I spent several hours over the weekend catching up on my reading. I can’t tell you how many articles are out there about recruiting and what you need to do to target groups, how to source, how to interview and on and on. What I don’t seem to see anyone writing about is that recruiting is a very individually focused, unique experience. It’s easy to lose sight of this when it’s your job to fill hundreds of positions each year.
3 Steps to a Unique Recruiting Experience
There are three critical steps a recruiter needs to follow with an identified candidate in order to not only close the deal, but to help ensure that the candidate-turned-employee will have a good experience with the company during onboarding.
- Give a unique pitch to each candidate– Being a recruiter means you need to be a bit of a fortune teller. Do your homework about what is important to that individual, then finesse the information during conversation so that you can make a prediction of what it will take to get that unique candidate to sign on the dotted line. You may be filling a number of similar positions, but if you find yourself giving the exact same pitch to each candidate, it’s time to step up your game and make it unique. You’re the candidate’s first exposure to the organization and need to make it a strong, lasting and positive one.
- Pay attention to the details– This means that you need to make sure all the behind-the-scenes steps that need to happen are tied up with a bow. Don’t put the stress on the candidate. All the “back office” work needs to be flawless.
- Continue the wooing– This is the step that is often forgotten. In a personal relationship, we all know that you can’t just find someone you’re interested in, act on your best behavior to get them to start the relationship, then ignore them. Recruiting candidates is no different. It’s critical to continue checking on the candidate/ new hire, even after their first day. I once heard Jessica Lee (former VP of Talent Acquisition for APCO and current Director of Digital Talent Strategy for Marriott International) say that employees continued coming to her long after they were hired. It’s because she started the relationship at APCO with them. She gave them a real-life connection that they needed to start a successful career. I’ve worked with recruiters like this too. They play a critical role in retention because they never completely end the relationship once the employee is on board.
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