Where is Wally's TA Cousin?

?Where can I find good TA talent, do you know anyone??

As I write this there is over 500,000 vacancies on Linkedin for recruiters. The TA market is as tough as it’s been for a very long time, so what has been the result of this demand? Since the global pandemic there has been a significant increase in the number of open vacancies, this has seen TA job opportunities balloon and TA salaries rise. One of the questions I’m increasingly asked by fellow recruitment managers is, “Where can I find good TA talent, do you know anyone?”??

Understanding what a recruiter needs to be a success in your organisation is a large part of the reason you were hired to run the TA team in the first place. However, like sports teams seeking new players, there are only a small, finite number of real stars available and not all of them will necessarily fit into your ‘squad.’ As with all recruitment, it’s the combination of personal and professional characteristics, underpinned by an individual’s drive, determination and enthusiasm these are skills which are often not learnt but part of a good recruiters DNA.

? Significant increase in the number of open vacancies. This has seen TA job opportunities balloon and TA salaries rise.?

In addition to the established big-hitters, there are the up-and-coming stars.?These individuals are frequently hidden in the ‘lower leagues’ – the smaller, local rec-cons or in-house teams who have an established reputation for excellence. These are often the people you want, partly because – again like sport - the big stars cost too much, but also because it’s easier to mould this rising talent to your business’s requirements.?

Either way, after two or three years in TA in a specific discipline/geography you absolutely MUST know the pool of potential recruitment talent - the movers and shakers and the emerging talent that is available for you to draw from.?Above all, you are looking for those great recruiters who have the contacts, the sales skills and the human touch that make the difference. In the coming years personalising the recruitment process will be key when trying to engage with in-demand candidates, who are receiving approaches from other recruiters daily. According to a CareerArc survey of 1,200 professionals, nearly 60% of candidates have had a poor experience when applying for a job and 72% of those candidates have shared their bad experience online or with someone else directly.

?personalising the recruitment process will be key when trying to engage with in-demand candidates?

So where and when do you start looking for your next TA superstar?

Agency to inhouse

Working in-house doesn’t mean withdrawing from the rest of the industry so make sure you continue to develop your knowledge and relationships.?An obvious place to find great recruiters is in your PSL. Spend time getting to know external recruiters, get a sense on how much they truly know the market and probably more importantly try and get them to be candid to you, how do they value the experience they deliver to both their candidates and clients or is money and money alone the key motivator for them.?

Connect with your peers in the industry

Make sure you are talking to other TA leaders, join forums and other networking events. Obviously most TA leaders will be very protective of their current ream but I have benefited from their insights on agency recruiters they have worked with, CVs that have been shared with them or maybe individuals who want to move into a more senior role which they are unable to offer.

Create an entry-level opportunity in your team

Often the lack of available talent means we need to be a bit creative, think of hiring individuals as “candidate experience specialists”. They can support your current talent acquisition partners with sourcing and screening interviews freeing up their time to make more hires while also giving individuals out of the industry the opportunity to learn and grow into talent acquisition roles. Think about talent that have gained experience working in industry sectors such as hospitality, aviation and customer services.

There is no short cuts - Key Takeaway's

When it comes to hiring for your own team, don’t settle for second best and don’t apply different principles to those that apply to the wider company.?

Make sure you know the up-and-coming star recruiters in your sector/geography (although be aware that location is no longer the issue it once was) and also which big hitters might be amenable to a new challenge.

If you are an HRD, you need to work together with your TA head (and vice versa) to understand future hiring needs ensuring you start the process of hiring additional members of the TA team ahead of time.

Finally, you need to make sure your recruitment pipeline is efficient and effective. This last point is so important, that my next blog will deal with it in more detail– and make a bold claim for a new way to think about how your pipeline actually works.

Martin McDermott