Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a less than positive experience with a recruiter. While I can’t see your raised hands, I can imagine that most of our hands are raised -- I know mine is. And after having a few bad experiences of my own with recruiters, I made a point to take their shortcomings as a lesson of what not to do when I started my own career in recruiting.
For most, job searching is a big deal. It can be time-consuming, emotionally exhausting and draining. The last thing you ever want is one more thing going against you -- the recruiter. And, on the other side of things, no organization wants a recruiter representing their company who leaves candidates or hiring managers with a bad taste in their mouth.
I've hired a handful of recruiters under me, and interviewed dozens more for positions on my teams over the years.
Here are the most important boxes you should check off before hiring a recruiter:
1. Follow-up
I'm often teased for how quickly I get back to people, as in within minutes. That's my personal style, but I don't expect it of others. However, recruiters should be responding to emails and calls from hiring managers and candidates within 24 hours. The recruiting world is incredibly time sensitive. Candidates are getting snatched up by competing companies within days. If you snooze, you lose.
If a recruiter comes across as a procrastinator, it will cost you. Ask them what their follow up stye is and see how quickly they personally respond -- it speaks volumes.
2. Attention to detail
Spelling and grammar are big in the recruiting world. Not only do we not want to see errors on a resume, but we should also abide by these rules. I used to work with a recruiter who misspelled and botched grammar in 100% of the emails she'd send, both to candidates and hiring managers, which made her come across as careless and unprofessional.
When hiring a recruiter, probe into their communication style, both written and verbal, and carefully review all email exchanges you've had with them during the interview process. If there are typos, be warned.
3. Personality and authentic enthusiasm
A good recruiter is usually extremely personable, upbeat, can roll with the punches and will put on a happy face even if they just lost a star candidate to another offer. Yes, sometimes we are putting on a complete act, but generally, this person should be a positive force on the team, who is constantly pushing forward with a smile on their face. This instills confidence in the hiring managers and their team. To weed out unsuitable candidates, ask candidates how they deal with setbacks and give situational based questions to get a feel for how they would act in certain scenarios.
4. Honesty
Does this person come across as real or schmoozy? Candidates want to work with someone who comes across as honest and transparent, as if they are talking to a friend who truly cares about their next career move. If it feels they're being sold on an opportunity just so the recruiter can fill a requisition, it's obvious and feels slimy. A recruiter should portray an honest disposition and you can typically get a sense for this during their interview.
5. Ability to give and receive feedback
Can this person take constructive criticism? Are they willing to share ideas on how to better recruit talent or improve your internal process? Generally, a good recruiter is not a wallflower or someone who is highly sensitive to feedback.
To find truly amazing recruiters, you just need to know what to look for. And when you do find them, be sure to value them so they stay long-term, help grow your team and create a positive reputation for your company.
