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The foundation of every business is the quality to recruit candidates who will successfully perform their duties. On the face of it, the process of recruitment seems simple; in fact, recruiting involves a lot more than simply culling through resumes and interviewing candidates. The better a recruiter is at their job, the better their candidates will perform. With this in mind, here are the five most important qualities all great recruiters share.

Every recruiter brings their own experiences and background to the position. These experiences serve to create an individual style and process. Although every recruiter has a unique perspective, all recruiters can benefit by cultivating these specific abilities. 

Must-have skills for great recruiters include:
People Skills
The Ability to Listen
Marketing Skills
Communications Ability
Speed

People skills can make all the difference

Recruiting the right candidate for the job is always a significant task. Without people skills (the ability to interact with people in an effective way), the tasks become nearly impossible. Recruitment professionals need to be able to clearly explain what they need and to interpret candidate responses in order to ensure that proper selections are made.

Proper people skills differentiate top recruiters from simple interviewers. Remember; candidates are in interview mode, they want to showcase their strongest assets while minimising their weaknesses. In some cases, an extremely talented candidate may lack the ability to show their talents properly. This is where the people skills of a recruiter make a difference by going beyond surface-level attributes to the real personality and abilities of a given candidate.

Recruiters often find themselves applying people skills in settings that are beneficial to but not necessarily directly related to, their jobs. By keeping open relationships with professionals and trade organisations, recruiters stay apprised of the latest industry trends. A computer professional’s organisation may seem an odd association for a recruiter for instance, but this way a great recruiter can learn more about the computer and network support technician salary and job market trends.

The art of listening drives recruiting

Listening is more than simply not talking. Successful recruiters work hard to understand both the overt and the subtle aspects of what their candidates have to say. Rather than simply asking questions and awarding points for answers based on their acceptability, top recruiters work hard to interpret just exactly what candidates mean to express.

Proper listening also serves to future-proof recruitment choices. If a candidate clearly expresses a desire to leave the area of the job offer, it hardly serves to hire them, regardless of how talented they may be. Details like this can only be discovered when a competent recruiter takes the time to truly listen.

Great recruiters are also great marketers

Marketing skills are another essential tool of an effective recruiter. Both sides of the recruitment equation require the ability to present an attractive proposition. Candidates want to know that their recruiter can effectively represent them and businesses also need to feel confident about a recruiter’s competence.

There are no shortcuts in recruitment marketing. Designing a sophisticated marketing effort is a demanding and continuous process. It takes time to build up a roster of talent as well as a roster of businesses who need that talent. Anyone can fill one position one time; the great recruiters continuously carry out this process effectively.

In recruitment, communication is the key

Effective communication is perhaps the most necessary skill of a great recruiter. Clients have a specific need but often they aren’t even sure how to express it. Clearly communicating the client's wishes to potential prospects helps to ensure that the eventual hire is right for the job.

The process of recruitment can be both expensive and time-consuming. Miscommunication at any point during the process can be disastrous. Therefore, it is the task of the recruiter to make sure that all parties involved maintain a clear understanding every step of the way. Clear understanding leads to successful results while greatly reducing the prospect of frustration for everyone involved in the recruitment process.

Communication in recruitment is an ever-evolving topic. What worked in the past may not be affecting tomorrow. With the advent of social media, recruiters are having to implement newer technologies into their processes. Great recruiters view modern communications methods as an essential part of maintaining their effectiveness in their field. Learn more about how social media is altering the recruiting landscape by following this link. http://www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-use-social-med...


Top recruiters know: speed is essential to their success

Just mastering the various skills of recruitment isn’t enough to obtain the status of a great recruiter. Another of the qualities all great recruiters share is the ability to rapidly deploy those skills. Without speed, the other components of recruiting are meaningless.

In the simplest terms, clients need to fill jobs and candidates need to get jobs. What this means is that neither of them is inclined to wait for a second longer than they need to achieve their objectives. In addition to properly vetting candidates and conducting thorough research, great recruiters have to find ways to complete this process rapidly while not being reckless about it.

It is the combination of each of these skills working in tandem that makes great recruiters great. Although recruiting is a highly demanding field, it is these basic building blocks that form the foundation of effective professional recruitment. True talent can’t be faked, and in the long run, hard work always makes the difference.

Although not mentioned above, another ability of great recruiters is the ability to learn and absorb new information. The job market, and there for the needs of employers and candidates are in a constant state of transition. Understanding these changes in real time is the only way that recruiters can continue to serve these needs.

As jobs become more complex, finding the right employees becomes a mission-critical task for a business. There are no shortcuts for great recruiting but adhering to strict guidelines and maintaining high standards helps to separate great recruiters from the rest of the pack