Find candidates, build candidate relationships, and pipeline talent for future hiring

Here are ways you be a more proactive recruiter — something more like the in-house “staffing agency”

Hire “hunters” (not “farmers”)

Sounds simple, right? Well, it turns out that this step is not as simple as it seems. In the recruiting world you’ve got two very different types of recruiters, hunters and farmers.

The hunters are recruiters who know how to identify hard-to-find candidates, message them effectively to get their attention, and close them on an opportunity. Not only do hunters like this type of recruiting, they live for it. They want new challenges, and they want to be on the cutting edge. They want to work closely with hiring managers in a strategic fashion to deliver top-notch candidates. A recruiter that is a hunter is very similar in profile to a successful salesperson.

A recruiter that is a farmer brings a different value to the table. A farmer is someone that likes to immerse themselves in operational tasks, and improve on them. A farming recruiter is at their best when there is a steady quantity of candidates, and interactions with hiring managers are from a customer service perspective. Farmers are good at weeding out candidates for your “evergreen” jobs that you continuously hire for. They know those roles well, and exactly what type of candidates you are looking for. They take pride in optimizing that process to drive your business forward.

You’ll want to make sure you’ve got hunters on your team for proactive recruiting. The best place to find hunters is at staffing agencies. Recruiters who have had success in staffing agencies will typically have a hunting mentality. They have to be aggressive in order to survive. This does not mean all recruiters out of staffing agencies are hunters though, so don’t make that assumption.

If you’re looking for a hunter out of a staffing agency, there are certain things to look for. You’re looking for someone that worked at an agency for at least 3 years. You don’t want someone who tried it, but it wasn’t for them. You want someone who was successful in an agency. Look for candidates who were promoted to new roles (including outside sales). Look for candidates who hit their bonus and company incentive trips within their first 3-4 years in an agency. They are typically the folks who hustle, take direction, and make the most of any opportunity. Agency recruiting is a challenge that offers an awesome proving ground for in-house leaders to evaluate potential candidates.

Hiring a hunter from a staffing agency does come with a caution. You have to make sure you continuously put new challenges in front of them. Once they master a task, they can be bored easily. But this can be a big bonus to being more proactive as a recruiting team.

Build a pipeline systematically

hear that their recruiters are busy managing multiple requirements, that they have difficult hiring managers to deal with, or that the market is tight for top talent

The bottom line though is that there really is no excuse for not building a pipeline of candidates through proactive recruiting.

It’s an opportunity that will pay off over time, and provide more control.

There’s also a ton of ways to do it easier than in years past. Start with some simple steps, and get more advanced as your team gains their footing.

Here are the pipeline approaches I’ve found most successful:

Determine your “evergreen” requirements

Most companies have roles which they will hire for on a continuous basis. These roles are typically in the Sales and Technology departments of organizations. These are the absolute perfect places to invest your time in proactive recruiting. If your team hires for similar skills often, start there. If not, start with the most mainstream requirements you have.

Create your process before selecting a technology

You don’t need to spend $7K per year for a seat of LinkedIn Recruiter to build a pipeline. In fact, I’d argue you don’t need to pay for any service at all to start building a pipeline. Google Docs creates shareable documents your team can use to start building a pipeline…for free. As you gain more mastery and consistency, then think about spending money on a “Talent CRM” that fits your organization.

Pipeline days

Give applicable recruiters on your team 1 day every 2 weeks dedicated to do nothing but proactively recruit. Leave meetings off of the calendar, and give them room to mine your database, reach out to long lost connections, or build a target list of candidates from desirable companies. You’ll certainly want to measure progress being made on these days, but give them the runway to be creative.

Open your doors

There’s no better way to show candidates what life is like at your company than inviting them to an event at your office. You can go as big as hosting a meetup, have an open house for undergrads, or simply invite candidates over for a cup of coffee. The best way to build more interest with candidates is to spend time with them on your turf.

Record everything

Employer branding is a hot topic in the world of recruiting. Candidates want to know more about who they would work for, what types of challenges they’d be faced with, and how your company makes the world a better place. By recording everything you can show them your culture, and help drive your employer brand. Take lots of pictures at events and record short video clips of your team’s interacting. Make sure it’s authentic, but true to your brand. This helps you develop great content to share with prospects that will get their attention.

Share best practices

You want everyone on your team to hear stories about what’s working. This is especially true when it results in a great hire. Recruiters will adopt practices they see working, and sharing best practices is a great way to accomplish this. It doesn’t always have to be about hires either. It can be incredibly effective to show your team what a good pipeline of candidates looks like, and how the pipeline was built. Seeing is believing.

Hold yourself and team accountable

Doing the 4 steps above won’t matter if you don’t hold yourself and your team accountable.

It starts with you — you gotta stand up in front of your team and show what proactive steps you’re taking (like the 4 above).

You need team meetings (daily huddles) and individual meetings (I find weekly to work well) to measure your progress

Management guru Peter Drucker famously said, “what gets measured gets managed”

If you’ve ever worked in a staffing agency, you know that daily standup meetings are vital to success. Recruiters report to the team on their daily progress, including activity numbers and candidates in progress. This is an opportunity to build a candidate pipeline as an in-house team. Recruiters have a forum to exchange ideas on sourcing and closing candidates.

They’ll also recommend candidates to other recruiters for positions that may be a better fit. As a Talent Leader, standup meetings can provide a great venue for highlighting positive outcomes which motivates the recruiting team as well.

Individual pipeline reviews are also important. Individual meetings are an opportunity to empower your recruiters, as well as learn more about them. They should come to the meeting understanding their priorities, and having an action plan ready. This puts the power in their hands, and helps them be more in control. That’s what you want as a leader. The more you know about their goals, the more you can point them toward success.

And, of course, you should be responsible for covering the team’s progress towards goals as it is you who is accountable for the team’s success.