2 questions I always get that I should never get

We should all be doing at least the bare minimum…

There’s 2 common questions during intro client calls that make me worry about the recruiting industry. Both are follow ups to the questions “what’s your process?”

It plays out like this: I give a lengthy, hopefully not tldr summary on how we do things. 

Here’s the short short version:

Intake calls (for every role) do 3 primary things:

1. Collab with the client to build an Ideal Candidate Profile.

2. Nail down the interview process (and make suggestions if it’s a mess.)

3. Learn their ‘pitch’ so we use the same messaging they do. Zero disconnect.

Sourcing by and all means necessary:

Use that ICP to proactively target via Sourcewell (our home grown platform). Our database. Referrals from our network. LinkedIn and other social. Niche community & networking groups. Maybe job boards or targeted ads depending on the search. Etc. You get it.

Outreach, vetting & presentation:

1:1 convos with everyone. Verify fit & interest in the company. Get the process started. Set regular live update cadence. Adjust as needed. Fill the role.

Lots more but you get the picture.

Here’s where I can’t believe my ears. I get 1 of these on the majority of new calls:

????1. “So you’re talking to the candidates before you send them?”

????2. “You’re going after people and not just posting ads?”

These are not dumb questions (not at all the point of this post). But I do have to keep my face from going blank. Then answer either “yes we vet everyone” or “absolutely, I guess you could call us headhunters…”

Point being: who the hell works in recruiting and ISN’T doing these things?

This is all fundamental, Recruiting 101, not-even-pretending-to-do-your-job-if-you-skip-it stuff.

Yet I get them WAY too often for there to be only a handful of places that don’t do the bare minimum.

What are y’all doing? ????

James Hornick

Partner at Hirewell. #3 Ranked Sarcastic Commenter on LinkedIn.