4 Habits to Become a Recruiting Leader

 Recruiting can be a pretty cut-throat profession. Finding and acquiring qualified and talented employees  is one of the most important components within an organization. Large organizations and hiring companies look to recruiters to bring in candidate leads that turn into long-term, engaged employees.

Therefore, with all of the calls, meetings, and outreach on social, it’s easy for recruiters to get lost in the mumbo jumbo of the recruiting world. Even more difficult is solidifying your position on the recruiting chain. The ultimate goal in any profession is leadership. Whether you are actually in a leadership position or managerial role, or you’re just a recruiting team member, exhibiting leadership to your coworkers  is beneficial to building your personal recruiting brand. There are four things recruiters can do in their daily recruiting practices that will help them reach leadership status.

1. Demonstrate You Listen

There is so much more to listening than just hearing what is being said. Often times, people do actively listen, but how often do people demonstrate they heard what was said ? Investigate conversations in staff meetings, and show your recruiting team you not only heard what was said, but you took it into consideration. It can be something as simple as starting a conversation with a colleague or supervisor about a certain point made in the meeting or even sending a quick email to your boss and meeting attendees afterwards to recap what was said. Propose new questions, bring up related topics, and keep the conversation rolling throughout the rest of the week. Take initiative in driving the conversations and you’ll be seen more as a thought leader  within your organization.

“When you’re willing to take risks and do things that are unconventional, you’ll find others in your industry looking to mimic you and learn from you, and eventually you may earn the respect that labels you a thought leader.” – Lauren Hockenson 

2. Be Genuinely Courteous

Creating a positive candidate experience goes beyond common courtesy like saying please and thank you. Pay attention to the little details when interacting with job candidates, and find ways to put a genuine touch into your efforts. To be genuinely courteous, you must be more personal with your potential hires. For example, when reaching out to candidates make them feel as if you only want them and nobody else. Don’t send mass messages, and don’t send a robotic, crafted, infomercial style message either. Write to one candidate at a time, and be conversational and kind.  Plus, 79 percent of potential candidates are not actively engaged in the job hunt.  Do you think they are going to respond to a mass, impersonal LinkedIn message? Probably not.

3. Don’t Rush

Take your time to get it right in the employment market. Even though we live in such a fast-paced world there is no reason to rush your recruiting process. When the process is rushed, many important components can be looked over. The average interview process has now increased to 23 days.  That may seem like a lot of time, but there still is a chance to rush through this process. Create a timeline that determines certain checkpoints in your hiring process. When you first begin with a job candidate, layout their hiring process timeline and give yourself deadlines. With a little trial and error, you’ll have a hiring process timeline that works for you. Setting up checkpoints and deadlines can be a great way to evaluate where you’re at in the hiring process with the candidate so that nothing gets missed. After you’ve perfected your timeline process share what you’ve found to be your best practices. Sharing the processes that work for you isn’t giving away all of your goods. If fellow recruiters are implementing your practices, you’re on your way to being a recruiting leader.

4. Share Opportunities

Are you currently in a managerial or leadership style position within your company? Nice work, but how did you get there? If I had to guess, I bet part of your ladder climb had something to do with the opportunities that were given to you. Yes, someone “saw something” or believed in your abilities. You were viewed as being capable, so you were probably tested in many ways. Nobody just walks into their office one day and becomes a leader. It’s a process that evolves from being granted opportunities and having that chance to prove yourself. This study  found that “100% of the top 20 companies for leadership development had CEOs who were actively involved in developing leadership talent.” After you’ve well established yourself in a leadership position, the next thing to do is delegate tasks to your recruiting team that gives them the opportunity to learn and grow . To many it sounds like you’d be giving away leadership opportunities, but looking at the big picture you’re only building a stronger more experienced team.

All four of these habits can be exhibited daily whether you’re in a leadership position or not. Being seen as a recruiting leader within your organization will take time, but you can get there by applying these concepts to your daily life and recruiting practices.

What characteristics do recruiting leaders in your organization exhibit?