But first, remember that delegation doesn't necessarily mean that you give your tasks to other people. I've found that in many cases, I can use various instruments of delegation to leverage my efforts. Here are a few examples:

1. Resume templates. Years ago, I used to spend time coaching candidates to help them improve the quality and appearance of their resumes. Today, I ask them to go to my Web site and study the template of an exemplary resume and revise theirs accordingly.  In this case, the template acts as an instrument of delegation, and the exercise spares me a lot of the time I might spend as an editor, not a recruiter.

2. Position comparisons. If a candidate is unclear about the merits of a new job, you can use standard worksheets to make A-B comparisons with the old job. For example, I use a simple side-by-side spreadsheet to examine overall cash compensation, deferred compensation, insurance costs, hidden expenses and health care benefits. I also use a worksheet to compare the qualitative differences between jobs, to help the candidate make an informed decision. By delegating to the worksheets, I can change the candidate's perception of my role from salesman ("Here's why you should take the job") to advisor ("Let's analyze your situation based on the facts").

3. Interview prep. You should always prep your candidates prior to their interviews. But there are many standard conventions regarding attire, attitude, punctuality and so forth that you can just as easily give to your candidates in the form of a reading assignment, rather than as a night-before lecture. Delegating the talking points of your interview prep to a brochure or Web page saves time and allows you to concentrate on the candidates' understanding of the position and on any interviewing skills that need the most attention.

4. Applications and navigators. Often, you can get better information in a more timely fashion directly from the candidates and hiring managers themselves than you can by an exhaustive interviewing process. By having the employer fill out a questionnaire (which I call an "executive search navigator") and the candidate fill out an application, I can get their demographic profiles in advance, freeing me up to concentrate on the more intangible and subjective aspects of their needs.

There's no substitute for real-time interaction with your candidates and employers. However, there are only a limited number of hours in each day. By delegating routine, repetitive or data-oriented tasks, you can save time and in many ways exercise more control than if you were to perform every single function personally.