One
thing is obvious from the numerous blogs on recruitment trends for 2018: the
‘war for talent’ is back on. With unemployment rates at a historical low, it becomes
increasingly difficult to attract the right people to fill the numerous
vacancies.
Employers
as well as recruitment agencies are investing heavily in all sorts of
supporting platforms to communicate with a population who is, at times, close
to being harassed with one exciting employment opportunity after the other.
From AI to quickly find those people that match the job requirements to
gamification to assess key skills to automated assessment techniques
eliminating all human bias …. We are even offering candidates a virtual reality
tour to show them every day office life.
I
am intrigued by most of these new features and I am actively exploring how they
can benefit to my business. The time of the Rolodex with highly valued
telephone numbers and the ever so secret ‘network of contacts’ is finally over.
But the more I look into those new technologies, one thing strikes me: although
we been putting a lot of effort and investment into marketing techniques
combined with big data analysis to create the right message to seduce the
target audience, we seem to have forgotten that those same ‘know, like, trust’
essentials also apply to the first physical person they encounter in their
candidate journey: the recruiter.
There
is no certification required to become a recruiter. Very often, it is an entry
position into human resource, a stepping stone towards becoming an HR business
partner. But it is the first human contact candidates have with a potential
employer.
But
with no formal education on the job, what qualities will make a great
recruiter?
First
of all, you need someone who will model your organization, who is a true
representative of your company culture. Someone who can tell your story in such
a way that the right people get excited. In order to do so, you need someone
with business acumen, someone who can talk to candidates beyond the interview clichés.
But you also need someone who is authentic. Candidates are able to feel whether
you are truly connected to the story that you are selling.
Secondly,
you need someone who has the time to be genuinely interested in the person
sitting in front of them. Very often, recruiters are struggling to juggle the
pressure of a hiring manager with the high volume of requisitions on their
desk. Consequently, it is tempting to put just any candidate forward just to
get things moving.
And last
but not least, you need someone who can build trust. After all, changing jobs will
put any candidate in an insecure position. If a candidate thinks you are just
pitching smoking mirrors with them, you’re not landing them. You have to be
honest. You also need to be willing to show them the negative aspects to paint
the entire picture. Convincing someone that your opportunity is worth taking
their chances requires the capability of building such a trusting relationship in
a very short amount
of time.
So,
next to the cool technologies, it might be time to invest into your talent
acquisition staff in order to win the war for talent. Hiring the right
recruiters and creating such an environment that your recruiter is a happy recruiter
might make all the difference in attracting the right talent. As always, I am
curious to hear your thoughts J.
On
a different note, check your mailbox next week for a special edition of my
newsletter. We have been working heavily on getting Ingenium Executive Search
ready for the coming years and next week, we will be launching our first step.
I look forward to hearing
from you,
Isabel
Through a
personalized and tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to
assist you in attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company
