{"id":5285,"date":"2016-04-18T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2016-04-18T16:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/recruitloop.wpengine.com\/?p=5285"},"modified":"2019-01-15T00:06:01","modified_gmt":"2019-01-15T08:06:01","slug":"recruiter-tips-know-what-your-clients-are-really-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/employer\/recruiter-tips-know-what-your-clients-are-really-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Ways Recruitment Consultants Piss Off Their Clients"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note:<\/b>\u00a0This post is by\u00a0Paul Slezak, Cofounder and CEO of\u00a0RecruitLoop<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the World\u2019s largest marketplace of expert\u00a0Recruiters\u00a0and\u00a0Sourcers\u00a0available on-demand.<\/i><\/p>\n

I remember writing\u00a0an open letter to all hiring managers<\/a>\u00a0a few years ago. At the time\u00a0I wrote it on behalf of all recruiters since I felt compelled to share some of my thoughts.<\/p>\n

Over the last few weeks I have run a series of webinars\u00a0for the RCSA in Australia.\u00a0The topic of one of them was\u00a0“Taking the Ownership Back in the Recruitment Process<\/em>“. Part of my preparation for that particular\u00a0session\u00a0involved seeking feedback from hiring managers around their experiences with external recruiters – especially around the idea of adding value and being a trusted advisor. I was also interested in learning about what employers found most frustrating about working with an external recruitment consultant.<\/p>\n

I thought I would share a few of the more common responses I received \u2026 opinions which I am pretty sure would resonate with employers everywhere (not just in Australia).<\/p>\n

Realistically this is a snapshot of what hiring managers are thinking about recruiters right now. And having been in the recruitment game for 20+ years now, unfortunately I can say that not much has changed in that time.<\/p>\n

If you are recruitment consultant reading this post, you may want to put yourself in your clients’\u00a0shoes for a moment.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Not adding value beyond a ‘bum on a seat’<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s face it \u2026 there are some employers out there paying some pretty big fees<\/a> to recruiters.<\/p>\n

What are you really<\/em> offering your clients? A candidate with a pulse that can start on Monday? A bum on a seat? Or are you a true recruitment consultant \u2026 providing your clients with a solution to a problem or pain point they might be experiencing?<\/p>\n

How are you adding value to your clients? Are you thinking innovatively? Are you thinking creatively? Are you thinking outside the box? Are you providing them with market insights that might help them formulate their decision?<\/p>\n

Do you think for<\/em> your clients or do you just think about<\/em> them? In other words are you focused purely on the fee and potential bonus coming your way? I really hope that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n

Are your KPIs intrinsically linked to what your organisation requires or what your clients might actually need?<\/p>\n

I have asked a string of pretty important questions here \u2026 plenty of food for thought. But just remember these days hiring managers have access to the same tools you do<\/a>. So given the potential fees at stake, what are you providing your clients that they wouldn\u2019t be able to do themselves?<\/p>\n

2. Disappearing completely once the invoice has been paid<\/h2>\n

When speaking to one particular hiring manager, she said, “Once I paid their invoice, I clearly fell off their radar<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately we know that many employers think we just throw an ad up on a job board, maybe spend a few minutes scanning the database, flick a few r\u00e9sumes their way, hope for the best, and then send them an invoice for $20,000.<\/p>\n

Once the bill is paid, many recruiters will then keep in contact with their candidates<\/em> (all the while praying that they will stick it out past their probation \u2026 ahem<\/em> \u2026 guarantee period) and completely forget about the client<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Who paid your invoice again?<\/p>\n

There are a few common reasons for this. Firstly some recruiters are scared that speaking to the client might open up a can of worms. But there are also a few recruiters out there living the life of the \u2018one hit wonder\u2019 \u2013 putting a huge effort into one placement with one employer and then quickly moving on to the next victim.<\/p>\n

Spend $20,000 on a new car and you will receive offers of free service, extended warranty, free car washing for a year, etc.<\/p>\n

Spend even $10,000 on a plane ticket and you will quite literally be given first class treatment all the way \u2026 flat beds, your own designer menu, private shower, and perhaps even a butler in your own suite!<\/p>\n

So why, when someone has paid you $20,000 for finding them a new team member, are they often so quickly forgotten about?<\/p>\n

Showing your appreciation and keeping in regular contact can go a long way. Heaven forbid when you check in with them (for no other reason than to show them you care!) they may even talk to you about a new opportunity!<\/p>\n

3. Overselling themselves and not listening to what the customer wants<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the most important lessons I have shared with literally thousands of recruiters over the years is that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason!<\/p>\n

This has always been a pet peeve of hiring managers (and candidates too actually!) \u2026 recruiters who just name drop, talk about what other companies they have recruited for, what types of candidates they\u2019ve placed, (and basically how good they are) rather than listening to their clients\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n

In any client interaction, as recruiters we should be listening twice as much as we speak<\/a>. Whether it\u2019s the first meeting, a conversation presenting a shortlist, or even discussing a formal offer \u2026 listen to what your client wants. You might just learn something!<\/p>\n

Nobody wants a client who remembers you for having spent more time talking about how wonderful you are than finding out what the client was actually looking for.<\/p>\n

4. Knowing nothing about their client<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I\u2019m certainly not suggesting that you have to meet up with every client in person<\/em> and become their bestie. After all RecruitLoop was designed specifically to allow independent recruiters to work virtually with all their clients.<\/p>\n

But a recruiter should never represent a candidate for a role where they haven\u2019t even spoken to the hiring manager \u2026 and sadly this happens a lot.<\/p>\n

I recently heard of a scenario where a recruiter briefed a candidate on a potential opportunity and sent the candidate across for an interview. Later, when the recruiter spoke to the candidate, he asked, \u201cSo you met with Jacky \u2026 do you think you\u2019d be able to work with her?<\/em>\u201d \u2026 to which the candidate replied \u201cYes I could definitely work with Jacky. But Jacky\u2019s a guy<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

How well do you really<\/em> know your clients? If you receive an automated \u2018out of office\u2019 reply to an email letting you know that your client is on annual leave, do you know where they\u2019ve gone? Did you even know they were going away?<\/p>\n

Sorry I just thought you said you had a great working relationship with all your clients \u2026 My mistake.<\/em><\/p>\n

Meeting face to face (if possible), or at least having a phone or Skype call with a hiring manager before taking on any brief will make everyone\u2019s life so much easier.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Submitting\u00a0profiles of candidates who don\u2019t even meet the brief<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Again this comes back to the question of whether you operate by throwing mud (or some other dark stuff) at a wall hoping that something will stick? Or whether you know what your client wants, you\u2019ve taken a qualified brief, and you provide them a carefully hand picked shortlist?<\/p>\n

Have you ever been out to dinner at a restaurant where the waiter has brought you the wrong meal? How did you react? Last week I saw a customer at a caf\u00e9 literally freak out because the barista had got his coffee order wrong (\u2018invoice\u2019 value? Approx. $4.00!)<\/p>\n

So why (or perhaps it should be \u2018how\u2019) do recruiters submit CVs and profiles of candidates that aren\u2019t even close to what the client ordered and then not expect to get a bad name?<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Bribing clients with tacky gifts to cover up\u00a0the lack of candidates<\/strong><\/h2>\n

During my research for the webinar, one hiring manager I spoke to said, “I don’t want wine or chocolates. I just want the best candidates<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

When I heard that, I had a flashback to when a client of mine said something similar to me many years ago when I delivered her a Christmas gift.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need your Christmas pudding! I\u2019m just happy for you to find me the best talent and keep filling my jobs.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

At least she was honest and I knew where I stood.<\/p>\n

Hiring managers don\u2019t want the \u2018bullsh*t bribes\u2019 (a phrase another one of my clients once used). They are not going to ask you to help them fill a key role simply because you sent them a box of chocolates or took them to a football game. They will brief you on a key role if you have proven yourself in the past by finding them candidates who meet their brief and stick around beyond the guarantee period.<\/p>\n

Harsh but true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I thought I would share a few of the more common responses I received from a recent survey I conducted with hiring managers \u2026 a snapshot of what they are actually thinking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[66,21,74],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n6 Ways Recruitment Consultants Piss Off Their Clients<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Realistically this is a snapshot of what hiring managers are thinking about recruitment consultants right now.\u00a0\" \/>\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\/recruiter-tips-know-what-your-clients-are-really-thinking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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