This blog was originally posted on boostllc.net.

Proposal season is right around the corner, and we all know what that means! It means we all begin the time-critical endeavor of locating, recruiting, and securing the key personnel that are required to win the wide variety of contracts that are up for competition!

There are many factors involved in the enormous task of talent acquisition in proposal season. On top of that, you only have a very short window to make sure your proposal is solid, competitive, and wins out amongst all the contenders within the GovCon sector.

Three Pillars of Proposal Season

1. Understanding the ‘ins-and-outs’ of the multiplicity of contract requirements.
2. We have to navigate the process of securing commitment letters from qualified candidates
3. Meeting hard deadlines while still building the most effective and competitive proposal

These three elements – mastering contract requirements, obtaining commitment letters from the right candidates, and delivering compelling proposals on time – are hard work, but that’s the nature of the business.

The Intricacies of Contract Requirements

To effectively win contracts, we want to focus on the importance of having a customized strategy and game plan for securing key personnel for each one. And we all know that in order to build that strong roadmap for recruitment you need to have a deep understanding of the industry and all of its MANY moving parts. And remember, there’s no cookie-cutter approach here. Each recruitment strategy should be as unique as the contract it’s designed for.

Customize Your Approach

Just like each contract is unique, recruiting for each proposal should have its own customized strategy that is tailored to the needs, requirements, and priorities associated with the contract. There is no “one size” fits all approach to talent acquisition for proposals, there is no “proven process” that you can plug in and “churn and burn” through, each endeavor should be carefully considered and planned accordingly.

When it comes down to it, the goal of each strategy is to produce solid results – and QUICKLY (quickly being a main factor), let’s face it, ‘quickly’ is the name of the game during proposal season.

BOOST’s Tips for Effective Talent Acquisition for Proposal Season

At BOOST we are involved in strategy development and boots-on-the-ground recruiting every day and we are here to share a couple of nuggets of wisdom with you. It’s not the entire recipe, but a couple of ingredients should help!

1. Thoroughly understand the RFP requirements. Duh right!
2. Craft highly effective job descriptions.
3. Optimize social media for attracting & recruiting…and I don’t mean just company branding. Yes, folks, this works, have you lived under a rock!? Social media is a powerful tool if you know how to use it.
4. Leverage your current staff to effectively network through various channels. This doesn’t mean just asking for referrals, it means having a robust…can you hear me in the back!?…ROBUST plan to network through your network’s network.
5. Utilize a Rating Matrix for candidates for EACH proposal. What a great tool to use for future proposals you say! 😊
6. Choose candidates with the most relevant and varied work history.
7. Thoroughly screen candidates & it’s OKAY to tailor resumes to reflect skills and experience needed in the RFP.

BOOSTing your recruitment plan of action to attract key personnel will produce better results, and here at BOOST we are all about efficient and effective results in human relations for GovCons. Our team of experts has been successful time and time again with helping clients customize and implement a recruiting strategy that best aligns with the end goal for winning each contract. Don’t believe me…read the success stories on our page!

Key Takeaways

• Proposal Season Challenges: Proposal season involves locating, recruiting, and securing key personnel to win contracts. It’s a time-critical endeavor with many factors involved.
• Three Pillars of Proposal Season: Understanding contract requirements, securing commitment letters from qualified candidates, and meeting hard deadlines while building effective proposals are essential.
• Customized Strategy: Each contract and proposal requires a unique recruitment strategy. A deep understanding of the industry and its many moving parts is crucial for building a strong recruitment roadmap.
• Quick Results: The goal of each strategy is to produce solid results quickly, which is vital during proposal season.
• BOOST’s Tips: BOOST shares practical tips for successful recruitment during proposal season, including understanding RFP requirements, crafting effective job descriptions, leveraging social media, networking, using a Rating Matrix for candidates, choosing candidates with relevant and varied work history, and thoroughly screening candidates.
• Tailoring Resumes: It’s acceptable to tailor resumes to reflect the skills and experience needed in the RFP.
• BOOST’s Expertise: BOOST’s team of experts can help customize and implement a recruiting strategy that aligns with the end goal of winning each contract. They offer both advisory and hands-on recruiting services.

We are here to advise and consult on best practices or strategies, or we can actually do all the boots-on-the-ground aspect of recruiting as well. The choice is yours! If you have any questions about this process (or anything else!) Please don’t hesitate to reach out and see how we can best meet the needs of your organization.

When our clients succeed, we succeed!