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When I attend career fairs, hiring conferences, recruiting events, or through conversations with prospective
candidates, I keep learning that the wrong people are attending these events and working as recruiters. As I walked
the room at a recent career fair, prior to the event starting, I sought to introduce myself to some of the other company
representatives. I was surprised that many of them were unable to communicate at a level that would properly
represent their company.
The behavior I witnessed at this event and many others is predictive of how these recruiters behave in the o ice and
how they represent their company through other communication tools such as social media. Later as the candidates
flowed into the fair to meet the companies, I witnessed these individuals sitting behind their tables, eating food,
talking on cell phones, and displaying body language that suggested they didnt want to be bothered.
Fortunately, I witnessed several individuals that did exhibit proper career fair behavior and strong recruiting traits.
They were the ones that had long lines of candidates and also the ones whose companies are always recognized as
recruiting industry leaders. The di erence in success was clear.
We can all gain market intelligence by speaking with prospective candidates and finding out where they have applied,
who they have interviewed with, and what their experiences have been like. Some of the experiences that I have
heard are horrific, yet not surprising. So why do HR and recruiting leaders continually hire or put the wrong people
into recruiting positions?I dont get it.
Each year there are new tools, technologies, and platforms developed to help take recruiting to the next level, as
the cliche goes. The problem is, all of these wonderful breakthroughs can be fruitless due to inadequate operator
behavior. Moreover, if companies and organizations really want to eliminate or lower their agency recruiting
spending, then start hiring similar profiles and not promoting an individual out of customer service or demoting
someone from another department and sending them to recruit.
Regardless of where your next recruiter comes from, I have developed some essential skills, traits, and qualities that
successful recruiters should possess. Aside from the regular good communication, ability to work hard, team player
skills that everyone wants here are a few of the most important must haves:
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1 Strong sales skills if you havent figured it out by now, recruiting is sales. If you disagree, you are in the
wrong business. Not only do recruiters need to sell their clients (internal or external), but they need to sell
candidates on opportunities and be able to articulate why company X is an employer of choice and why a
particular opportunity is not just a great opportunity, but how it is the opportunity of a lifetime.
2 Ability to cultivate and build relationships anyone can pull a name out of a database and place a call. Its
another thing to actually cultivate and build relationships with the candidates we recruit. Perhaps knowing a
little about what makes them tick, what their hobbies are, engaging in a conversation rather than just
following a script, etc. Social media, smart phones, and other communication platforms have built bridges
straight into our personal lives. By creating a more open, friendly, and communicative relationship with
candidates, the candidate experience will increase, making the recruiter and company stand out
professionally and as an employer of choice.
3 Hunters mentality there are so many ways to source for talent these days. There is an abundance of sites,
networks, tools, and platforms all built in some fashion to make a recruiters life easier. But it is how each
recruiter uses these tools that will make the di erence. It all starts with the mentality of the individual.
Recruiters are big-game hunters, and having the mindset to hunt and be relentless until the hunt is done is a
priceless skill set. If a recruiter is going to sit at a desk, log in to Monster and keyword search all day that is
not the hunter mentality you want. You want someone who will use cold calling, social media, Boolean
searches, networks, etc. in order to find the strongest and most-qualified individuals.
4 Big-picture thinking simply focusing on single searches each day is great, but having the ability to see how
candidates can fit into an organization, the potential value they can bring, or even knowing where a superstar
candidate could fit in, even if there is no immediate position available, is invaluable. Moreover, keeping an eye
on future tools, technology, and best practices and knowing what is coming down the pipeline will keep your
company well versed and competitive in a tough talent market.
5 Strong follow-up skills probably the #1 topic that irks me the most about recruiters follow-up skills. How
hard is it to return a call or an email I will tell you that it is not hard at all nor does it take a severe amount of
time to update a candidate, hiring manager, co-worker, etc. on events. I have heard all the horror stories of a
recruiter (agency or corporate alike) calling someone frantically, building them up and setting them up to
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interview, only to never reach back out to the candidate again. All that does is breed negativity and it is not
part of the relationship-building process what so ever.
6 Listening anyone else ever had the recruiter-talk-your-ear-o presentation about how great they are, the
database they have access to, successful placements, etc.? Recruiters need to listen first and talk second.
Recruiters must possess the uncanny ability to listen and take a proper job order. Too many recruiters run
their traps to no end. Its annoying.
7 Consultative in nature recruiting is a science and there are methods and processes. The majority of hiring
managers need to be consulted on these procedures and processes in order to build long-term success and
proper process flow. Good recruiters have the ability to advise and push back on their clients if need be. A
good recruiter will act as a trusted advisor for their clients, and in return, clients will respect and act on given
advice.
8 Personable and approachable how many times do candidates call or meet a recruiter at a career fair and
they are nervous on the other line or on the other side of the table. I love taking an approach opposite that
which a majority of other recruiters take. I answer my phone calls and return emails. People will call me and
are surprised that I even answered my phone. They are even more surprised that I am in a good mood, ask
them how they are doing, thank them for their call, and take one minute of my time to let them introduce
themselves and follow up with me. My mother always told me that I could catch more bees with honey than I
can with vinegar.
There will be people reading this that say they dont have the time to return calls or emails, that they cant talk to
everyone at a career fair, that their clients are too tough to work with and to me they are all excuses. No one is
perfect. I have probably missed an email or call in my time; however, we can all make a better e ort to be better
recruiters.
The next time you are reviewing your analytics and you see a high time-to-fill number or whatever data is important
to you put the brakes on and see if what you really need to do is recalibrate your recruiting team and get the right
people on board first.
43 Comments EREMedia
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And yes this is definitely for ALL recruiters - there are way too many corporate recruiters who don't have this
mentality and then companies wonder why it's so hard to fill their open positions.
Two things I would add for the person hiring a great recruiter:
* Make sure the recruiter is given the resources they need! I went without access to any databases for the
first 9 months in my last jobs which - even though I am a strong tech recruiter on other resources & found
great candidates and kept time-to-fill at 35 days - definitely reduced the number of prospects I was able to
reach out to. Ensure they know their budget so they can decide what they need to find great people.
* In corporate recruiting, the recruiter has got to be a strategic partner, just as HR is. HR is not a substitute
or representative of recruiting. Your recruiter needs to understand the business, and not just from hearsay -
they should be talking to your leaders, and empowered as an advisor and trusted partner.
* Make sure your recruiter does understand HR. Too many people say 'Recruiting is Sales' and that it's not
related to HR. It's both. The relationship should not completely end at the time the offer letter is signed - a
good recruiter will facilitate the relationship with HR and the new employee. Remember, the recruiter should
be an ally to the candidate they hire, and this is a great way to increase the accessibility to and trust in your
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be an ally to the candidate they hire, and this is a great way to increase the accessibility to and trust in your
HR team.
Thank you for a great article - few ERE articles about recruiting talent actually make me whoop in
agreement. As someone who's been an HR Generalist, Agency Recruiter, Corporate Recruiter, and now
Recruiting Consultant, I agree with all of this :)
1 Reply Share
Recruiting is a hybrid business role - part marketing, part business development, part strategic partnerships,
part community relations, part PR, and of course part human resources - but it is NOT sales. You cannot sell
to every person that you meet that it's a "chance of a lifetime" because this job is about finding mutual fits -
not just getting anyone you can to apply. It's offensive when recruiters act like they know more than their
applicants about fit - it's about both sides figuring out if it's a mutually beneficial potential relationship, and
getting to know what people are looking for. Not everyone, no matter how much they fit 'on paper' is going to
be a fit for your company, nor should they be. Your job is to market the company and the opportunity, and
through outreach, you'll build relationships, some of which will turn into hires, some who'll become part of
your network, some who you'll not see again. But if you approach it as a "big game hunter" (an *incredibly*
offensive, violent metaphor to many people) rather than as a matchmaker, a relationship builder, and a
business partner, you're setting yourself up to be the negative stereotype of a "typical recruiter who only
cares about their numbers".
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Well said
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SP 2 years ago
I agree with everything stated in the article, but do take issue with a comment in #5. Follow up IS a struggle,
for agency and especially for us corporate recruiters. Consider the sheer volume of applications, employee
referrals, and our own sourcing efforts, and we have a challenge. Now add team/touch base/intake/staff
meetings, actually conducting interviews, dealing with scheduling and travel (a headache on a good day),
the special projects recruiters have because, truly, no one solely recruits, and the ever-changing priorities of
our organization, hiring partners, and own department. Follow up does, indeed, become a challenge.
Please note I am not saying follow up is not important: It IS. But to blithely ask 'how hard can it be?' means
that, perhaps, the author doesn't have strong 'big picture' skills, either.
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How did I miss this the first time around? Oh. I must not have been listening.
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"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done."
Cheers,
Keith
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@Aimee - Amen to you and thank you for your thoughts and kind words. I agree with you wholeheartedly on
HR/Recruiting being a strategic partner. You are right on with everything you said.
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resume and have a position in your back pocket is priceless. Getting your hands on good people regardless
of the skill set you are searching for then being able to present them to managers is a huge value.
@Louis - great to hear there are others like this and that the relationship has paid off.
@Jeff - thanks for the kind words and glad to hear you live by these traits. It sure does pay off.
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An example is the recruiter who dealt with me. He was extremely friendly, stayed in contact and seemed
genuinely interested and invested. I have recommended a number of successful candidates to him - his
approach paid off!
---
Louis
http://www.colleague.eu
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That is the value I want to bring to my clients from my team, and they expect that level of professionalism
and expertise. We are the experts in recruiting, and my clients value that. We have to both be creative and
think out of the box to hire the best of the best, yet, tactical to fill the positions at hand. It is a delicate
balance that we, in recruiting, must handle daily.
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In this workshop outline you can learn more about the vision behind this list: http://www.slideshare.net/a....
.
In this workshop additional information on recruitment in the next decades. Building Talent Relations is the
central theme: http://www.slideshare.net/a...
.
Looking forward for your feedback
.
Alexander Crpin
The Netherlands
.
Happy to link via Linkedin
http://nl.linkedin.com/in/a...
Reply Share
Om Singh
Pragmatic N HR Services
India
+919935865489
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https://www.ere.net/8-skills-recruiters-should-have/ 9/14
9/9/2017 8 Skills Recruiters Should Have | ERE
Right on!!!
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Happy Friday,
Keith
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9/9/2017 8 Skills Recruiters Should Have | ERE
When I arrived I was shocked and embarrassed to find that they had done absolutely nothing to prepare for
the event. They showed up empty handed, with no information about the company, current open positions or
anything useful at all.
It was pathetic! They acted as if it was no big deal and blamed it on never having done this before. Really?
And, despite that being their justification, it apparently hadnt occurred to them to do a bit of research to
figure out the basics in advance!
Ive also observed some of the sloppy behavior you described such as people looking bored, not engaging
with people passing by and eating and talking on the phone while staffing their booths at various events that
Ive attended. Even though these events can be exhausting, you are there to make an impression get people
interested in your company, not kick back and slack off.
There are far too many people in the profession that are completely oblivious to proper candidate interaction
and effective interviewing skills. Over the course of my career, Ive been interviewed by people who had no
see more
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As someone who has worked extensively on both the agency and corporate sides of recruiting, I agree
wholeheartedly that both kinds of recruiters require strong hunting/sales skills. I am not sure why these two
types of recruiting are considered so different. A good recruiter on either side of the fence needs to be able
to listen to both the client and the candidates(yes internal hiring managers are clients in corporate recruiting
too), gather a detailed job and department profile, and source the best candidates and sell them on why this
opportunity is the best for them.
There are certainly corporate recruiters who are afraid to ask difficult questions and push the candidate or
managers a bit, but the best recruiters on either side can do these things and more!
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Would actually extend the "hunting" to being alert when a client says " this is a line of business we'd like to
enter into at some point" (without a definitive time line even) because out of those casual remarks do come
some great placement opportunities. Keeping that in mind and that finding a candidate and going back to the
client with someone who can probably make that wish a business reality is exciting, to say the least!
Reply Share
Which I do not get since asking someone to change their career is so personal...go figure.
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As a fresh college graduate, I am more comfortable talking to companies that my friends are working for
because I know there is already a support network there for me. Additionally, I already have some degree of
knowledge about the company. This is how I feel as a Gen Y job seeker.
@Brian, you are 100% - the best are Go Givers hands down.
@Carol - thanks!
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I have been in a number of large organizations where the goal is to look for people, but not hire them.
Furthermore, any consideration of the "bigger picture" beyond the requirements of filling the current req. list
was discouraged. The places where these things did not occur were not really going crazy to get me
onboard- a crappy job usually beats no job at all, and I commend and applaud those who have often have
multiple jobs options- I am one who hustles hard to get my work.
HR (and other) leaders recognize that exceptional competency unless in perfect alignment with a superior's
goals is a threat to that superior- who wants a subordinate stirring things up, questioning the status quo? No,
better to have them keep their heads down, mouths shut except when parroting the company line, and
giving 110% to provide their superiors exactly what the superiors want the way they want it. In a fight-
connections beat competence almost any day of the week.
Keith
Reply Share
While I appreciate your comment, these are skills ALL recruiters should have. Yes, there is red tape and
politics in any organization (some more than others) but the hunters mentality and big picture thinking are
applicable in any company and in any industry and if you can't find that environment as a recruiter, then
leave and go some where that you can do these things and grow your career as a recruiter.
It is a matter of HR leaders recognizing it and implementing the people who have these talents. The problem
with your suggested title is that there is too much division between corporate and contingent recruiting.
Multiple companies have already recognized how a contingent recruiting model can be brought in house and
ran effectively.
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