The million dollar/pound/euro question.. What really makes a recruiter good? What sets them apart from the rest?
It’s no secret that the role of a recruiter has evolved exponentially in the last decade, especially in the past two years. Long-gone are the days of cold calling as the sole method of building relationships, and clients and candidates are rightfully demanding more from the modern-day recruiter.
We’ve put together 5 of the key elements that make up a great recruiter – and although this list isn’t exhaustive, it’s what we’ve seen clients and candidates require as a minimum from consultants!
Consistency
Whether this is referencing communication with clients and candidates when running a formal process, or simply being consistent with your day-to-day activities, the best recruiters don’t work in peaks and troughs.
Instead, they focus on creating an organised plan that keeps them on the right track for consistent performance. Not only does this enable them to stay on top of their game in the market, but also allows for better progression opportunities internally.
Humility
No one likes arrogance, and no one wants to work with a recruiter who can’t empathise and have humility. Recruiters aren’t perfect, and especially in the early days of a recruiter’s career – mistakes will be made.
Having humility to admit to mistakes gives you the opportunity to level with clients and candidates, as well as build a great brand internally. Humility is difficult to master (because let’s be honest, no one likes getting things wrong and owning up to it), but it will pay dividends in the long-run.
Additionally, having humility when interacting with candidates and clients will enable you to build deeper relationships, quicker. The smokescreen of “perfection” is eliminated, and you can have frank, and often difficult conversations much easier once you master this.
Integrity
Similar to humility, integrity and staying true to yourself is incredibly important as a recruiter. Your values and belief system will largely dictate which clients and candidates you’ll be working with, and it can be easy in the early days to take on absolutely everything because you want to appear busy.
Having integrity means that at times, you may have to cut ties with clients who aren’t respecting you, or candidates for that matter. Integrity also means staying true to how you operate and not sacrificing that for a quick win, either! If you operate with high integrity, this will enable you to build a transparent and powerful brand in the market, as well as internally with other recruiters and leaders.
Always learning
If you think you’ve “completed” recruitment, think again. Look at the market the past couple of years, the demands are ever-changing and you have to adapt to make sure you don’t get left behind.
Recruiters who adapt an “always learning” mindset will be able to cultivate the above-mentioned points: humility, integrity, and consistency! Knowing that you’ll never “know it all” is a great way to be, and will enable you to entrench yourself into every corner of the market, instead of assuming that because you have a solid client base that you’ll be fine. Nothing is guaranteed in recruitment, so make sure that you’re constantly educating yourself.
Agile and modern
Whether this is the latest tech, or even how your team/company operates, great recruiters are agile in their day-to-day behaviours, and they believe in the modern/contemporary route that recruitment is taking.
Personal branding, giving away “free” information and value-add content, and focussing on partnership over quick wins is what will set you apart from the rest. Although there will always be a place for “old school” recruitment in some markets, it’s becoming less and less favourable due to its dated outlook and often clunky processes.
In summary, the modern-day successful recruiter needs to be more than just a job filler. You need to consult, you must be well-researched, and you also must be human. The list of traits that make up a great recruiter is more than these five points, but if you can try and adopt these then you’ll be setting yourself up for success!
If you feel that you share these qualities, we’re looking for people to join our team.
