With all the hiring trends and workplace evolution, what makes recruiters essential to the process? At first glance, employers may seek quick, cost-effective solutions to talent acquisition, but nothing replaces the expertise, intuition, and personal touch of a skilled recruiter.
In my career, I have been fortunate to have worked with many talented recruiters over the years. All the best ones possess certain qualities that make them exceptional at their jobs. From my experience, those qualities include:
Great Recruiters Have Relationship Building-Skills
A great recruiter has a connection with their candidate. In such a relationship, the recruiter acts as an advisor to the candidate, someone whom they can trust when asking such questions as: Should I leave my job? What’s the market like? A great recruiter can help their candidate find answers to questions like these—and they can help the candidate identify skills they possess that employers are seeking.
Great Recruiters Have Empathy
A great recruiter is empathetic and a good listener. A great recruiter really needs to hear what the candidate is saying as they share information about their strengths and weaknesses—and their concerns. Maybe the candidate just experienced a layoff. The recruiter needs to be able to recognize and understand any feelings the candidate may be having about that. Or perhaps the candidate is hesitant about switching jobs. Empathy allows recruiters to support candidates through difficult transitions and help them move forward.
Great Recruiters Know the Market
Genesis10 recruiters focus on and have knowledge and understanding of the technical and functional skills our clients seek. To stay competitive, recruiters must be well informed and ahead of industry trends. Knowlege comes from experience and training reinforcing their role as a trusted advisor. A great recruiter needs to speak with confidence when talking to a candidate, because both the candidate and the client rely on their expertise.
Great Recruiters are Proactive Thinkers and Creatives
Recruiting is not a one-size-fits-all process. A recruiter must assess a candidates experience, resume and job requirements while creatively making connections between potential and opportunity. Can the candidate excel in a role based off their past experience? Can they transition easily because of transferable skills? Recruiters also think ahead, anticipating future hiring needs and preparing candidates for upcoming opportunities. Being proactive might mean learning more from the account executive and the candidate. Perhaps the candidate may need to beef up their resume before we present them to a client.
Greater Recruiters are Constantly Learning
Change, as in many industries, is rapid in IT. There are new technologies, new versions of technologies. The best recruiters embrace continuous learning. They are inquisitive and love to learn, both through internal training opportunities presented by Genesis10 and on their own using such tools as LinkedIn Learning and YouTube.
Great Recruiters are Consistent
A great recruiter has high-quality relationships both internally and externally. They need to be consistent, when they are sourcing, talking to candidates, building new relationships. Recruiting really is not an up and down cycle. Being consistent with everything we do yields good results for our candidates and our clients.
Finally, it goes without saying that a great recruiter needs to be proficient in using technology. A recruiter needs to be comfortable using such tools as Applicant Tracking Systems, LinkedIn Recruiter, and Google. However, technology is just a tool—true success comes from the recruiter's ability to understand people, build connections and recognize the right fit.
