To become a top recruitment expert, it’s essential to have certain inborn qualities and keep on continuously honing your skills. In this article, we’ll tell you how to be an effective recruiter and what to do to boost your professionalism.
Key Recruiting Skills and Qualities
Below, we’ll share a rating of the most important recruiting abilities that should help you succeed in this occupation.
- Selling. Selling might be not the first thing that comes to your mind when talking about the recruiter job. But when you offer a position to a candidate, you act very similarly to a salesperson. The more skilled, experienced and talented the candidate is, the higher the demand for them in the labor market. They don’t even need to check job ads. You should go to great lengths to make your offer look appealing to them.
- Communication. The hiring process doesn’t boil down to the selection of candidates. Make sure each interview is a two-way street. Start with establishing a good rapport with each person. Prove that you’re a charismatic manager. Spread positive emotions and avoid being soulless. Listen attentively to what candidates say and provide exhaustive answers to their questions.
- Analytics. Be ready to analyze not only figures and metrics. It’s essential to analyze people’s behavior and goals too. Imagine that you come across a one-of-a-kind professional with impressive experience — but they fail to fit the requirements for any job offering that you have. What will you do? Will you just let the unique specialist go? Or will you think of ways for them to join your company?
- Psychology. Recruiters read candidates’ resumes and make sure they fit the requirements of the organization. But it’s just the tip of the iceberg. You need to envision the onboarding process of the new employee. Will the already existing staff be glad to accept this type of person? Will it be easy for the newcomer to get used to a new culture? If there might be any challenges, what can you suggest to overcome them?
- Ability to Spot Talents. A good recruiter professional doesn’t wait passively for candidates. Instead, they search for them proactively. They know which online resources and offline locations attract top talents. They visit events, join groups and take part in discussions. They keep constantly monitoring new headhunting platforms and tools.
- Confidence. The more confidently you behave, the more comfortable the candidates will feel during the interview. Show them that you’re leading the process and are eager to listen to them. Remember that you represent the core values and the corporate culture of your organization.
- Diligence. The process of recruiting people is physically, mentally and emotionally challenging. HR managers work hard. Businesses appreciate them and pay them good salaries.
- Patience. If you manage to find the right person on the first attempt, you’re lucky. The search might take weeks or even months. It might make you tired and discouraged. Yet you should never give up. Consider revising the requirements for the candidate and think of looking for them in new and unusual places.
- Assertiveness. This one comes into play when you start replying to the interviewed professionals. You’ll have to say “No” to most of them. Your goal is to remain polite and reassuring. Keep in contact with these specialists — maybe, you’ll need each other in the future. Besides, you should provide feedback from the interview. Let people know about their strong and weak sides. That will encourage them and show them paths for improvement.
- Responsibility. This quality of a recruiter is equally important from the position of a candidate and the company that hires. Responsibility serves as the foundation for your personal brand. Businesses will regard you as a professional who can not only help them fill in vacancies but also strengthen them and boost their competitive edge. Individuals will perceive you as a person who helps them build long successful careers.
Habits That Ensure Successful Recruitment
To facilitate the recruitment process, it would be wise to develop five helpful habits.
Stick to the Company’s Culture and Requirements
Each candidate whom you accept should fit not only the position but the organization that you hire for. It’s important that their share the goals and values of this business. They should feel that they contribute to the company’s process and be proud of it.
Strive to See the Wood but not the Trees
One of the most frequent mistakes that novice recruiters make consists in ticking the boxes. They check whether the person fits the requirements of a particular position but don’t go further. Instead, it would be wiser to think of how this job would fit the overall career path of the person. Have they worked in similar positions previously? Which new skills and knowledge will they need to acquire for the role? How will it contribute to their professional growth?
Compose the Portrait of an Ideal Candidate
Before you begin interviewing people, imagine in detail the person who would perfectly cope with this position:
- Skills;
- Qualifications;
- Traits;
- Education;
- Previous job experience.
You’ll be comparing candidates not with the list of requirements but with that ideal model. That’s a highly efficient strategy!
Keep Analyzing
The importance of data-driven decisions is increasing every year. You might need to analyze industry trends, the performance of companies, teams and individuals as well as your own efficiency. Learn to work with data: gather, process, visualize and interpret it. This should help you optimize your recruiting resources.
Plan for the Future
Being a good recruiter is a long journey. Think of what the organization that you hire for might need in the next few years. Will it be likely to scale nationally or expand internationally? To what extent has it digitalized and automated its processes? What are the general trends of the industry that it belongs to?
Keep a database of all your professional contacts. You can never know whom you might require in the future. The only thing we can be sure of is: no matter how technologies and algorithms evolve, they won’t be able to replace skilled and talented HR professionals.
