• How did you locate them? If they were easy for you to locate, they’re likely easy for candidates to locate as well. Do they have a strong web presence that clearly showcases their strengths and career openings? Do they have a strong personal brand on LinkedIn? The ideal Recruiter will have a fair balance of both. If their website doesn’t offer enough information and opportunities for candidates to align themselves with the Recruiter, then they’re not likely to obtain resumes as frequently. If they don’t have a strong profile and connection list on LinkedIn they aren’t as likely to be building connections and relationships in the industry, be obtaining regular referrals, and be as current on industry trends.
• Do they have strong sales abilities? In today’s employment market, most industries are experiencing a strong competition for top talent. If the Recruiter can’t sell your company goals, company culture, and career progression to a candidate correctly the first time; you are in great danger of losing the candidate to another opportunity. Not sure about that? Ask them what makes them want to represent your organization, or specifically why they feel a candidate should choose a career with your organization over a specific competitor. If they cannot site specific examples on the fly they likely are not able to provide a candidate with sufficient information to choose a career with your organization over a competitor.
• Are they an active listener? If the Recruiter is more focused on selling their services and experience to you than listening to your needs, you have a problem. Each recruiting experience and client is unique and should be viewed as such. While industry experience and previous accomplishments are important, they should never overshadow learning what your organization’s needs, struggles, and goals are. Without your insight into these things, their recruiting efforts can quickly be wasted on the wrong candidates and recruiting tools. In addition, if they aren’t an active listener with you than they are likely to miss out on equally important information from candidates; resulting in poor matches.
• Are they a “yes” person? If you find a Recruiter agrees with every thing you say and doesn’t offer some suggestions or changes in some areas, they may not be your answer. Because of the range of experiences that Recruiters encounter, they should offer you additional insights to improve your chances of a successful hire. Some examples may be: You are hiring for an HR Generalist with 5+ years of experience but are not willing to hire anyone with a previous title of HR Manager. An experienced Recruiter should encourage you to consider candidates that have held a wide range of titles. They should work with you to identify why you prefer someone without the previous Manager title. Is pay your concern? Are you trying to avoid someone with supervisor experience because this role does not provide that? The Recruiter’s experience should push them to remind you that many smaller businesses may title someone as an HR Manager who may not have supervised others in the HR team and may have a similar pay requirement to your role. The Recruiter’s job is to help you find the right talent for your position, offering suggestions within the process is a part of that job.
• What are their statistics? If they cannot provide you with their average submittal time, average placement rate, and placement success rates; you may want to continue your search. If they aren’t measuring their success and failures, they likely don’t have a focus on process improvement. How many professional athletes don’t know their stats? None. Continue your search for someone who is strives to be the best in the industry and is tracking their success.
• Measure their ability on a position basis, not a contract basis. The right Recruiter to fill your Controller position may not be the best Recruiter to fill your skilled trades positions. If they are asking you to sign an exclusive agreement, you may want to re-consider. A strong Recruiter will be confident in their abilities to present the best candidate to you for your needs, regardless of who else may be working the order. If you are looking to fill a position that is different than the positions that a Recruiter typically handles for you, ask them who they know that specializes in the other lines of work. Many recruiting firms have Recruiters who specialize in a multitude of different positions and industries. Locating another Recruiter within the same organization can save you the leg work of re-educating a new firm on your company expectations and company culture.
• How are their people skills? Chances are if the Recruiter cannot hold or make conversation with you, they aren’t likely to be build rapport with candidates on your behalf either. Are they involved in industry specific associations? How do they meet passive candidates? Where does the largest portion of the placements come from? These are all great conversation starters. If your Recruiter can’t quickly site responses to these questions, they probably are not engaged enough in your niche to quickly find you the right talent.

Finding the right Recruiter to meet your organization’s needs as just as critical as hiring the right internal staff. Identifying someone that takes a genuine interest in your organization’s goals and success is crucial. This individual will give the first impression of your company culture and can ultimately turn a candidate on or off to a future career with your team. Don’t let pricing, location, or contracts dictate who locates your staff, let talent.

Want to learn more about how you can gain access to Trillium’s national network of top level talent? Contact us today! If you are a stand out in your profession and seeking contingent or long term career opportunities, visit our job seekers section for more information!

Trillium, a national leader in staffing and recruitment is a valued staffing partner to over 5,000 companies nationwide. Trillium is privately owned by Oskar René Poch.