What To Keep In Mind When Selecting A Recruiting Firm

Even as a recruiter that works in a very specific niche market, I am often asked by family and friends that have staffing needs on what to look for in a recruiting firm.  Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing to partner with a recruiting firm;

– Specific expertise in your industry
– Proven methodology and techniques for sourcing qualified candidates
– A workable database to utilize for networking (without it- ramp up time alone can be costly)
– Good service record and references of clients similar to your organization
– Open lines of communication to provide progress updates
– Clear understanding of your organizations culture and type of individual that would best fit

These are just a few key things to keep in mind when selecting a recruiting firm to work with.

Another important component that is sometimes overlooked is personality. By that I mean the actual recruiter that you will be working with on the project should be someone you feel comfortable working with. Chances are you will be interacting with this individual a great deal, and no one wants to deal with an individual that they don’t get along with if they can help it. Now I am not claiming you need to be best friends with the recruiters you work with, but you should have a good sense of how they operate.  Most recruiters (good ones anyways) view themselves as extensions of your organization. The way they conduct themselves and represent your opportunity to outsiders becomes extremely important as it is ultimately a reflection of you.

Recruiting is a working partnership and it is important to do some due dilligence when selecting the option to work with an outside firm. Price alone should never be the deciding factor.

Here are a few more articles on this subject;

How to Choose a Staffing Partner
5 Tips on Choosing an IT Recruiting Firm
Choosing the Best legal Recruiting Firm
Tips on Working with Temp Staffing Agencies

Hopefully these tips will give you a few insights of things to keep in mind when undertaking this process. I would also encourage Recruiting Daily readers to share some of their own tips in our comment section.

By Tim Spagnola