TOP TEN Common Recruiter Mistakes

By no means am I claiming to be an expert.  But I have worked in recruiting long enough and did enough hiring and training of recruiters to know when mistakes are being made.  Some of the best and some of the worst recruiters make mistakes and this is a short list.  Let us know what you think of our TOP TEN…and please share yours!

10.  NOT ORGANIZED ON THE DETAILS OF WORK-FLOW – Keeping it all together is a key.  Try working with files that have all content and communication organized by the client or candidate.  Utilize Evernote to quickly store information on the run.  If you are always looking for information you will quickly appear unimportant to the process.

9. SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON THE WRONG WORK – I saw this a lot when I was Director of a large recruitment team.  Make sure that you are doing the work that will move a candidate toward a client and visa versa.  You are in the placement business.  Is what you are doing right now helping that goal?  If you spend all day trying to think for your candidate, your sunk.  Take some action!

8.  NO ENTHUSIASM – Hey, it is obvious.  Your voice tells the story.  If you are enthusiastic about your work, your client, the job presentation and your skills, it will come across.  Don’t make yourself the fool but remember to get stoked up before you make the next call.  It will have an impact!

7.  OVER SELLING – Just like enthusiasm, over hype can be a killer.  It is also one of those sixth sense triggers that will make your client just want to run the other way.  If you have to push so hard, and sell it so much, maybe it should NOT happen!  This is a great way to diminish your reputation quickly.

6.  UNREALISTIC – If your client is looking at a position that they are a completely unqualified for, you have to tell them.  If your client is unrealistic in there requirements not only is it a bad search, but your lack of advice on the matter puts you at a disadvantage.  Tell them politely and get moving on working on the real things that will bring you, and your clients success.

5.  NO SETTING OF EXPECTATIONS – You are running a business.  If it is your desk, your company, or your employers business it still is a reflection of you.  Be honest and direct by telling your clients how you work, why you do what you do, and what you will be expecting from them in regards to communication, committments, and the process.  We do a lot of work and it should be respected.  Simply put this is what the true professionals do in our field.

4.  NO EXTRA EFFORT – So you found a perfect candidate but there are no open positions that they qualify for in the area.  Did you make, ‘gulp’, some cold calls?  Did you go the extra mile by making some calls outside of normal business hours?  Do you make yourself available?  Do you actually answer the phone and email right away?  Extra effort never goes unnoticed.

3.  INCONSISTENT – If you are giving poor information, setting unconfirmed dates, not following through on a task, or simply not consistent in your delivery to your clients, they are going to run away as fast as they can.  Too many aspects of recruiting are hard to control.  Your work should be something that can be counted on.

2.  NOT LISTENING –  The best recruiters listen and hear everything.  They don’t interrupt because they know that when they are talking they are selling but when they are listening, their client is buying.  A well placed moment of silence after the question “If they give you what you ask, are you going to take the position?” is good for a few placements alone.  Let THEM talk!

1.  TREATING CLIENTS LIKE COMMODITIES –  I have seen a lot of this over the years.  It is one of the main reasons that recruiters can get a bad rap.  When you push for the deal with no concern or bully a client, they feel it.  That is not sales or recruiting.  Asking the hard questions, having the hard answers, and always closing is far different from pressure recruiting.  It may work some of the time but it will be short lived.  How would you want to be treated and talked to if you were going to change career paths?  Remember that.

I am sure that there are more.  Please let us know!