If you read our previous blog post, which offered insights from a candidate’s perspective, we addressed the questions: When, Who, and How Many. In this article, we’ll shift the focus to explore Why, Who, and How Many.
Why should I call?
There are many reasons for an employer to call a recruiter, but almost every search falls into one or more of the following:
1. Planning for Future Hiring Needs
a. If you anticipate growth or turnover in the coming months, engaging a recruiter early allows them to build a talent pipeline.
b. Recruiters can help with workforce planning and market insights.
2. When a Position Becomes Hard to Fill
a. If you’ve posted a job and aren’t receiving quality candidates, a recruiter can effectively expand your reach.
3. Expanding or Scaling Quickly
a. Rapid hiring due to business growth or new projects can overwhelm internal teams.
b. A recruiter can help manage volume hiring efficiently.
4. Confidential Hiring is Needed
a. If you’re replacing an underperforming employee discreetly, a recruiter ensures confidentiality.
5. Strategic Hiring or the Desire to Hire the Best Available
a. For specialized or executive roles, recruiters have access to and target passive candidates who aren’t actively job searching.
b. Benchmarking active candidates against passive candidates helps you gain a comprehensive view of the entire talent pool, ensuring you can make the best possible hire based on available options.
6. When You Need Market Insights or Salary Benchmarks
a. Recruiters provide industry trends, salary expectations, and hiring best practices.
b. They can advise on job descriptions and candidate expectations.
7. When You Need Help Expressing the Opportunity or Your Culture/Brand
a. Newer company with limited employment history.
b. Existing company with a poor digital reputation trying to turn this around.
c. Planning for retirements and looking to hire future leaders early in their career.
Who should I call?
If you don’t have an existing relationship with a recruiter, ask your network for a referral. It is most common for recruiters to be separated into the following categories:
- Contract: Includes temporary projects, term contracts and temp to hire. These recruiters generally work with the unemployed candidate markets, and their relationships with hiring managers can vary from very little to complete exclusivity.
- Direct Hire Contingent: Work on direct hire roles for a fee paid on success only. Roles can vary from entry level to C-level. Relationships with hiring managers can vary from very little to complete exclusivity.
- Direct Hire Retained: Work on direct hire roles for a fee paid up front and guaranteed. Roles are generally at upper management and/or considered key personnel. Relationships with hiring managers are generally considered exclusive.
Regardless of the category, most recruiters tend to focus on specific skill sets. There are headhunters specialized in Finance/Accounting, IT/Technical, Engineering, and many other fields. So, why does this matter? Many recruiters, myself included, have firsthand experience in these industries before transitioning into recruiting. This background allows us to easily connect with hiring managers and truly understand their needs, making it easier for us to identify the right fit.
How many recruiters should I call?
The real answer here is “ONE”.
When a recruiter truly understands the role’s requirements and the talent market, builds trust in the relationship, and fosters open communication between both the hiring team and the recruitment team, only one recruiter is needed to ensure success.
While pitting two contingent recruiters against each other (with or without full knowledge of the situation) can sometimes work, it often encourages “win at all costs” behavior. Being transparent from the start keeps the relationship honest, allowing each party to make informed decisions. Most of us recruiters are highly competitive and are therefore eager to take on challenges. However, creating too much competition in an already high-stakes, competitive environment can lead to unethical practices and decisions.
What do these questions all boil down to? TRUST.
Trust between both the recruiter and client is essential to finding the best hire.
If you trust the recruiter you’re working with, it’s important to give them the information, motivation, and commitment they need to succeed. Headhunters can tell when they’re being “used,” and their time is more efficiently spent with clients who are fully invested in the process. If you inform your contingent recruiter, from the start, that there’s competition with another recruiter, then they can decide if the situation is worth the effort and keep the relationship honest. But if you’re working with another recruiter and don’t mention it upfront or at all, it creates unnecessary friction that can affect the relationship and effort.
The central reason for engaging multiple recruiting agencies is when you have high-volume hiring needs for similar skill sets. For example, if you need to hire 10, 15, or more candidates with the same skills within a specific geographical area, working with multiple recruiters can help meet those volume targets faster.
Once you’ve identified the type of recruiter and area of expertise needed, it’s time to choose one (or more) recruiters. Open communication between the hiring manager and recruiter is key to a successful partnership. Remember, our relationships with clients are our lifeline, so if you’re connecting with multiple recruiters, be aware that this can dilute the effectiveness of the process.
Keep in mind that the recruiting landscape is becoming more competitive and accessible, which can sometimes lead to misleading candidates about roles or compensation. It’s crucial to maintain transparency and honesty to avoid blurring ethical lines. To learn more about integrity in the recruiting industry, stay tuned for our next article. We’ll delve into the importance of integrity in recruiting, sharing real-life examples of unethical recruiters that both clients and candidates should watch out for.
