The Recruiting Metric X-Factor: Candidates Submitted

As this season's X-Factor gets underway, another reality singing competition strives to find the next big act that has "it" - that je ne sais quois, the elusive x-factor.

As Simon and Britney judge the latest crop of wannabes, recruiters evaluate candidates and audition talent to find the perfect combination of character and competency to woo their clients - and win their next placement.

To Make a Placement, You Gotta Have Sendouts

Candidates can look great on paper, but getting talent in front of a client stands between a sad paycheck and a placement.

Like those stadiums full of singing contestants - waiting for their chance to be in the spotlight - candidates have to be seen, they have to be heard to make an impression and get the gig.

In fact, client interviews, or sendouts, is the #1 factor recruiting and staffing professionals are judged upon by their managers, according to the Sendouts 2012 Recruiting Benchmarks Report.

Sendouts is the primary way recruiting and staffing professionals determine success.

The "Quality of Candidates Submitted" X-Factor

Quality of Candidates Submitted metric determines how many candidates make the cut between being a paper resume and getting on the sendout stage. So what's behind the Quality of Candidates Submitted metric?

Quality of Candidate Submitted:
The ratio of the number of resumes submitted to the client before getting a sendout.

What you need to know about your Quality of Candidates Submitted ratio:
This ratio is a balance between providing your client with enough choices to make a sound hiring decision, and submitting candidates that fit your client's needs.

A high ratio of resumes submitted to sendouts indicates that your candidates aren't qualified. And if you can't get a candidate in front of a client, you can't make a placement.

p.s. According the the 2012 Recruiting Benchmarks Report, the average Quality of Candidates Submitted ratio is 4:1.

More Metrics

Sendouts is a big indicator of success for recruiters, but there are several metrics you can track in order to tweak your performance at each stage of the recruiting process.

Get a breakdown of all of the recruiting metrics in Sendouts' Blue Book of Metrics.

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this post originally appeared at www.sendouts.com.

Comment by Edward Nau on September 20, 2012 at 2:02pm: Good stuff here Jessica. I think the submitted to sendout ratio is very imporant and a key metric to help identify questions or issues on the opening/listing, candidate qualification process for submission, and training topics to help recruiters and account managers assess the workflow to earning that money.

Comment by Jessica Lunk on September 20, 2012 at 2:06pm: Hey, thanks Edward. I think you make a solid point in that a lot of steps in your recruiting process have to be optimized in order to reach that end goal of getting talent in front of hiring managers. Thanks for commenting!

Comment by Jason Webster on September 24, 2012 at 9:07am: Interesting take on these metrics! But if employers aren’t providing updated job descriptions, it will be nearly impossible for recruiters to provide the right “quality of candidates.” Before recruiters are judged by managers on their sendouts, make sure clients are providing the most updated job content! It will help us all out in the end!