The Golden Rule of Recruiting

Certainly everyone has heard about "The Golden Rule!" Who's to say where it began but since its creation parents, grandparents, teachers and so on have professed it as the key to building long lasting and meaningful relationships; and they aren't wrong.

For the sake of being a better Recruiter and teaching other Recruiters to be better I would like to postulate that there is a "Golden Rule of Recruiting" and at its core lies The Golden Rule that we all know and love.

When I first began recruiting in 2003 I had a mentor that would listen to as many of my calls as possible and would never hesitate to give me real time feedback on how to improve. After a call with a candidate where the candidate decided not to take a job he was being offered I got off the phone frustrated and discouraged. My mentor had listened to the call for several minutes as I went back and forth with the candidate, my tone progressively becoming more agitated throughout the call.

After a minute or so my mentor called me into his office and asked me to take a seat. What followed was the single greatest piece of guidance (and truth) I can remember getting in my entire career. He looked me straight in the eye and said "Aaron, always remember this. If you want a candidate to take a job more than they want it then you're wasting your time." For some reason this insight hit home and has served me well ever since.

Over the last fifteen years it has been an honor to help literally thousands of people find jobs. To get one person a job and have them start work takes an amount of time and effort that I am not sure anyone who has never directly managed the hiring process can fully understand. Sometimes after all your efforts, playing armchair psychotherapist to a candidate at 8:30pm at night or for 2 hours on a Saturday while trying to have fun at the waterpark with your family, things just don't work out.

Recently I had the good fortune of closing a high level direct placement. The candidate definitely took their sweet time evaluating the offer and making a decision; my gut told me there was no way the person was going to accept the position....but it worked out. When the candidate accepted the offer one of the things they pointed out was the lack of pressure placed on them to accept the role; they were shocked that all I talked about was making sure it was "the right move" for them and then ensuring they received answers to any and all of their questions. Through this modus operandi more than a placement was made; a long term relationship founded on mutual respect and appreciation was built.

Time and time again I have listened as other Recruiters verbally pound on candidates, bullying them into a corner and making things more about them than about the candidates career. Remember, we may have the job opportunity but it is not us who has to take and work the job. You may actually be successful at pressuring someone to take a job but what then? How long will they last when they took the job with apprehension? You may have filled one job but how many great relationships, and potential hires, have you lost through using these pressure tactics? And back to The Golden Rule of Golden Rules; how would you feel if this tactic was being used on you?

We must do our homework on the front end of the process. Let's make sure we understand the key motivators that have each person seeking a new opportunity in the first place. A great question to ask is "what are the top 3 most important things you're looking for in your next role?" We can then take a step back and have an objective look to determine if the position we have truly provides the candidate with those top 3 items. If not then we need to be open and honest with the candidate about it.

Remember the Golden Rule of Recruiting. If you want a candidate to take a job more than they want it then you're wasting your time. By knowing when to cut your losses and move on you will save both you and the candidate a ton of time and you will have more time on your hands to find "the right person" for the job. Also you will build a strong relationship with the candidate who is not a fit as well as gain a greater understanding of their needs; you may not hire them today but what about tomorrow?!

Relationships are the most important thing and will pay dividends in the future.

Happy hiring!