Get the Most Out of Your Recruiter: Mapping Out the Recruitment Process

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Whenever you meet someone for the first time, whether mingling at a wedding or making small talk with the person sitting next to you on your flight, one of the first questions that everyone asks is: “What do you do?”

I used to answer by saying, “I am a recruiter for a staffing agency”. However, most of the time I would get the same response. It would start with a confused look followed by a couple seconds of silence, and a couple of following up questions such as “Oh, so you help people get jobs, right?” or “So you call people with job opportunities?” 

These are all valid assumptions, but only touch the very surface. The purpose of this blog is to give candidates and hiring managers a deeper understanding of what goes on “behind the scenes” in the staffing industry in order to give you the tools to better interact with agencies and their recruiters. Realizing that most people think that recruiters just call people for jobs, it is important to understand what else happens from start to finish with the staffing process because there is a lot of magic that happens outside of the initial call with a headhunter.

Over the years I have changed my answer to the “What do you do?” question to, “I identify exceptional talent in my industry and navigate them through the recruitment process” and you will see why.

The Best Navigation Leads to the most Direct Route to Your Destination

Remember the good old days of navigating by map? I am talking about the map book that you usually kept under your seat or in the trunk or the origami-like folded map that you could never get to fold back to its original form that would open up to the size a small parachute? Back then, getting lost or hitting a road closure was a time consuming adventure. Then came technology.

In the mid 2000’s GPSs became accessible to the masses. The most popular holiday gifts came in the form of a Garmin, Mio, Navigon, Magellan, or TomTom that we all had suction cupped to our windshield attached to a six foot cord that snaked its way throughout the car on its journey to the cigarette lighter. Maps became obsolete because everyone had them and they were awesome. There was one big problem; however, the closest route was based on distance and speed limit. They didn’t take into consideration traffic and road closures which generally led to a whole lot of “route recalculating”.

Fast forward to today where we have real time navigation from services like Google Maps and Waze that are available for any smart phone. They analyze user data to determine current speeds to create a fastest, up to date, real time “fastest route” to create the quickest possible path from your starting point to your destination. 

This real time navigation is exactly what agencies are doing. They are removing roadblocks, bypassing traffic, and using current data to make sure that everyone is getting to their destination as efficently as possible.

Steps to the Recruiting Process

Throughout the upcoming weeks we will look into each step in further detail, but for the time being it makes sense to summarize the recruitment steps to get a better idea of what to expect along the trip. You will find that it is a lot more than just “calling people with job opportunities”.

Step 1: Detailing the Vacancy

This is probably the most important part of the process as it sets the stage for everything else. Even a short five minute Q&A session with the HR or Hiring Manager can save countless hours “route recalculating”. Detailing the vacancy means finding out what the hiring manager/team is actually looking for, both inside and outside of the job description. Example questions are:

a.      What are the “must have” qualifications? What are the “nice to have” qualifications?

b.     What are the details regarding compensation including salary, benefits, PTO, bonuses, stocks, relocation, etc.?

c.      How long has the position been open? If it has been open for a while, what can we learn from the sourcing efforts so far (so the recruiter doesn’t waste time going down the same path)? If it is a new position, what can we learn from the last time the position was open?

d.     Why is the position open? If it is a backfill, why did the last person leave or get fired?

e.     How soon are you looking to fill the position?

f.       Why would someone what to work in this position or with your company?

The list can go on and on, but the morale of the story is: the better an agency knows their client and understands the vacancy, the quicker the position will be filled by identifying and attracting the best talent.

Dirty little Secret: Sometimes recruiters don’t have access to all of the answers. For example, many large companies use a Vendor Management System (VMS) which automates the recruiting process. Once the position is approved in the system each agency on the “vendor list” will have access to the job description and the ability to submit candidates. There is no access to a hiring manager and usually not even a call with HR. Pros and cons of VMS will be addressed in a later post.

Step 2: Outreach

Outreach can be done in many ways: searching databases and calling/emailing candidates that have the “must have” qualifications, advertisements and job postings to attract active candidates, cold calling, networking on social media, and working on a referral network among others. 

Working with referrals is a great way to identify talent. For example, if I trust you based of your background, personality, and job experience and you say, “Hey Alex, give John a call because he is amazing, has the skill sets you are looking for, and is open for a change,” then John is someone I want to speak with.  I know and trust you, you know and trust John, and therefore I should know and trust John. In the simplest way you are giving him a brief positive reference.

Regardless of the method, the interview process can’t begin without outreach. People can’t interview for a job they don’t know exists.

Best Practices: Even if the person you are thinking of referring isn’t looking, it would still make sense to pass the information of the vacancy along. Recruiters specialize in working with passive candidates and I have personally had countless of referrals who were eternally grateful for the introduction.

Step 3: Initial Phone Screen with Recruiter

The first phone call between a potential candidate and a recruiter should be a mutual exchange of information. The potential candidate wants to learn more about the job opportunity while the recruiter wants to know more about the candidate’s qualifications.

It is helpful if the recruiter has an updated CV prior to the call so they can collect their questions. If they are “flying blind”, the first phone call will generally be very brief and one-sided.

Using the information gained in Step 1 the recruiter can paint a better picture of the company, the position, the expectations, the interview process, and answer most questions candidates have in order to identify whether the opportunity fits with their career expectations and goals.

Once the candidate is interested in the job opportunity, the recruiter needs to make sure that the candidate meets the “must have” qualifications prior to moving forward with the submission. Candidates should be prepared to answer very specific questions regarding their backgrounds/experiences, be able to walk through their job history and reasons for change, and discuss salary history and expectations.

This process may take more than an initial phone call. In fact it could take a handful of calls going back and forth to get to the point where both parties are comfortable in moving forward.

Best Practices: Be upfront yet professional during your calls with your recruiter. They should know the truth about your situation at all times to be able to best represent your candidacy. This is a topic we will tap into in the weeks ahead.

Dirty Little Secrets: There is a misconception that recruiters can’t ask about salary. They can and they will. Recruiters are representatives for their candidates and if someone is withholding information they can easily choose not to risk their reputation by representing someone who isn’t being upfront about their situation. There can be an argument made that salary, in many cases, may not be the primary motivator. Although that may be true, there is a difference between going to work and volunteering. Hiding or lying about salary is a huge red flag.  The recruiter-candidate relationship is built on trust and based on a mutual goal…to get you an offer. If you don’t trust your recruiter to get you the best offer possible, then you shouldn’t be working with them in the first place.

Step 4: Submission

Once there has been a mutual agreement to move forward from the initial phone screen(s), the recruiter will then forward the CV to the hiring team. They will, generally, create a personalized “cover letter” to better help detail the candidate’s qualifications and interests for review. 

Working with a recruiter means that every candidate is prescreened, prequalified, and interested in the position which gives them a ticket to the front of the line for review.

Step 5: Scheduling the Interview

Once the hiring team shows interest in scheduling an interview, the recruiter will usually be the liaison to help set everything up by collecting availability and confirmation contact information along with confirming the interview once set.

Step 6: Interview Preparation

Before every interview there should be a call between the candidate and recruiter…no exceptions! This is your inside track to nailing the interview. First, this is an opportunity to ask any questions that have come up since your earlier call(s) to get a better picture of the opportunity. Second, it gives you a chance to learn from prior experiences. Learn why other candidates made it through the process and why others didn’t.  

Best Practices: This is information that you can’t get anywhere else. It is literally the best shortcut in the entire process to position your candidacy over everyone else. Come with a laundry list of questions, the more the merrier. Think of it like the last practice before the big game. Better preparation means a better chance of winning.

Besides learning from the successes and failures of others, make sure to review the company website and job description again. Have your CV in front of you in case there are specifics that the team wants to go over. It never looks good to answer a question by saying, “I don’t know. I don’t have my CV in front of me.” If you can’t talk about yourself, no else can.

Step 7: Interview Debrief

Talk to your recruiter before they talk to the hiring team. One of the first questions that either HR or the Hiring Manger asks the recruiter post interview is, “How did [Candidate Name] think their interview went and are they still interested in the position?” If the call went terrible and you are no longer interested, it looks better for the recruiter to pull your candidacy and not waste the team’s time to discuss the interview internally. On the flip side if everything went well and you are looking forward to the next steps, this is the time for the recruiter to sing your praises and tell the team how absolutely impressive the interview was to keep you at the top of the list.

Best Practices: Recruiters have more say than you think when it comes moving the interview process forward. Hiring managers have a level of trust with their recruiters and regularly turn to their recruiters to help decide which candidates they should move forward with. Interviewers like being liked. They love to hear when a candidate is as interested in the company/position as the company/hiring manager is in them.

Step 8: Repeat Steps 5-7 for Each Interview

Step 9: Offer Negotiation

Based on the interview debrief(s) the recruiter should know exactly what it will take for you to accept an offer along with the timeline for when you can start a new position. Your recruiter is your biggest cheerleader and their goal is to get you the best offer possible. Recruiters are masters at salary negotiations as they have negotiated countless offers. Their fee is usually based on your salary so the higher the salary, the bigger their fee (this is a little bit different when talking about contract position, but most of the time contract rates are fixed or pre-negotiated) which means they are literally fighting in your corner. Most importantly, recruiters can play the role of mediator by using their relationships to negotiate in a kind and professional way, whether it be phrasing the requests in a certain way or speaking with the right people to make sure your expectations are being met.

Recruiters may also aid in the background checks and reference check process as well.

Step 10: Preparing for the First Day

Whether starting a new permanent position or a contract assignment, recruiters should be checking in with both the candidate and the client to make sure everything is ready for the first day. Their client should have the background check and references completed. Their IT should have their computer ready to go, email up and running, and logins to all systems. HR should be able to provide information regarding what time to report on the first day, where to go, and who to ask for.

Candidates should be completely done their previous position prior to starting their new role (part time contractors are an exception), have their first day info, have any office equipment ready (if relevant), and any pre-onboarding paperwork filled completed. At this stage it is common for the candidate and their new employer to be in touch directly, but the recruiter should always be there to help as needed.

Step 11: Keeping Communication Open

Recruiters love to know how everything is going. Touch base with your recruiter during your first week and every couple of months to let keep them in the loop of your situation. If things are great, perhaps there is an opportunity to help a friend join your group. If things aren’t going well, the recruiter can look into your concerns to see if the issue is a temporary road bump or something more permanent. The hope is that you won’t need their help in the near future, but at the same time recruiters need to make sure that their clients are living up to their end of the bargain and making good on the promises during the interview.

Conclusion

Do recruiters call people with job opportunities? Sure they do, but that is not where the magic happens. There is a ton of traffic when it comes to the hiring process. There are candidates and jobs coming in from all types of sources. The screening, prepping, and debriefing process can take a lot of turns, but just like Waze and Google recruiters use up-to-the-minute data to find the quickest way to your destination. A recruiter should be able identify exceptional talent in their industry and navigate them through the recruitment process. At the end of the day it is all about bettering people’s lives, helping companies grow, and being as efficient with everyone’s time as possible. Another way I answer the “What do you do?” question is, “I am a matchmaker, but for companies and job seekers. Setting up first dates and hoping for a long term relationship.” This is pretty accurate as well, but usually ends with lot more question.

Stay tuned each Wednesday for a new topic.

Next Week’s Topic: Crash Course on Becoming a Contractor

For any suggestions on future topics either connect with me on LinkedIn (www.dhirubhai.net/in/alexbenjamin) or email: [email protected]

Tags: Candidates, Hiring Managers, Best Practices, Dirty Little Secret