recruiting-strategy
How to hire a great recruiter
Orla Hodnett
HireHive
Orla Hodnett
HireHive
Orla Hodnett
HireHive
Orla Hodnett
HireHive
Hiring a recruiter feels a little strange. Like doing things back to front or upside down. But hiring a recruiter is a highly significant task and you will hire an individual who forms a core part of your team. Making use of all your tools at your disposal, from your previous recruiting projects to your recruiting software, the task is that little bit easier.
You might feel a little like Alice in Wonderland when hiring a recruiter, but navigating this task does not need to be so challenging. Here are a few things to keep in mind when hiring a recruiter.
An assessment is a quick, simple and effective way of getting your candidates to demonstrate their skills to you
A little trial by fire never hurt anyone. If you have got it, you can prove it. An assessment is a quick, simple and effective way of getting your candidates to demonstrate their skills to you. A recruiter requires a very specific skill-set, so this can be easy to quantify in an interview situation.
Prepare a role-play or set up a fake call for the interview, or as a follow-up to the interview, so that the prospective recruiter can demonstrate their skills. Engaging with prospective employees will be their core task, so this is their chance to shine. Communication skills will be key.
Like all specialised roles, or roles where there is competition for talent, you will have to employ a slightly different sourcing strategy. Recruiters are usually on the other end of this process, so this turns the usual order on its head.
As always, your employees’ network can prove invaluable for finding recruiters and many will have had experience with them. LinkedIn is another very useful tool and recruiters will be very active on the site. Recruiters directories are a lesser known tool and tend to be a resource for job-seekers, but no less useful to your recruiting efforts.
A recruiter requires a broad set of diverse skills
A recruiter requires a broad set of diverse skills, so you really have to do a little research and think carefully about what you want from a recruiter. As a result of the varying skills you will need your recruiter to have, you require a very balanced individual.
A recruiter needs to be business-minded and competitive, but also honest. They also need to be flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of your organisation. Due to the nature of the work, they need to be discreet and professional, but also have good communication, as well as social skills.
Your organisation is likely to already have a view on this. A high-level strategy is sensible, but everybody does things a little bit differently and sometimes you need a new perspective on things to really revolutionize your recruiting strategy.
When screening and interviewing a recruiter candidate, ask them plenty of questions about how they go about their day to day tasks. How they handle everyone from sought-after candidates to unsuccessful applicants will demonstrate how capable they are. It's also important to know how they measure their successes and achievements. It is not all about winning that top candidate.
“HireHive makes the team a lot more productive. We’d be lost without it. Team Leaders can do it all themselves if needed or jump in at the right time and know exactly where everything is and what’s happening.”
Hilary Dempsey Head of HR at Life Credit union
