How To Stand Out As A Recruiter Every Agency Wants
You’ve read every article on recruiter tips you could find. You’ve registered with a great rec to rec company like GSR2R. But the problem is that you don’t want to be just a ‘great recruiter’. In fact, you’re pretty sure you already are one. What you want to know is how you can stand out in a highly competitive industry and become the recruiter every recruitment agency wants to get their hands on.
There are four bases you need to cover if you want agencies to notice you for more than your astounding good looks.
1. Become a fount of knowledge
To leap ahead of your competition, don’t stop digging. When you interview a client about a position they want filling, ask questions until you get to the very essence of the company and its culture. Good recruiters squeeze every fact out. This helps you clearly communicate the position to suitable candidates, making sure you find a candidate who’s not only good enough, but will slot into the company perfectly and be happy there.
Conversely, find out exactly what makes a certain candidate tick. What can you learn about their personality? Would he enjoy working at the company you’re recruiting for?
Remember, you’re doing more than filling a position – you’re matchmaking.
2. Treat people as more than just a network
Be compassionate. For each candidate who gets the job of their dreams, there’ll likely be several others who won’t. Always call back. Never leave a candidate hanging, waiting for a reply.
Why? Understanding how to treat people with respect keeps you – and your agency – in high esteem. Word of mouth marketing is extremely powerful, and you really don’t want former candidates moaning about you with their mates at the pub. Additionally, they’ll remain a key in your network should you ever need them again. A candidate you never called back won’t have the time for you again.
3. Be more driven than a Ford Focus
Hard work counts, but it needs fuel. If you don’t have the drive to keep pushing yourself to succeed, your hard work will count for nothing. Are you likely to fall apart when things don’t work out? Your ability to make the best of a bad situation will make or break you.
Never rely on the first candidate you find. Constantly forge back-up plans. In the recruiting industry, a candidate is interested today, but tomorrow you can’t get hold of her. A client thinks the candidate isn’t a good fit. A candidate successfully gets the job, but hates the company and quits days later. You get the picture.
You also need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in recruiting. Recruiting is an incredibly fast-paced industry, and if you specialise in a niche such as IT recruitment, you need to remain on top of the latest industry news. This takes serious determination when you have long work days and remain constantly connected to your network, but your insider knowledge will make you the go-to recruiter.
4. Learn how to sell things better than Ogilvy (If you don’t know who he is, you’d better find out. Seriously.)
In your job, you sell the client to the candidate, and the candidate to the client. That’s a lot more than your average marketer does. Get acquainted with the psychology of persuasion. How can you make a position so tempting that a candidate will accept before you’ve even moved onto the pay?
The best way to do this is by reading books by some of the greatest copywriters of the last 50 years. Selling things isn’t about stretching the facts, or screaming ‘Buy one get one free!’ in people’s faces. Instead, you take the facts, translate them into benefits and present them, neatly packaged, before the client or candidate.
Recruiting is a tough game, and it will take all your endurance if you want to succeed. Even when you leave the office, your brain will still be working. If you have the dedication, you’ll easily stand out and become in demand.
Till next time,
Cheryl