Why Be a Good Steward of Candidates?

We have all been through our fair share of horrible experiences with recruiters.  I have heard from numerous sources about their unpleasant memories of dealing with recruiters.  I have heard about experiences where the recruiters would never following up, presented them opportunities that absolutely did not match their skill set, didn’t have knowledge about the project nor the client, and threatening them with unnecessary calls to urge them to take a job that they did not feel comfortable about. Unhappy candidates come to the conclusion that the recruiters have only one goal in mind, which is to land them a job so that they can get paid.  Many IT professionals are getting bombarded with calls and emails, but how often do any of these recruiters take the time to just talk and get to know them?  Rather than living up to those stereotypes, do something about it!!  One of the most powerful recruitment tactics is to be a good steward of your candidates. Be their guide!  It gives you the opportunity to learn more about your candidate and build trust, which will ultimately facilitate them finding their dream job.

Most professionals juggle a busy schedule and rarely find themselves talking about what they do and what they enjoy about their job with anyone aside from their coworkers or family members.  We can all agree that we love discussing what we enjoy about our job.  Spending time with a candidate, talking on the phone and engaging in the conversation are the initial stage in the recruitment process.  This is a great opportunity to learn about their characteristics, likes/dislikes, and what they would like to do in the next step of their career.  Also building that rapport with your candidate, whether you share that commonality in sports, school, economy, family, etc, enables them to build more trust in you. 

During my tenure at Enterprise Rent A Car, I learned that in sales, customer service is the way of life.  The founder Jack Taylor says, “Take care of your customers and the profits will follow.”  I learned that people tend to buy from the people whom they trust.  From a recruiter standpoint, it is wise to learn a lot from our candidates - understand what types of environment they like to work in and learn about their hot buttons.   So whenever an opportunity arises, you can always reach back out to them, and guide them to their next step of their career.

My success here at eHire primarily comes from this method.  I have received so many referrals from established relationships, since I introduced them to this innovative side of recruitment.  I look at it as a passive approach to recruiting.   I am not saying that I have a 100% success rate in job placements, but I can guarantee you that a majority of professionals had a pleasant experience working with me since I have maintained a good relationship with them.