Eight Simple Rules for Becoming a Great Recruiter

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to train thousands of recruiters over the years. Most turn out to be pretty good at what they do, but a select few strive to and eventually become great recruiters. Here are eight simple rules that lead to greatness in recruiting. When Learning

Read everything. Scan everything you can get your hands on that relates to a) recruiting, b) your industry, c) business in general, and d) HR in general. It will make your conversations with prospects richer and your candidate assessment questions more productive. But most importantly, it will provide you with names of key leaders and up-and-comers that you can use to use for referral sources.

Build a learning network. Identify a few other recruiters who want to become the best in their field. Together, build a “learning” network to share ideas and best practices. Take advantage of technology to make it work with recruiters from around the world.
Use metrics. Great recruiters follow the numbers in order to continually improve. They track precisely what works and why. You, too, should track the best sources, tools, selling techniques, and learning sites. Treat recruiting as a business and track your business impact and ROI everyday.
Get a mentor. Identify other great recruiters and excellent managers. Then ask several to mentor you. Recruiting is one field where it’s hard to grow without contacts.

When Recruiting

Rely on referrals. In a fast-changing world, you can’t keep up with the latest changes and the key players on your own. Great recruiters rely on others (referrals) as their primary “finding” tool. Once you realize that top performers always know other top performers, you are home free.
Recognize that you are in sales. Finding the very best candidates is only half of the game. Selling candidates (on the job and on your firm) and convincing managers (to read resumes, to interview rapidly, and to trust your judgment) is what separates the best recruiters from the rest. Take a sales class and build relationships with top salespeople to learn how to get candidates to listen to you and accept your offers.
Do your market research. You can’t sell anything if you don’t know what candidates and managers expect. Hold surveys, interviews, and focus groups to identify what candidates and managers want. Research is the key to any recruiter’s success. What you absolutely must know is: a) when top performers are ready to shift jobs, and b) what it will take to get each top performer to change jobs (in other words, their job-switching criteria).
Focus and prioritize. There isn’t time to do it all, so focus on top-performing candidates who are currently employed. These candidates are harder to land, but worth the effort. Next, focus on a) helping top-performing managers, b) filling key jobs, and c) top-performing business units. This will increase your impact, visibility, and learning speed. Do not, under any circumstances, listen to anyone who tells you to focus on the average. Focusing on the average will just make you average!

Follow each of these rules religiously and you will be a top recruiter. I guarantee it!