Dude, where's my Recruiter?!

90% of leaders we encounter have had their careers held back at some point by the impact of the hiring process being left to another part of the organisation.

In a hectic working environment, it can be very tempting to pass Recruiters off to HR, armed only with a brief, generic job description which would be incapable of attracting the attention of an ostrich, let alone the calibre of candidate you’re actually seeking.

HR isn’t usually able to provide specific insight beyond a general level or what is contained within the job description. This gives Recruiters an incomplete picture of what you require, e.g. the most important qualities you are looking for, key benefits of working for you as a manager and your value, the intangibles that you’d like the candidate to bring to the table, how you’d make an impact together, a picture of what success really looks like for you, and the technical details of the role. Our research has shown that only around 8% of HR professionals can answer these key questions but they are essential to identifying and attracting the right candidates. This leaves the Recruiter on shaky ground, searching for candidates based on what they believe you require, not the true facts.

The probability of recruiters filling your position, and therefore getting paid, hovers around 10-20%. These low odds make it difficult for them to perform at their best and increases the likelihood that they will quickly move onto something else, leaving you thinking “dude, where’s my recruiter?” A decent Recruiter will manage expectations and let you know where you stand if the communication lines are open.

All too often this results in a flurry of mediocre CVs landing on your desk within a few days, plucked from the market’s low hanging fruit before the stream dries up completely. All you’ve done in this situation is fired the starting pistol on a race that’s all about the speed of delivery, not the quality of the candidates. Many times this leads to hiring the wrong candidate, which can have a detrimental effect on the team and wider business.

When you invest in your Recruiter, your Recruiter will invest in you

Contingency search does have its place in the recruitment world, but when hunting for individuals to fill key positions an engaged search with a carefully selected recruitment partner is more effective, increasing the success probability to 80-90%.

The most successful leaders take full control in the recruitment process and invest the time to build a lasting relationship with a single boutique Recruiter or Headhunter, who thoroughly understands their business and needs and delivers a whole of market, engaged search.

With this arrangement the Recruiter will prioritise your requirement to identify the most suitable candidates, undertaking a deep dive and thorough assessment of the market and developing a robust marketing strategy that engages the market as many as 10 times in a short 2-3 week period to target the best candidates, not just the first available from the active market. The entire process adds greater business value, a better candidate experience and results in a much higher calibre of individual, significantly increasing the odds of a successful hire.

Change your recruitment fortunes with an engaged search

Turning your traditional recruitment approach on its head can give you a whole new perspective on the value of Recruiters. Moving away from contingency recruitment and embarking on an engaged search will deliver a higher calibre of candidate, resulting in better hires and a stronger, more effective team. By recruiting and leading a successful team, your own career advancement options will undoubtedly bloom, all it takes is a simple switch in your recruitment mindset.

Jamie Little – The Big Data Recruiter – Recruiting first-class data talent in Europe.

00441908 88 88 83 | [email protected]

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