It is undeniable that in 2020 there are so many options when it comes to staffing. A line manager has a vacancy and in some cases he will jump on linked in himself and see who comes up on the market. Or maybe the company has a talent acquisition team that sends out in mails and emails to prospective candidates. We see the multi pronged approach often; an initial posting on linked in and then multiple job boards that are complimented by the added push of an internal recruitment team sending repeat in mails to prospective candidates. Undoubtedly, this does work some of the time. The burning question is, despite all these options, are companies interviewing the best candidates on the market? When does it really make sense to partner with an external Recruiter, if at all?
As a Recruiter with more than 20 years of experience in Pharma and Biotech in Canada I have made hundreds of placements. I have also had the luxury of witnessing from a bird’s eye view, other hires take place. Hires where I have known both the hiring manager and the candidate that has been hired. Some of those pivotal hires have left me scratching my head and asking, why are they missing the mark? A well networked Recruiter covering a niche area will often know exactly who the top three candidates are in their area of expertise, at any given time. Being a third party influencer to the candidate can be a real advantage in tipping the scales in the favor of one offer being accepted over another. Let’s face it. It is a candidate’s market out there. Many job boards, including linked in will advertise a role and have a click option that will reroute that star candidate away from your opportunity and to the 10 to 20 other “similar jobs” that might be of interest. So, yes, hiring managers are getting a voluminous response through the multi-pronged approach but they are also opening a door to a flood of competitive offers by relying on this approach.
Let’s talk about when it does make sense to use an external Recruiter.
· When time means money. Smaller to medium sized companies that have a number of time sensitive mandates can really benefit from an attentive search firm making their mandate priority one. A smaller HR team can often be over loaded with tasks over and above recruitment making it difficult to fill the role in a timely fashion.
· When you need to get noticed because your company name is not a household word. A Recruiter can be like a public relations team by vocalizing a small to medium sized company’s brand vision and being an advocate for your message /value proposition.
· When offers are falling flat. A good Recruiter will find out what is really important to a candidate. Often companies will want to make an offer to a candidate and think very old school about how to entice them, mainly money and compensation. Often these are not deciding factors, especially with millennials. A good recruiter will uncover what that candidate holds dear. As a third party influencer, a Recruiter’s relationship with the candidate can help a company avoid last minute surprises, like multiple offers, tire kickers or when a candidate’s personal situation has changed.
· When you are looking for that grain of sand in the desert. For larger companies, they may have an ocean of applicants for your posted roles but they are often not the applicants you want to interview. Time and efficiency becomes an issue. If you are working with a well networked search firm they won’t bother with job boards because they live in this space and they have the contacts and relationships with the candidates that fit the mandate.
Happy recruiting!
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