Why Making Sure Your Candidates Sell Themselves Is More Important Than Ever
The market is growing and there are more vacancies available and placements to make. Great news for everyone. The current buoyant situation means that your clients are recruiting and great candidates are now feeling secure and are more willing to consider opportunities you put in front of them. In theory then candidates 'should' be easier to place? Perhaps; the truth is 'the times they are a changing!' As we move out of recession the companies we serve as recruiters have also changed and there criteria for new employees has had a shift.
Want to know the current buzz word? Expertise. Broad I know and that is a key criteria that many organisations crave. The last few years has not exactly resulted in a 'brain drain' though what has happened is organisations have been stretched and because of that expert knowledge in, important business functions has been lost. Here is an example for you. In the engineering and manufacturing sector the UK is suffering a major skills shortage. So much so that the government is funding various initiatives to help stimulate more school leavers to take up engineering as a career or to sign up to the various apprentice schemes that are popping up across the UK.
Let me ask you then; what is happening in your recruitment sector? I suspect whenever you find an awesome candidate with all the key skills and knowledge you are one happy recruitment consultant-evidence that expertise wins the day. Provided they 'sell' themselves at the interview? They do don't they? Are you absolutely sure?
In today's recruitment world many consultants don't interview face to face anymore. A telephone conversation or two, some research online, a quick look on LinkedIn is all that many people in our industry do. If you fall into this camp and you are still making a couple of placements a month, it's obviously working and you have found candidates that can sell themselves. If not then you might need to rethink your process; because the candidate has all the credentials yet somehow your client doesn't get that. You could say well, "that isn't my issue".
Stop it is. Let's step back and look at a definition. We all like to be called recruitment consultants don't we? Our trusty friend Wikipedia gives us the recognised definition of the word consultant: 'is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area.' Now advice is a broad word; take it as meaning help, support and a bit of coaching and training when necessary.
It is a common fact that many of the candidates we place don't tell us everything that they have been involved with in a work context. At the end of the day they are human after all and they will not have the same insight that you do about what is important to your client and their hiring manager. This is where your own expertise is vital. Make sure you have taken a full brief from the client in the first place. Ask plenty of questions so you get a real handle about what the ideal candidate will look and sound like. You then have information that will help you tease out from your candidates the skills and expertise they must get across.
Taking the initiative on these two simple steps could make all the difference to your placements moving forward.
About the Author
Cheryl Wing is the M.D. of GSR2R and has over 12 years' experience running her own award winning rec to rec agency that helps recruiters get the best roles in the industry. If you want recruitment consultants that deliver contact Cheryl at http://www.gsr2r.com
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