Seven ways in which strong recruiter brands can give companies competitive advantage

A lot has been said about employer branding in the context of attracting talent, but the personal brand of recruiters hasn’t got much attention - yet. And that’s a pity because having the right kind of recruiter in charge of your talent acquisition efforts can multiply your talent conversion from target group to candidates. People are much more trusted and followed than company brands, and that’s why you should really aim to have the kind of recruiters in line who do their best to be personally recognized, appreciated and valued.

In this text I will give you seven concrete examples of how strong recruiter brands can help you to win talent and get ahead.

1 - Service-mindedness

If you want to have a positive and exceptional recruiter brand, you should always aim to do your best for every candidate you’re in touch with. This requires time and effort - of course - but is really the only way to improve your reputation as someone who really knows how to do their job. You want to help, you find out the necessary information even if it takes time, and you try to make people feel as good as possible about your contribution and your company.

2 - Immediate response and sense of urgency

You want to be the kind of recruiter who gets feedback from candidates saying “I can’t believe you replied so fast - wow, thank you!”. Both candidates and hiring managers appreciate quick moves in the recruitment process, and proceeding fast is usually one of the building blocks for great recruiter brands. There’s no better feeling in the life of a job applicant than when a recruiter takes time to immediately link you to the right person for a discussion about current job opportunities. Be the person who reacts fast, shows initiative and ensures optimal process flow for each person.

3 - Treats the summer trainees and CEO with the same respect

A good recruiter takes time to answer that 14-year-old who is looking for her first summer job. Even if it means postponing answering to that important email from the boss. By being professional, personal and polite towards even towards the so call “hopeless cases”, a recruiter shows the kind of dignity and humbleness that can only be respected and admired.

4 - Sense of humor

I’ve learned the hard way that it’s always better to joke about recruiters than candidates. Hiring and recruitment is many times too serious, and great recruiters can help your company to differentiate from the market by taking a humorous and relaxed approach to job announcements, candidate communications and their own work routines. A few good jokes or funny campaigns with a professional angle can help a recruiter to become more approachable, appreciated and followed (in social media).

5 - Knows their shit

A value-adding recruiter with a strong brand should understand the subject matter in every role they’re hiring for. This does not mean that they should deeply know the technicalities but, rather, understand the basic elements of each job, and what it takes to be good in those. Every recruiter should try to get to the level, where they can easily talk about the open positions with potential applicants without having to say “actually, I don’t know” after every two sentences.

6 - Active in relevant channels and platforms

Far too many recruiters remain unknown and impersonal behind the polished corporate social media accounts and jobs@company.com type email addresses. As a recruiter one of the main tasks to be recognized and associated with the company so that when anyone asks “Hey, do you know who hires for company X?”, the answer would be immediately known. That’s actually quite easy to achieve just by making sure that you attend and actively participate in relevant events, promote job opportunities in the right social media platforms, and engage in discussions with potential candidates proactively.

7 - Understands the company strategy and its implications to talent needs

A good recruiter knows his or her company well enough to proactively source, contact and engage with the kind of people who the company will need in long term to fulfill its strategy. This often means that you have to be actively in discussions with senior management or other professionals who can give their view on what kind of concrete business plans there are coming within the next few years. Proactive (re)sourcing also requires a great deal of trust towards recruiters from the management, and this can often only be reached by being professional, knowledgeable and appreciated in the eyes of the business leaders.

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If you’d like to know more about developing or clarifying recruiter brands. Feel free to be in touch with me for consulting or training on the topic (www.juhotoivola.fi / juhotoivola@gmail.com / +358505066362)