Welcome to Recruiter Q&A, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers!
Today’s Question: What is one thing new recruiters should know to better position themselves for success?
The answers below are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and have created tens of thousands of jobs.
1. Spend More Time With Candidates
I wish new recruiters knew to have more open conversations and personal interactions with their candidate pools outside of the feedback required for specific job openings. We’ve found that our most underwhelming referrals come from recruiters who exclusively rely on matching titles and skills with opportunities. The talent acquisition professionals who spend more time on the phone or in person with their candidate pools tend to have a better sense of how their candidates could fit in and excel at our organizations.
Sometimes recruiters have too much on their plates and they forget to make time for research. Having insight into your niche helps you better connect with talent because you know their world and the trends they are seeing in their specific industry.
Throughout our years of schooling and our past work experiences, many of us learn to maintain the status quo and avoid risk. However, keeping with the status quo means complacency, which does not nurture growth.
Everyone, especially new recruiters, must take chances to grow. Realize that mistakes are a natural byproduct of chances. It’s when you learn from these mistakes that true growth begins, both personally and professionally.
I specialize in tech recruiting, and a lot of candidates will say they are senior developers or CTOs, but when I dig deeper into their work experience and educational background, it’s a lot of fluff and no substance. They can’t even answer basic foundational software engineering questions. It’s very important to know a lot about the field you recruit in, especially if it’s technical, as this allows you to thoroughly vet every candidate who comes your way.
Your recruiting efforts would be improved if you knew more about the character of the applicant rather than only knowing the experience they seem to have. A lot can be faked on a resume, but little can be faked when it comes to character. The more recruiters speak with candidates and learn about who they are as people — their ambitions and their commitment to work — the better off businesses would be.
