What do good recruiters do?

I posted a recent LinkedIn post this week, about a new recruitment platform called “Ihaterecruiters”. The majority of the response was about what recruiters do badly. I really want once and for all, to clear up what good effective recruiters do well and continue to do, at least in my opinion.

There are some great disruptive online recruitment platforms, but there is still a place for the traditional agency recruiter.

If I can help one person who has had a bad experience with recruiters  and help them understand what good recruiters actually do and to not lose faith,  it will have been worth my time writing this blog.

Attend relevant industry events

This is a staple of any good recruiter. Attending industry events allows them to understand the latest trends and news in the industries they recruit for.

Getting to know their candidates on a professional and personal basis

Good recruiters take the time to get to know their candidates. This enables them to use a proactive approach and really understand exactly what their candidates’ needs are. For example what projects they would and wouldn’t work on, the team size they prefer to work in, what they aren’t so strong at so they can have more exposure to a certain area resulting in greater career development as well as their ideal location. The list is endless.

Getting to know candidates on a more personal level is also a key element. When given an insight to their personal situation (within reason!). It’s easier to know what culture they will be suited to, if the company will allow flexible time to fit around any family needs, if the job will give them satisfaction day to day, if they will gel well with the rest of the business and what they are truly motivated by.

Industry education

In the industries that most recruiters work in, the professionals have usually worked very hard to get the position they are in. I think this point, comes down to respect. If a candidate has studied and been in the industry for a while, why would they listen to a recruiter who’s been in the industry for a year or two with no knowledge of what they do? They don’t.

This is where industry education comes in. I believe its recruiter’s duty, to learn exactly what the professionals do, to give practical advice and gain credibility. It’s very obvious when listening to those recruiters who have no idea what they’re talking about.

They use a proactive approach

Recruiters who are worth their salt tend to use a proactive approach for both clients and candidates.

It’s no secret that part of a recruiter’s job is to win new business. I believe the most genuine recruiters win the most business as they create a desire from businesses to actually want to work with them for their personal approach and knowledge.

Instead of using all the hocus pocus approaches to work with a company, they take the time to meet with them before there is a live role and get to know all the ins and outs of a company from culture, team size to the work hours (to name a few). This gives a feeling of assurance to a company that they won’t have to use 5-6 recruitment agencies to get 1 candidate, they can trust 1 or 2 recruiters to get the job done as they know everything there is to know about the company to get the perfect candidate.

Honesty and communication

This is probably the most important point.

Good recruiters are also fantastic communicators. One of the main things I see pop up, as to why people don’t like some recruiters is because they don’t communicate or very infrequently. An ineffective recruiter will put them forward to a role and the candidate will never hear back from them again, because maybe they weren’t quite right or got rejected. Another common trait is recruiters wont respond to messages, but when a role comes in that is suitable for a candidate they will be the first to message them. (Because only then do they see money signs!)

Good recruiters are different, they will always be honest as to what jobs they have for a candidate, be honest as to where their CV is being sent, always tell them who the company is that they are hiring for, give feedback ASAP after their CV is submitted or after an interview (pending when they feedback form the client) and keep in regular contact even if they haven’t got a role for them.

They build rapport

No one likes recruitment robots. People like people, so having conversations unrelated to work helps build relationships for the long term. I firmly believe candidates like to get to know the recruiters they use, as looking for a job can be a quite daunting task.  Having someone support you, that you genuinely like always makes things a lot smoother.

Life is meant to be fun, enjoy who you work with!