A good recruiter should try to find the best possible candidates for vacant positions, not only to choose among those who apply after reading their ads. Lou Adler, an American expert on recruiting top talent, advises in his recent article on ERE.net to use the "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" as described in the book of the same name written by the management guru Stephen Covey.
1. Start with the end in mind
A recruiter should be able to present the actual job description in the form of clear performance targets, not just the necessary skills.
2. Think the "win-win" way
Passive candidates need to see that you are offering them a really interesting next step in their career. This will require a careful preparation in the form of communication with hiring managers.
3. Be proactive
Pick up the phone, use social networks and start collecting references. Openly ask who the best candidate is for the particular role. Then call him and tell him about that.
4. Take the most important things in the first place
Determine your priorities and stick to them. Don't focus only on the urgent things. Recruiters often spend too much time sorting out weak candidates instead of trying to attract the strong ones.
5. First try to understand, then to be understood
Be careful not to be too much affected by the first impression. You must first understand what the particular role involves and only then you can justify why some candidates are inadequate. You can persuade hiring managers only by evidence, not by your feelings.
6. Create synergy
Recruiters should be equal and trusted partners of managers. They will not reach this if they keep quiet about their belief that one of the managers decided wrong.
7. Sharpen the saw
A recruiter who wants to remain competitive must continually improve. In particular, you should focus on working with passive candidates.
-kk-