How Filling Jobs Ruins Your Free Time

“We don’t need to pay for a recruiter.” If you’re a hiring manager, you’ve either thought or said this. It’s the most common objection in the hiring process. In fact, there are obvious reasons for this thought… “We can do it ourselves at less cost,” “We can find someone through our network,” “We have our HR and/or recruiting team,” and the list goes on.

Then a reality check sets in. How did the process go last time? How long did it take? How much of your time was consumed or wasted?

You are the hiring manager in need of special talent… 

Can you answer these questions? – Where am I going to advertise for the talent I need? Do I have the time to wade through 500 resumes of non-qualified applicants? Do I have the time to prescreen applicants to a short list of those I’d like to phone interview? Can I convince my HR team to contact our competitor’s employees to see if they can attract the experience I’m looking for?

Who is going to filter the tsunami of resumes? 

Resumes rack up in the inbox. You find time to open them, scan over names, locations, company names, and titles held, calculate their job tenure per role, analyze their job duties, and wonder why they’re looking to leave their position. Does the applicant’s resume provide enough detail without being too lengthy?

How many resumes can you review in an hour? 30, 40? How long will going through 500 or more take you? You only talk to applicants who have the experience you need at the end of a long day.

Who is going to conduct the initial discussion with applicants? 

Say that a resume passed the initial ‘first-impression’ review. Now a phone call is warranted to ensure the applicant is still interested, meets the qualifications they’re promising, wants to work in the environment you have to offer, etc. How many calls does it take to secure the list of applicants for the initial discussion? How do you gauge finding out if there’s a personality connection or ability to work on your team? Let’s face it… you desire a short list of qualified applicants who have been vetted and meet your role.

Why consider a recruiter? 

Recruiters are specialized in what they do. Sure, HR personnel can hire employees, but can they find the ones you want in a short period? Most recruiters are subject matter experts at finding talent, vetting the list down, and presenting you with a short list of skilled applicants that they have prescreened so your time isn’t wasted. Moreover, with permanent placement recruiting, this is a position that will canvas your competitors, screen resumes, filter out the unqualified, and ask the right questions to confirm the applicant will fit.

Consider that open position remaining open for months, the extra workflow falling upon your other employees or even you. Your team is overworking themselves to the point of quitting while you are losing customers because they are grumbling about the time it takes you to respond. Count how many months you’ve gone with that “last position” unfilled and multiply it by the salary of the person you hired. In fact, that amount very often would offset the cost of using a recruiter. Chances are you didn’t save money or your time by not hiring a recruiter.

How does a recruiter help? 

Recruiters know job market trends and discuss salary expectations with candidates. They can foresee why some offers would go awry and navigate a good offer across the finish line. For example, they can mediate a salary discussion that doesn’t waste anyone’s time (offering $20K less than the applicant is making or $30K more than the hiring company can pay.) Applicants are also more inclined to share their reservations and concerns about the position with a recruiter. i.e. ‘The hiring manager said XYZ in the interview, and I don’t know how to interpret it.’ ‘Their medical benefits are $500+ more per month for my family.’ Or, ‘This is my #1 choice, but I have two other potential job offers to come and I can’t wait for them to make a decision next week.’

How to pick a recruiter? 

Determine your needs first. Does the recruiter have the resources to staff for your urgent need for a new team/dept? Can they align a candidate’s career aspirations with the job opportunity you have? Do you need help with finding experienced consultants on a short-term basis to get the project started? Do you need a candidate with good job tenure instead of the job-hopper leaving you in 6 months?

Recommendations of using a recruiter efficiently.

Provide as much about the position and job/work culture as possible. Recruiters are paid to execute success and provide you with a qualified candidate that you hire. For instance, if you tell the recruiter to find you a Senior Software Developer with 5 years of experience, you’ll receive a large list of applicants. But suppose you actually wish this Senior Developer to be a solid contributor within the first 90 days to do XYZ specifically, well. In that case, that will generate an entirely different search and provide a different group of candidates, getting you closer to what you want.

In closing…

Connections and relationships are the meat and potatoes of the recruiting industry. Recruiters aim to have a healthy working partnership with companies so they can perform efficiently and help you achieve your organizational goals.

Hopefully, this article provides some valuable insight into our recruiting world. Selfishly, I want to be the recruiter for your hiring needs, but I can also assist if you’re looking for recruiting/hiring consulting advice. Either way, I’m a message away. Connect with me on LinkedIn and send a hello 🙂