Recruit Smarter, Not Harder

Hi Recruiters,

With AI infiltrating the workplace, companies still actively trimming headcount, and job growth pacing at its slowest since January of 2021, many workers have gotten used to the expectation that they do more with less.

Recruiters—who have been hit very hard by layoffs—have especially felt the crunch, as employers are apparently leaning on TA to help them get through to the other side of recent business growth woes. According to a recent report, “TA will need new skills, new tools, and agility to attract, hire, and retain the best talent.”

Besides the fact that that’s always been the case, the current wacky market dynamics have people adding fuel to the [dumpster] fire that recruiters are finding themselves in by feeling justified in sharing some of the worst takes I’ve ever seen.

I saw one the other day where a CEO said recruiters need to fight to “stay relevant” because they feel that they would be just as successful doing the outreach and filling their talent funnel themselves.

I almost spit out my coffee.

Nearly half of CEOs said they could outsource their own jobs to AI, and almost as many thought that was a good thing. So, while CEOs might think they can do a recruiter’s job, executives of all stripes are also facing the same sorts of pressure to add new skills and tools or find themselves on the wrong side of a layoff.  

(Also, I’d non-jokingly love to see more CEOs on the front lines for recruiting their most critical positions.)

The need for recruiters (and just about anyone with a job) to figure out how to do more with less is something that will always be true. Increasing efficiencies will always be a business focus.

Unfortunately, I can’t say anything that will change that reality. But, the cool thing about leveling up your skills and productivity is that you become more valuable to any business you’re in, which creates opportunities for your own growth.

So, with that in mind, I want to share some quick tips from pros who have figured out a thing or two about working smarter, not harder.

Prioritize Job Reqs

Proactively prioritizing which requisitions to go after can help you manage a mountain of open reqs with much less stress. In a recent article, Director of TA Jan Tegze shares a simple way to approach this: “Start by assessing your open roles through the lens of criticality. Which positions are most essential for your company’s success? Which teams are feeling the most pain due to the vacancy? Work with your hiring managers and senior leadership to understand which roles should be at the top of your priority list.”

Jan goes on to share some excellent example questions to ask your hiring managers to help you whittle things down:

• Which roles are most critical for hitting our quarterly goals and KPIs?
• Which teams are blocking key projects due to a lack of headcount?
• Which positions, if filled, will free up the most additional capacity on teams?
• Which roles have the potential to drive the most revenue or cost savings?
• Which searches are for leadership or executive roles that will have a multiplying effect?

Document Everything

From Sr. Executive Sourcer Marvin Booker : “Document your processes. Document your wins, your losses, your lessons.” For example, Marvin keeps a library of his favorite search strings in note-taking apps like OneNote or Evernote to help him understand what actions are driving success for him each day, providing clues for what behaviors to replicate.

Tech recruiter ʀᴇᴄʀᴜɪᴛᴇʀ Heather Colvin emphasizes the advantages of being detailed in your hiring documentation. For example, as a tech recruiter, she might specify whether a candidate specializes in working with Java or .NET for web development. This makes it easier to find people to contact when a relevant opportunity arises. Heather notes, “If you’re going to be in this space for 10-15 years, [those candidates] are going to be around, too. In ten years, you might have an opportunity for them, but if you didn’t keep a log or database, you might remember who they are, but you don’t remember their last name or how to contact them.”

Manage Hiring Managers

Speaking of collaborating with hiring managers, I had to sneak in a tip of my own. At the end of the day, the hiring manager is your customer. Helping them solve filling a position is the goal for any open req—it’s what matters. When you view recruiting in this way, you free yourself to try different approaches to reach that goal.

Sometimes, that could even mean trying to remove yourself from doing candidate outreach entirely. For example, you could have the hiring manager contact a candidate directly (if you’ve built that kind of working relationship with them). Depending on the role, situation, and candidate, it could be a more effective strategy—people can be more willing to talk to somebody who’s doing that job or someone who’s hiring than a recruiter themselves.

Another tactic I’d use, to set proper expectations for my hiring managers about the available talent pool, was to build my searches with them sitting next to me (or on a call), so they could see for themselves. This provided really helpful context for them for everything from evaluating candidates to setting hiring goals.

What else is happening in hiring?

• AI creates more work and longer hours for some employees. Is the productivity boom over-hyped?
• More than a quarter of workers may quit their jobs this year via Staffing Industry Analysts
• Making the transition from talent acquisition to talent access

Aaron’s Corner

Hey! AI stands for Aaron Ibañez , actually. 😎

In case you missed it, some of the quotes and insights in today's newsletter come directly from our blog 8 Habits of an Effective Recruiter. Check it out for even more insights from even more TA experts. 💡

And if reading is not your thing, you're in luck!

Daniel Harten will break down each habit in our 8 Habits of an Effective Recruiter webinar series alongside the expert collaborators who helped make the blog possible. Register to attend the next session on Tuesday at 12 p.m. CST featuring special guest Marvin Booker: https://bit.ly/4cC6jTq

See you there!

— Recruiters