Not another recruiter! I often get asked as a recruiter ‘what makes you stand out’? ‘why are you any different to x companies’ or ‘what can you offer me the others can’t’…
I recently spoke with one of my clients about this topic – what is the USP of a recruitment agency; what really makes a recruiter stand out from another? He said one of the main things was the person who you are directly dealing with, their ‘personality’ and ‘honesty’. Too many recruiters ‘blag’ or ‘say what you think they want to hear’, whereas though the truth may be awkward or not appeasing – it will make them respect you.
I have been in recruitment for 4 years starting out as a fresh faced Marketing Graduate Intern to 5 promotions later a Principal Consultant for the Estate Agency Team and I believe one of the main reasons for my success is my clients. Now don’t get me wrong – I have had some very tricky situations in the past few years with clients and some which I got wrong/ or should have managed in a different way. The following are my tips:
- Don’t be an email recruiter – this has to be one of the biggest recommendations, you are in an awkward situation, someone has cancelled an interview again for the 3rd time this week with a client. Let’s just email – it’s the least awkward way. WRONG. I would not email a client with this kind of news without trying to call them at least 2 times, and when I emailed I would say ‘Can you please call me ASAP’ instead of feeding the news through an email. I have had clients say to me many times where recruiters have gone wrong before was ‘hiding behind emails’ – it looks weak. My clients don’t want that ?
- Empty promises – I can’t tell you the number of times my clients complain about recruiters who have been trying to impress them for ages! Then when they get given the opportunity to work a brief, they take a full qualification and say ‘yes I definitely will be able to get 3 people over to you by Friday’. If this is viable then great – but making unrealistic promises and then not being able to deliver is detrimental to the relationship. Disappointing a client in the first few days of working with them is not a great way to impress! Instead – ‘as soon as I get a suitable candidate for this role I will email them over and then call them to discuss their pros/cons’.
- Meet them! – I think this has been my biggest success with clients, I have met with all my clients and some more than once. I have been to their offices, met their staff – understand who works there and team fit. This is vital in knowing who would suit their roles and it will ‘put a face to a name’. You are no longer a voice at the end of the phone but someone they can relate/ speak to.
If you’re interested in working with a consultant that will go the extra mile and will deliver as promised and is not just ‘another recruiter’ then feel free to get in touch.
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