Building Gurus: How To Get The Most From Your Recruiter

You might have many reasons to consider working with a recruiter. You could have tried on your own without much luck. Maybe you haven’t hired in awhile and feel a bit rusty. Your pay and benefits could be less than ideal and you don’t know how to sell through it.

Whatever is the catalyst, a recruiter can bring you better applicants, a smoother process & the right hire. You might even enjoy hiring. It’s possible! Really!

I’ve recruited in the residential building products space for 14+ years and my retention rate is over 95%. So, I feel I can share some insights to help you and your potential recruiting partner.

Getting Started

Let’s talk about how you can set yourself up for success from the start.

• Remember successful relationships are a two-way street. To get the most from your recruiter, you have to give.
• Give honest information whether it is good, bad or straight-up ugly.
• If you have struggled, share exactly how and why. If you’ve made bad decisions in the past, explain how you got to that point.
• Be super clear about what you want before you get started. The best recruiter in the world can’t find a winner if you aren’t sure what you need.

What A Good Recruiter Brings To The Process

A good recruiter does everything possible to match your needs, find great candidates and keep the process moving smoothly. They will be able to shift gears when you need to speed up or slow down. When you evaluate recruiters, think about if they will:

• Work to understand your unique hiring needs
• Do everything with your key business priorities in mind
• See candidates through your eyes
• Respect your confidentiality — completely
• Represent your company and opportunity with professionalism
• Actively seek out & respond to your feedback during the entire process
• Deliver the best candidates to your doorstep – as swiftly as possible
• Provide hiring, marketing, positioning, and negotiation expertise
• Communicate – honestly and often

What A Good Client Brings To The Process

Good clients understand the recruiting process and are comfortable giving over some hiring responsibility. They understand what recruiters do + what they can and can’t achieve.

When you look to work with a recruiter, make sure you can commit to:

– Being prepared: have at least a theory of your ideal hire. Ideally, craft a great job description before you hire a recruiter.

– Giving timely feedback: typically no more than 24 business hours after interviews & 48 hours for candidate submissions.

– Respecting exclusivity: don’t pit multiple recruiters against each other.

– Genuinely investing in hiring: clear the budget requirements and be positive you must hire before you engage a recruiter.

– Open + honest communication: when your recruiter is off-point, say so. Don’t be coy about why a candidate won’t work.

– Clarity about your efforts: be upfront if you are looking internally or sourcing. It prevents duplicating candidate contacts or a recruiter working tirelessly when you are pretty sure you have a good internal option.

– Being a good partner: recruiters are there to help your HR and hiring teams, not compete against them.

– Sticking to a schedule: set aside specific dates for interviews. Commit to finishing the hiring process in a timely fashion. Time kills deals.

– Giving access: recruiters need to meet with everyone involved in hiring, at the start. They need regular access to the decision makers.

– Staying above-board: don’t go behind your recruiter’s back to make a deal with a candidate to save on fees. It’s against your agreement and shady.

There you have it – what you should look for in a recruiting partner and how to get the best results from your relationship!

Want to make your recruitment process even easier? An engaged search guarantees you and your opportunity stay a priority for your recruiter – and who wouldn’t want that?

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Source: Building Gurus