How to Help Your Head Hunting Firm Help You
#1. Get everyone on the same page before the search starts.
Everyone who will be involved in the recruiting process, from the hiring manager to the CEO, needs to be on the same page before your recruiting firm starts the search for the right candidate. That means that you need to have a good idea of what kind of candidate you are looking for, and you all need to be in agreement on what that is.
#2. Make your mandatory requirements clear.
When you finalize your wish list of what you want in a candidate, there are going to be some items on that list that are non-negotiable. However, there will also be some items that would be ideal, but not a necessary dealbreaker if a candidate is an otherwise good fit.
Every organization is different and has different priorities, and those won’t always be obvious to the recruiter you’re working with. In order for your recruiter to help you find the best possible candidate, you need to make your must-have qualities in a potential candidate crystal clear.
#3. Shorten your hiring process.
When you’re working with a recruiter, the candidates who apply for the position have to go through the ringer already. If you make them sit through five more subsequent interviews and go through a dozen more steps in the process, there’s a good chance you could lose them. Keep your process short and sweet, and trust the recruiter you’ve hired to adequately vet the candidates they provide for you.
#4. Let the recruiting firm present to the hiring manager.
Outside recruiters often work with multiple people within an organization — hiring managers, internal recruiters, heads of HR, etc. But, when all is said and done, the hiring manager is the person the recruiting firm should be presenting to.
This is not to say that the head of HR or an internal recruiter shouldn’t have a say in the matter. They should, but they shouldn’t eliminate a candidate before the hiring manager has had a chance to meet them.
#5. Identify the ultimate decision-maker.
Among the many people who might be involved in the hiring process, there’s one person who ultimately signs off on the decision. Make sure that you identify who the ultimate decision-maker is for your recruiter. This will allow your recruiter to get to know the person who makes the final decision and provide a candidate that meets their expectations and needs.
#6. Don’t reject candidates based on paper.
A candidate is more than the sum of their resume, and the recruiter you’ve hired is considering many things beyond just what it says on their resume. Your recruiter is presenting a candidate to you for a reason, and there’s a very good chance that they see things in the candidate that you don’t. Make sure that you hear them out before rejecting a candidate based on paper alone.
#7. Don’t low-ball offers.
If you’ve told the recruiter that you’re going to offer a certain salary range — for example, $80k to $100k — don’t offer the candidate $75k when offering the job. This can blow up the whole process while also undermining the efforts of the recruiter and insulting a potentially great candidate.
#8. Communicate.
When things change, it’s critical to let your head hunter know. Whether you no longer need the position to be filled, your job specs have changed, you no longer have the budget to fill the positions, or whatever it may be, make sure you communicate with the head hunting firm promptly. Every day you don’t communicate is a day your recruiter will waste looking for the wrong candidate or a candidate you no longer need.
For all of your recruiting needs, turn to Riderflex.
At Riderflex, we’re proud to be Colorado’s go-to head hunters. Our one-of-a-kind recruiting process involves interviews with an industry expert and an experienced CEO, as well as a cultural analysis that ensures that a candidate is a good culture fit and has the required skills and experience for the job.