What it Memes to be a Recruiter
09.16.2022 | Blog
Good day, readers!
I often get asked what a recruiter does when I speak with candidates. Of course, the exact answer to that question depends upon what type of recruiter is being asked; however, we all have common roles, functions, and duties regardless of our exact titles or industries. Learning another’s professional lot in life is a great way to learn about other roles and industries that one may otherwise not know so much about. So, I thought it would be a fun idea to discuss some of the common facets about being a recruiter with the most esoteric yet accessible means of communication: memes!
Before moving on, I have a quick note. We are a recruitment agency, meaning that my experience is as a recruiter for positions at various client companies. However, I will try to paint a more generalized picture of what a recruiter’s role is as the middle person in the rigmarole of hiring and employment.
Put very simply, a recruiter is someone who connects a person with an opportunity. Military recruiters offer those who wish to do so an opportunity to get into the armed forces and have all the rights, responsibilities, and benefits that entails. Corporate recruiters work for a company and act as the inlet for many of the opportunities that the particular company has to offer. Agency recruiters, like us here at Bond Consultants, offer many opportunities in more specialized fields or niche markets. Whatever the type, all recruiters connect those who are seeking the next steps in their professional path with potential stepping stones to cross upon. So, what recruiters “do” is anything connected with that goal. We use various means to put out job ads. We advise both sides (jobseekers and prospective hiring entity) by keeping up to date with hiring and employment trends. Sometimes, we even write articles about various issues concerning job searching, employment, and recruiting.
When a client has a position either open or soon to open, they call us recruiting agencies. In fact, many clients give out the same positions to multiple applicable agencies for their roles to get the largest number of resumes as possible. This means that agencies in the same niche are in constant, consistent competition with others for successful business with the same client. When we get a new position, we set into action to fill that role as quickly and efficiently as possible. We contact candidates as soon as we come across their resumes on databases or job posting boards, talk to them about our current openings, connect them with our clients’ job offerings, and hopefully make a placement that’s beneficial to all three parties: jobseeker, hiring company, and agency. We are also very competitive, looking to make first contact with jobseekers to fill our clients’ positions before our competitors.
When recruiters find candidates, we try to make contact with them by various means: phone calls, emails, texts, messages on job posting sites, and even connecting on LinkedIn. In today’s internet age, people are not “on their phones”, at least in the traditional sense. So, recruiters use professional sites, like LinkedIn, to connect with others both within and without their industries to build and expand their networks. This is especially important for connecting with candidates we find through job postings or on resume databases to not only have another way of reaching them for a current or future opening but to also learn more about the market in terms of candidates’ needs. The typical one-to-two-page resume can only show so much about a candidate, but connecting on social media allows recruiters to know more about the jobseeker and their experience/skills.
As a sidenote, networking in all its forms is a critical part of being a recruiter. Especially for a small agency like us, word-of-mouth from the candidates we connect and make placements with is a huge part of the business. Many a recruiter is always open to seeing the resume of anyone they know or anyone who knows anyone they know. The reason for this, of course, is twofold. It is a great feeling to help someone take the first/next step of their professional life. It is also important for our due diligence of getting the resumes of prospective candidates to our clients to get their positions filled.
While recruiters do not tend to blindly send out resumes to hiring parties left and right, we do send many viable candidates as possible. However, “viable” does not mean “perfectly aligned with the opening’s current qualifications”. Many times, we scout out, connect with, and send candidates who are about 60-80% of what the hiring manager is looking for. In some cases, even less if we fill the candidate has potential. No matter what the case, we do try to vie not only for the hiring company’s needs but the candidate’s potential to be the best fit for the company’s future prosperity. For that reason, we actively encourage anyone to apply for your job postings whether or not they feel they are a perfect fit.
Of course, even when a candidate is perfect for an opening...sometimes the hiring parties want to see other candidates to see all of their options. Of course, recruiters understand, and we will continue to send any viable candidates we come across. However, we also understand the needs of the candidates and advise those in charge of hiring about the job market in order to push for quickly filling the position. As with any other middle person position, we have to keep in mind, respect and work with both sides professionally, even when we personally disagree with the decisions being made.
Just as the hiring body does not always make decisions a recruiter would agree with, candidates sometimes do as well. One of the worst decisions a jobseeker can make is ghosting, not returning any attempt at contact, after initially talking to a recruiter. And the worst possible time to ghost is when receiving a job offer after having one or more successful interviews and using the time of everyone involved. Losing interest in a prospective position is simply part of the game when it comes to hiring and employment; however, communicating the loss of interest in a position is a “sooner is better” type of situation. Not only is it the professional thing to do, it is also the respectful thing to do in the interest of not only the job seeker but the recruiter and hiring company as well. In this case, the recruiter will have to talk with the hiring body and explain any possible reasons why the ghosting occurred before continuing to search.
No matter what decisions are made by whomever, no matter how big or little the position is, all a recruiter can do at the end of the day is keep recruiting. It's actually very similar to the situation for job seekers in that regard. There is a lot beyond the recruiter’s control in placing candidates for the hiring party’s openings. Not only whatever the hiring body or job seeker decides to do but also the economy, trends in X industry, and any other force affecting the job market for both sides we are the middle people for. Even in the worst circumstances for business, we still collect resumes, continue networking, manage expectations, and work to create the best possible outcome for each position between hiring body and candidates.
Thus, our meme list concludes. This is by no means an exhaustive scope of the work recruiters do. However, I hope that this gives a better image of the part we play in helping candidates, both green and seasoned, in finding their first/next step along their professional path. Of course, if you are currently looking for that step, please feel free to submit your resume to us, for we may just have something for you.
Thank you so much for reading!