We all learn valuable life lessons in our youth that can be practically applied to adulthood. That premise is not new. New, however, are the recruiters that go back to the basics and practice these learned principles to successfully achieve hiring results and provide an exceptional candidate and client experience. Here are five of those lessons:
- Tell the truth. Preschool children rarely lie, unless it’s a question of who ate the last cookie or who broke the lamp (I’m guilty of both). Since they do not yet have a filter, they are much more likely to be transparent and blunt about how they feel and what they think. As a recruiter, it’s important to share and provide direct feedback to applicants to help them improve their candidacy. Equally important is to be fully transparent with your clients and hiring managers on the progress and status of open requisitions.
- Treat others how you’d like to be treated. It wouldn’t be a list of lessons without mentioning the “Golden Rule.” In our rapidly evolving economy, many professionals find themselves unemployed, underemployed or employed with a side hustle or gig. Likewise, recruiters will often find themselves transitioning between those employment categories and on the other side of the hiring table (or laptop/mobile device) seeking full employment. We should strive to provide an experience to all candidates that we would like to experience as a candidate ourselves.
- Sharing is caring. It’s never easy to share your snacks, let alone your industry secrets or candidate leads. To be an effective recruiter, however, it’s important to stay connected to other recruiters by sharing best practices, the latest tech trends, or even sourcing connections. There are a variety of forums to do so, one is even coming up – the 2017 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference in New Orleans.
- Rub some dirt on it and do it again. As you try that new trick on the swing set, you’re bound to fall down and scrape your knee on the first try. Similarly, the best recruiters will be testing out creative ways to reach candidates or dabbling with the latest tech or social trend. Some portion (maybe the majority) of these tests will fail. The best of the best recruiters will continuously challenge the status quo and keep testing new ways of reaching and interacting with top talent.
- Hang up drawings on the refrigerator. Even the best recruiters don’t do it alone. They have partners in the form of hiring managers, HR professionals, and even candidates. It’s important to recognize and reward your most effective partnerships as a way to continue building relationships and a path to getting more stuff done in the future. Check out TicketsatWork Corporate Rewards and Incentives for some of the best ideas.
If you apply all or some of these lessons, you’ll be a better recruiter and may even earns a gold star or smiley face sticker!
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