Hiring Managers and Recruiters: what your relationship should look like.
It was about 6 months after we signed our largest client, we had filled a handful of positions successfully, and the relationship was growing and growing. We were being introduced into new VP’s across the country and taking on more and more of the recruiting load for their sales team. I jump on a call with a new Hiring Manager and the first words out of his mouth were, “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I want to start by saying that I’ve already worked with 3 Recruiters and if you send a single A&D Rep for this position consider our relationship done.” It was quite a way to start the conversation, but honestly, I always appreciate a Hiring Manager, in this case a VP, who is direct and knows what they want. The position was for a sales rep that would never, in any way call on Architects or Designers, but that being a significant focus for this industry, the prior 3 Recruiters made the assumption of what the Hiring Manager would want. After we submitted our first two candidates, the Hiring Manager called me to say, “We’re good, based on compensation expectations and background, unless there’s some huge surprise, I’ll make an offer. I want to get you started on the next one, we’ll have 13 more in the coming 18 months.”
I just read an article on LinkedIn about common complaints from Hiring Managers. Not the right candidate, not fast enough, Recruiter didn’t close the deal, and Recruiter doesn’t know what I’m looking for were the top 4. Often Recruiters just want to get positions filled fast, that’s their selling point. It’s attractive because hiring is tough and takes time, it takes leaders away from leading their teams. However, if speed supersedes quality of candidates, then you may fill positions quickly but you’ll be left frustrated and asking why you paid for the Recruiter. That’s why I appreciate a direct Hiring Manager who knows what they want and wants to throw the project to me to handle. If this relationship is going to be successful then speed needs to be brought down a peg or two. Your Recruiter should take the bulk of the hiring work off your desk so that you can focus on doing your job, so prioritize the relationship with your Recruiter instead of just filling roles as fast as possible, or else you’re just going to be filling them again sooner rather than later.
Your Recruiter should be the expert in hiring, they should guide you in this process. You may have a job description, but the Recruiter should talk through the key points to emphasize and explore deeper with candidates. Your company may have an interview process, but the Recruiter should facilitate and schedule the interviews. You may have a pay scale in mind, but the Recruiter should provide feedback on compensation from competitors and others in the industry to help narrow the focus. You may have an offer, but the Recruiter should have the exact specifications requested by the candidate so that the offer goes smoothly. Some clients ask more of us, they want us as a true consultant to shape their hiring process. Others want us as a workhorse and a guide to ensure it goes well and every rock is overturned. Either way, every step of the way your Recruiter should remove workload from your desk, facilitate the process, probe deeper into the role and the candidates, provide feedback from candidates, guide you around pitfalls, and create a better hiring experience for client and candidate alike. It is the partnership of the Hiring Manager and Recruiter, each as an expert in their domain, that determines the success.
