Professional recruiters know that successful collaborations begin by educating clients about how a recruiter can provide value. Understandably, many clients believe that the time and assets they have invested in their in-house human resources efforts should suffice. However, given the dynamic nature of modern hiring and evolving sensibilities of candidates (who expect to change positions many times in their career), the expertise of external recruiters has become invaluable.
The list below was created to help hiring managers and HR professionals understand how recruiters can make their jobs easier. After all, recruiters are dedicated to servicing both clients and job candidates so that both parties benefit from a match — ideally for many years to come. Here are some thoughts on how professional recruiters can help hiring managers and HR teams increase efficiency, streamline productivity, and generate long-term success.
1. Identifying the Perfect Cultural Fit
Although many job candidates appear to be a strong fit on paper or even interview well for a position, professional recruiters invest the time to uncover the personal attributes and cultural preferences of both the candidate and hiring manager. Recruiters can identify the ideal character profiles that will match a client’s work and team culture — something many hiring managers may struggle to do.
2. Expanded Reach in Nontraditional Venues
Often enough, the busy schedules of HR professionals don’t afford them the time to explore more nontraditional means of identifying excellent job candidates. Recruiters are able to go beyond conventional advertising strategies and job board postings to find the best people; from targeted social media outreach to networking with industry contacts to face-to-face meetings over coffee, recruiters can reach the candidates who will not be perusing job boards or posting their resume.
3. Streamlined, Comprehensive Vetting
Professional recruiters save companies time and money and increase productivity throughout the hiring process by identifying prequalified candidates that fit the precise parameters of each role. Not all job descriptions attract the most suitable candidates, but recruiters can solve that problem by making great matches based on their intimate understanding of an individual candidate’s skills and interests.
4. An Objective Perspective
The hiring process can easily become clouded by preconceived ideas or mis-perceptions or even outdated protocols. On the other hand, professional recruiters can supply an objective, third-party perspective that relies on expertise and facts to select the best candidate.
5. Strong Brand Advocate
Professional recruiters, like hiring managers and HR professionals, can be prominent representatives of a company’s brand. By serving as an advocate for a client’s organization and culture, recruiters can portray a positive image of both the organization and the even dispel myths about an organization that may exist in the market. Even job candidates that end up elsewhere remember good (as well as bad) job interviews, and positive experiences can be excellent marketing assets for future hires or partnerships.
6. Personalized Vetting
For recruiters, the business of finding the best job candidate is personal. Recruiters invest their time and energy into long-term strategies in an attempt to understanding candidates through open, low risk, non-threatening dialogues. As a result, genuine relationships are forged, allowing for a more thorough evaluation of compatibility between a job candidate and an opportunity.
7. Fresh, Relevant Networks
Hiring managers and HR professionals must address tons of daily responsibilities, which means they don’t have the time to maintain a fresh network of potential candidates (understandably). Professional recruiters, on the other hand, are in continuous communication with a vast network of contacts, and are able to call upon available individuals when engaged on a new search assignment, as well as monitor trends and gather relevant market intelligence..
8. Delegating Expertise
It makes sense to outsource the most time-consuming and personalized aspects of networking by empowering professional recruiters to do what they do best: connecting the best individuals with the best job opportunities. Delegating expertise minimizes distractions for hiring managers so that they can focus on their core responsibilities, which can be exacerbated when an open position remains unfilled.
9. Access to Passive Candidates
Professional recruiters have the ability to find overlooked or passive candidates in a given industry. By identifying and building networks with professionals who are currently not looking for external opportunities, recruiters are poised to position an appropriate opportunity should they change their mind or the circumstances change and timing become right.
10. Hyper-Focused and Detail Oriented
Professional recruiters are hyper-focused on the details of specific job openings, using knowledge of a team and an organization to address all of the details and nuances of an opportunity. This careful attention to detail helps professional recruiters identify the best matches on a granular level, which translates to more fulfilling interviews and better results overall.