Recruiting & Placement FAQs for Candidates

Professional Individuals

Question:   I’m not looking. Why should I invest my time to get to know you now?
Answer: 1-3

#1 False: Executive recruiters find jobs for qualified candidates.

Truth: Executive recruiters are working for companies looking for the most qualified management talent. This means they are working for the company, not for you. Always keep this in mind when you are dealing with a recruiter. You must present yourself as a solution to their client’s problem, not as a candidate in need of a job.

#2 False: Executives should blast their resumes as quickly as possible to as many executive recruiters as soon as they are in transition.

Truth: Most unsolicited resumes end up either sitting in an executive recruiter’s spam folder, never get read, or get tossed/deleted as soon as they come in. So don’t waste your time blasting your resumes to any and all postings you find on the web. Take the time to develop relationships with a few select recruiters.

#3 False: The best time to build a relationship with an executive recruiter is when I’m looking for my next job.

Truth: Unfair as it seems, retained executive search firm recruiters still have an inherent bias against active job seekers. They earn their business and client relationships by being a source of candidates who are at the top of their game and not looking.   So take the time to start developing relationships with recruiters while you are still employed.

Top performing producer teams should consider choosing a recruiter to be their agent and then be patient and allow them to conduct a thoughtful search for a compatible employer. Sports and entertainment stars have agents and mortgage stars can too!

Teams

Question: Who is considered a good candidate for this program?

Answer: An existing, well performing Team wanting to remain as a working unit for a company being closed or acquired or a good producer with leadership qualities who may not be a “top performer” individually but can assemble and lead a team of good performers whose aggregate production equates to a “top performing group”.

Question: Why choose Mortgage Production Solutions?

Answer: I began my career as a loan officer trainee and worked my way up from a processors desk through ‘the street’ and up.  For 36 of my 39-year career, I have served in management positions at a senior or executive vice president level with mortgage banks.   My specialty has always been production whether retail, wholesale or correspondent.   I have attended countless production management seminars; sat in management and board meetings, understand what does and doesn’t make good business sense from both the corporate and the producer sides of the policy equations when mediating and resolving conflicts of purpose.   The insights available from these positions of observation and context are invaluable.   And, most importantly, I know what questions to ask employer clients; how to listen through an answer to the real meaning of the answer and whether the answers received are indicative of production friendly cultures. Let’s face it… no employer is going to attempt to recruit one by saying “we’re an awful place to work so come to work for me and I’ll wreck your success.”  They are going to present and describe their organizations in the best possible light.  Those representations are unfortunately often misrepresentations.  It doesn’t really matter in the end if those misrepresentations are intentional or just pre-judicially naive.   Think about it.   The only difference between murder and manslaughter is the existence of “intent” but the victim doesn’t care.   They’re dead either way.

Questions: Why does this work better than traditional recruiting and placement programs?

Answer: Compatibility is the primary KEY to a successful and productive employment relationship. From the beginning of each contract through to final conveyance, I invest significant time and research into gaining an explicit understanding of the business philosophies and personality of the corporate production management for any employer client in order to match those components better with those same two components of the employee candidates of the Team. I want the placements to stick.  After all, recruiters must frequently guarantee free replacement of employees, and typically those that depart within the initial three to six months of employment.   The blame for the departure typically rest on the employee within the context of the replacement guarantee.   In that context, it’s simply good business practice and certainly more cost effective to do the job right in the  first place than do it repetitiously for free.   We’ve all seen successful producers leave Employer A and simply cross the street to Employer B while offering the same basic menu of programs and competitive prices to the same Realtor’s and homebuilder’s customers only to bomb because they aren’t “compatible” with the business philosophies and personalities of their new management and the resulting “culture” of their new employer

Question:  Why build a Team?

Answer: Two primary reasons – and higher commission splits is NOT one of them.  First, in down markets in particular, and in all markets in general, VOLUME of quality production at a cost effective price is in high demand. top Producing Stars are always being pursued by potential employers wanting the production contributing to their bottom line whether they are fee-driven or servicing mortgage banks.  Production Solutions will represent those individuals likewise.  However, there is a very real perception among many employers that such individual stars come with a Prima Donna attitude package that is excessively expensive, offensive and challenging to even the most patient production managers.  Therefore a Team of producers originating similar volume numbers is often considered to be more attractive acquisition opportunity.  Second, employers can often take on the personality of a bully demonstrating a “take it or leave it, like it or lump it” dictatorial management style instead of “selling” necessary changes to their staff and demonstrating appropriately respectful leadership techniques by pursuing the staff’s buy-in.  A Team united can mitigate the effects of that similar to a Union.  Often conflicts arise due to the producers demand for additional support whether adding processors, closers or underwriters.  Prima Donna producers already receive the highest commission rates of pay and want the employer to exclusively bear the cost associated with those additions as well.  Eventually, the total cost becomes excessive.  Understand one absolute truth.  When a relationship consistently benefits one party more than the other and at the perceived expense of the other, eventually the side on the short end of the stick will tire of it and that relationship will not stand the test of time!  Teams are more likely to leave enough on the table for the employer to make improvements and additions while still enjoying an acceptable rate of return for the overhead.

Question:  Who pays for this service?

Answer: The recruiter represents the producer or group exclusively on a “no cure, no pay” basis but the potential employer pays their tab plus reimbursements for marketing/advertising cost advanced by the producer or group for the search for the employer.

Question:  What is the Number ONE challenge to overcome for success when assembling a new Team?

Answer: Failure by all members of the TEAM to define and agree to a uniform set of job descriptions and expectations.  Examples are:

• What constitutes a complete loan application package?
• When is it OK to turn in an incomplete application package to a processor?
• What are the duties of the commissioned loan originator?
• If the originator doesn’t perform these tasks completely and/or with consistency, will they employ an assistant to be paid by the originator(s) to handle these tasks to avoid burdening the processor with the extra work which will adversely impact the processors capacity to meet the goals and schedules of the other originators they support?
• Will policy be set by majority consensus?  (Important … Employees are more responsive to policy that they are responsible for!)
• Are you prepared to unite when dealing with changes imposed by the employer even if a specific issue driving the conflict doesn’t directly involve you?  United you stand, divided you fall.  If an employer fears they might lose an entire team they are less likely to persecute an employee when other options might exist to resolve conflicts and/or problems.