Recruiters OR Career Consultants

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As agency recruiters we have to be polished, ready to go at all times and show value quickly. Being at the top of your game 100% of the time can be difficult especially with all the conflicts and interrupts that you deal with on a daily basis. In order for a recruiter to remain sane and not burn out in the industry you have to constantly be willing to learn new technology and have a sense of humor.

Yes that’s right people, the ability to keep up with technology, partner with an individual, gain their respect and MAKE them laugh. Always see the humor in a situation and of course have some value that helps the candidate out and makes it profitable for all parties involved.

Whether it is a manager asking crazy interview questions, the craziest one that I have heard so far was: “If you were two inches tall and you were in a blender and I was about to press the button, what would you do? Geese!!! How are you suppose to answer that question and is that appropriate? Or how about the candidate that is in complete denial that thinks he aced the interview. “I definitely got the job, he absolutely loved me!!! I struggle a little bit on one of the questions but it was a minor detail.

We are career consultants, sales people, recruiters, and more importantly professionals. Be careful of what you say, although it could give you instant gratification it will come back to haunt you. Do not try to oversell a job or a candidate. Unfortunately recruiters sometimes have a misunderstanding of a role or the specs can change or the position could go away. Spending 20 minutes on the phone with a candidate telling him that he is the “best thing since sliced bread” for the role might be overkill.

Good recruiters can piece together resumes/requirements, have a strong relationship with the hiring manager, and have the ability to have a transactional/business professional relationship with a candidate. Recruiters are career consultants by trade, but the bottom line is that the good ones “put people to work”, get to know the needs of their clients intimately, keep up with social media/networking, and learn to laugh it up with managers, co-workers and candidates.

-The Warrior