Recruiting isn't about Just Finding a 'butt to fill the seat', Five Small but Important Things to Observe in While hiring a Recruiter!

 Companies have never done as much hiring as they do today. they have never spent as much money as they do now. Hiring has become one of the most Important and Crucial functions of the HR Department. The reason behind this is the huge supply and demand gap especially in the IT Sector. Everyone wants to work with the best and to get that best they are willing to walk the extra mile. There comes the role of a Recruiter who tries to tie himself with the Vision and Mission of the Companies to fulfil one's goal.

According to India Brand Equity Foundation, The IT Sector has been India's sunshine sector for quite some time now. The Industry has contributed considerably to changing India's image from a slow developing economy to a global player in providing world-class technology solutions.

The Indian IT Sector has never been so volatile then it is today. In this fast paced environment the role of a recruiter become extremely important and crucial. Finding top talent in today's market is very hard. The number of open position is more then the number of appliccant's and candidates don't rush to any company out there. Having a Recruiter who acts as the Brand Ambassador for an Organization makes it easy for company as well as the candidates to choose the best out of best. 

The top traits which I look at while hiring a Recruiter are ?

1-Research & Development:- A report by SHRM say that the recruitment research is a multistep methodologies that target desired candidates and connects them with the employers with the flexible pricing model. taking research driven approach has always been the upper hand It begins with the deep dive into the company and it's business and ends with the interested qualified candidates.

Research driven approach start with the sourcing strategies which includes an in-depth knowledge of assessment skills, understand the culture and most important the personality of a hiring manager for example if a candidates X is matching with the the skills, he has the persona which required to get along with the job but at the same time he is not blend with the hiring manager thought process might not be the right fit.

Knowing where the best talent exits today plays a key role to fullfill niche role in an organization, weather it is with the competitor or in any other with similar domain. R&D approach also helps us to connect with pool of a passive candidates who might not be looking out at the moment but might take a role if it excite them. For Example - When I started my journey in leadership hiring my KPI was to meet with the next gen leaders in-person in IT industries, try to know like what excites them, what will they choose if they move out from their current company, what would be the reason to leave, what domain/industries that they are looking into etc. this was helping us in creating a persona of a particular candidates and try to match with the role that exist in an Organizations.

2-Responsivness:- Did you know that the poor recruiter responsivness can make you lose top talent and decrease your acceptance rate? According to a report recruiter Responsivness is the most crucial factors in candidates experience by 30% of the job seekers back in 2020. In the same year 63% applicants reported inadequate communications during the hiring process as the primary source of the frustration. This results in 51% of the applicants ghost recruiters when they fail to schedule or give an update within a week.

Candidates wants to be treated as less like a transactions and more like a people therefor they expect a fast efficient recruitment process led by a responsive recruiter who communicate clearly and regularly.

We all know that the great candidates experience is critical for success. A negative one well, is just bad for business yes, you read it write it may lead you to lose your clietns if you are not being responsive to your actions. back in 2018 I had a case where a couple were approached by me for a position with one of my client, I was not knowing that they know each other or they have history together, the guy was super active during the whole interview process he cleared the round the client went beyond their budget to give him the offer. On the other hand the girl was going slow her process were little slow as compared to him, While I was following up with him to accept the offer he once told me "tumse kya chupana" she is my fiancee, for a time being I was very happy that they both can grab the offer and will add value to my target but then I realize that if I hide this from my client it might put me in a position to lose this client and it was one the highest offer generating client for my portfolio, so I had to go back tell the CTO with whom I was interacting with for their hiring needs and then he took a decision of dropping her candidature. that shows that being responsive not only to your candidates but to your clients can bring huge result.

3-Broad Minded:- Recruiter knows better than to judge a book by it's cover or a candidate by it's resume. Surely, a marketing manager or sales person resume will look more compelling and attractive but that doesn't mean they are good at their job?, similarly a software developer with poorly structured resume doesn't mean that they are bad at their job?. we should go into the specific details of the resume before making up our mind weather to reject or select. 

We often see when we receive a Job description from a client or a Hirimg Manager there will be lot of skills that would be mentioned that doesn't mean we have to look for all those skills in a particular resume. The company realistically looking only for someone who has some of the skills at the same time serious job seekers knows which basics skills are typically required. 

Having personalized sourcing approach in terms of the pitch, skills, and profiles needs can results in a better way at the end of the day we are looking for a individuals personality not only input of skills. so be open minded and prepared to change your mindset of recruiting as times changes and people change, Rethink your approach and make for a good candidates experience.

4-Objection Handelling:- Recruietment objection handelling is one of the most important skills one should possess with. the better you are when it comes to objection handelling the more successfull you will be. One should have the ability to effectively handle and also manage the objections of their candidates or hiring manager in such way as to not just overcome those objections but also use them for the further communication.

A recruiter should prepare themselves to handle the objection not only from the candidates side but also from the Hiring Manager perspective, from a candidate perspective the objection can be further subdivided into two ways-

             1-Active Candiddates- They are the one who make their presence on every sourcing platform when they made their mind to leave from one organization to another also in many cases they already holds an offer and try to get another one. their objection is mostly lies between the compensation and benefits that he/she gone get from the role that we are offering them.

              2-Passive Candidates- These candidates are hidden from the market they are not looking for change but also looking if something exciting comes their way for them the objection is mostly about the Technology, Intellection, and Stability.

Overcoming objection in recruitment is nessecity for any search consultant who strive for success. That's because objections in this profession are unavoidable. As with other skills overcoming in recruiting can be learn over time. A recruiter can become better at overcoming them as we say practice makes perfect. 

5-Patience:- As a recruiter, I realize how much patience comes in handy and how effort is not always equivalent to reward. I'm a recruiter who has helped many startups to grow to the next level. During this journey, there is this mantra which keeps coming in my mind Patience is Virtue.

It is the most underrated skills of the recruiter I believe recruitment is always about tomorrow and to get there we have to be consistence and patience about our work. even though this is not the obvious trait there are several occasion when it required during the hiring process. For example -When struggling to find the right candidates, During the Interview process, waiting for feedback from the client, waiting for candidates to accept the offer, when candidates start serving notice period etc.

Successful recruiters are always thinking about what's next for an organization, going above and beyond to meet their needs. At the end of the day this is match making business built on relationship.