Recruitment is a challenging industry and working as a recruiter is much more demanding than many from outside of the industry understand.
There are many different tasks you need to juggle, and, in most cases, there is a degree of pressure to fill roles quickly. If you are struggling to achieve your goals in your role as a recruiter, whether working in an agency or inhouse, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not the right job for you. It may just mean you need to re-evaluate the way you are working, to maximise your results.
These are some tips for improving your success as a recruiter.
Evaluate the job
One of the main challenges when working in recruitment, particularly within an agency, is asking the right questions. This could ultimately mean that you will end up spending time on a role, that’s impossible to fill. It is important that you carefully check the job spec, listen to the expectations of the client, and consider whether working on the role is worth your time. For instance, if a client hands over a role that involves working 10 hours a day, for little over the minimum wage, and they expect 10 CV’s a day – it will be near impossible to manage their expectations. Therefore, it may not even be worth trying. If you are in an in-house role and you believe the role will be difficult to fill, speak to the hiring manager and see if there’s any room for movement. Consider the following before you start working on a role:
- Are the hours reasonable and within the working time directive?
- Is the pay reasonable and at the market rate?
- What are the clients’ expectations, and will you be able to manage these?
- Is the client on your wavelength, and will it be possible to have a good, ongoing relationship with them?
Don’t be afraid to turn away work if you believe the client will be difficult to work with. Working with the wrong client on a job that will be extremely difficult to fill is not only a waste of your time but could affect your reputation as a recruiter. Similarly, do not be afraid to question the hiring manager, and to be transparent about the difficulties you may face.
Understand the Needs
A good recruiter is someone who will listen to both the client’s/manager’s needs and ensure the two are aligned. A bad recruiter is so desperate to fill a role, that they will send anyone and hope that it sticks. The problem with this approach is that, yes, you might fill the role, but the candidate is unlikely to stay, and this will affect your success as a recruiter. It is important to ensure you know exactly what the client is looking for, and that you take time to consider the needs of the candidate before you try and place the two together. The mistake many recruiters make is not listening carefully to the expectations of both parties, which can cause trouble later down the line.
Communication
One of the issues that can really affect your ability to be successful as a recruiter is a lack of communication. It is vital that you inform candidates when they have been unsuccessful for roles and that you give them proper feedback. Candidates are the bread and butter of recruitment. If you don’t have them, it doesn’t matter how many roles you are working with, you won’t be able to fill them. Build a good relationship with your candidates, keep them informed and let them know when suitable vacancies arise. This long-term approach is much more beneficial than just looking to quickly fill the role without much further thought for the future. A CRM (customer relationship management) system can be useful for this purpose, as it can help manage the candidate relationship to a degree, allowing you to focus on helping them secure a role, while also topping up the contact for the personal touch.
Continuous Professional Development
Recruitment is an industry that is constantly evolving, and you must keep up to date with it, no matter how much you already know about it. For instance, the recruitment industry has had to learn to adapt to a new virtual way of working, including virtual interviews and meetings, and it is important to learn new ways of making this a success. Recruitment tech is also much more prevalent now than ever before, and it can go a long way to helping your day-to-day role as a recruiter. If you learn more about this, you will be in a better position to maximise the benefits. Continuous professional development is crucial for success as a recruiter.
Faster Hiring
As a recruiter, you are expected to fill vacancies quickly. Hiring managers don’t typically have months to wait around and while it is important to find the right fit, it is also important to get the job filled as quickly as possible. This will help you to become a good recruiter. It may be worth considering investing in an ATS (applicant tracking system), to help take care of some of the admin tasks for you, such as filtering applications to save you crucial time that can be used for other tasks.
A CRM or ATS is a crucial investment for recruiters, but it is vital that you don’t waste your money by choosing one that doesn’t fit your needs. This is why Rectec Compare was created. You can find the right tech provider that will be able to match your expectations, and best of all, there is no cost to do this. Click here to find out more.
A quick, responsive process is what you need to attract and engage the best talent.
At Rectec we help organisations to find the best Applicant Tracking System or best Recruitment CRM to suit your needs, accompanied by our unique complimentary tech marketplace, to help you build the perfect recruitment tech stack for your business.
You can click here to register for Rectec Compare – and best of all, it’s completely free of charge.