Recruitment often gets a bad rep. It only takes one bad experience for people to form a rather dim view of recruitment; yet recruiters should be there to make the whole process of finding a new role easier and more enjoyable, for both the hiring company and the candidates.
It all really comes down to the individual recruiter you deal with, and what their personal motivations are.
The really great recruiters won’t tell you they are focused on delivering an exceptional candidate or client experience, they will just do it! So, what signs should you be watching out for?
- Treats clients and candidates with equal importance
Good recruiters are aware that their two key stakeholder groups – clients and candidates – must be treated with equal attention, respect and kindness, never favouring one or the other because both are equally important. Bad recruiters favour one – typically the client – and make decisions without due regard for the other.
- They are inquisitive
Good recruiters ask lots of questions. This is not a sign that they haven’t done their homework on you; on the contrary, they will have digested all the available information and are keen to probe more. From a hiring company perspective, an inquisitive recruiter will be getting under the skin of your organisation, to enable them to grasp the culture and values and truly understand what is needed from the next hire. With candidates, asking questions helps build trust and rapport. If your recruiter asks no questions, this begs a question in itself….”do they really care enough?”
- Quality over quantity
Good recruiters focus on long term relationships and take pride in matching the right people to the right positions. They weigh up lots of criteria, from the level of candidate interest to skill sets and career ambitions, when making a decision on whom to progress. Bad recruiters submit sub-par candidates who don’t tick all the boxes to open positions simply because they’re available and willing to do the job.
- Feedback is thorough and honest
Good recruiters are advisors. They offer advice to clients about the current state of the job market, including demand levels and salary benchmarking. They constantly keep on top of market trends so they feel immersed in the niches which they recruit for. They also deliver honest advice to candidates and will never, ever ‘ghost’ them. Bad recruiters might be lazy about chasing feedback because they are already onto their next assignment…but this is a really short-sighted – not to mention unethical - way of working.
To summarise…
If you’ve had a poor experience with a recruiter, it’s worth remembering that there are many more out there who genuinely care about delivering high levels of care to both their clients and candidates. Next time you begin a new relationship with a recruiter, it’s worth bearing the above points in mind – and you will quickly be able to get a sense of whether they really do have your best interests at heart.
The Leonid way
Leonid was founded out of a desire to change the way recruitment is done, for the better. We always take a partnership approach, working solely on a retained basis. We understand the equal importance of outstanding customer service and excellent candidate care and crucially, only employ recruiters who share our values and believe in our mission to #redefinerecruitment.