Plain and simple, your partnership with a recruiting firm is the most valuable part of a hiring process. Recruiters are able to access a large network of passive job seekers who may otherwise not see your job posting. It is the recruiting firm that is able to get your candidates excited about the role and future growth with your company. We also play a large role in the offer letter stage, setting expectations, and working behind the scenes to ensure that your top-choice candidate signs your offer!
If this is your first time working with a recruiting firm, or maybe you had a bad experience in the past, these 3 tips are the way to clear the air and allow you to make a great hire.
Invest time in an intake call
An intake call is an opportunity for the recruiter, account manager, and hiring manager to have a phone conversation before the recruiting process begins. This allows everyone in the process an opportunity gain full knowledge of the current openings, the requirements, and qualifications for each position. The hiring manager will sit in the driver seat during this call and explain the job descriptions, salary, benefits, and other incentives that the candidate is entitled to upon hire. These pieces of information are extremely important to the recruiter and account manager to ensure they’re sourcing for the right candidate from the start.
Be responsive
For recruiters, there’s nothing more frustrating than submitting a group of well-qualified candidates and not receiving feedback in a timely manner. We get it, timelines change and the hiring managers become busy, but as the days and sometimes weeks pass, candidates will take other opportunities. Not only that, but it leaves a bad taste in the recruiters mouth when working on your future openings. With the technology we have today, clients, candidates, and recruiters are able to communicate effectively at all hours, if they choose to. Our advice, be responsive.
Contingency Recruiting
There are two types of executive search: retained and contingent. In a retained search, the company pays a (negotiable) fee up front to initiate the search and typically works exclusively with one firm. With a contingent search, a company only pays a fee at the end of the process, after an acceptance. A contingency based firm will continue to send qualified candidates to a hiring manager until a successful placement is made. As a hiring manager, it’s easy to get lost in the groups of candidates being sent over. The best way to use a contingency recruiting firm is to communicate if/when the recruiter is missing the mark. If you do interview a candidate that meets the qualifications faster than you anticipate, do not wait to offer the candidate a job. The labor market is not in favor of clients at the moment, and candidates are being snatched up very quickly.
Companies that understand the true value of a recruiting firm will happily tell you it’s worth every penny. Recruiters work for commissions typically, so you have their full attention from the start. If you’re not responsive, or can’t make time for an intake call, those are red flags and recruiters will see you as “not serious” and focus their time elsewhere. This goes for recruiters as well, if a client is taking time to communicate a difficult position, and you’re having trouble finding talent, let the client know! Tell them of the struggles you’re running into, whether it’s compensation, work/life, incentives, or maybe it’s as simple as opening to a relocation package. The key here is communication from start to offer.
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