{"id":5276,"date":"2014-08-07T08:20:38","date_gmt":"2014-08-07T15:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.wpengine.com\/?p=5276"},"modified":"2023-05-15T10:37:16","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T17:37:16","slug":"an-open-letter-to-hiring-managers-on-behalf-of-all-recruiters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/an-open-letter-to-hiring-managers-on-behalf-of-all-recruiters\/","title":{"rendered":"An Open Letter To Hiring Managers \u2026 On Behalf Of All Recruiters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mr Client,<\/p>\n

I apologise in advance for the somewhat generic greeting, but it\u2019s been ingrained in me from way back when I first got into recruitment.<\/p>\n

I still remember all the role-plays and all the training manuals. Every scenario seemed to involve an interaction with \u201cMr Client<\/em>\u201d. Hopefully they\u2019ve all been updated by now to include just as many interactions with \u201cMs Client<\/em>\u201d too.<\/p>\n

Please allow me to start again \u2026<\/p>\n

Mr \/ Ms Client,<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been in this game for a long time. So on behalf of my fellow recruiters (past, present and future), after some recent interactions with a few of our own clients on both sides of the Pacific, I feel compelled to share a few thoughts.<\/p>\n

I just hope that in reading this letter you\u2019ll realise that we really can<\/em> make your life easier \u2026 as long as you\u2019re willing to partner<\/em> with us, and not lure us in and then forget about us. Or worse \u2026 promise us the world before stabbing us in the back.<\/p>\n

It hurts \u2026<\/p>\n

What I am really trying to say is:<\/p>\n

We want to work with<\/em> you<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve heard this one over and over again: \u201cBut it\u2019s so damn hard working with a recruiter!<\/em>\u201d To be honest it\u2019s probably because you think we\u2019re working against you! Trust me we are not (all) trying to rip you off.<\/p>\n

Believe it or not, many of us<\/a> won\u2019t manipulate you into taking someone on who isn\u2019t right for you; or convincing you to pay someone more than they deserve just so we can earn a higher commission.<\/p>\n

We actually want to find you the best possible candidate. We\u2019re on your side. We just want to let you get on with what you do best, while we get on with what we love to do \u2026 and do what we do best.<\/p>\n

I beg your pardon? You can\u2019t<\/em> say that!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Bernadette recently wrote a great piece<\/a> about the problem with stereotyping during the recruitment process.<\/p>\n

One of our clients clearly did not read that post since when he briefed us just last week he said something so outrageously discriminatory to one of our team members that when I heard about it, I thought I\u2019d been transported back to an era long<\/em> ago \u2026 to the time of To Kill a Mockingbird<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So please just be mindful of anti discrimination legislation. Even if you tell us not to bother sharing the details with you of anyone [insert sex, age, religion, skin colour, etc] we actually won\u2019t listen to you. Actually we probably won\u2019t want to work with you anyway \u2026 so this was more of a heads up!<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not<\/em> mind readers \u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We might be good \u2026 but we\u2019re not that<\/em> good. So when we say we need to meet with you (or at least speak to you) to get a better understanding of what you\u2019re looking for, there\u2019s a reason for it.<\/p>\n

If we don\u2019t get to know you and your business properly, what will end up happening is that you won\u2019t like anyone we send you (and that\u2019s when all the complaining starts \u2026 and that\u2019s how we end up getting a bad rap).<\/p>\n

Nobody knows your business better than you do. And if you want us to help you grow your team, you\u2019ll have to share some of the information in your head with us.<\/p>\n

Every company is different.<\/p>\n

So even if we\u2019ve recruited a hundred [insert position title] candidates for other organisations in the past, the person you\u2019re looking for will be different. Spending some time with us up front will prevent a lot of time wasted later.<\/p>\n

Are you serious?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve mentioned this story<\/a> before, but it\u2019s appropriate to share it again.<\/p>\n

I will never forget on one particular occasion I was sitting with the General Manager of an organisation, when she looked me straight in the eye and said something that really took me by surprise. \u201cActually, Paul. More than anything, it\u2019s crucial that you find me a Scorpio. We need a bit more bite around here<\/em>\u201d. I thought she was joking but she was being completely serious.<\/p>\n

I mentioned above that we\u2019re not mind readers. But we are not astrologers either! If you want a recruiter to help you find your diamond in the rough then we really need to be working to a professional brief. Please \u2026 no mumbo jumbo.<\/p>\n

If for whatever reason you happen to have your own \u2018alternative\u2019 hiring criteria (like recruiting based on star signs), then please don’t waste our time.<\/p>\n

Rather when you find yourself needing to bring someone new into your team, you may just want to consider running your own an ad along the lines of: \u201cScorpio required to add bite to a team of obsessive Virgos while reporting to a dynamic Piscean<\/em>\u201d! Good luck with that one!<\/p>\n

This is not<\/em> a job description!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I\u2019m not a yes person. So if you asked me to find you a [insert position title] for your business and then said \u201cCome on, Paul. Surely you know what I\u2019m looking for<\/em>\u201d, you know what? I wouldn\u2019t even think about your role for a second. I need a job proper job description. And you know what else? If you scribbled a few bullet points on to a Post-it Note and gave it to me, I still wouldn\u2019t even consider working on your brief.<\/p>\n

I loved Jenn\u2019s recent reference<\/a> to job descriptions being \u2018lethal weapons\u2019 since often they can bore a candidate (not to mention us recruiters!) to death. Contrary to popular belief, we aren\u2019t just here to put a bum on a seat.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen thousands of position descriptions and could help you put one together. Here\u2019s a hint. If you don\u2019t have a position description, or if the idea of creating one is in the \u2018too hard basket\u2019, just ask!<\/p>\n

Do I really<\/em> need to define \u2018exclusivity\u2019?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s pretty offensive when you tell us you haven\u2019t briefed (or won\u2019t be briefing) any other recruiters but then after we provide you some amazing candidates, you go ahead and tell us that you\u2019ve hired someone through another recruiter (one of our competitors).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a slap in the face (or the \u2018stab in the back\u2019 I referred to earlier).<\/p>\n

We\u2019d rather know the lay of the land from the outset.<\/p>\n

How would you like it if we told you our perfect candidate wasn\u2019t looking at any other opportunities? You met them; you loved them; your team loved them; you wanted to make them an offer \u2026 Then \u2026 \u201cWoops \u2026 sorry \u2026 we\u2019ve actually just placed them with one of your competitors<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ouch. Right? As my 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Porter used to say \u2026 \u2018honesty is the best policy<\/em>\u2019.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my number. So call me \u2026 Maybe<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If we wanted to work on the case of the disappearing client, we\u2019d reach out to David Copperfield for some handy hints.<\/p>\n

Working with a recruiter is a two-way street.<\/p>\n

We send you profiles and r\u00e9sumes, we organise interviews, and you meet with our candidates.<\/p>\n

All along the candidates are craving feedback \u2026 a quick update \u2026 eager to hear about potential next steps.<\/p>\n

If we don\u2019t keep them updated, their only thought is that we<\/em> have forgotten about them (or actually that we don\u2019t even care about them). Never once do they think you<\/em> haven\u2019t been able to come back to us<\/em> with feedback.<\/p>\n

So please \u2026 if we send through a handful of r\u00e9sumes, please call us (or at least email us) with your initial thoughts. If you interview one of our candidates, please don\u2019t just delete and ignore those voicemails that we leave you over the next 24 hours asking for your feedback. Please call us to discuss how the interviews went.<\/p>\n

We just want to keep your candidates in the loop.<\/p>\n

I guess that\u2019s it in a nutshell.<\/p>\n

Yours truly,<\/p>\n

All<\/em> Recruiters Out There<\/p>\n

PS \u2026 Did I mention that we all want to work with<\/em> you? Really we do!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On behalf of my fellow recruiters, I feel compelled to share my thoughts to help employers realise that we really can make life easier \u2026 if you\u2019re willing to partner with us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[73],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAn Open Letter To Hiring Managers \u2026 On Behalf Of All Recruiters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On behalf of my fellow recruiters, I feel compelled to share my thoughts to help employers realise that we really can make your life easier.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/an-open-letter-to-hiring-managers-on-behalf-of-all-recruiters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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