Stop Trying To Reinvent Recruiting

Seriously. Just stop. STAHP. You’re embarrassing yourself and the community at large. If I see one more ridiculous, self-serving post about the “recruitment agency of the future!” and how y’all are going to CHANGE EVERYTHING I will probably just burst into tears out of pure frustration. You. Are. Full. Of. Crap. Recruiting, recruitment, whatever the hell you call it is a pretty freaking simple process. Get paid to find people for jobs. THAT’S IT.

Social Media is not going to save you. Your false promises about personally hand delivering every single resume you ever receive to companies DESPERATE for your services stink to high heaven. I am beyond irritated with your nonsense. A recent post on here (I refuse to link to it - I will NOT provide click bait) promises that recruitment agencies treat every individual differently and only short-lists after each and every application is examined, thereby insuring only the most talented candidates get first preference.

You sir, are full of caca.

Here’s why. Most recruiters, including yours truly, will use a variety of methods to identify qualified candidates. I will review applications that come in. I will source on LinkedIn, various job boards, social media sites (sometimes) and anywhere else I think people with the right skills might be found. I will then make contact with said candidates, hoping they’re interested in the role as well. And so it goes. The funnel tightens, with people being rejected or rejecting the opportunity. It happens. I will use Boolean strings, key words, any number of ways to narrow the pool. Because that is my job. I will do my best to get back to everyone who took the time to apply and CERTAINLY everyone who gets a 2^nd look – if you’ve interviewed you deserve the courtesy of closure, you better believe it.

We have to stop making false promises to candidates. This pisses me off more than anything else. I do what I can to help candidates get visibility in my (very large) organization, but I also try to be very honest about what I can and can’t do. I’ll give advice on resumes, always with the caveat that it’s one recruiter’s opinion, your mileage may vary. For special skill sets I’ll do everything I can to create an “opportunity hire” – basically finding a home for someone AWESOME that my company can benefit from. This is more common on the agency side, let’s face it. Still, most hires happen because there’s an open position.

As both a former agency recruiter and current corporate recruiter, let me tell you what I REALLY want from you. Find qualified people in a timely fashion for a decent price. As a former candidate who’s found plenty of gigs over the years through agencies, let me tell you what I expect. Be honest with me about the companies (and kinds of roles) you can present me to. Give me honest feedback on my resume, interview skills, and presentation. I know you’re being paid by the client, but I also know it’s possible we can help each other out by making the hiring manager happy.

I’ve been doing this for almost 15 years, and with the exception of the internet making information easier to come by, the basics of finding jobs, finding people, and bringing them together has not changed. Stop trying to make recruiting something it’s not.

Comment by Gerry Crispin on February 5, 2014 at 10:04am: Refreshing. You must be a recruiter. Not a social recruiter. Not a mobile recruiter. Just...a recruiter. Thanks. Was wondering where they went.

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on February 5, 2014 at 10:09am: I can dig it Frank ;)
@Gerry, I use that a lot, actually. Usually in a sentence like "what do I know, I'm just a recruiter" :)

Comment by Stephen Nehez, Jr. on February 5, 2014 at 10:26am: @Derdiver I'll give you one week's access to my 140,000 automotive engineering database and five job orders and will give you 50% of the fee if you can find qualified candidates.

You really think it's that easy? Try it.

Sincerely,

Steve

PS: A 'clever' (using the British equivalent here) response to this other than taking up the offer will mean nothing.

Comment by Derdiver on February 5, 2014 at 10:30am: You only have 140K? I don't need to take you up on the offer I have done it in the past. Succeeded as well. So, been there done that and am still closing candidates.

Comment by Kathleen Smith on February 5, 2014 at 10:31am: @Amy awesome! thank you! Now get a lot of t-shirts!

Comment by Stephen Nehez, Jr. on February 5, 2014 at 10:33am: @Derdiver Yea. Right. LOL

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on February 5, 2014 at 10:34am: But seriously.... The T-shirts.... This ends to happen ;)

Comment by Pete Radloff on February 5, 2014 at 10:35am: 140k candidate base.... do I hear half a million anyone? All proprietary of course. Candidates that absolutely no one else has......That shtick hasn't changed in 15 years has it?

Comment by Stephen Nehez, Jr. on February 5, 2014 at 10:38am: Works pretty good for us while our competitors are cold-calling out of LinkedIn. I like the way the sctick pays.