Welcome back for the second installment of our client spotlight blog! Just like our webinars, our spotlight blogs are packed full of tips to help you find the best candidates for a given client. Our goal is to help you make top-quality placements quickly and easily. This week, we’ll be covering another big client of ours, The Gap.

First, a Little Background

As you may know, Gap is an American clothing and accessories company with stores all over the planet. They’re headquartered in San Francisco, California. They joined us toward the end of 2017, and we recently did a spotlight webinar on them. Right now, they’re working on a dressing room app that uses augmented reality to change the shopping experience. The app is still in its early stages, so you can expect a steady flow of requisitions as they start rolling out the product.

Gap is one of our tougher clients, but totally worth the hard work. They have a high number of requisitions, which are mostly IT roles out of the San Francisco HQ. Here’s where it really gets good: they have very high bill rates and very strong margins. Suffice it to say that a single top-level placement could have you taking home about $1,000 per month.

Geometric Results is the MSP for Gap. They’re an innovative company whose values closely align with the Crowdstaffing mission. Because of this, they’re thrilled to be working with us (the feeling is mutual), and they’re great at providing feedback and giving us plenty of resources to find exceptional candidates.

Speaking of resources, we do a weekly requisition update on Gap every Monday. It’s important that you sign up for this if you’re interested or are already working on Gap requisitions. Shipra, the account manager, will go over the open positions, break down the job descriptions, and help you identify which keywords you should be looking for in candidate's profiles. It’s an excellent learning experience that will not only help you recruit for Gap, but will also help you develop skills for recruiting senior level tech talent.

What to Expect When Submitting a Candidate

You’ll need to put in a little extra effort if you want to reap the financial benefits. Such is life, right? Gap is picky about the talent they bring onboard, and they’re willing to wait as long as it takes for that one special candidate. Here’s what you need to know:

• Account managers can only submit one candidate per opening, so they’re going to be just as picky as the Gap hiring managers. Make sure you fully vet candidates before you submit – candidates should be at least a 90% match. If there are two positions under one req, you can submit up to two resumes.

• Ideal candidates should have ample experience, especially with working in the Cloud. That said, they don’t want resumes that are crazy long. Only include information and experience that’s relevant to the position.

• Gap is looking for senior-level candidates who are tech masters. Most of the positions are high-caliber roles like Sr. Web Developer, Solutions Architect, Sr. Analyst, and more. Most likely, you’ll need to invest time looking for passive candidates and really selling them on Gap.

• Review a candidate’s hard and soft skills thoroughly. Gap wants self-starters who are adaptable and flexible. They love people who are passionate about technology and using it in new and innovative ways. Look for candidates who are leaders in the industry; sharp-as-a-tack conceptual thinkers who are comfortable with both coding and design.

• Gap wants to see candidates that are not just technically skilled, but who will also jibe with their company culture. Each submittal should include a candidate summary and a description of why you think they’ll fit in with Gap culture. Check out these Gap employee highlights to learn more about their current team members.

• The account manager will need to do a mandatory in-person or video screen before submitting. It’s a 15-minute interview to ensure the candidate is a good culture fit. So, again, you really need to be confident that your candidate is a knock-out before you submit.

What Candidates Will Love About Gap

Getting candidates excited about Gap shouldn’t be too hard since everyone knows who they are and what they do! Here are a few more selling points:

• Culture fit is important to Gap because they truly want employees to feel welcome as part of their diverse and inclusive family. Candidates will love knowing that they’re valued and appreciated. This is no exaggeration, either. Gap was ranked number two of the Thomson Reuter’s Top 100 Global Companies in 2017!

• We have Gap requisitions coming in from three locations: California, Ohio, and New York. The IT positions are based out of their San Fran location, which offers stunning views of the Bay Bridge. Gap is a high-tech client, so candidates will get to work with an innovative and talented group of people. Plus, they’ll get to play around with AR, which is super cool.

• They want candidates who are passionate about their own growth and becoming masters of their skills. This is great news! Candidates will work in a supportive and creative environment where they’ll be encouraged to learn something new every day.

• The San Fran location is (obviously) surrounded tons of like-minded people and startups in the area. If the candidate is the right fit, Gap will go out of their way to keep them on the team. Again, this speaks to their conversion rate and why they’re looking for candidates who are thinking in the long-term.

• Gap offers ongoing contracts up to 24 months, many of which have potential to be converted to full-time positions. And of course, they offer competitive pay!

Ready to Start Your Search for the Perfect Candidate?

Gap is an exciting opportunity for us, for you, and for candidates. We want to emphasize how important it is that you find the best candidates possible. They’re not like a typical client, where you’ll be racing to get in the first candidate that signs an RTR - you need to spend time researching and screening your candidates before you submit. On the upside, you won’t have to compete with as many recruiters as you normally would, and the payoff is substantial.

You can watch the full client spotlight webinar if you’d like to hear more tips and best practices for recruiting for Gap. Or, start browsing through a list of current openings here. And as always, if you have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to the account manager. Good luck!