3 Key Reasons Why It's Worth Considering a Professional Recruiter
It’s a funny thing. Many smaller-scale companies opt to DIY when it comes to finding new staff. It’s easy to fall into the ‘How Hard Can It Be? Trap’.
Small to medium-sized businesses compete in the exact same talent pool as bigger, slicker brands. In general, for smaller and low public profile businesses, talent acquisition can be an uphill battle from the get-go.
Perhaps it’s time to engage the services of a hiring expert? Here are three reasons why:
1. Broader Reach: a deeper dive into that talent pool.
The very best candidate for your role probably already has a job.
The best candidates are good at what they do. They are engaged in, and often completely absorbed in their work. They aren’t wasting their current employer’s time hovering about on job boards waiting for you to advertise.
Like most perfect matches, sometimes a little matchmaking, and a spot of ‘wooing’ is required. A good recruiter gets this and can advocate on your behalf. There is a wealth of talent out there. Capable people who might be interested in your role, who might be just perfect, and who are willing to consider a move.
In a tight job market, where there are more candidates than there are jobs available, it’s critical to remain diligent about your company’s requirements. A good recruiter will help keep the focus on finding a candidate closely aligned with the long-term vision of your business, rather than taking a punt of someone looking for any old job.
2. Candidate Experience. Really? Who cares?
Well, it’s not all about you - You should care very much about the candidate experience. It’s crucial to keeping high potential applicants in the game and interested in working with you.
An advertised vacancy can be quite disruptive to the day-to-day operations of the business, generating a volume of ‘time-wasting’ call traffic.
It’s important to remain mindful that any barriers put in place to avoid the ‘pesky calls’ are the same barriers that might prevent a high potential candidate from following through with an application.
How your organisation manages this has an impact on the results you get and the people you attract. A good recruiter will capture enquiries from high potential respondents, keeping them engaged and informed throughout the selection process.
Most importantly, a good recruiter ‘knows when to hold them, when to fold them and when to walk away’…
3. Brand Advocacy.
If you get it right and give your recruiter the latitude to do the job properly, they can do a tremendous job of representing your organisation in a positive light. From the organisation, the opportunity that exists within it, and the positive impact the move might have on the candidate's career.
This goes a long way to eliminating the ‘cold feet’ syndrome and failed starts, and keep candidates enthused about coming onboard.
Just as you might assess whether you would put a potential employee on your team or in front of your customers, a good recruiter should be someone who you feel confident about representing your brand in front of potential employees. They should be considered an extension of your team throughout the hiring process.
You may have noticed I have used the term ‘good recruiter’ to this point — because it’s important. Many businesses opt for a DIY model because of lacklustre past experience, the impression that recruitment is expensive, the impression that to DIY is easy, or simply that they haven’t come face to face with a good recruiter in a long while.
In seeking out a good recruiter (and I mean the individual you’ll work with not necessarily a company brand), naturally, I’d love it if you picked me to have a chat with.