What? Are you mad? I’m not a recruiter!
Well I’d argue that you are.
This is not some self indulgent post around the ins and outs of recruitment; this is an acknowledgement that in this day and age everyone is a recruiter whether you like it or not!
In the digital age, with social channels and brand sentiment being tracked every second of every day I’d argue that our actions can directly impact someone’s opinion of us, and by the same token our company, and that’s quite a scary thing for some people.
No, I still don’t get you, I’m definitely not a recruiter!
What is a recruiter? Surely a recruiter is just someone who helps attract people to join a company – it doesn’t just mean a recruitment agency type, nor the ex-agency types who join the end client; it can mean anyone who positively influences people to join companies, so to me, it means most of us!
I was having a jovial disagreement with someone recently who didn’t want recruiters at an event they were hosting as they didn’t want the scarce resource there to be‘tapped up‘. Oh the irony! I smiled as the room then was filled with ex-recruiters who now do the exact same thing but with the end company badge on their name tags.
This got me thinking, and I’ve come to realise that the only thing that really matters is the experience the candidate or applicant has whatever channel they come through. They don’t care whether its an agency type, a direct application, or a phone call out of the blue from the onsite recruiter, as long as the experience is positive, real and doesn’t waste their time.
No, I was a recruiter but now I’m a client. It‘s different!
With the huge increase in direct sourcing and in-house recruitment there is certainly a perception that its different on the ‘other side of the fence‘ from the recruitment agency world.
Of course there are many differences in reality, but to the candidates I’d suggest it doesn’t matter one jot.
Candidates just want a good job with a good company, and ideally the process will be a quick and professional. Every day that goes by without a mail, call, or even a text (from a human) increases the possibility – nay, the probability – that the candidate will form a negative view of the company based on the recruiting experience.
This candidates experience, and the impact everyone has throughout various stages in the process is why I genuinely believe that we are all recruiters in some form or another; from the person that greets you at reception, from the boss being interviewed in the FT, to the Facebook page interactions between staff, or to the experience of their recruitment teams or indeed recruitment suppliers.
Every one of us has a part to play in shaping a company’s brand, and if not protected with every effort it can put off those superstar candidates who may just choose your competitor – no matter whether you’re the best brand or company in the world.
(Have a read of Daniel H Pink’s To Sell is Human – the sentiment is quite similar)
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