Revealing the truths of the recruitment world

Having managed a global team of over 200 technologists, I understand how difficult it can be to find the right technical talent and the frustrations associated with recruitment agencies.

Over the last 6 months, I have realised some of the hard truths around some of the most frequently asked questions.

Question: Why do I get contacted by numerous recruitment agencies about the same job?

Simply because it’s common practice for clients to brief a number of recruitment agencies. From a client’s perspective I can understand why this would be the case- it’s how we’ve been trained; never give it to one supplier- create competition, keep your options open, keep them on their toes… etc.

However, If the recruiter really understands their market, is capable and competent then the client shouldn’t really need to multiple brief.

Question: Why do recruiters approach me for jobs that are totally inappropriate?

Any good recruiter should already know from their databases important information about potential candidates, level of seniority, skills, location preferences and therefore target their searches accordingly. For me, location is the trickiest one as candidate’s preferences do change, so often recruiters have a simple choice- do they speculatively contact candidates who are a good match on everything or not?

These are judgement calls and we try to caveat this type of contact by being upfront with candidates and pointing out ‘that this might not be your ideal location, but we wanted to run it by you just in case’. We recently upset some Senior Technologists for a role in the Midlands who were based in London as we didn’t make this clear.

Question: Why does the search and interview process take so long?

This is hugely dependent on the client’s internal hiring process. Some clients have a very simple process while others are more complex. There will always be different processes, but the recruiter should explain the process to the candidate at the start. The most crucial point here for me, is that the client needs to understand that the recruitment process is really the first impression created with the candidate. If the process is slow, cumbersome or decisions are not being made, it will put off good candidates.

The process can be very fast, we have recently completed the whole recruitment process from initial brief to job offer in 5 days!

Question: Why do recruiters never come back to me?

Firstly, there’s no excuse for poor recruiters. However, assuming that the recruiter is half decent, it’s often the case that the recruiter is chasing the client for feedback. The client will often have their internal HR team involved, who then need to brief the hiring manager, who then have a meeting, who then could be travelling and so on…

However, the recruiter should always update the candidate throughout the whole recruitment process and if there’s no update because they’re waiting for the client then that still needs to be communicated. Sounds obvious but as we all know effective communication requires effort.

Question: Is the recruiter working on my behalf or the clients; what value do they bring?

I hate to say it, but it’s the answer you would expect me to say, recruiters should be working for both. The recruiter’s job is to really understand the client and the candidate’s needs; there should be no surprises for either party during the process. The reason recruiters ask probing and sometimes personal questions is not to get you on the cheap as some of you may think, but to build a picture of what you’re about, is the role a good fit, how committed is the candidate, are there any upfront issues that may need to be flagged such as flexible working, start dates, contracts, salary expectations, understanding total packages and what’s important ..etc. Managing expectations on both sides and helping with salary negotiations are often not straightforward…

In summary, after 6 months, I am starting to learn about the different perspectives from the client, the recruiter and the candidate. The exciting part for me is that all the solutions are there, and  trying to deliver the best in class service for technical recruitment is challenging but fun. We’re not perfect by any means but we are sincere in our intent.

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