A rather divisive view of recruiting on LinkedIn

• should you be choosing a recruitment partner on their market expertise or their dominant social media presence on LinkedIn?

Your BFF or worst enemy?

Not one to mince my words I am just going to put it out there having spoken to dozens of recruitment people about this topic recently…..

LinkedIn is fast becoming a double edged sword for most of it’s users and I am writing this as someone who has enjoyed the benefits of building a vaster network through it since I started using it in 2008; however, I remain very cynical about where it is leading and what the impact has been on the culture of recruitment. 

Does a prolific LinkedIn networker make a good recruiter?

Longevity over learner.

I am going to explore what being a “recruitment specialist” actually means; how you can decide whether someone is the best person to recruit for your business or find your next role for you. 

I will ask for advice off other trusted recruitment business owners I have been lucky enough to get to know over the years. 

And I will also wonder whether you should choose the “up and coming” social media hero who uses LinkedIn or I ask is this just a means to get the most likes shares or giggles.

style over substance?

What makes someone an expert in their field? If you have worked in the finance market and after a period of years move into finance recruitment, whilst you may have a learning curve of how to recruit successfully, you will understand the nuances of your market quicker than someone who has not worked in either? This trend has often been common in niche markets such as legal, professional services including finance and HR, medical and even R2R- I will come back to this.

By moving from the sector you will actually recruit within, you immediately have credibility, understand the jargon, maybe even know people to instantly connect to. You have an advantage commercially before you even have to make a canvass call as you know how the market works, what the drivers may be.

Choosing a recruitment partner must be one of the hardest choices facing any discerning job seeker or indeed hiring business as there are literally hundreds of parties all stating their USPs all over LinkedIn.

The algorithms on LinkedIn distort the relevance and quality of what some people share simply because they have more followers or connections than potentially a better suited partner who has less connections. 

Maturing like a fine wine.

At one point, I was much newer- I set Qui Recruitment up having worked in recruitment by that point for 6 years- and I know now that I really didn’t know enough even back then. I met and placed loads of recruiters at the time but being honest, if anyone was more experienced than me at that time I was intimidated and couldn't offer them the sort of insight and expertise they were seeking. It is a different story now and I look back and think, I wish I could have met them now as a mid 40s long standing R2R.

I am not suggesting for one minute that a keen and eager trainee is not going to work hard, learn quickly or become massively successful. Far from it. But - and this is sector specific- you have to be very unique to gain that respect and gravitas and dare I say it, act older than your years to achieve the same impression that a long serving equivalent will give you.

I asked a number of business owners what their thoughts were with regards to hiring expertise in their particular markets.

Mark Neilan IT Recruitment Director 17 yrs in the sector @marconeilan05 

"It comes down to trust. To be able to trust that someone is going to do as they say, save you time, make you money and sometimes even give you advice you may not think you needed. It takes a bit of time to get to that point…"

So Mark is suggesting that to get a more efficient result, you are better off asking a person you trust- personal recommendations to a recruiter that has been tried and tested are always advisable routes.

Nina Lockwood Recruitment Director since 2001 and industry specialist since 1991 @NinaLockwood 

"Recruitment, like so many other things, is all about relationships ... and although it is possible to 'instantly connect' with someone, in my view, it is always preferable to have a recruitment professional who has taken the time to get to the know his/her clients, a strong network of high quality, talented candidates and their own market place be that industry or geographically based. This process takes time and investment and rarely happens overnight."

Nina wisely comments that the reason you are choosing to trust a recruiter is to inevitably tap into THEIR trusted network. That is the point isn't it? So you don’t have to trawl through the market yourself? Risk exposing your identity or as an employer being flattered into making the wrong hire?

A recruitment business owner who has over 20 years in the sector and has experience of hiring long serving and newer recruiters has a very candid view of the overuse and abuse of LinkedIn:

Carolyn Frodsham Director since 2003, Business owner since 2003 and recruiter since 1989 @emp-sol

"Recruitment – Your job apart from your family, the most important thing in most people’s life so why would you want to hand that responsibility to the new breed of recruitment consultants. This new breed of recruiters who have no respect for the candidate or the client

The presenteeism’s who turn up daily and look at their CRM and linked in screens doing nothing productive. The CV flingers who have no idea what the job description means are how to sell on the job to perspective candidates. The people who have worked in companies for a year and set up on their own and damage the industry further"

When I asked a client how he saw the market, he chose to endorse how our partnership worked- building up a deep knowledge of each other to point where we confide in each other- surely this is how you become that “go to” person in recruitment, versus how many comments I get on a flippant LinkedIn post?

Ben James, Director since 2010 and recruiter since 2005 @SJPractice

"Having worked with a few Rec to Rec business it becomes very clear that some really understand the market, and what you are looking for from a candidate, and some just forward CVs of any recruiter in the area. As Lysha has been in the market for as long as she has and took the time to come to the office to meet us, she really understands what we’re trying to achieve at Simpson Judge and the type of candidate that will fit in and do well. Lysha has also built a huge network within the recruitment industry so she has access to a much wide range of recruiters that her competitors. As well as this, she has the industry knowledge to advise us on what salary, benefits and commission packages we need to offer to attract the best candidates in the market."

Thank you, Ben, I am blushing. Enough of the self publicity....

So an expert recruiter adds more value than “just” placing candidates surely?

Likeminded miles apart 

I noted a blog written last month by a specialist business owner who has also experienced erratic feedback from her market about those who are setting up recruitment companies, without a strong proven track record and this is causing potential problems into her sector: so when I approached her to contribute to my blog, she happily agreed. 

Natalie Taylor Herrick, Director since 2008 and sector specialist since 2003 @THRecruit 

'If you are looking for someone to deliver the best recruitment service, they need to fully understand what you do and what you need. The person best placed to do this for you is the one that has substantial industry knowledge, a well developed and respected network and the credibility to utilise this. Track record speaks for itself.’

I wanted to gain a balanced view and so I asked a recruitment business owner who predominantly hires trainees into his recruitment company who tend to come from out of sector, therefore, challenging my premise completely .… 

Thomas Brandrick Owner since 2009 and sector specialist since 2005 @DomusRecruitment 

"It’s about the strength of a company’s brand to hold credibility as specialists in a market place. Then in terms of recruitment, it’s about educating new recruits about the market as well as training them with market leading recruitment skills. Half of recruitment sales is information extraction which comes down to recruitment training and the establishment of key sales fundamentals. When I started recruitment in finance and accountancy, I asked if I was to go on a crash course on my market and the response was “you don’t need to be an accountant to recruit one”. Granted, but if you want to truly offer a specialist and consultative service, you have to market knowledge. That said if a company only want people with market knowledge it could indicate a lack of training and development prowess to a candidate and also drastically shrink the already small market for potential recruits.”

Tom is right, you can’t assume that because someone comes from the sector they will be a good recruiter! When I worked in engineering recruitment, they hired an ex engineer who was so assumptive in how she acted she never actually asked any questions to candidates and left having had no interviews for 6 months because she didn’t listen or learn HOW to recruit. So it is not a dead cert.

The other message from this is researching the actual business and brand you are speaking to- do THEY have the relationships and market knowledge? 

I also asked a fellow Rec2Rec for their steer, someone I have known for many years (who operates as a vertical IT R2R specifically) what he thought about the growing trend for starts ups, particularly in our vastly saturated market. 

Frank Wadsworth Director since 2011 and recruiter since 2000 @Mintrecruituk 

"When I started my first recruitment job, after about a year or two I thought I was fantastic/proven, and would use the ‘two years experience’ line with prospective clients and candidates to show them how experienced/better I was compared to someone just starting in recruitment! How ridiculous! 

The problem is, I actually believed at the time that I was an expert, and I think current new entrants to the market believe the same thing. It might sound obvious, but unless you have served time in the same profession for a number of years, you can’t possibly consider yourself and expert. It’s a constant changing landscape and you need to know who’s who. After 17 years in the industry I’m still learning every single day."

Over to you.

What do you think? Have you recently partnered with a recruitment business who have not been running for very long? Have you been placed by a newbie and had an exceptional service? 

Do you decide on choosing a recruitment partner by their witty LinkedIn status updates or their endorsements and longevity.

How do you see the future of LinkedIn? Is it having an impact on your business in a positive or negative way? Are you measuring its success? Do you find yourself or your staff getting distracted by the constant noise on there?

I know- so many questions, I just can’t help myself….. But I absolutely want to know what you think? 

Recruitment is my passion, I care so much for this sector but I fear that some who dip into the market to get a new job or hire ad hoc get the wrong impression of what recruitment actually IS and I want to fix it.

As ever I appreciate your comments, likes, shares and support.

@LyshaHolmes 

www.quirecruitment.com