10 ways to improve efficiency as a recruiter to get ahead

Attention recruiters—as the folks who are at the front lines for ensuring that companies and organizations are staffed with the best and brightest employees available, your jobs are critical to their success. LinkedIn published an article that provided compelling reasons why recruiters today are key to organizations: “Now, in today’s economic environment and marketplace, recruiters are more important than ever, especially for those companies that are able to find and secure the services of an experienced search firm with an extensive track record of success.” The author reasons that superstar candidates can be difficult to find and court, as they usually receive multiple offers from top-level organizations and often need to be wooed and properly recruited in order to get them to seriously consider joining an organization. The Balance recently released an article that highlights tips for ensuring that recruiters perform their roles as effectively as possible—use these tips to maximize your efficiency and success.

1. Improve your candidate pool.

A better talent pool will bring better talent to your organization. In order to make sure you’re searching for the best potential candidates regardless of the position you’re hiring for, make sure you do the following: invest time to forge relationships with college and university career placement offices and executive search firms, use professional association resources and network at professional industry events, keep an eye out for strong potential candidates on online job boards, and take full advantage of available resources on LinkedIn and other online social media outlets.

2. Hire the sure thing.

As a recruiter you have to trust your instincts. Untested new potential talent that grabs your attention could be a smart gamble, but it is a risk—do you want to put your reputation on the line for a roll of the dice? When you come across real talent with a proven track record, background, and skillset you’ll know it, and these are the sorts of individuals you should go after.

3. Look in-house first.

Always work to make sure that your company is using its existing staff resources to its fullest potential before looking outside for talent. Why? Because in-house candidates have already been tried and tested on some level and already have a feel for how the organization operates. Plus, you know how they’ll fit into the company’s culture, which is always a big question mark when bringing someone new aboard. On top of this, if you go “outside first” and existing staff gets the feeling that new opportunities that arise aren’t open to them, they may start looking for their next big opportunities elsewhere.

4. Help build your company’s rep.

Sure, a big part of your job as a recruiter is to hunt for and source top talent from far and wide, but if your company has a rep as being a fantastic place to work, top talent will flock to you—making your job much easier and letting you be more effective and efficient.

5. Get other employees involved.

Although it’s important for any recruiter worth their paycheck to have an extensive network of contacts and professional insiders in the industry they’re hiring for, if you utilize the networks and contacts of fellow employees your universe will expand exponentially—opening you up to a world of new and potentially valuable candidates.

6. Offer more.

This one seems obvious, but it bears repeating because it’s such a core tenet of human behavior and recruitment psychology. If you want to lure top talent in any industry, you have to be more than competitive regarding the pay package being offered. Make sure to stay on top of industry trends regarding compensation, and make sure that your company is at the head of the pack in terms of offerings.

7. Use your perks to your advantage.

Beyond the pay package, does your company offer any additional perks to attract potential candidates? Everything from reimbursement for continuing education to vacation discounts and free snacks/meals can help attract top talent and sway them your way when making a job decision, and you never know how important a perk may be to someone who’s considering working at your company—so be sure to play all of your perk cards when recruiting.

8. Hire for strengths.

Hiring strong people may seem like another obvious point, but you’d be surprised by how many recruiters ignore this fundamental fact and go after an unorthodox candidate who could potentially be a positive disruptor of the status quo in their organizations—which could backfire fantastically. What does The Balance recommend? “Hire for strengths; don't expect to develop weak areas of performance, habits, and talents. Build on what is great about your new employee in the first place.”

9. Make the most of your company website.

A great website will attract new talent to your company, making your job easier. If there’s a clear, well designed, and user friendly career section with information on open job opportunities, even better. Any worthy potential candidate will check out your company’s website—likely before an interview but undoubtedly after one. A weak or sloppy website will not be a check mark in the pro column for candidates thinking about whether to work at your company.

10. Check references.

Even if you’re completely dazzled by the resume of a potential candidate and are eager to get them on board as quickly as possible, take a pause and be sure to devote the time needed to do an extensive reference check. This is always time well spent, and you may learn some information about a candidate that could affect your initial decision. Bottom line: The more efficiently you do your job as a recruiter, the more your company benefits—both in the short term and the long run. Use the tips presented here to take your recruiting efforts to the next level. Good luck, and happy hunting!