Lessons Learnt in Recruitment

A new starter asked me the other day what things I’ve learnt from recruitment, apparently “how to spend a lot of money on alcohol” was not what they were asking for so I thought I’d actually think about it:

How long someone has done a job for does not actually mean how experienced they are. If people do the same thing again and again in exactly the same way they are good at doing that one thing and that one thing only. Different experiences, different challenges and new scenarios are where real experience comes from. Salaries really should reflect this, number of years on a job spec should be discounted.

Feedback is the truest form of a compliment you can ever get. Simply if people don’t care they wouldn’t tell you. If they offer suggestions it’s because they want you to be better. If candidates are nasty to you when you give them feedback don’t try to offer it to them. Let them figure it out themselves. If you as a recruiter get annoyed when you are given feedback, you don’t deserve it either.

The more interviews a candidate has led (been the interviewer) has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on how well they will in turn interview (often it’s the opposite) making them put themselves in the people they have interviewed shoes is literally the only way they will understand.?If they can’t and insist on leading interviews, do not predict the deal…

Tell every candidate that the interview starts when they arrive onsite not when they enter a meeting room. Smoking in the car park, spitting your gum on the floor outside and being rude to receptionists is not even in my top 10 list of stupid things candidates have done before an interview starts (I’ll tell you the story of the candidate who slapped someone on the bum on the way in another day). The same is true for leaving an interview, anyone fist bumping the air when they leave has wasted the last hour…

Firm (not hard) handshake, eye contact or don’t bother. Death grip, shaking the other persons fingers not palm, looking away, enthusiastically pumping their arm like a piston, or some form of dominance asserting turning the others hand over should be avoided. I give this advice to my sister when she goes on tinder dates and its 100% accurate…

People only read your hobbies to see if you have a common ground, if you don’t they don’t care… Shout out to the candidate who’s CV I submitted with “dragon slaying” as a hobby (and I didn’t notice) No one thinks socialising is a hobby, you don’t look more intelligent if you put you read books (we know you mean things nothing to do with work) , you honestly don’t watch that many films and you do not go the gym everyday

As a Recruiter if you are in a car and drive past a company you have recruited for, you will automatically mention it. I implore you, please don’t. No one is interested and no one wants to know. No matter how many placements you’ve made, no matter how good a client they are just keep it in.

If you are in a non-work environment and someone mentions the company they work for, only the shabbiest of desperate recruiters will ask if they are recruiting or how to engage with them. Make a mental note ask them at an appropriate time, what I refer to as the “5 pint pitch” has never been successful and never will. Likewise, if you are in a social setting with another recruiter just say nothing. Any comments about billings, route to market or any sentence starting “let me tell you about my business” is the reason so many people hate us on LinkedIn.

If you’re a recruiter, on a weekly basis someone will tell you about their friend who is looking for a job. This friend will have no relevance to the market you work in and therefore you will not be able to help. Point them in the right direction and gracefully excuse yourself from the process. Also don’t bother offering to help people with their CV’s, despite asking for your help they will assume they know better regardless of your suggestions; I mean it’s not like we look at a hundred of them a day and know what we are talking about right?

The daily rate a contractor is on does not always reflect in any way their ability to do anything. I have met project managers on ￡500 a day who I wouldn’t trust with a can opener. Conversely, I have met people on minimal daily rates who are absolute superstars.

As soon as I hear the phrase “immediately available” from a permanent candidate coupled with the phrase “Mis-sold the role” questions need to be asked and you need to get references. It does happen and I’m not suggesting its always the case, I am merely saying I am yet to ever meet a candidate who has been fired from a job.

Feel free to add any you think of in the comments below…