What makes me a smart recruiter

1. I communicate good news, bad news and no news. The latter is the most important....it keeps the client from thinking they've gone over the event horizon and into the black hole.

2. I am not afraid to push back. My client may be the expert when it comes to making widgets but I am the SME in the room when it comes to recruiting.

3. I learn my clients' business and get ahead of their needs.

4. I know the most important aspect of recruiting is building relationships.

5. I set realistic expectations. You may fill a VP role in 4 weeks.....a world-class achievement....that is unless your client was expecting it to be filled in 3. Then you have failed.

Michael Buckner
Global Director of Recruiting
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

Comment by Jill Gilliland on January 8, 2009 at 9:22pm: I agree with you. Communication, building relationships, and budgeting my time to accomplish my commitments in a systematic work flow process is the key to smart recruiting.
Communicating is both what is being done on my part and it is asking the hiring authority to do their part by communicating what their culture is, the job is, etc. Recruiting software has been very helpful in the communication process. When I make calls I record them in the candidate record, then I send the weekly summary to the children's hospital or clinic recruiters and other hiring authorities. It is the best way to show them what I am doing. When I first get the jobs, taking the time to discuss the job and culture thoroughly with all related hiring authorities gives me a better job description to work with and more to talk about with candidates. It also helps me bring them more qualified candidates.
All of this is part of building the relationship. The other side to building a relationship is the monthly calls to the hiring authorities that I either work with or want to work with. We briefly catch up on jobs they might have but we spend a lot more time talking about their life. I enjoy that and find I have a real relationship with them. If I am traveling or in town, I find a way to visit them.
Realistic expectations can only happen when the work flow process that I have is intentional and well thought out. It has to be supported by an effective software system. I have yet to find a system that tracks the candidate who has been submitted in a solid way. I think that there needs to be a very visual representation of the process that can be looked at individually, collectively, and by company. If you have a process where you know what you are doing, what your next step is, how you bring candidates into your pipeline, and what your pipeline looks like, then it is easy to show up and know what you are doing next.
The foundation to making this whole process possible is a lot of self confidence, a positive attitude, a fondness for people and helping people, and being very focused on your goals.
Good Luck!!!
Jill Gilliland
Melnic Consulting Group
800 886-7906

Comment by Kelly on January 8, 2009 at 10:44pm: Michael I like it. A simple yet effective and professional approach, which is no doubt what makes you a great recruiter. All the best for 2009. Regards, Kelly