Qualities of a Great Recruiter
Thursday, November 19th, 2015
There are a variety of recruiters out there, so choosing the right one can be a difficult task. While it’s a recruiter’s job to size up candidates in an effort to place them accordingly, often a company or a candidate is sizing up a recruiter at the same time to make sure they’re the proper fit.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all recruiter, some are obviously a better fit than others. For example, you certainly want to partner with one that works within your given field, and that has experience placing executive and technical candidates. However, your recruiter should be savvy in other areas, too.
Is Your Recruiter a Talker, or a Listener?
There are certain traits you’ll obviously want in a recruiter. You’ll want your recruiter to be reliable and confident. However, you’ll also want to ensure that the recruiter is a good listener. If your recruiter is doing more talking than you are—especially in the beginning—then this is a bad sign. Your recruiter’s job is to learn as much about you as possible, ranging from your qualifications to your preferences. Only a good listener can deliver ideal placement.
Does Your Recruiter Have a Strong Business Acumen?
Business acumen can cover an array of skills, such as executive-level thinking, business sense, financial literacy, and even business management. This type of knowledge ensures that they know the ins and outs of the jobs they’re trying to fill, and fully understand what’s required of the candidates they’re trying to place. If your recruiter doesn’t understand the demands of your business, it’s hard to believe that he or she can provide proper matches.
Does Your Recruiter Have a Strong Market Acumen?
Business acumen must also be coupled with market acumen. Whether you’re a candidate looking locally or nationally, your recruiter must understand the market—in its current state as well as what the future might hold—to give you the best chance at landing a job. Understanding how trends affect the market is an invaluable skill for a recruiter to have, and it’s one that will benefit companies and candidates alike.
Is Your Recruiter Good at Building Relationships?
There’s a saying in the recruiting business that “a recruiter is only as good as his network.” While that’s probably a little unfair, there is some truth to that statement. A candidate certainly hopes that a recruiter has a vast network to call upon, since that creates more opportunities. The same goes for the companies looking for those candidates.
Have You Partnered with the Right Recruiter?
For candidates and companies, the right recruiting relationship can have a significant impact on careers, as well as bottom lines. Working with the wrong recruiter can cost you more than the effort invested. Sometimes just being reliable and responsive isn’t enough. So when the time comes to enlist recruiting help, make sure your recruiter has the skill set to ensure success.
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