courtesy of Nick Carver, from Flickr.

Smart recruiter A+B= not always C, show value for long haul, challenge, transparent, be flexible

2. Technology savvy and Sourcing: Able to utilize all tools out there and keep up to date with technologies. Since this movement of groundswell affect social media seems to accelerate how we communicate out there. Anyways to find that connection is very important for recruiters to know and follow through. Be open minded. If Twitter works for you.. go for it. If other tools i.e. facebook, myspace, friendfeed, seek for "their" blog sites and comments for long haul, Ning sites in different niche/industries, digg, linkedin, and other ## technologies popping up all over the web lately.. use it..be visible... so that "they" can find you as well. Sourcing comes via many ways - be creative, prioritize in sourcing talents via all applications & platforms out there.. and reach out. Collaborate with other thought leaders as well in Social Media, Sales and Marketing pertaining to recruiting. You'd be surprised what you can learn from them as well.


3. Engage: Smart recruiters should know how to engage within a given REQ for both parties. Heard many stories of how candidates feel when it comes to recruiters...for the fact that some recruiters really don't know much about the position they are recruiting for. If you are not able to engage and persuade that you are able to clearly understand their needs, how would you able to get to that second base? First base, engage, find that common ground for getting to the next level. Smart recruiters are NOT necessarily career coaches however learn to deal with establishing that boundary and focus on the task at hand. Referrals go a long way when it comes to splits.


4. Be transparent: Admit your lack of understanding overall ~ show your "real" you - People are people. More candidates and hiring managers will appeal to you if you are able to show the true self, value, humility. Many times I have personally witnesses recruiters treating candidates like they are just numbers. Be prepared to challenge assumptions, get to the point but be accommodating as well. It's not all about you. It's about them and their needs as well. Marketing, Branding and Promoting goes a long way in between.


5. Fun: True recruiting is a hard profession to crack. It's fair to assume that it's all about the sales and end result. However, it's also about the process of getting to know one person at a time... dealing with one req. at a time. Don't forget to reach out to those other recruiting colleagues (i.e. this one ;) recruitingblogs) and share your fun as well. Along the way, you will be making friends, looking to collaborate more further near future.. and learning from each other. To me, that's ultimate goal. Visionaries rock for that reason. Talents appeal to that for sure - HUMOR rocks!


and Ultimately #1

1. Innate skill - Listen openly without hesitation: Be able to listen to your candidates and your clients. All it comes to it to me is that it all starts from there. One slight misunderstanding and/or misrepresentation it's over. Talents move fast. Timing is everything.