Home»Recruiters, be CONSISTENTLY CONSISTENT if you want to be a GREAT Recruiter!

Recruiters, be CONSISTENTLY CONSISTENT if you want to be a GREAT Recruiter!

| April 12, 2017 10:26 am

Come on people, recruiting is not rocket science. After all, most recruiters start with no experience right out of college. With that said, most recruiters don’t make it 2 years. Of the ones that do make it, half are just mediocre. What makes or breaks a recruiter from being mediocre to great is something I have mentioned in the past I call being “consistently consistent”. What is being consistently consistent you ask? It’s following your process day in and day out so you have a consistent candidate pipeline. After all, we are judged on STARTS/HIRES and with recruiting being a numbers game, a consistent candidate pipeline is very important.

I have written about being consistently consistent from a virtual perspective (link here), but how do you become consistently consistent from a candidate pipeline perspective? You need to possess two important values: One, a good work ethic; and two, a need to be competitive and want to win. If you have these two values you can be a GREAT recruiter.

A good work ethic helps you maintain your day to day process of sourcing, calls, screenings and submittals. In recruiting, we are pulled in 100 different directions during the work day. If we don’t spend our time on the areas that matter, we can begin to fall behind and this will affect your candidate pipeline. I have a saying in recruiting, “80% of what we do is a waste of our time”. If we maintain our work ethic and concentrate on the 20%, tasks that create STARTS/HIRES, we will continue to be consistently consistent and keep our candidate pipelines full.

Being competitive just doesn’t mean having the most STARTS/HIRES each month. It means being competitive with yourself and always striving to be the best recruiter you can be. Being competitive and wanting to win means that you reach candidates first, that you are informed about your positions and company so you can sell the candidate into being interested in your opportunity. Just make sure you do things the right way and although you may be judged, individually recruiting is still a team sport. I always say, “What goes around comes around.”

All recruiters are judged by numbers but it’s the little things that will be most important at the end of the day. Making a candidate not feel like just another number will set you apart from other recruiters. Try putting the candidate first; ask them what they are looking for in a position and what the ideal work environment would be to them. Make sure you have quick and accurate feedback and overcommunication never hurts. Being consistently consistent with your process by having a good work ethic and being competitive will make you a GREAT recruiter.

John Motley is the Director of Professional Services of NSS RPO, a consulting firm that provides on-site and virtual recruiting professionals. Contact NSS RPO to learn about how we can help your organization meet and exceed it’s hiring goals.