You might think of yourself as a pretty skilled recruiter, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve. Upping your recruitment game could be the difference between hiring the candidate you want, or missing out to your competition. That’s why we’re covering the five recruitment skills you need to be successful.
This is of course opinion, and they aren’t the only skills you need because if they were, anyone could win at recruitment – and we both know that’s not how it works. Getting better at anything takes time, but with a helping hand and a couple of pointers to guide you in the right direction, you’ll be upping your game in no time.
Great HR Managers Need These Recruitment Skills
This isn’t an exhaustive list; these are just some of the things we have figured out along the way: the characteristics we admire in people that have done it before us.
Patience – Getting the right people takes time
And breathe. Recruitment can be a very frustrating place. You’ll already know that it can take a lot of time to get the right candidate through the door and onboarded. There’s often several rounds of advertising and interviews, and then a lot of back and forth as offers are negotiated. Just remember that the right candidate is out there, and you will find them, no matter how frustrating it might feel when another offer is declined, or you get a fifth of the applicants the business you’re recruiting for actually wanted.
Collaboration – You’re not an island
Recruitment is all about people. Any recruiter worth their salt actively works on building and strengthening their network because that’s what is going to empower their work. As you’re at the center of people connecting, you’re going to have to work well with others to be successful. But, encouraging and nurturing candidates for roles, or pushing back against a business when they want to make an offer, won’t win an applicant over. Working with others is everything.
Openness To Technology – The best way to grow your network
In today’s world, tech knowledge is essential for recruiters. That means bringing together your recruitment expertise with the ability to use any piece of technology that helps you do your job. That could be an ATS, performance management tools, or platforms like HirePort that increase your network and connect you with the best candidates available – wherever they are.
Expectation Management – Everyone likes to know what to expect
Expectations for candidates and hiring managers will always be high. On the one hand, a candidate probably has an idea of the level of responsibility, pay, and work environment they see themselves achieving in a particular role. On the other hand, hiring managers usually have exacting requirements regarding the knowledge and expertise a candidate must possess in order to be successful. To make sure everyone is on the same page, you need to be able to keep channels open for dialogue that will be relationships between candidates and businesses.
Curiosity – Never stop being interested in people
This one is a truly soft skill, but it needs you to actively focus on it if you want to improve. Being interested in people is a critical part of the recruitment process. If you don’t care about a candidate’s motivations, you’ll struggle to connect them with the right role. If you don’t understand the pressures of a hiring manager or don’t care to ask about them, you’re not going to be able to build that relationship effectively. Always be curious, always ask questions, and always be interested.
While these are just a few of the many skills needed to be a successful recruiter, we hope it’s clarified some of the things you probably already know. No one is perfect, and if there is an opportunity to make improvements and be the best recruiter you can be – you should take them.
Want to take your recruitment game to the next level? Reach out to HirePort now.
