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.