Leveraging trust - a sustainable talent edge through community

We know that hiring is hard. Recruiters, I feel you! With the battle we face for talent, the company that pays the most is the one we think will win the battle. But is that true?

Let's start from the beginning. What is the community I'm talking about exactly?

We're always talking about increasing awareness to generate more applications or make people want to join our company. The instant solution has always been to focus on posts, events, or inbound marketing — but in times like these, those solutions won’t be enough in the long term. Building your community will.

People join companies because of trust. They trust someone that works for the company; they trust the company; or they simply trust the process. Without trust, no offer will be accepted.

Community is about trust. Building a community is being surrounded by people you trust and who trust you. It might be because of your abilities, the relationship you have built over time, or even because you showed them they have what it takes (for example, when you hire someone and they thrive in the company).

It might seem complicated, but it's not. It's all about caring and engaging.

How can I build this trust as a recruiter?

First step: be transparent! There are so many ways to do recruitment — it’s impossible to list them all! But let me tell you what I believe:

The recruitment process is a two-way street. You're evaluating someone and you’re also being evaluated yourself. Interviews are part of a career decision-making process, and you as a recruiter have a big impact on this. Whenever I'm interviewing, I make sure I truly understand what the person wants as their next step. It seems so simple, but sometimes we can get caught up in the urgency of the role and try too hard to bring in a good candidate.

We need to remember that a candidate can be good for one company, but not necessarily for the company you're hiring for. It's your responsibility and theirs to understand if that environment will help them thrive.

I've seen too many cases where people join a company for the wrong reasons or recruiters don't evaluate their inner desires. This usually leads to poor performance or just a really bad experience on both sides.

We need to stop putting technical ability in the same box as performance, because these things aren’t guaranteed. What really leads to high performance is a combination of both. If you're in an environment that makes you thrive (the right culture, you have the necessary skills, and there’s good leadership) you can do your job well. If you're somewhere that lacks good culture and leadership, and you don’t have the right skills, you’re unlikely to thrive.

What I'm saying here is: make sure you're transparent with the candidate about what the company believes in and the kind of environment they’ll walk into. An open and honest conversation will help the candidate decide whether they're up for the challenge and if the challenge is something that will make them excited.

Why am I talking about transparency in the recruitment process?

Being transparent is the first step to building a good relationship and trust. Sometimes people have doubts at first, and they might connect with their network for reassurance (remember the community?). What happens next will determine whether you build this trust with them or not.

Whenever someone you hire has a good experience in a company, you will be the first person they associate this good experience with.

As I said before, choosing a new company is taking a new career step. It’s one more step towards developing your abilities. If you as a recruiter can help candidates understand what might work, they will call you again in the future.

How can I help candidates understand if the company is a good fit while assessing their skills for the role?

As mentioned before, understanding the step the candidate wants to take next is the first part, but there are other ways to assess this:

• Ask what motivates them. It might seem like a simple question, but understanding the candidate's real motivation can help you assess whether or not your company can deliver.
• Don't assume they love their current role! Ask them what they’d really love; for example, what would be their perfect work setup in terms of responsibilities and activities? You might be surprised! I usually ask the candidate to forget about the role they applied for and just give me an honest answer.
• Try to understand what they value in a company/team. For example, I value safe environments, so this is the first thing I check. If I realize the company or team doesn't provide a safe environment or the space to build one, I definitely won't join. You need to understand your candidate’s non-negotiables too.

Often, if I see their answers are different to what we can provide, I'm open about it. I give them feedback, and if I have enough information, I start a discussion about the kind of environment that could help them thrive.

You don't win by hiring someone who won’t be happy/satisfied. You’ll fill a number, but you won't help the person develop. Plus, this will potentially increase your turnover.

Ok, but what about the community?

This is all part of community-building. Do you remember I told you about trust?

In my experience, providing a good candidate experience and helping them — more than trying to close your role — will make them come back.

Throughout your career, you'll meet thousands of people. Whether you connect with them or not will define the relationship you have. When people feel you genuinely care about more than just closing a role, they trust your opinion and decisions. They’ll search for you when they decide to make their next move. and they will share the experience they had with you and your company with their network.

We forget that our network is the most precious tool we have to help us thrive in a competitive world where 40+% of roles are closed with referrals. I'm lucky enough to be part of a great community that helps me in my career development and lets me help theirs.

When you give people the truth, you'll have their trust.