Are You A Natural Born Recruiter?

What does it take to recruit talent these days? Is it as easy as it once was? When all it took was to post an advertisement in the trades, newspaper, job boards, Craigslist, or better yet, to actually pick up a phone and put the word out to your “network” for referrals? Do you remember when you would actually post jobs on a piece of paper in the lunch room so employees could apply to them before you even started the recruiting process accepting outside candidates? Maybe I’ve been doing this too long, or not long enough, but when your recruiting skills take a 360 and you are wondering how to navigate every social network, new recruitment software, ATS system, recruiting blog site, you may begin to wonder, are you a natural born recruiter?

What are the traits of a true natural born recruiter?

1-Stealth ability to detect, select and reject any and all candidates for a position before you even get the greenlight to move ahead with the recruiting process.

2-Ability to ferret out the good from the bad, sight unseen, whether the calling card is a resume, email, weblink, even a candidate referral.

3-To be assertive enough to tell the hiring manager they are nuts for passing up on the only qualified candidate because they might be slightly more expensive and/or qualified in a market that is depressed just because they might find someone, “cheaper” and “less qualified” that might do just as well.

4-The ability to source, search and build a database and create a network of leads, qualified candidates, in a multitude of disciplines, even when the job orders are only requesting less skilled professionals and you are sitting on a gold mine.

5-To change whenever you feel the need to move in a direction that is new, different, untried, untested and might possibly yield better results;

6-To fearlessly move forward in sourcing and recruiting candidates for jobs that are out of your area of “expertise.”

7-To gently guide a candidate towards a job that bests suits their skill set instead of encouraging them to apply for anything for fear of telling them the truth about their less than impressive resume or shoddy work history.

8- To be able to sell in a qualified candidate to a prospective employer even during a “hiring freeze.”

9-To not be afraid to work outside your comfort zone and be open to exploring news ways and unchartered territories-to be a true candidate predator.

10-To embrace the challenges and turn them into opportunities; to address the needs of those who seek your expert advice and not to be afraid to be upfront with a candidate or employer when the hiring stakes are high and your reputation and integrity are on the line.

This is a crazy time for many of you whether you are on the recruiting side of the desk or the candidate side of the desk. Unfortunately, these days there may be little difference. But if you are a natural born recruiter, you know the difference. You know that today the tables can turn on a dime and because there is no right or wrong side of the table. And, at the end of the day, we are all looking for the next big opportunity even if we are recruiting for one or looking to be hired into one.

Views: 262

Comment by Charles Van Heerden on November 16, 2009 at 1:27am
Hi Lisa, excellent points and I particularly like #3. Hiring managers cannot and should not expect the perfect candidate, or to have a long shortlist. Too much choice is also confusing and as recruiters it should be our role to "educate" them.

A great recruiter is someone that can find talent before you need them, without spoiling the hiring manager expecting the next vacancy to be filled in a flash - no mean feat!
Comment by Hassan Rizwan on November 16, 2009 at 5:09am
Exactly Charles, even my eyes got stuck on that point. It carries a complete thought in itself. Well stealth ability is something, which if i were not into recruitment could not understand myself. But yes, it has certainly become an ability to reach out to maximum candidates and STEALING the one that suits the most.
Comment by Ambrish Kochikar on November 16, 2009 at 11:04am
nice post! i don't think i quite read stealth ability to mean what i think it's being made out to mean, but i could be wrong.
Comment by Lisa Kaye on November 16, 2009 at 11:16am
Thanks for the comments. Referring to "stealth", intention is to fly under the radar and be ahead of the game to find your candidates even if you don't have the job order in front of you. Being proactive and knowing your clients needs, business trends and being a few steps ahead of the next guy ...
Comment by Eric Buchanan on November 16, 2009 at 2:35pm
Great article Lisa! I am an in-house Recruiter for an ad agency but have also been on the recruiting agency side as well. I think us great Recruiters are born with a natural propensity for it but then also need to acquire and hone some of our skills along the way that make us very successful.
Comment by Navid Sabetian on November 16, 2009 at 5:33pm
I think recruiters can be either born or made. It really depends on how they look at recruitment.

Some look at recruitment as a means to an end which is for instance to make some money while backpacking.

The great recruiters look at their job as a career and do what they can to become better at it every day. They look at recruitment as an end in itself and I believe they are the ones that will be successful.

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