Recruiters do many things, but there are fewer things good recruiters do. In this short article, we spotlight standard recruitment industry practice and highlight what employers should be looking for in a recruitment partner.
Standard recruiter practice
Most recruitment services throughout the UK are supplied on a contingency basis. This means that employers avoid paying for services in advance and they do not have to accept candidates presented by the recruiter. All the risk remains with the recruiter, but recruitment firms still have to make a profit. You can imagine why recruiters try to avoid spending time with candidates who they don’t believe will generate a fee.
That sounds like good selection practice, but recruitment is challenging because its a people business. People are fussy and recruiters find themselves as matchmakers on skills, experience and personal chemistry. To be frank, it’s a difficult mix to deal with and the widlcards in the recruitment process are:
- How quickly employers review candidate details and respond.
- Whether or not the line manager is attractive to applicants.
- The speed and efficiency of the employer’s recruitment process.
- Unforeseen changes to requirements.
- Withdrawing the vacancy.
- New candidates recommended by employees.
- Candidate submissions from other recruiters.
As with any other business, recruiters try to forecast their future revenue. Considering the wildcards, it can so easily feel like a game of chance, so recruiters try to change the odds in their favour. They do this by reducing the minutes spent with any one candidate and freeing time to find and present more. This loss of discipline adversely affects outcomes. It’s not great for the candidate, reduces the chance of success for the employer and can result in lower fees for the recruiter.
Good recruiters maintain their discipline and develop conviction in the best people. They spend the right amount of time with great candidates and ignore the wildcard pressures.
9 Good Recruiter Traits
If you want to maintain a higher success rate, you should stick with the best recruiters. Here’s some of the 9 things good recruiters do:
- Find out everything about you, so they can fully match the best candidates.
- Spend time on accurate and engaging adverts. You should check them on their website.
- Respond to everyone who applies so they protect your brand and theirs.
- Meet candidates in person so they can asses a candidate’s commitment to the role.
- Share the name of your company so that candidates can do their own research and qualification.
- Present unaltered candidate CVs with an additional SWOT analysis of their own.
- Sensitively qualify people out of the process that you receive details for only appropriate candidates.
- Present candidates to you exclusively so that they don’t share them with other employers.
- Keep you and your candidates fully informed throughout the process to improve success rates.
If you have doubts about your recruiter, you should raise your concerns. Even under a contingency arrangement, you want your best candidates to receive a great introduction and the best possible service throughout. Otherwise, great candidates can be tempted to withdraw from the process.
Who are we?
Xperian Recruitment offers the best search and selection services for Software IT companies throughout the UK. Contact us now to find out more. Just ask for Nancy.