As a hiring company, working with an executive recruiter to fill a position offers the reassurance of having experts on your side. Executive recruiters learn about your company, the open positions, the specific needs that they entail and the characteristics you value in an employee.
Then, they actively market the opening within their extensive database of qualified candidates, vet the candidates, and make introductions for you to interview.
Working with a recruiter? These are the mistakes you should be sure to avoid.
NOT FORGING A MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR RECRUITER
The best company/executive recruiter relationships exist when there’s more of a partnership than a transactional relationship. If you’re only looking for a few more resumes to add to your intake pile, you probably don’t need the types of services offered by a high-quality recruiter.
Look to your recruiter as a strategic partner with valuable insights about your industry and the available candidate pool.
Think about it this way: when you see a specialist in the medical profession, do you simply ask for your x-rays and go home? No. You use the specialist as a trusted resource, getting information about your specific situation and recommended next steps.
Be candid, open and collaborative with your executive recruiter, and the result will likely be a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship.
WITHHOLDING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR INTENTIONS
We have encountered companies with a backwards understanding of how to utilize executive recruiters. More often than not, this issue stems from a lack of open communication between the company and their recruiter.
Here’s an example: Occasionally, a company will come to a recruiting firm for help even though they employ an internal recruiter. They often don’t tell the external firm, because they’re hoping to skim for even more talent than the internal recruiter has found.
Why is this tactic not a best practice? The external firm could reach out to individuals who have already been tapped or showed interest, even though the recruiters had no way of knowing that. That makes the recruiting firm and the company appear disorganized.
READY TO WORK WITH A RECRUITER?
Now that you have insider tips for the best possible recruiter/company relationship, let us know how we can help you.