How recruiters can help transform clients and candidates
As recruiting best practices shift to become more applicant-centric, staffing agencies must be strategic in making sure all needs are met. For most recruiters, there are specific events that must happen in order to successfully place a candidate.
True also in sales, recruiters spend much of their time building relationships, instilling hope and conveying business value before it is actually recognized. If you’ve met a recruiter that believes in their company, genuinely works towards building relationships, and can learn easily from mistakes, there is little chance for them to fail to meet their deadlines and quotas. However, it’s in the particular moments of despair when someone is left without key information when something goes awry, and the recruiter is forced to make a decision. In these key moments, recruiters set the precedent for how the client and candidate will act moving forward. It’s relatively simple to take note of the business value added to the client. But how do a recruiter’s actions reflect on the candidate?
If you’ve ever worked with a recruiter, you know that there are some that you can see progress in their career. Others are not. The top recruiters help candidates prepare for the future.
Here’s how:
- Recognize The Clunky Application Experience
- Mitigate Confusing Interview Processes
- Reduce Lackluster Communication
- Provide Tactful Rejections
Top Recruiters Recognize The Clunky Application Experience
When you’re starting off any professional relationship initiated with electronic communication, you have to take steps immediately to engage and interact in person whenever possible. Two candidates approached by two recruiters will have a different outlook based on how quickly they get a personal response from the staffing firm. Top recruiters know this waiting period can be painful yet they have been through it before so they take special initiative to go the extra mile. This can have a duplicative effect. If a candidate doesn’t hear back from a staffing firm within 72 hours, how quickly would they expect to want to reply to that communication? If you’re just starting a relationship with a client, put your best foot forward and set the stage for how you would like the candidate to engage with you. The best recruiters make time for new candidates, expect the same in return, and in turn demonstrate responsiveness, not apathy.
Top Recruiters Mitigate Confusing Interview Processes
There is too little attention paid to the importance of the time leading up to the interview. If the client is organized and prepared, the recruiter from the staffing agency has one job, to make sure the candidate arrives on time. Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple. Technical or specialty interviews may require multiple meetings and let’s not forget that the recruiter may be managing concurrent interviews at the same time. Candidates may not have visibility into these intricacies, they should receive top-tier treatment without having to worry about the scheduling of other candidates. Regardless of how much is going on, top recruiters decide to give their full attention to making both clients and candidates feel as though they are the recruiter’s only focus. Candidates may sometimes disregard this attention, though the smart ones will understand that this and model this behavior in the future.
Top Recruiters Reduce Lackluster Communication
You never know what is going on in someone else’s life. One of the worst responses is to take poor communication personally. As a top recruiter, you can’t let lackluster communication, or lack thereof, hurt you or your chances at working there. It’s best to give the benefit of the doubt. Since recruiters often compete to fill the same position, there is a heavy dose of discretion that most recruiters don’t let seep into the client-candidate relationship. Candidates will notice top recruiters as they will have plans for positive feedback and negative feedback. If it’s documented, all parties can rely on the sincerity and expect enhanced communication. If a client or candidate is forced to work with a lagging recruiter once, you can guarantee in the future they will notice that top recruiters exert maximal yet not overbearing communication that is not only tolerated and appreciated but will also lead to a higher referral rate.
Top Recruiters Provide Tactful Rejections
Rejection can seem like a negative event, though it provides much-needed closure for candidates. Top recruiters understand this phenomenon and give implementable and constructive feedback that assists to instill a positive past experience with the rejection, remind candidates that there are still opportunities available, and recommends modifications to behaviors or resumes to increase the probability of success moving forward. When executed properly, rejections and rejection letters should leave candidates comfortable with the loss of opportunity and hopeful for what’s to come. Even when negative, clients and candidates prefer feedback and can benefit from it. Use these rejection events to analyze and improve for the next time.