Recruitment Radar - Issue 8

The one when we lean into the uncomfortable.

My son said something profound to me this week. He's been off school with Chickenpox, so it's been a throwback to home school (oh joy).

He had been practicing some maths, and I worked with him on some of the problem-solving. He answered several questions incorrectly because he jumped to the answer without fully reading the question (standard recruiter behaviour). When he finished, I asked him what he enjoyed learning most. He said, "making a mistake with the questions". I was surprised because I was expecting him to talk about what he'd got right. Instead, his enjoyment came from the experience of failure and learning from a mistake. I love that.

Failure and success go hand in hand. It's through our experience of failure and mistakes that we learn what's needed to unlock success. But we're often too afraid of failing to go for it.

Let's get uncomfortable.

Posts are hyperlinked to the titles. Go, Go, Go! ??????

The top "saved for later" for last week

A conversation I'm having with recruiters this week is the length of time it's taking to get interview feedback. Suggested roots of the problem include candidate quality, poor vacancy qualification, automated applications from ads, and clients comparing candidates with other candidates vs. the job they're hiring for. You can join the conversation here.

Addressing one of these root causes is a timely post from Greg Savage

1. *** 3 questions great recruiters always ask ***

"Filling a job does not start with finding good candidates for a particular job order. It starts with the quality with which you take the job order in the first place."

There's something about feeling the scarcity of jobs that can lead to us doing our worst work. I mean, we can get sloppy when we've got loads on as well, but you can probably get away with it more. Read more from Greg to dig into each question. Here they are!

3 Questions Great Recruiters Always Ask

1. “How long has this role been open…?”
2. “What have you done so far to fill it?”
3. "Could we get an offer by morning?"

The questions hopefully speak for themselves.

What do I love about them? They will help protect you from the pitfalls of a yes/no checklist which include "Have you gone out to other agencies?" "Is the role signed off?" All valid, but these questions can leave you exposed to the things you don't ask about internal candidates, speculative interviews, and more!

It can be uncomfortable to ask these questions, "They won't like it", "They haven't got time", or "That's unrealistic!" Life will be a whole lot more uncomfortable if you don't ask questions. This will be the mistake you could have avoided.

Thinking back to roles you didn't fill. How could these questions have helped you?

QUALIFICATION, CONTROLLING YOUR BUSINESS

2. "Cold-Replying" to cold emails from recruiters. ??

I was surprised by what this post threw up in the comments. Some recruiters were outraged and offended!

This beauty of a post by Stephen Telford is a gift. It's what us learning people would say creates a "learning experience". You get to have a mirror held up, take a look at yourself, and maybe notice a couple of things that other people are seeing, yet you have been blind to. People (candidates) receive this kind of outreach every single day from recruiters. So, whatever you are offended or outraged by, is in fact something experiential to reflect on.

CANDIDATE ENGAGEMENT

A similar mirror was held up in my direction this week. Thanks, Will Grashoff !

"We bring in experts in their field to provide industry-leading training to all our employees, so they can truly achieve their full potential"

3. ?? THE BUDDY TRAP ??

All bants, no boss! All mate, and not manager! All playmates, and no performance?

It's when the leader focuses on the friendship and forgets about the accountability to performance. A great model shared by Amy Williams

LEADERSHIP

4. Lottery A costs ￡1.50 a ticket, Lottery B costs ￡1.80. Which would you choose?

Questions from Jon Brooks about pricing in recruitment to make you think!

Too often, hiring managers are asked to choose their recruitment partner based on price alone. In reality, there is far more to a recruiter than price. The challenge is how we talk to our clients about the important bits.

PRICING

5. When a No can become a Yes

I'm a sucker for a good story that reminds you that you can shape, your destiny. Gary Vaynerchuk shares a great story from the Co-Founder of Netflix. We get told No a lot, you can say ok and just sit with that. Or, in life you can choose to make something of it. What would be the worst thing that could happen? Whatever it is, go for it!

MINDSET

It's Mental Health Awareness Week

We have mental health every week. But it's a good reminder that there is ALWAYS support for you if you need it.

Feeling anxious, worried, or overwhelmed? If you could use advice, support, or simply someone to talk to, text 'MHIR' to 8525

Mental Health in Recruitment offers a service to support you. The service is entirely free and private and confidential. And it's available for anyone who works in the recruitment industry. Hit a like or repost here. It might just show up on someone's LinkedIn feed, right when they need it most.

MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING

I can't leave you without a laugh and something to smile about.

I didn't get too many Lols from LinkedIn this week. Not many people are posting funny content, which is a shame. I've noticed it's mainly the anonymous accounts that are the brave ones!

Although someone has literally just made me laugh a minute ago, they told me the "This is a sales call you're going to hate me, do you want to hang up / throw the phone out the window?" is meant to be a funny line. I had no idea. ????

If only people said it in a funny way, it might stand a chance!

That's a wrap.

Until next time,

Migsy