Working Effectively with Recruiters

Recruiters do have a bit of difficult reputation with job candidates (I have been told by recruiters I know that they also find some job candidates a bit tricky). However by working effectively with them people can be placed into new jobs and companies can find the people that they need to fulfil their business goals. There are several ways in which this can be done better hopefully leading to happier outcomes for all.

What is a recruiter and why do companies use them?

A recruiter is an intermediary tasked by an organisation such as a company, non-profit entity or government body to find new staff. We must remember that the recruiter always acts for the hiring organisation because this is who pays them for their services. In Britain it is not legal to act as an intermediary working to find an employee a job, this may well be different in other countries. There are several different types of recruitment agency which focus on different types of employer as their clients; including high street names, boutique agencies focussed on specific industries, larger multi- national staff suppliers and for some  large organisations with ongoing staffing needs dedicated internal recruiters.

Why use an external recruiter?

•  Legal compliance in a complex field. Most managers know little about recruitment law, their business is running the company an external specialist can advise on this.
• Advice on candidates, job descriptions, salaries, terms and conditions etc.
• ·Discretion and distance
• Outsourcing what some managers can see as a bit of a chore
• Regular experience with appropriate systems for organisations that do not recruit that many people on an ongoing basis
• Advice on hiring staff in a new country or a new business area

The recruitment process in a large organisation (or why does it take so long?)

An organisation which is larger than a small (100 - 200 person?) business would have a complex set of procedures for hiring new staff.  A business case has to be established, a budget has to be agreed, a person specification drawn up and argued over. All of this may need to be agreed by headquarters in the case of a subsidiary. How does this recruitment fit into a business strategy, a staffing plan, existing employee’s availability, skill audits, company policies, budgets etc.?

Figure 1. Hiring process in a large organisation showing the complexity and the multitude of stakeholders involved. All conversations and decisions go through multiple layers. It is a lot simpler in a smaller less formal business

OK. The hiring manager has finally had all the agreements in place, everybody has had their say and we have decision. At this point the HR recruitment coordinator (if the firm has such a person) will start talking to recruiters.

The traditional method – Attracting the many

The recruiter will speak to the organisation, draft up a job specification that people outside the organisation might actually understand and agree a strategy. Adverts are designed and placed in appropriate media (trade press, local or national press) and on job boards (such as Monster, Indeed, CV library etc.) as well as the company website (if there is no need for discretion), LinkedIn and recruiter websites.

The recruiter then waits for the responses to flood in from every Tom, Dick and Harriet who apply even if they do not meet the requirements stated in the advert.

Figure 2. An overwhelmed recruiter with a pile of resumes

Some organisations have a policy to openly advertise. This may be for reasons of ensuring that a more diverse set of applicants take part, or to try to ensure fairness and to be seen to be a growing and successful organisation. For example the public sector in Britain has to place adverts in the press and on www.jobsgopublic.co.uk. This means that it can take a long time for any responses as the recruitment team have to deal with many applicants.

Finding the Few.

This involves narrowing down a field so that you do not get inundated with job applicants that are not suitable as they do not meet the specifications. It is also the way forward if discretion is required, for example if you need to replace a managing director it may be bad form for them to find their job advertised in the Financial Times. In this situation the recruiter and the hiring organisation would draw up a job specification and start searching for possible candidates. Where would they find them?

• ·        LinkedIn - the premier business network
• ·        Industry societies, conferences , journals
• ·        Previous candidates in your database – But there is a need to be GDPR compliant (UK data protection laws)
• ·        Your network – referrals are worth their weight in gold

Then the recruiters have to persuade the person that this role might be for them

A recruiter’s key resource is their candidate database, even if this role is not for you the next role might be so it is key for any recruiter to establish and grow their network. There is however a bit of a problem here for the candidate if they are not visible.

Job specifications – The Estonian speaking, ice skating leopard problem

The Zoo’s hiring manager asked for an Estonian Speaking, Ice Skating, Leopard, a variety of feline candidates applied for the role.

Figure 3. The zoo manger was interested in the present rather than potential.

The other feline candidates had plenty of other skills to offer. Who would not want a lion that can ice skate, ski jump and speak Estonian and Hungarian. The manager however had a specific niche to fill and could not or would not be flexible. We could argue that the strategic interests of the zoo may have been served by more open mindedness, but the manager had a specific problem to solve.

This parable illustrates a problem faced by many candidates. Hiring managers may wish to replace somebody who has just left with a duplicate. There may be little scope for growing a person when the business problem needs to be solved right now and only a person with perceived proven skills would do. Job descriptions may be very long and detailed and may ask for criteria only met by a few people (purple squirrels). What the organisation needs to think about is what criteria are really necessary and what is merely desirable. A great recruiter may be able to advise on this, but there would need to be a lot of trust between the recruiter and hiring company.

Figure 4. A purple squirrel is a candidate that precisely meets all the requirements and is interested and available. As you can probably guess such candidates are relatively rare.

Common Gripes about Recruiters with Answers

Sales behaviour – Recruiters act like salesmen or estate agents (realtors )- recruiters are paid on commission – no placement = no bonus – at the entry level this is a highly pressured job working in a less than pleasant environment. As in any other sales situation the candidate should maintain composure, be assertive and ask appropriate questions.

Secrecy / cloak and dagger – what if the hiring organisation needs to replace someone discretely – you would not want to see your own job advertised would you?

Response or lack of – many recruiters have not heard from the hiring organisation – wheels turn slowly if at all (see figure 1 diagram above) – a solution would be to arrange for and agree regular updates.

Impersonal – the candidate just a commodity – sorry but regrettably this is true, while the candidate may have a lot invested in the job, the recruiter has much less investment in a candidate, at least in the beginning – remember they are working for the hiring organisation, but this needs to be done better

Integrity (or lack of) – there can be some bad behaviour by recruiters here, but also are the candidates building up false hopes?

Complex IT systems – There are some shocking recruitment IT interfaces out there, as well as some straight forward ones. This needs to change but you have to deal with what you have.

Lack of specialist / industry knowledge – This is a particular problem for candidates from technically complex industries who tend to assume that everybody else has the same in-depth knowledge as they have. A solution is to educate your recruiter, explain your skills in a clear way and you will gain someone who is positive towards you.

Difficulty in contacting – the sheer volume they have to get through, they may be working on 20 projects with dozens of candidates at any one time.

Focus on the present rather than potential – the hiring manager wants somebody to do this particular job right now – most of them don’t have the foresight to look beyond the immediate needs

False / Fake Jobs – sometimes the hiring organisation needs to test an internal candidate against the market, which is very frustrating for the external candidate. Some unscrupulous recruiters do also lie

CV alteration (unauthorised) – some poor recruiters do this – insist on being copied on any resumes that are sent out with your name. But recruiters also see a lot more CV’s than you do so take their advice on board

They want to steal my personal network – so what? If you can recommend a friend to a recruiter this does put you in the good books

What do recruiters see as good candidate behaviour?

According to some friends working in recruitment good candidates are:

• ·        Know what they want and can articulate it
• ·        Prepared to put in the work – tailored CV, cover letter, research the organisation
• ·        Honest – do not exaggerate or lie (it does happen)
• ·        Responsive – answer phone calls and emails – get back with CV etc. when they promise
• ·        But not aggressive – don’t pester for a reply every hour and treat people with respect
• ·        Listen as well as talk – ask good questions
• ·        Competent and professional
• ·        Discrete – keep confidences

And according to a friend working in recruitment are actually rather rare

Possible Solutions for Better Working with Recruiters

·        Build a relationship

o  Recruitment is a hard frustrating job

o  Recruiters need a candidate bank

o  If the job is not right for you then recommend a suitable friend

o  Explain concepts to help build recruiter knowledge

·        Agree actions and timescales – be proactive, professional and polite

·        Ask – about the company, about the job, don’t assume anything ( A friend once joined a company assuming that he would be working at location X, their headquarters, when the job was at actually at location Y, their back office, he left relatively quickly afterwards because of the commute)

·        Use every call in a positive way to build rapport, sell yourself and gather information

·        This current role being offered by the recruiter may not be right but the next one might

·        Respect confidences, do not tell recruiter B about a conversation you are having with recruiter A. Answer the question where are you with other roles at the moment? By saying that I am in conversations which I will keep confidential, as I will keep the conversation with you, I will let you know if I take up a role and I am no longer available.

·        Asking for feedback may be tricky, instead ask for advice, people love giving advice.

·        But be honest – don’t string people along

For recruiters

·        Please be honest about the job, don’t make it out to be something it is not

·        Answer phone calls and emails

·        Keep in touch, if the answer is no thanks, please tell the candidate

·        Do not alter resumes without permission , but provide advice if you feel that something can be done better

·        Give what feedback you can honestly

·        Respect confidences

·        Don’t string people along