dkrc Chapter 119 Expanding the Categories of Talent Recruitment
Chapter 119 Expanding the Categories of Talent Recruitment
On Monday morning, Lin Feng walked into the office area. With the team growing in size, the space was much more crowded than before.
The sounds of typing, answering phones, and footsteps created a bustling, lively scene.
Wei Zejun was speaking loudly to several new employees in front of a whiteboard in the corner, gesturing wildly with his hands.
A few people were surrounding Zhou Bin, pointing and gesturing at the computer screen.
Good morning, Mr. Lin.
Lin Feng nodded and went into his office.
Several documents awaiting his signature were spread out on the table, along with reports written by Wei Zejun and Zhou Bin.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door, and HR Manager Zhou Zhongcheng pushed it open and came in: "President Lin, the interviewees have arrived. Team Leader Wei and Team Leader Lin are already in the small conference room."
Today we mainly interviewed two groups of people. In the morning, we interviewed the field sales staff, and in the afternoon, we interviewed the leader of the newly established "Recruitment Information Operation Team".
"We'll let Wei Zejun and Lin Xiaoqiang decide on the ground promotion staff themselves. I'll only participate in the interview for the group leader of the 'Recruitment Information Team'," Lin Feng replied.
Wei Zejun manages the operations of businesses and organizations, while Lin Xiaoqiang oversees individual housing information. After working together for a while, they should have a good idea of who to recruit for ground promotion.
Lin Feng hoped they could stand on their own.
At 2 PM, in the small conference room, the interview for the head of the recruitment information operations team was held.
Lin Feng flipped through the three resumes in his hand. The position of Recruitment Information Operations Team Leader required both an understanding of the complexities of offline recruitment and a basic grasp of online recruitment; it was difficult to fill such a position.
After talking to the first two, one was too abstract, spouting internet slang and completely clueless when it came to practical matters; the other was too pragmatic, having worked in the job market for over a decade, yet utterly bewildered by online job postings.
The third person to come in was Zhang Ming, 28 years old. His resume said he had worked in human resources at the factory and later worked in operations at the Shenzhen Talent Market.
"Sit down." Lin Feng pointed to the chair opposite him.
Zhang Ming sat down, his back straight, his eyes filled with a desire to seize the opportunity.
"Zhang Ming, right? What did you mainly do at the previous job fair?" Lin Feng asked directly.
Zhang Mingqing cleared his throat. "The main thing is to attract corporate clients, let them post job openings on our platform, and then maintain those job listings."
"Which market did you primarily want to target at the time?"
"At first, I wanted to expand, but then I realized that I couldn't do it if I went too big, so I decided to focus on recruiting workers for local factories and basic service industry positions."
"What problem did you encounter?"
"There are too many problems." Zhang Ming gave a wry smile. "The most troublesome thing is that we're stuck in a rut."
Many people looking for work—migrant workers, waiters, factory workers—are unaware of job markets, let alone job market websites. Many of them distrust online information, believing it's mostly a scam.
On the hiring side, the owners of small restaurants, shops, and factories are either too old to use computers or find it too troublesome. They simply put up a red paper sign at the entrance of their factories or shops, and anyone interested can come in and ask, thinking it's the easiest way.
"Where do you think the problem lies?"
"We were too presumptuous," Zhang Ming said bluntly. "We thought that just because there's a job market, a website, and information, people should come. But that's not the case."
Those small shop owners need people who can start working immediately.
Those looking for work want a reliable opportunity.
We didn't fully establish this "connection" at the time; the website was just an empty shell, not truly functional.
"If you were to do it, starting from scratch, how would you do it?" Lin Feng leaned forward slightly.
Zhang Ming had clearly thought about this issue, stating frankly, "We can't just focus on the website; we need strong on-the-ground promotion. We need people to go door-to-door, going from store to store, to negotiate. But just going isn't enough; we need to have actual 'goods' in hand."
At first, we can use the most basic method: online, sending people to local forums, online communities, QQ groups, and even information boards in industrial areas and urban villages to manually collect information left by people looking for jobs, even if it's just an intention and a phone number.
Offline, when sales representatives visit stores, they can also pay attention to note down job postings on store doors, words of advice from recruiters, and the stores' urgent staffing needs.
He paused, seeing that Lin Feng was listening attentively, and continued, "Then, when the sales representatives go to the next store, they can say:
"Boss, you're hiring, right? I have a few contact details for people looking for this kind of work. Would you like to take a look?"
"I've put your staffing shortage information on our platform and noted it down. Next time someone is looking for this type of work, we'll just let you know."
In this way, we are no longer just asking others to send messages without actually doing anything; instead, we offer some "help" first.
Once we've actually helped him even once, it will be much easier to ask him to post or update information on our website.
The website is the final step; it's a tool to ensure this "help" continues and can be expanded, not the first step.
Lin Feng nodded. The other party's idea coincided with his, and was even more specific, that was to actively collect information offline as "ammunition".
He deliberately said, "It's a stupid method, and it will be very inefficient."
"It's a bit clumsy, but it works," Zhang Ming explained. "First, create value for employers and build trust, even if it's one company at a time. Once you have a few successful examples, you can use those examples to persuade the shops next door."
As the website gradually accumulated more information and became more presentable, it attracted more shops and job seekers, creating a snowball effect, even though the snowball was small at first.
"How many people do you need, and how do we get started?"
"We don't need many people at the beginning, but they all have to be hardworking and good at communicating. Give me three or four experienced ground salespeople, and recruit one or two people who specialize in collecting job information online and offline to form a team."
First, designate a small area, such as the vicinity of the science park, and concentrate all your efforts on thoroughly developing it.
What I need is for this team to have independent experimentation rights in the recruitment process, to use the most basic methods to get the process running smoothly and quickly test and fail. Of course, I will report to you regularly.
With a clear mind, well-defined goals, and a willingness to put in the hard work rather than aiming too high, Lin Feng had a general idea of what was going on.
"Okay. That's all for today. I'll let you know if there's any news." Lin Feng ended the interview.
After Zhang Ming left, Lin Feng told Wei Zejun and Zhou Zhongcheng about his decision.
"Zhang Ming will be the head of the recruitment information operations team. Lao Wei, pick a few quick-witted, articulate, and resilient people from the ground promotion team for him as the initial core team."
In addition, he needs to hire one or two more people specifically to collect job seeker information online and offline. These individuals will be recruited by the Human Resources department.
Wei Zejun nodded: "Okay. I'll pick the people; I guarantee they'll be able to work. The ground promotion team is under a lot of pressure lately, and Xiaoqiang's team is also short-staffed for collecting individual housing listings. I was just about to tell you that we need to hire a few more."
"Recruit. Follow the plan, recruit when necessary. But be strict with information; accuracy is the first hurdle, and deep regional penetration is a hard requirement. You and Xiaoqiang must keep a close eye on this," Lin Feng emphasized.
"Don't worry, Mr. Lin. We've made the rules crystal clear to them."
Zhang Ming came to work the next day.
He immediately pulled aside the three key sales personnel that Wei Zejun had assigned to him—Zhao Yong, Sun Hao, and Xu Xiaoming—and the four of them, including himself, for a small meeting.
"The four of us are now the company's newly established recruitment information operations team," Zhang Ming said bluntly. "We'll start from scratch and build up the website's recruitment section."
He spread out a rough map of the area surrounding the science park and circled the commercial street in the northern section, as well as the companies and office buildings in the park.
"We'll start with the science park and get things going. Our goal is to get the shops, factories, and businesses in this area to post job openings on our website. We're both salespeople and information gatherers."
The sales pitch isn't about aggressively pushing the website; it's about first asking about needs, then showing "sincerity" by presenting a "job seeker information checklist" that they need to prepare in advance.
"Where did the list come from?" Zhao Yong asked.
"This is the hardest part of the beginning," Zhang Ming explained. "The four of us split up and tackled it separately. We had several approaches:"
First, go to local job forums, online communities, and QQ groups, copy down any useful job postings, call them to verify, and ask what kind of job they are looking for, then write it down.
Secondly, go to the bulletin boards and shop entrances in industrial zones and urban villages, and take pictures or copy down the handwritten job postings and job seekers that you can, and organize them by area.
Third, while outreaching, chat with small shop owners, grocery store owners, and young people who are idling in internet cafes during work hours. Ask them if they know anyone in the neighborhood looking for work, and keep an eye out for them.
"How long will this take?" Sun Hao felt that this method was too slow.
"So we'll only delineate this small area." Zhang Ming pointed to the map. "The four of us will spend a week gathering as much information as possible about 'job seekers' and 'hiring' in this area, no matter how fragmented, and compile it into two lists."
Then, take the "job search list" to "employers" and "job seekers." Even if you only successfully connect one person at first, we'll have an example and can continue.
The method was clumsy, and the task was heavy, but Zhao Yong and Sun Hao didn't say much and nodded in agreement. Those who could join the field sales team were all people who could endure hardship.
For the first three days, the four of them practically spent all their time in that area.
Zhang Ming carried a notebook and wandered around. He would go into any store that had a job posting and chat with them. He would also write down the job seekers' names on the walls and organize them in the evening when he returned to the office, then call to verify them.
Li Ying, who was in charge of online promotion, also helped to filter some information from the internet.
By the fourth day, they finally had some decent "ammunition": a record of basic information and phone numbers of more than a dozen job seekers looking for waiters, shop assistants, and general laborers; and information on seven or eight small shops with clear hiring needs.
With this "job seeker list" in hand, Zhao Yong once again walked into the "Old Wharf" Sichuan restaurant.
The proprietress, Sister Liu, was having a headache over a waiter who had run away. This time, Zhao Yong didn't mention the website directly. Instead, he first ate at the restaurant, chatted casually, and then brought it up:
"Sister Liu, you're still short-staffed, right? I think I have a few people looking for waiter/waitress jobs. Would you like to take a look?"
He handed over the handwritten note. The proprietress was skeptical, but desperately needed help, so she made the call.
Unexpectedly, they actually got in touch with a girl who had just come from her hometown and was looking for a job, and they arranged an interview.
The next afternoon, Zhao Yong went again, and the person had already started working on a trial basis. Sister Liu looked much better.
Zhao Yong then suggested that the job posting could be published on the "Tongcheng Life Network" website for free, so that more people would see it if there were any more staff needed in the future.
This time, Sister Liu didn't refuse and asked Zhao Yong to help her. It was just a very simple message entered into the website's backend:
"Old Wharf Sichuan Restaurant is hiring one female waitress, aged 18-25, hardworking, meals and accommodation provided, salary negotiable. Phone: 13XXXXXXXXX."
But for Zhang Ming and his team, this was a breakthrough from zero.
They immediately used this example, along with the real job posting updated on the website, to approach the neighboring shop. Their sales pitch became:
"Look! Sister Liu from 'Old Wharf' recruited people in just two days through us. The information is on our website, take a look. You can also post your needs here, it's free, give us another avenue."
Although businesses are still not used to posting information online, many have started to try online recruitment after seeing real examples of successful hiring.
Over the course of a week, around the "Old Wharf" as the center, seven or eight small shops on the two surrounding streets posted information on the "Shenzhen Local Life Network - Jobs" section.