Consultants are able to experience a wealth of opportunities simply from being able to move in and out of so many unique organizations in multiple sectors of the economy, various parts of the country and in nations all around the globe.
They're able to witness things that work in company A, and they have the ability to adapt and apply those concepts to companies B and C.
Consultants see some of those differences with their eyes, but they also listen quite closely for patterns and trends.
What are they hearing? One thing that they hear time and time again is, "If unemployment has risen so high, where can all of the 'good people' be found? Where can we find all of the talent that we require?" Focus on Alignment to Find the Right Talent As a trend, it's not that there aren't exceptional people available; it's more about a deficiency of alignment in the marketplace.
Great talent exists, and with the openings that are available, there is something of a disconnect happening.
This is actually a terrific opportunity for business leaders to be proactive and secure the top talent for their organizations.
When it's time to start looking around the corner, there are four essential recommendations that should be implemented when it comes to the acquisition of talent:

1. Consider the job opening that needs to be filled.
   Create a job description of the role you require right now - not the role that may have been existed before the downturn - and embrace it right away!
2. Face the harsh facts.
   You might not be able to locate the ideal talent, so you should invest in the growth and business acumen of the talent that already exists on your team.
   Consider ways you can build on your current team and your existing situation.
   
3. Examine some non traditional methods of acquiring talent: hiring contractors, outsourcing and bringing in talent from elsewhere to take care of strategic initiatives.
   
4. When you bring talent in from outside, take some of your candidates with the greatest potential and connect them with the experts you've brought in.
   You will accomplish your strategic initiative, and your high-potential talent will receive valuable training.
   

History has a Tendency to Repeat Itself Businesses should pay attention to these concepts because a trend is developing.
The acquisition and retention of talent today is similar to the Internet in 1994 in that a number of teams and their leaders are simply going about business in the same manner as they have always done.
Their goal is to fill job opening A with person B.
The alternative approach that should be taken is to look around the corner and think about what else can be done and how it can be done differently.
The old talent acquisition model is certainly dying, if it's not dead already.
One thing that is true for every leader is this: the person who possesses the best talent wins more often than not.
That's why you need to think strategically.
Inform Your Search with These Key Questions: "How can we hire the most talented people without creating a monster payroll?" "How can we turn this into a strategic advantage for our organization?" "How can this be done while simultaneously looking around the corner and keeping focus on our vision?" The answer is actually quite simple: vision, alignment and execution.