How to Ensure Your Recruiter finds the Best Talent

By Fred Clayton, CEO, Berkhemer Clayton, Inc.

You are busy and want to rely upon your people to bring you quality candidates for important management openings or your team, but aren’t sure what you will see when the list of finalists for interviews lands on your desk.

Here are a few simple tips to dramatically increase the odds that you will have excellent candidates to consider:

1)  At the outset, invite your in-house recruiter to meet with you for 15-30 minutes–before you give the go-ahead to find candidates.  Recruiters are accustomed to being given a job description and requirements but not much in terms of goals for the new hire.  That is a mistake.  Take a few minutes, whether it is a new position, or a replacement, to explain why the role exists and what the person you hire must accomplish over and above the day-to-day to be considered a high performer.  Taking time to share your vision for this new manager’s role will pay dividends.  Your recruiter will be better informed about the job requirements and will be armed with a compelling story to attract ambitious passive candidates who are not necessarily looking for a job.

2)  Ten days into the search, invite your recruiter back to briefly report on progress and provide feedback from their conversations with prospective candidates.  Ask to see the very best resume found so far–only one–so you can talk it through.  And ask why this person tops the list.  A deeper discussion of what you are looking for, and what you aren’t, will ensue.  This calibration will help immensely in vetting additional candidates and subsequent feedback from “the market” may cause you to make some crucial adjustments to the requirements, compensation, etc.

During this touch-base meeting at the 10-day mark, share your three or four best interview questions–the ones that you have learned give you the greatest insight into a person and strongly influence your “go/no-go” decision about her candidacy.  Have your recruiter pose those questions to candidates during phone and/or in-person interviews and share the responses of those recommended as finalists. This will help you prioritize the  best of candidates presented to you for consideration and prepare for those few interviews you decide to schedule.

3)  Bear in mind and respect that each of the very good candidates you invite in for interviews will also be interviewing you.  It is a two-way street–particularly with high performers. So, once you have posed your questions, are satisfied that you have a high-quality person before you, and laid out a compelling story to attract him/her to your company and this position, then just listen.  Patiently answer any and all questions they have and be candid with your answers.  Being a great listener is at least as important as being a strong advocate and recruiter to convince a great candidate to come on board.