Sital Ruparelia

I received this morning a copy of a note that has been sent out by JP Morgan to all their preferred recruitment suppliers. Essentially the message was

“please don’t call us with candidates – we’re doing just fine recruiting people via referrals and direct applicants” 

Over the summer I have written several times here, here and here about the fact that your job search campaign during a downturn or recession needs to be heavily driven via your contacts and network. Spending most of your time talking to recruiters and searching on job boards in the current climate is simply not effective. And if it is, you will find yourself playing the numbers game to make it work for you.

Nothing against my many friends in the world the world of recruitment and head hunting – but it’s just the reality of recruiting in a job market which is flooded with candidates coupled with ever tightening recruitment budgets. 

So if you’re a job hunter who thinks working hard at your job search means sending a few emails to contacts, checking in with your head hunter and looking through job boards and job alerts every day - then here’s some advice for you:

1. Read below the JP Morgan note to their recruiters – you’ll see clearly how they plan to recruit.

2. Stop hiding behind your computer – no one finds work by sitting at home in from of their PC or laptop.

3. Get out in a BIG way -push yourself out of your comfort zone, reconnect with people who you have lost contact with, network with new contacts, make the whole process systematic, become excellent at following up and become very very persistent.

Here’s the JP Morgan email (sent to me by a recruitment friend who, up until now, recruited for JPM):

 “Recent market turmoil, including the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers and the purchase of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America has created an unprecedented set of circumstances in the job market. We have been approached by many individuals from these firms and are managing the process internally.

As one of our valued recruiting partners in Europe, it is important that you help us manage hiring opportunities in a controlled and coordinated manner. Therefore, to address questions on handling candidates from competitors, we ask that you please follow the below guidelines:

JPMorgan remains focused on identifying and sourcing candidates through our direct channels and our market network for any open positions at the firm

Where we need support from our recruitment suppliers, we will outline the requirement and arrange to work with you on an identified position

PLEASE DO NOT submit candidates on a speculative basis as we are currently inundated with direct calls and inquiries from available talent. Instead, we ask that you work directly with your JPMorgan recruitment contact to understand any specific needs we may or may not have at this time. Specifically, with respect to Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, we ask you not to introduce or submit candidates from these firms unless we advise you to the contrary. We will not pay fees for resumes / referrals unless we have agreed new, specific terms with you.

In the case you have been contacted by a JPMorgan hiring manager to submit candidates, please let your JPMorgan recruitment contact know immediately so that they can validate the request and put the proper contract or terms in place.

If you believe you have an exception to the guidelines above please notify your JPMorgan recruitment contact.

We are committed to investing in talent in an organized and responsible way that meets the need of our shareholders, our business and most importantly the individuals concerned. Please let us know if you have any questions.”