Every good recruiter should try to put himself in candidate's shoes

Every good recruiter should try to put himself in candidate's shoes

It is no secret that most people looking for job are reluctant to cooperate with recruiters. The question is: Why? Why people prefer to look for a job themselves rather than contacting professionals that would help them to do so. The answer is bad experience with such an agency or distrust towards its employees. Let's be sincere. We rarely meet a person speaking about recruitment agency in superlatives. We usually meet with neutral or negative opinions.

Let's imagine the situation that two candidates were approached by recruiter and they have agreed with an interview. The first one gets a job, he is happy and satisfied, his decision to use experiences of intermediary paid off. The other candidate will not get a job… His first feelings about cooperation will probably not be very positive. As the result of this failure another negative comment is added on the internet, while the first candidate is having fun somewhere with his friends and he is enjoying his new job. No one expects that this cooperation will leave the best impression at candidate who did not get a job, but the reality is that not everything always turns out well. This formula is well-known and some recruitment agencies take it as a fact that must be understood by candidates. But let's put ourselves in shoes of candidate who is looking for a job with this agency and he meets with disincentive phrases, bad communication and disengagement of people who should help him. He will not only quit on similar agencies, but he will also lose time that he could use more efficiently.

A good recruitment agency instead of neglecting a candidate works towards his satisfaction. It knows that in order for a cooperation to be successful it must look on the whole process also with candidate's eyes. If you want him to feel good about a cooperation with you, think about what approach and communication would you appreciate being in his shoes.

I prefer to hear the truth

Yes, the truth is that not everyone will succeed at job interview. It is impossible for a client to employ all proposed candidates. Agency must therefore choose candidates responsibly and contact only those with a real chance to get this job. This method will not guarantee job to every candidate for a given position but there is a difference if four or fifteen candidates fail at job interview. Giving a false hope means wasting both client's and candidate's time.

No one wants to wait

“We will contact you”, words heard by candidate at every step. Long waiting for the answer is frustrating, mainly if savings are running out and bills are not paid by themselves. In this situation no candidate has time to waste. Whether the answer is positive or negative, candidate prefers to hear it immediately. Delaying bad news is a practice that is not working and it is not solving anything. Candidate wants to know where he stands so he can move on. Experienced recruiter builds his trust and he can achieve this only in case he will place emphasis on accelerating the process of job search because for most of candidates the time is luxury that they cannot afford.

It is possible also without stress

Candidates are different and not each of them can communicate as an editor. Personal interview means unpleasant anxiety to some of them. It is in agency's interest when each candidate experiences no stress at job interview and gives his best without being blocked by fear.

Do you want candidate not to forget anything for job interview? Tell him what you need.

There is nothing worse than making a bad first impression at the interview by forgetting something important. However, recruiter is not here to throw a spanner in candidates. If he cannot forget CV, portfolio or other documents, remind him that. You will have all the necessary information at your disposal and candidate will avoid unpleasant situation that can undermine his confidence.

Start interview on time

Do you want candidate not to be late for the interview? Neither you should be late. If he takes responsibility towards this work, he will be definitely on time. Repay him with a same approach. If you leave him to wait, you will show him that you have something more important than he is and you will be the one making a bad first impression.

Break the ice

It is not written that the interview must be serious from the beginning to the end. Do you want candidate to be relaxed, to communicate without fear? Introduce a theme that will lighten the atmosphere for a while. Tell a joke or ask him if he saw the last episode of the famous TV series. Simply do anything that will bring him into comfort mode and facilitate an otherwise stressing situation.

Recruitment agencies are trying to get more clients to use their services, but in first place they must know what the other party is expecting. Their objective is to mediate a job, but not all recruiters are trying to ease this process to candidates and to make it more efficient. Cooperation with agency does not have to mean lengthy and fruitless process, but you have to rely on agency that really cares about what it is doing.