Why Influence Matters. Ask a Recruiter.

Influence matters in talent acquisition. Influence allows recruiters to build relationships with candidates and hiring managers. These relationships are essential for getting the job done. Strong relationships allow recruiters to get to know candidates and understand their needs, while building trust with hiring managers. The more trust a hiring manager has in the recruiter, the more likely the hiring manager will listen to the recruiter’s recommendations.?

Influence allows recruiters to get things done. When recruiters have influence, they are able to get candidates to move forward in the hiring process, to get hiring managers to speed up the interview process, and to get other stakeholders to support their efforts. Influence helps recruiters to achieve goals. When recruiters have influence, they are more likely to be successful in filling open positions, in meeting hiring goals, and in delivering a positive candidate experience.?

Recruiters can build influence by being knowledgeable about the marketplace, by having a strong network of contacts, and by being willing to go the extra mile.??

Marketplace intelligence can help recruiters to understand the needs of the candidates and the hiring managers. It can also help to identify and target the right candidates. Hyperlocal connections can help recruiters to build relationships with candidates and hiring managers in a localized area. This can give a recruiter an edge over other recruiters who are not as familiar with the local market. Recruiters who are willing to go the extra mile are more likely to build influence. This means being willing to do things like work late (or early) hours, travel, and go above and beyond traditional methods to find the right candidates for the job.?

The value of recruiters as advisers, consultants, and collaborators cannot be overstated.??

Recruiters can help candidates to understand their career goals and how to develop their skills. Recruiters help hiring managers to identify the right candidates and to build a strong team. Recruiters also work with other stakeholders to ensure the talent acquisition process is efficient and effective.?

What’s all this about automation and AI in Talent Acquisition??

It’s a competitive talent market. It’s more important than ever for recruiters to leverage automation and AI. These tools can help to improve our productivity, performance, speed to hire, and candidate quality. It’s important to distinguish between automation and AI. Often, the terms are lumped together or used interchangeably, but they are different. AI uses machines to simulate human intelligence, to learn from experience, and to make decisions. Automation is a subset of AI, and is the streamlined, and mechanized, management of the processes and tasks.?

If it feels like automation and AI are everywhere, it’s because they are.?

Companies are scrambling to find new ways to optimize AI. This increase is being driven by the need for improved productivity and efficiency, and to meet the demands of the competitive talent market. Many companies are exploring conversational and generative AI. Conversational AI may be the most familiar. Think chatbots on websites, automated customer support systems, Siri, or Alexa. Generative AI is much broader. It can generate content based upon prompting and learns over time. Think Chat GPT, Ideogram, or Bard by Google.??

Recruiters will find AI embedded as a feature to enhance job descriptions and personalized communication. Recruiters will use AI with hiring managers to improve kickoff (intake) conversations and to allow a more refined focus on the ideal candidate. Recruiters will see an increase in automation for brand marketing, announcements and launches, and for the purpose of nurturing talent.??

We are amidst an explosion of new technology. It’s just the infancy stage now.??

New uses and new features arise fast. Early adoption of automation and AI is imperative because it elevates recruiter credibility with hiring managers and ensures a positive candidate experience. Recruiters who understand the power of influence can position themselves as valuable advisers, consultants, and collaborators. Most importantly, recruiters who balance tools and technology with individualized communication gain influence because they build trust. Without trust, there is no influence.???