canadian headhunter

GOALS FOR INTERNAL RECRUITERS (Part 1)

1. Spend most of your time talking to people who can give you the names of top performers who are not currently looking. This is the key to good recruiting.

2. Convince top performers to start telling you about themselves within two minutes.

3. Have hiring managers call you at the beginning of every assignment. Your goal is to be a trusted advisor helping to shape the project rather than a mere supplier after the decision has been made.

4. Know the job better than your clients and candidates. The biggest complaint hiring managers and top candidates have about recruiters is their lack of understanding of the job.

[Managers won't explain their needs thoroughly. So, the solution is having had working experience in the area oneself].

5. The best recruiters can personally negotiate and close offers when there are wide gaps in expectations and problems like relocation, other good opportunities, and counteroffers.

6. Become a career counselor to your candidates. They need to see you as someone who has their best interests in mind. You need to be able to clearly show how the new opportunity is a definite step forward in the candidate's career and personal growth.

7. Train hiring managers to assess candidates accurately. Don't let good candidates get excluded for the wrong reasons. You can't afford to look for more candidates when someone you've already presented fits the bill.

8. Teach candidates how to clearly present their abilities to interviewers.

Note: Many of these things are beyond me. I specialize in finding people. And, as a generalist, I don't know enough about any one profession to give expert advice on career progression to candidates. I do, however, believe that I usually know a good candidate when I find one. Sometimes, better than my project managers who may be other headhunters who are not on the front lines doing basic research for candidates.

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