Many hiring managers and department heads turn to a recruiting firm or staff-placement firm because they need to hire good people quickly. Traditional hiring methods aren’t always quick and effective, especially when the company has openings for roles with very specific needs—such as a top-gun salesperson or an IT manager who can solve network problems and design systemwide solutions. Here are three myths that everyone should know about the recruiting business, and that includes those looking for jobs and those looking to fill them.
More Is Better
Many hiring managers are excited about getting interviews lined up and starting to nail down their final list of candidates. Recruiting firms know this, and, in fact, they make their living at appealing to this excitement. The truth is, a good department head has a pretty specific picture in her mind of what she’s after. Nothing will deflate her excitement level faster than four or five interviews with underqualified or otherwise poor candidates. Nothing that is, except the prospect of five or six more interviews of people at the same level.
This happens because recruitment firms often take the most important responsibility of their process—qualifying the best candidates—and delegate it to placement assistants with little to no experience and way too much work to do their job properly.
If you’re looking to hire: Your time is wasted, you’re exhausted, and you’re no closer to where you need to be.
If you’re looking for a job: Heaven forbid you’re coming into that office in the tenth interview. They’re so sick of talking to candidates, and, frankly, are you the right fit? You thought you were just glad to get an interview, but not like this.
Interviewing Is Progress This one is a little bit true, but the truth of the matter depends on who is doing the interview. If the interview is for a job where the candidate would be a horrible fit, then anyone only comes out a free cup of coffee ahead of the game, and that’s not really a good use of anyone’s time. If, however, the interview is conducted by the recruiting firm, and, halfway through, they stop and say, “You know what? You’re not right for this job. But let’s finish the process and we’ll match you up with something soon, where you’ll be a good candidate.”
If you’re looking for a job, that kind of honesty will bear fruit in the near future, because you won’t be wasting your time, or the hiring manager’s time, and, best of all, you now have a relationship with a recruiter that shoots straight and didn’t say, “This is the job for you” when they were just adding your resume to a pile to fill some quota.
If you’re looking to hire, see above. Isn’t that the progress you want? Someone is doing the interview, and qualifying the candidates, so you don’t need to speak to everyone.
Recruiting Costs a Lot of Money—That’s Just How It Works The pressure is on everyone in this situation. Hiring managers need jobs filled, candidates need jobs. Recruiters want the position filled so they get paid. It’s worth it for everyone, right? Wrong. Hiring managers need jobs filled, but not so badly that they want to rush it and need to do it again in six or eight months when the candidate doesn’t work out. That’s expensive, in time and money. Candidates: same deal—the job needs to be the right job. And the recruiter should want a successful hire, rather than a getaway car. This is called taking the long view, and it makes sense.
If you’re looking for a job, we’ll interview you at S2 Staffing, and know about your skills, your personality, and we’ll tell you if the job could work for you or not. And if not, we’ll find you one that will. You’re a resource for us, and a reason to broaden our search and grow our footprint. It works for both of us.
And if you’re looking to hire, we at S2 Staffing want to build a relationship with you. We will understand your needs better, and how your corporate culture works. And we’ll work with you on cost.