Five habits of highly effective recruiters

Recruitment is like any other sector: There are good consultants and… not so good. We’re all too aware that one bad experience is all it takes to threaten an ongoing relationship, and since we’re not in the market for transactional recruitment, that’s not a strategy we’re willing to contemplate!

Of course you pay us for a service, but a long-term client relationship is so much more than that. It means that over time our understanding of you is such that we become an extension of your business, so much are we embedded in the company culture.

But, enough about us. How do you know what to look for in a highly effective recruiter? Below we’ve compiled a list of tips on what to look out for to save you time (and money)!

1. We’ve taken the time to understand your business

A good recruiter knows that every business is different. Every manager is different and certainly every team is different. We understand the business model, the vision of the business and its goals because we’ve completed our research. We have examined your competitors. We may have even recruited for them. We take your decision to engage us seriously and as such, the role of representing your business to potential candidates requires us to be well versed in your challenges, goals and overarching business culture.

2. We listen

Listening plays an essential part in our roles because it’s the only way we can fully understand your requirements. And when we say listen, we don’t mean nodding and smiling whilst thinking of our next meeting. Attentive listening ensures that when we start the screening process for suitable candidates, we specifically look for the characteristics and skillsets you have highlighted as being noteworthy. Selling you in candidates and insisting on you seeing them in vain hopes they will win you over won’t really cut it. In fact, by the time we’ve established a strong working relationship with you, you’ll be so confident in our understanding of your business that we’ll be organising interviews for you without you needing to see their CVs.

3. We call (and don’t) when we say we will

Staying in touch is an important component of what we do. The main reason being that our business is people. Staying in touch and maintaining a positive ongoing relationship with our candidates and clients is incredibly important. That being said, we know you’re busy and you may not need any help from us at the moment. You may not have time for a phone call or feel it’s particularly relevant. And that’s ok – we’ll hold off! Equally, if you have asked us to let you know if we ever come across a candidate with a specific skillset, or to follow up in a few months, we will. We will also call in a timely manner to collect interview or new starter feedback.

4. We’re organised

Good recruiters are organised. We have to be. Our roles are too diverse and wide-ranging for it to work any other way. Our days might comprise of facilitating group interviews, driving new business development, creative advert writing, reference checking with Australia, and calling 30 candidates to find the right one for that hard to fill role. Despite being busy, we are fully prepared before a meeting with you, we’ll have a shortlist ready when we say we will, book interview times in plenty of time and follow up. Put simply, you’ll feel safe in the knowledge that we’ve got it covered.

5. We let you know what’s happening in the market

We live and breathe recruitment. We know what’s happening in the industry (often before the industry does) and would love to share current and future trends with you. We believe these insights will help inform your HR and recruitment strategies and we’re happy to help! Ask, and we will let you know of developments as they arise, invite you to industry events and give you feedback on how you can better optimise your recruitment processes.

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If you’d like to get in touch about your next available recruitment opportunity, or obtain a free market consultation, please get in touch today.

Author David Morel Tiger Recruitment Team