What Is Recruiting?

When speaking with those who are not familiar with the industry, I get these questions a lot:? “What is recruiting?? What do recruiters do?”

It is a valid inquiry and one that I welcome.? Because recruiting is often misunderstood.? On the surface, people think it is easy.? And, to be honest, when you dissect the process from A to Z, I like to say that recruiting is not hard work…but you have to work ridiculously hard at it to be successful.? If it were ‘easy’ everyone would do it, right?? So, back to the topic at hand.? What is recruiting?? Among other things, recruiting is:

1.?????? Sales

Make no bones about it.? First and foremost recruiting is a sales job.? Now, I say that with a couple footnotes.? It qualifies under ‘sales’ because in the majority of situations, recruiters earn commission and often have some level of control over their income.? What a recruiter puts in to their work, they get out.? That being said, it is my belief that if a recruiter does their job well, they never have to ‘sell’ anything.? They solve challenges and deliver solutions for people based on the information they gather from the individuals and companies they work with.

2.?????? Finding Talent for Companies

People often have the misconception that recruiters find people jobs.? While this is true, recruiters are paid by the companies that hire talent from them.? So, in reality, recruiters find talent for companies.? And those companies typically are looking for a unique set of skills and experience so that the people they hire through the recruiter can come in and hit the ground running without a lot of training and hand holding.? As a result, recruiters often are unable to place people in entry level positions and help people who are in the process of a career change.? There are always exceptions, but it is an important distinction to understand.? When people tell recruiters to find them a job, it’s not that simple.?

3.?????? Building Lasting Relationships

The best recruiters network. Extensively.? They are always looking to meet talent within the industry they recruit for, and it doesn’t always mean they have an opportunity for the people they meet with.? But at some point they might.? By forging a relationship with a recruiter you trust, you not only get a pulse on the market, you also get the luxury of a phone call should an exceptional opportunity surface that falls in line with your career aspirations. The cool thing is that these relationships can literally last a lifetime.? I now get calls from people I placed in the past asking me to work with their children.? There is no better reward than that!? In recruiting, if you are only focused on the one-time payoff that comes with a placement, you typically will not last in the business. It's all about the long game.

4.?????? About Them

Everything recruiters do is about ‘them.’? The effort and countless hours of work they put in each and every day is about the people they serve – their candidates and their clients.? In my opinion, when a recruiter reaches out to a talented professional for the first time, they have to get to know that person – as a person – and learn about where they are in their career, where they want to be, and what is important to them.? Only then has a recruiter earned the right to suggest potential career opportunities for that individual.? If a recruiter calls you for the first time and states that they have seen your LinkedIn profile or resume and they have ‘the perfect job for you,’ beware.? They cannot possibly make such a claim without first understanding what is important to the candidate.? Similarly, when a recruiter calls a hiring manager at a company and states that they have ‘the perfect candidate for them’ based on a job posting they saw, beware.? They cannot possibly make such a claim without first understanding that company, that manager, and what is important to them.

Recruiting, at its core, is not rocket science.? Although, I am sure some recruiters do find rocket scientists for companies…but I digress.? To be excellent at recruiting and to have a long-lasting, successful career in the business, recruiters have to be selfless, empathetic, resourceful, confident, authentic, self-driven, and committed to delivering solutions for those they work with and for.

John Ruffini is the Vice President of Professional Development for HealthTrust Workforce Solutions in Sunrise, Florida.?He is a 30-year recruiting veteran, trainer, and motivator and is the author of the Amazon Best Sellers “Money Makers:?Proven Ways to Increase Sales and Productivity in the World of Professional Recruiting” ? and “A Quest for Alex.”