Case for the defence? Recruiters need to be on message.

Yesterday I was listening to a talk being given by a very experienced and successful headhunter. Maybe it's professional jealousy but part of what they said really troubled me.

A lot of the content was excellent; this person was undeniably very aware of their market and audience. Using humour and enlightening anecdotes the speaker held the attention of a room full to C-level tech execs.

However the point I took issue with was “I make the case for the defence, not the prosecution”, and told the room: you are not my customer, the client paying my fees is my customer.

Some in the recruitment sector will say that this is correct and I'm soft for querying it. But this is a relationship business.

The talk described a regular conversation had 6 months down the line with the successful candidate, “you'll never guess the mess I found when I got here!”

Well isn't that imagining the candidate you've placed is a little naive. I mean if you're taking a brief from a client on a senior role; you really should be aware of the environment the candidate you're placing is going to find once through the door? To suggest otherwise is accusing you (the recruiter) of negligence or worse.

Making a case for the defence means being balanced, not obscuring the truth. The speaker declared that as a candidate you'd only hear what they wanted you to hear. The advice to the jobseeker was to do their research and due diligence. To me that said - don't trust the recruiter.

There is little value finding a senior head for a company for them to only discover it isn't the promise land you imagined. If it's a challenging environment find a candidate who relishes the fight. Front up the issues and you're providing a better service to all concerned, including your precious client who needs the stability and growth a new hire can bring.

Yesterday's talk described how candidates regular become clients, and flip back again. Yes they do, if they trust you as a transparent adviser who they can listen to in confidence.

I have no doubt that in reality this individual shows all the qualities you'd hope of the best in their field. The success they've had over the years is evidence of that. But you need to think carefully about the message you're crafting. Without trust we're dead in the water, especially in the face of widespread industry disruption.