When all attempts have been made to influence a marketable and enticing job posting- what more can a recruiter do? When all efforts have been put forth to amplify the reach of said posting to garner the best and brightest candidates- what is left? If recruiters have sourced and prescreened their hearts out to find the diamonds in the rough, what more could you want?
I ask some basic but nevertheless important questions that most recruiters have asked themselves every day. It tells a story that not many people understand but recruiters do. How much more can one human being do to ensure a hire comes of a vacancy when all follow-up with the hiring manager has been attempted, all viable candidates have been evaluated, screened and sent for further consideration?
What more can a recruiter do when in return for their diligence there is silence or worse yet a plan “b” that doesn’t involve giving a chance to any of those candidates you fought so hard to woo in an effort to fill a position?
Herein lies the gap between a good recruiter’s intentions and efforts and the importance the company places on candidate experience. There are more shenanigans, politics and red-tape than any jobseeker can comprehend when it comes to hiring in some companies. It isn’t as cut and dry as you post a job, you receive candidates, all qualified candidates receive an interview, and the best candidate is chosen. This is an ideal situation that is rarely reality and also substantiated by the bevy of candidate stories and complaints about the consistently misguided hiring processes experienced in trying to become gainfully employed in our current economy.
I think people more or less understand how embarrassing and stressful it can be for a recruiter when you want to do right by your candidates, but you have no updates so you dodge a phone call. Even worse, is when the update isn’t one that is easy to convey like the company already knows who they want but the recruiter has been directed to keep their otherwise viable applicant pool on life support until the company figures out what they want to do.
The moral of the story is- through navigating politics, doing your job and perhaps leaving your candidates with an inkling that you took their candidacy seriously- recruiters have many moving targets to contend with. In my experience, recruitment has never been merely about placing someone in a job. However, more than ever you need to be able to understand the needs of the business, as well as business motivations; all while keeping in the balance your candidate relationships and if applicable compliance obligations.
Circumstances in business are always subject to change, but it is nonetheless difficult for those who are charged with being the face and/or ambassador of the company brand- when your hiring process is marred by disingenuous practices.
If all of what I just described is a clean succession of processes in your organization, congratulations! You probably work for the minority of companies that genuinely takes all of this seriously and have found ways to mitigate these circumstances. As for the rest of you that are nodding your heads as you read this, keep up the good fight. I salute you!
What are some of those sticky situations you have had to deal with as a recruiter?
Janine Truitt
The Aristocracy of HR