6 Things Rick Astley Would Never do as a Recruiter

 If you’ve ever been Rick Roll’d, or were just plain ever born, you’ve heard the infamous Rick Astley song, “Never Gonna Give You Up”. Hearing this song this morning struck a chord in my heart to write up another cheesy post with a seemingly unrelated pop culture tie-in. So here goes: If Rick Astley were a recruiter, there are several things he would never do!

1) Give You Up

If I know Rick, and I think I do, he would never give up on a quality candidate during the job offer volley. Nailing the initial job offer can go a long way in getting this candidate, but it doesn’t always work out the way we expect. The job offer should be seen as the ideal starting point for negotiations. If the recruiter, Rick in this instance, did his homework, he would have a complete candidate profile to work from.

Having a strong understanding about the candidate’s needs and expectations puts recruiters in safe zone for negotiations. This information creates room for give and take in negotiations so that Rick will never have to give up on a great candidate.

2) Let You Down

Let’s talk about transparency. This job is more than a fancy job description; its co-workers, relationships, politics and environment. By being transparent throughout the recruiting process, Rick can ensure that his candidates will never be let down. It should be crystal clear what the employer expects from the candidate, and equally as important, what the candidate can expect from the employer. Efforts to increase retention go both ways, and transparency on both sides helps to ensure that.

3) Run Around and Desert You

Honestly, Rick probably will run around. You’re not the only candidate he’s singing to. However, he won’t desert you with poor or no communication. If you’re the type of recruiter who gets annoyed by follow emails and voicemails from inquiring candidates, knock it off. They deserve a response. Whether it’s automated or not, candidates shouldn’t be deserted and left wondering. Candidate experience aside, it’s common decency. Ask yourself, WWRD?

4) Make You Cry

Speaking of candidate experience, it’s more than a lukewarm cup of coffee. Candidates aren’t writing about their experiences with a company in their journals with a tiny lock on it; they’re sharing it via social media, for the world to see. Treat your candidates with courtesy, offer feedback and timely communication, and above all, treat their time like it matters, Rick would.

5) Say Goodbye

Well, he did say goodbye, about 17 years ago. This seems like a good time to talk about how the right recruiting practices can increase retention rates. Retention is one of the leading metrics in recruiting for good reason. High turnover hits the morale, productivity and bottom line of an organization pretty hard. Recruiting is where the seed of high retention is planted.

6) Tell a Lie and Hurt You

His entire love ballad was about transparency. Rick was letting his candidates know exactly what they can expect from him and lying would be no part of that. Again, with the transparency, everyone involved should have a clear understanding of what they can expect and what is expected of them. Yes, we should all put our best foot forward, but stretching the truth will only get you right back to the sourcing process for the same position.