There is no Light Side. There is no Dark Side. There is only Recruitment.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the relationship between agency and in-house recruiters. The pandemic has definitely rocked all of our worlds - for some companies, hiring has slowed down or completely halted, eliminating massive amounts of business on the external recruitment side. From my conversations with both in-house and agency recruiters, even companies that ARE still hiring have pumped the breaks on agency engagement, leaving their in-house team in a frenzy trying to filter through the increased number of applicants and still find time to actively headhunt. Basically, talent life kind of sucks right now.

Not that long ago in a galaxy not that far away, I was on the agency side.

I get it. I understand the value an external recruiter can bring. At any given time in my internal role, I’m working on positions for different departments and wearing 10 different hats whereas you speak to the same type of profile day in and day out. You have a great understanding of the market and can share those insights with me. You can tell me what competitors are doing that’s different from what we’re doing. You can give me context around how to set our roles apart from the rest. I’ve been there, I’ve done it, I recognize it, and (most importantly), I appreciate it.

My perception of the relationship between agencies and in-house teams has definitely changed, however. One thing that didn’t click in my mind back then – and to be fair, that was my own ignorance talking – was the impact a strong partnership with my internal counterpart could have on my job. I was taught to think that the internal recruiter was my arch nemesis - the Darth Vader to my Luke Skywalker, minus the whole “I am your father” part. HR Harriet is the gatekeeper and I NEED to get to the Hiring Manager ASAP. Really, I’m doing her a favor, sharing awesome candidates and freeing her from the peril that is sending InMails day in and day out! You get the gist. I didn’t think to consider the amount of work it took for my in-house counterpart to engage with me…

...and then I joined the Dark Side and became an internal recruiter. World, consider yourself flipped upside down.

Since basically the dawn of hiring, an underlying tension has existed between agency and in-house recruiters. Both sides have been conditioned to pit themselves against one other. 'Agency recruiters are just after a big commission, you’re just a number to them!' ' In-house recruiters are stubborn and proud!' I’m sure you know all of the stereotypes. It doesn’t help that those stereotypes are fueled by behavior on both sides – receiving literally dozens of agency emails that look EXACTLY the same every day (don’t get me started on the follow ups!) or dealing with a horrendously passive aggressive in-house recruiter that seems to be shutting down every resume you send just for the hell of it. It’s certainly no walk on Alderaan (pre-New Hope, that is).

The funny thing is, at the most basic level, both sides are pretty much after the same things: Communication. Honesty. Collaboration. There is no Light Side, there is no Dark Side. There is only Recruitment.

 So how can we Jedi Masters of Talent work better together?

BE COMMUNICATIVE. As an agency recruiter, if you’ve gotten a client to bite, do everything you can to reel that fish in. Think about it this way: it takes time for the internal team to take that first call. It takes time to review resumes. It takes time to share feedback. That’s time that we’re not spending interviewing, reviewing applicants, or sourcing. That doesn’t mean you need to send candidates every day to show how engaged you are; there are other, arguably better, means of communicating that. Send out weekly updates on what you’ve seen in the market, what you’re hearing from candidates, why candidates AREN’T interested in the job. Show us internal recruiters you’re keeping us in mind and not just using the job to hit your KPIs. Regardless of what I might say, I can’t actually use the force to know how many candidates you’re engaging with on my open roles.

On the flip side, the only way the agency can do its job is if they have all of the information possible. It takes a lot of time to curate a list of candidates that match a role, especially if dealing with limited details. As the internal recruiter, it’s important to be proactive in sharing a pitch on the company, the role, team structure, selling points, and all those details that will paint a picture of who this candidate should be. Offer thorough feedback on each resume and conducted interview to help bring that picture into focus. Your agency recruiter should be well equipped to act as a representative for you and your team so that YOU can feel confident in taking a bit of a breather.

BE HONEST. If I have any more agency recruiters overpromise and underdeliver, I might explode. Don’t promise that you’ll send me candidates tomorrow if in fact you aren’t able to touch base for a week. If a role is WAY outside of your area of specialization, just say so! That honesty will build trust and help build a relationship with that internal recruiter so that, down the line when a role in line with your specialization DOES open up, you’ll be the first to know. If you’re having trouble finding candidates for the role, share that information with your in-house counterpart: take on a consultative approach and explain those reasons why. Most importantly, if a candidate has reservations about the position at ANY stage of the process, be sure that your internal team is made aware of it and fast.

This holds true on the internal end as well. Be forthcoming in sharing updates on your current pipeline and how much assistance you’re receiving from other agencies. What’s the timeline for filling this role? Are you really just passively exploring candidates or is this something you’re serious about filling ASAP? Maybe your Hiring Manager passed along the agency to you so they’d be left alone and you have no intention of pursuing a further conversation. I KNOW getting bombarded with messages from agency recruiters can be a pain, but even a “we’re not interested” response is helpful so that they know not to waste their time following up.

BE COLLABORATIVE. Most importantly, we need to start looking at one another as partners rather than competitors. Remember that scene in The Rise of Skywalker where Rey and Ben put their past behind them and join “forces” to defeat Palpatine? Let’s just, I don’t know, find the balance to do that? Internal recruiters aren’t gatekeepers, they’re the golden ticket to filling a role in light speed – they have the ear of the hiring managers and can push candidates through the pipeline at a faster rate, making the process that much easier. On the other hand, agencies have access to a much larger arsenal of candidates and an ear to the ground on market updates that can give your team and your role a massive edge.

It’s important to set up structure and expectations from the get-go. If your internal team has specific guidelines you want the agency to follow, be explicit in outlining what those are. As an agency – make sure to listen and follow those guidelines. If your in-house counterpart prefers working over email, don’t force those “it would be better if I share the info over the phone” messages on them. As an agency recruiter, don’t be afraid to ask for help in polishing the process – share your pitch with the in-house team to see ways in which you can improve. On the internal side, be open and flexible to constructive feedback. Most importantly, iron out what the expectations are around how you can best communicate with one another!

At the end of the day, it essentially boils down to trust. That trust can’t be built overnight, and, due to the nature of the biz, it falls on the agency recruiter to take the first step and extend that olive branch. It’s on YOU to set yourself apart from those dozen other emails. It’s on you to show that you’re not an agency stereotype, not even close! Most importantly, it’s on you to recognize when those efforts aren’t worth it, because not all recruiters, (oh yeah, even those of us on the internal side), are created equal. On the internal end, if you have the budget or the OK to work with agencies, approach those conversations with a more open mind. Remain picky in who you choose to work with but play nice and play fair. It may be up to your agency counterpart to build the trust, but it’s just as much your job as theirs to maintain it.

Just think of it this way – at its core, our industry, both internally and externally, is relationship driven. You never know where your counterpart might end up in their career. Wouldn’t it be so awesome if your favorite in house recruiter landed a job at the company you’ve been dying to break into? Instant new business! Or maybe, just maybe, that agency recruiter you’ve worked to establish a friendship with has connections at a company you’d travel to the end of the galaxy to work for?

Especially now, when our industry has not only been so deeply impacted in the present, but also certainly permanently changed for the future, it's important that we start being better toward one another and better at working together.

Let's let the force of recruitment be with us all.