidates.

To address this, we can use job portals.

The sources for resumes are as follows:
1. Through our own website job postings.
2. Job portals searching.
3. College alumni.
4. Job seminars, workshops, job fairs (easy to attract good clients as well).
5. Local advertisements.
6. Personal network.
7. Social networking.
8. Mass mailing.
9. Etc.

If you are starting the firm on a larger scale and have one or two good soft skill trainers, you can begin soft skill training or a finishing school. This will help attract competent candidates as well.

These are my views and ideas, not advice. I am sharing them with you. Within a period of 3-4 months, we will be in the market, mainly focusing on South India and planning to be based in Kochi.

I am seeking your help and valuable advice. I believe the data is not complete, and I will keep in touch with you because I have a collection of PowerPoint presentations and resources like internet sourcing.

I will send them to you. My best regards, wishes, and prayers for your new venture. May God bless you and your new endeavor.

Dear Pooja,

Congratulations on deciding to become an entrepreneur. There are two things you must consider before entering this industry:

1. The entire industry uses 4-5 databases, which you have listed.
2. If you use the same database, you will become one among the crowd of more than 25,000 users.

Think differently if you are serious about pursuing this business.

Regards,
Rahul

Hi, p_hala - Did you close the deal with Monster/Naukri? How much did you manage to get it for? Please share.

Well, to start with, I am kinda new here but I do know a lot about this industry. Let me start by introducing myself. I was with another recruitment firm here in Hyderabad. The company was a startup, and I was partially responsible for taking the company to the break-even point. So, though I am relatively young, I know a lot about this market and have excellent contacts.

Now, I was going through all the posts and read stuff about Naukri, Monster, and the other databases. Well, to tell you the truth, these databases do work, but the success rate is generally 2-3%. I have tried and played around with all these databases. If you call 100 people, you would rarely get 10 quality people or people that match your client's requirements. Out of the 10 people that you get, you would be able to place only 2-3 people. I have experimented a lot when it comes to finding people, and I have been successful so far. I feel that if a person has enough social contacts, you wouldn't need job portals, especially if you are dealing with BPOs or the IT industry.

Though my office setup here in Hyderabad is not up yet, it's gonna take 2-3 weeks probably to finalize stuff. But I have already placed about 30 people without the help of any databases in 2 companies here in Hyderabad, and trust me, I did not have to work hard to get the clients either. I have not gone looking for clients yet. I would say success in this industry depends on the way you do things, and a word of advice for all startups: do not commit to any deadlines that your client gives you unless you know where to get the people.

I know this post is rather long, but I am just pouring my heart out...brain out, rather.

Anyways, another way of getting people and helping each other would be to have tie-ups with other consultancies. I know consultancies that have the jobs but don't have the people. So if you have the people and not the clients initially, you could tie up with people like these and work on a revenue-sharing basis, where the person who has the openings gets around 50-60% of whatever the company pays them, and you could have the rest. It depends on how you tackle these companies, and you could do this in reverse too. If you have the job, find someone who has the people. Also, there are many ways to get people, as someone said earlier: college alumni and things like that. Anyways, I guess I have said enough; I've got a presentation to make...and yeah, before I forget... Pooja, if you have started a company in Delhi and have openings, then I can help you find people or even companies. Don't worry; I am not gonna charge you anything. I think if we startups could help each other and work together without stepping on each other's toes, we could all make it big. And yeah, as someone said earlier... the Nike tagline rocks... Just do it, Impossible is nothing.

Hope I have been of any help to you. By the way, if any of you startups need any help, email me at [email protected] (yeah, I have my own domain :-D). I will see what I can do. So, hope all of us make it big. Best of luck.

Cheers!

Dear Pooja, Firstly, best wishes for your new venture. Here are a few tips for better growth:

1. Portals are generally priced at 85K to 130K for full data access and two logins. It is extremely negotiable. 

2. Portal sharing is not legally allowed by any portal company. So, if you do it, make sure you don't get caught, as they sometimes track IP addresses of desktops using the logins. It is better to ask your sharing partner to let your PC's IP address be on their list as their own IP.

3. For general candidate profiles data, Naukri is best, but for technical ones, Monster is good.

4. Consider yourself primarily responsible for all kinds of business development activities in the initial stages.

5. Focus on quality over quantity, as that is the only aspect that will earn you recommendations and standing in the market.

6. Be loyal to companies as your bread and butter will come from them, not candidates. So, never get emotional with the need of any candidates.

7. Never make unrealistic promises; be ethical and honest. Only this will earn you the trust of both clients and candidates.

8. Be passionate and patient during tough times to stay longer and grow successfully.

I have been in recruitment for 7 years and have seen many consultancies open with great fanfare only to close down quietly a few days later. So, always be true to yourself.

All the best, and feel free to know more.

Regards,
SUDARSHAN