“Two’s company, three’s a crowd”….

…. I was reminded of this saying last week when I found myself playing middle man between a client and candidate who were negotiating a package.

We have all been there. Your client phones you to make your candidate an offer. It might be a bit lower than what your candidate asked for, but your client wants to see if it will stick. It might be bang on, but when you speak to your candidate suddenly they want a bit more. So you spend the next few hours playing piggy in the middle. You go back and forth trying to negotiate a suitable outcome for both, often having to leave messages and waiting for a response. Even the most experienced recruiters who do everything to avoid this sort of thing can get dragged into this scenario. It  is a nightmare and it often leads to the deal falling over.

When I was still trying to get both parties to reach an agreement 48 hours after the initial offer, it occurred to me that it would be much easier to get Mr Client to talk to Mr Candidate directly.

I can hear the gasps of shock and horror around recruitment offices everywhere. This is against everything that we are taught in recruitment school 101. Good recruitment is all about controlling the process. We have to be involved at every stage, continually speaking to client and candidate, and massaging the process until it reaches a conclusion.  I don’t disagree with this, and for the majority of the process it is absolutely essential. I don’t like it when my client starts talking directly to my candidates to set up interviews for example. But I think that when it comes to offer stage, it may sometimes be better to let them sort it out themselves.

A third-party can sometimes just get in the way. Like Chinese whispers, things get lost in translation. It can be difficult for a recruiter  to accurately express the sentiment that both parties are making.  A client can look miserly and a candidate can look greedy, when in fact neither might be true. Even if they reach an agreement, damage can be done to the relationship before they even start working together. It is also  easier / more tempting for both parties ‘try it on’  when they are not speaking directly. A candidate will be far more likely to ask their recruiter to get an extra $5k, than they would if they were speaking directly to their future boss. By the same token, a client might be more tempted to offer less and see if the recruiter can make it happen.

Aside from avoiding any potential difficulties, a client making an offer directly is great for the on-boarding process. The personal touch of having your new boss offer you the job and welcoming you on board is a very positive experience. More so than if a recruiter does it.

That said, I don’t think it is appropriate for a recruiter to step out of the offer stage on every occasion. You have to be smart about it. If your client is a bit slow and likely to not make the offer for  a day or two (yes, it happens) you will want to stay in control. Similarly, if you have any concerns about the integrity of your client you will want to avoid giving them that chance to pull a fast one (by offering higher than  they tell you and thereby paying you less of a fee). If your candidate is unlikely to accept the offer then it is probably not a good idea either !  It might just be simply that it’s your client’s preference.

It takes a certain amount of bravery to hand over the reigns to your client at offer stage. But, if you brief your client and candidate properly so they know each others expectations and limits then sometimes it might be the better way. Sometimes, not through our own fault, we recruiters just make it more difficult by being involved.

What if I was to tell you I’ve been holding back? No really…  I’ve been keeping secrets from you…

My last 2 blogs covered such ground breaking and thought provoking issues as whether we should wear ties, or carry compendiums in the recruitment workplace.  Some of you saw it for the light hearted entertainment it was supposed to be, whilst others wanted me burned at the stake – or banished to the Victorian equivalent of Siberia (in my estimations that location would be Orbost, but you may have another in mind – Sale perhaps?).

Anyway, as shallow as my blog content may have seemed at the time, the main point of the tie and compendium posts revolved around the central theme of differentiation – and that my friends is still the key to all things!

It’s funny, but the longer I am in the Rec2Rec space the clearer it becomes, and recruiters – from newbies to oldies – I am about to share with you, once and for all, the secret to becoming the best damn recruiter on the block!!

They are forever telling us what it takes to be a great recruiter.  Quality targeted activity, high levels of billings, client and candidate relationships, sense of urgency blah, blah, blah…  But it is very rare that we are told how to be a great recruiter… well rare unless you (or your employer) fork over the cash to attend an over priced and underwhelming training course.  Don’t get me wrong, there are many fine training courses out there for recruiters – just be sure it’s one that has had its content reviewed and updated to include lessons learned from the GFC and something about new recruiting technologies… sorry as usual I’m going off on a tangent… shiny things distract me like disco balls and that reflection your watch gives sometimes when the sun hits it just right and you can make you dog – or cat – chase it all over the wall… sorry there I go again, but don’t pretend you’ve never done it…

The way I see it becoming a great recruiter – and differentiating yourself in the market is very simple, and can be broken down into 3 simple words. Know your market.  There you go – that is the secret.

I can hear you all now. ‘He’s had me read 386 words of absolute garbage and all he has to say for himself is Know Your Market!  He should have bloody stuck to the compendium crap – at least it was almost funny…’

Don’t give up on me just yet… please. Let me elaborate…

I want you to ask yourself honestly – Do you know your market?  Let me take it one step further.  Do you know your market better than all of your competitors?

Most recruiters are specialists. It might be Accounting & Finance, Business Support, IT&T, Supply Chain, Light Industrial etc. Point is – once you identify your market (are you sick of the italics yet? I know am.), you need to become the expert in your market.

Below is a 5 point Recruiter Health Check to ensure you become – and remain – the best recruiter you can be. Re-visit it often and make the adjustments necessary to stay at the top…

1. How’s Your Knowledge? – By this I mean are you an expert in your industry and market?  You should be subscribing to relevant blogs, and newsfeeds.  If there are major projects, or tenders coming up which affect your clients and candidates you should be feeding that information to them.  You should be truly consulting to your clients – and have them rely on you for expert commentary and source of information.
2. How’s Your Network? – Do you know every major player in your space?  Your Linked In (and possibly Twitter network – if industry appropriate) should be filled with every candidate and client relevant to your market.  You should continually map who is who.  Join relevant Linked In groups. Attend networking events and be very visible.
3. How’s Your Skills? – Monitor your own activity levels and success.  Work out your own ratios in terms of interviews to placements etc. and compare them to other successful consultants.  If yours don’t stack up find out what they are doing differently that works. Whatever you do – always be pro-active.
4. Know Your Competition – If you are not the best in your market find out who is.  Ask your clients and candidates.  Ask them why they are the best. Look at their Linked In account.  It will tell you the groups they belong to, the training they have completed etc. Replicate their behaviours then go one step further, by focusing on points 1-3 above.
5. What Motivates You?  - Quite simply, if you do not honestly know what motivates you then you will struggle to be the best.  Is it recognition, family, money, ambition or something else?  Whatever it is – it is the essence of who you are and will drive all of your other behaviours.  So, get to know it, polish it and use it!

So, there you go. The secret to being a great recruiter… and not a decent joke, or humorous anecdote in the whole stinking post!

Seriously though, if you do like our blog – do yourself a favour and click the follow button on the right hand side of the page… and I will leave you with this little gem…

A couple of weeks ago I was having a pint at the Mitre Tavern down there on Bank Place with Rick Astley.  Yes… that’s right Rick Astley – the talented and multi-award winning songsmith and prodigy of Stock, Aitken and Waterman.  Anyway, I said to Rick, ‘Rick, can I borrow you collection of Pixar/Disney dvds?’

Rick took a swig of his cider, wiped his mouth and said. ‘Craig, you can have my Toy Story, you can even have my Finding Nemo… but Craig, I’m sorry but I’m never gonna give you Up!’ *Disclaimer. I did not make up that joke, nor at any time have I shared a beer, cider or otherwise at the Mitre Tavern with Rick Astley…

Craig Watson

Monday morning I received a call from a client who I had recently shortlisted some CVs for:

Client : Thanks for the CVs, but can you send the candidate’s original ones please.

Me: Why ?

Client:: Why not ? You can take their personal details off if you are worried we will contact them directly and go behind your back. Their original CV will give us a better insight than your edited version.

I could see his point. A recruiter can tweak or add things to a CV so it matches the key elements of the job spec and makes their candidate look better. Similarly things can be hidden or removed that might have a negative impact on how that candidate is viewed. It basically allows a recruiter to control how the candidate is presented and perceived. Even if a recruiter is just correcting a small spelling mistake, any editing is only going to show the candidate in a better light. When there is ultimately a big fee on the line, is this not a bit disingenuous ? My client obviously thought so.

However…

A lot of CVs for one reason or another don’t really do the candidate justice. Sure, some are just plain awful and deserve to be rejected in two seconds. If your CV is littered with spelling mistakes or has dates that don’t correspond, I have little sympathy. More importantly you are clearly not going to be right for my client. But some candidates who would be good for a role never get to an interview because of their CV. It might be too long and hiring managers, justifiably can’t be bothered reading it. Or it is too short and there is simply not enough information to assess their suitability. Sure, you could argue that it is up to every individual to ensure their CV is just right, but what is right is often a matter of opinion. When I was last looking for a role, I spoke to someone who classified herself as a professional resume writer. She advised me that my CV should be at least 6 pages long and include every job right back to when I was fruit picking as a backpacker. If I was sending that around town…..well I still would be ! Luckily as an experienced recruiter I knew that was rubbish. I also know that having a photo of yourself and listing ‘clubbing’ as your hobby makes you look pretty naff; and saying you are a Collingwood fan will be an automatic rejection for many people !

A ’bad’ CV should not necessarily be an automatic rejection, but understandably it often is. It means potentially suitable candidates are rejected before they get an interview and ultimately the client misses out. This is why I format my CVs before sending them to a client. If you are sending out candidate’s original CVs, or just putting a pretty cover sheet on the front, then I question whether you are doing you client or your candidate any favours.

I take the time to read the CV that is really too long and would probably be discarded. If that person is suitable I will present a more succinct and relevant version to the client. Equally, if there are things that come out of my interview with the candidate that are not on their CV and key to the role, I will add it. I will change a few things around to highlight the most relevant bits. I will put all the CVs in the same format so it is easier for clients to compare candidates. And yes, I will change a spelling mistake because none of us are perfick !

Yes, it is all part of the professional service, looks good, protects privacy and covers ourselves from companies back-dooring our candidates. But there is a more important reason. The bottom line is that it makes it easier for my client and ensures that they don’t miss out on good candidates. Which, after all, is essentially the job of a recruiter.

Luke Collard