Yes, Empathic, is the ability to sense or feel others' emotions, and motivations. A good recruiter has gained this ability. It goes hand in hand with Looklisology (http://www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blogs/lisology-1 and http://www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blogs/lookology-1 ). The ability to sense what someone is feeling, or what is motivating them, is not some sort of ESP. It is simply the logical, thought process where by we take the visual and audible clues that everyone will give when responding to questions. Like a tell in poker, these clues will tell us a lot about the person. And it is more than just what they say and do and how they say and does it, but what they do not say and do, and how they do not say and do it. As you get better and better at it you will appear to be empathic, and in most ways you are. But instead of some unexplainable ESP, it is you simply using your eyes and ears in ways others simply do not. This extra skill/ability will allow you to find out things about candidates that other recruiters will miss. These things will allow you to hire the best candidates, learn how to work with the hardest teammates and managers, and simple makes your life easier. After all, it is always easier dealing with people when you understand them, and these skills will give you insights that others will not have.