SourceCon Community, 

I was looking at (what feels like) an exhaustive list of recent layoffs. And my immediate reaction was 1) things are tough out there, followed by my cynical reflex of “if it bleeds, it leads.” In case you are unfamiliar with that term, here is a quick definition.

Articles about layoffs proliferate more than companies hiring because (whether its true or not) publishers believe bad news generates more clicks than good news. (Umm… Actually it is true and there is plenty of scientific proof to verify that.) So that being the case, one may have to search for good news to offset the bad. I have done a bit of that by looking up industries that are growing significantly and as such, will need recruiters to further their work expansion. If you, or someone you know, is looking for a new gig, here are some links that may resonate with you.

• The 10 Global Fastest Growing Industries

• Emotion AI Market by Worldwide Industry Trends at a CAGR of 22.7% by 2032

• Automation as a Service Market by Worldwide Industry Trends at a CAGR of 25.3% by 2026

Use this search to find even more examples. But, I digress. Why do I bring this up? Since there are multiple industries growing, multiple industries will be hiring, and multiple recruiters will be needed. As such, I think a process for hiring quality recruiters becomes all the more significant. Towards that aim, I asked myself, “Self” (because that’s what I call myself when I am talking to myself), “…what are 3 questions to ask the next recruiter you hire?” That sparked a long internal rant that I posted below. I hope it proves useful.

On an unrelated note, can you believe it is almost time for Thanksgiving dinner?! Yeah, me neither.

Gobble - gobble y’all. 

Jim Stroud
Your SourceCon Editor

;-)

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3 Questions To Ask The Next Recruiter You Hire

Q1. How long have you been recruiting?

Recruiting is not the type of career that people dream of in grade school. More often than not, it is a role that people seem to stumble into. All too often, those same people stumble out of it after a few years. The career lifespan of a recruiter is not well documented, but after being in recruitment and the periphery for 20+ years, I can make several generalizations. Bear with me.

• Years 1- 3: Recruiters are learning the basic skills of sourcing, interviewing and presenting. Large organizations are a good place for new recruiters to begin their career because they will likely be taught (and internalize) a recruitment routine, taught how to measure the work they do and get rewarded for following a process towards a predictable outcome. Plus, in an enterprise they will deal with a large number of requisitions giving them a greater chance of making hires and being successful.

• Year 4 – 5: Recruiters become burned out after repeating the process and long for a new career adventure. Wanderlust may encourage them to leave the recruitment industry entirely. Others pursue HR credentials, or roles within recruitment agencies or if they were already at an agency, go in-house for one of their agency clients.

• Year 5+: Recruiters have their methods perfected and can run their desk efficiently. They also tend to have a mind for improving upon their existing skills and as a result, attend conferences as their schedules allow. If someone has been in a corporate role up to this point, the chance to freelance is difficult to ignore, especially when market conditions allow for it. Another course of action would be to join a boutique agency where they could morph into a more senior role where added responsibilities would include training less-tenured Recruiters.
  
  Alternatively, it's entirely possible that after mastering recruitment, they pursue roles on the periphery of the recruiting industry. For example, talent acquisition, recruitment marketing or recruiting operations.

The length of time someone has been a recruiter speaks to their dedication and likely skill level but, not necessarily how proficient they are in hiring for a particular industry. For instance, if you were recruiting for a healthcare system, which candidate would likely be the better qualified?

• Candidate A: 7 years recruiting in a variety of fields.

• Candidate B: 7 years recruiting exclusively in Healthcare.

Am I insinuating that only recruiters with healthcare industry influence can be successful in recruiting hospital workers? No, not at all. I would suggest however, that Candidate A would have a steeper learning curve.

Q2. What are your hiring stats?

Recruiting is in essence a sales job and like sales, a recruiter’s success is validated by their recruitment metrics. And while there are several factors beyond a recruiter’s control, ultimately they should be able to answer questions like these:

• How many candidates did you talk to last year?

• How many of those candidates were interviewed by hiring managers?

• How many of those interviews became hires?

Essentially, you are trying to determine their recruitment ratio. For example…

• 10 Recruiter Interviews = 5 Hiring Manager Accepts = 3 Hiring Manager interviews = 1 Offer

Ideally, you want a recruiter who presents quality over quantity so, the number of candidates they submit are low. However, they tend to be interviewed by the hiring manager on a consistent basis thus increasing the potential for hires.

Q3. How many of your hires are made from referrals?

Metrics are a solid indicator of how good a recruiter is yet, it is not the defining metric. I’ve mentioned how recruitment is like sales and sales is ultimately about personal interactions with people. The best recruiters know how to manage their relationships with their clients and with the candidates they present. But how can you track whether or not a recruiter has this essential skill? The following questions may give insight:

• What percentage of your hires are from referrals?

• Name three hiring managers you’ve worked with and tell me about them. Detail your best and worst experiences with them.

A high percentage of hires by referrals is a great sign of interpersonal skills, especially if the placements were of executive and/or technical talent. It indicates that people who are likely to ignore recruiters made special notice of them and are willing to risk their professional reputation by sending them colleagues from their network. Naming multiple hiring managers and describing relationship nuances suggests that the interactions were not solely transactional. If they were wholly good relationships, I would not hold as much interest. What would grab my attention is when situations turned negative but were turned positive by wise choices. Make sense?

If I know how long someone has been recruiting, their hiring stats and their level of interpersonal skills then, I am confident that I can determine if they have a place in the company I am working for. Of course, I could be way off. I would be curious to know what you think. Hit reply and share your thoughts. I may feature them in an upcoming newsletter.

Until then, may the source be with you!

Jim Stroud
Your SourceCon Editor

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