The qualities that make a perfect recruiter

I was fortunate enough to attend @BillBoorman 's #TruAustralia event in Sydney last week, and one of the tracks centered around the qualities we believe make a great recruiter.

The usual superlatives came up but a common theme was tenacity and or resilience. In the end we agreed that these were two separate qualities; both important to the core elements we saw in other successful recruiters.

It got me thinking, what would I request next time I order a perfect recruiter?

Curiosity ( As a sourcing specialist, I believe this is most important)
Tenacity and resilience
Marketing savvy
Influence and a high EQ
The power to control minds :)

Recruitment seems simple - you don't need to be a rocket scientist, degree qualified or even highly experienced to do well. You can be any age, with any motivation and still succeed at this job, and every recruiter I meet is more unique than a snowflake.

Do you agree? What do you think is the most important soft skill / quality a recruiter must have?

Comment by Patricia Kenyon, PHR on December 9, 2013 at 1:20pm: I strongly believe they need to have passion, both for the company they recruit for and for the profession itself. Without it, they just go through the motions and it's picked up by any candidate they talk to.

Comment by Keith D. Halperin on December 9, 2013 at 5:36pm: Thanks Sarah. Oh well: two out of five.....;(

Cheers,

Keith "The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good" Halperin.

Comment by Linda Ferrante on December 10, 2013 at 12:54pm: LOVE your list! I'll add to that....the ability to see the big picture. To be able to really discern if the candidate solves the clients problem, or if they just meet the 'job requirements'. This is a HUGE gap I continuously hear about with recruiters!

Comment by Sarah Calverley on December 10, 2013 at 8:27pm: Yes - Passion is of course a big one @ Patricia and big picture view - or rather a really good ability (can be learned) to match candidates to roles is paramount to long term success in this business @Linda

The list is endless, but for me I like to the qualities that will keep people in recruitment rather than passing through as a transient career option between sales jobs!