Advice for Recruiters: What You Need to Know
Successful recruiting involves a mix of technical and interpersonal skills. You need to know the nuances of the job you’re recruiting for and read your recruits on a deeper level than what they may be presenting or showing in their resumes.
Between building a network of candidates and hiring companies, delving into the industries you’re working in, and mastering the various tools recruiters use, you’ll stay busy. As a new recruiter — or a seasoned one entering a new industry — if you aren’t strategic about using your time, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
Here, we’ll share some expert advice for early recruiters to help you as you navigate these unknown waters.
Get Familiar With the Terms and Concepts
In order to sound credible, it is important to familiarize oneself with the language used in a particular field. How you’ll talk to a tech hiring manager or candidate significantly differs from what you’d say to someone in healthcare. For example, tech recruiters should understand the various niches in the industry, recognizing that the skills of a computer programmer aren’t the same as what someone hiring for a cybersecurity specialist looks for.
The ability to have an effective and professional discussion with recruits or hiring managers about the particular role in question is vital to successfully recruiting someone — and getting future work within the industry.
Build a Diverse Network
Even within the same industry, the candidates you’ll source for one job may not be the same as those you’d focus on for another. One employer could request candidates who speak a specific language, while another might prefer a new graduate who can be trained and isn’t set in their ways. This need is why having a vast, diverse network is beneficial.
Build your connections to include companies and candidates in the field you’re recruiting in and its similar professions. You’ll have multiple pipelines from which to source candidates; at least one should have someone who fits the requested profile. As an example, this article by Obsidi® discusses how top tech companies keep up their strong candidate pipelines.
Go where your community is. Not everyone is on LinkedIn. Tech groups often collaborate on platforms like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and Kaggle. With a little research, you’ll find out where your potential candidates pool so you can build relationships with them and grow your network.
You may need to diversify your candidate sourcing structure to include your usual places, plus professional networks, talent pools, and job boards.
Avoid Ambiguity
Some recruiters cloak their job descriptions in vague terms and wide skills. This technique usually will bring you more candidates, but most of them won’t be what you’re looking for. This is just using up everyone’s valuable time.
When you write the job descriptions, ensure they include the hiring manager’s non-negotiable required skills. Dig deep with them about what they’re looking for in a candidate and what responsibilities are included in the job. Use that information to form your job description to narrow the pool of candidates, attracting only those with the skills necessary for the position.
Know How to Ask Questions
Although the employer will interview the candidates you send to them, you are the first line of questioning. Knowing how to ask questions relevant to the role determines whether you send them qualified candidates or not.
Look for the applicant’s communication skills and other soft skills before you send them to the hiring manager based on their resume. For instance, if you know the job requires someone who can lead a team, yet the candidate is clearly unable to make strong decisions comfortably, you may want to continue your recruiting search.
Master the Art of Negotiation
So you’ve found the ideal recruit for a company, and you know the match would be a perfect fit. The only obstacle is the salary — the candidate has options, and they want more money. This happens frequently in industries like tech and healthcare, where demand is high and highly skilled workers are in low supply.
Your role includes negotiating with the potential employer and the candidate to agree upon a reasonable amount. This may include selling the candidate’s strengths to the hiring manager and pointing out the company’s strengths to the potential new employee. Either way, understanding how to negotiate will help you connect the two with a compromise.
Conclusion
The job of a recruiter can be exciting, fun, and fulfilling. Yet, it requires dedication, hard work, and communication skills. Follow these five pearls of expert recruiter wisdom, and you’ll have what it takes to be successful as you begin work in your new field.