Article Originally Posted on RecruitingReach.com

A Blog that Caters to the Marketing Aspect of Recruiting

 

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In today’s sales and recruitment industry, we often find it hard to balance being personable with being efficient.  Gone are the days where recruiters went door to door selling household items in their pressed suits and derby hats selling their services to local corporations. Now, days are spent cold-calling and sifting through resumes to find the next great candidate. Don’t get me wrong, those are the most important aspects of the job and will always be factors in the recruitment process, but there’s another factor that come into play that may help make their job easier, being sociable.

All too many times we hear the common complaints against the recruitment industry as a whole, “I can never get a hold of my recruiter, I email them they don’t email back, no call backs “etc. I know at our companies we concentrate pretty aggressively on being accessible, not just in the traditional sense, but also by going to where our candidates are. Any good recruiter knows what he’s recruiting for just as good as the people he’s recruiting. So why not flex that muscle?

There are hundreds of thousands of Meetups in the US, some so specific that only 5 people actively participate. Meetups are a great way for likeminded individuals with similar interests go to hang out with each other, network, and meet.  As a recruiter, if you aren’t taking advantage of this, you’re missing out on perhaps one of the best forms of lead, candidate, and referral generation!

  Going to Meetup groups can be effective in two ways:

1.       It allows you to meet the people you are trying to recruit, talk to them, give them your business card and ask them for ideas on what works and doesn’t work when dealing with people like them.

2.       It helps brand you as a recruiter who breaks the mold. You’re not just another 9-5 guy looking to make a quick dollar at the expense of someone’s career. When you talk to these people about their industry, the recruitment industry and just anything else that you may be interested in, you are now setting yourself up to be the first guy they are willing to talk to when it’s time for a career move. But most importantly, you’re making great connections that could lead to limitless referrals.

Meetups sound great right? Hold on, it’s important to be respectful when going to these events. The point is not to just go there and start recruiting like a madman. That will ineffective and could actually work against you. When going to these networking events, it’s important to treat them as that, networking events. Make sure you aren’t talking about your open jobs unless they ask, but talk about what they do, what their companies do, and what they like about their jobs. Remember, you’re a human and so are they, so important you act as such.