It’s amazing that only one company I know, Cisco, requires rigorous internal recruiter training before a recruiter can start recruiting. Most firms use a “throw them out there and see what happens” approach. If your newly hired recruiter has a background in executive search or sales you are probably OK. That’s because they have experience in cold calling, selling, and fighting for the best candidates. But if you get “HR types” that “like to work with people,” you could be hiring, or inadvertently “growing,” an administrative recruiter… the worst kind. What is an administrative recruiter? Warrior recruiters are the best type of recruiter. They are really sales and marketing people that happen to hold the title of recruiter (see my previous article Hire A ‘Warrior’ Recruiter…Not ‘Bambi’ for a description). They sell people on new jobs. They focus on employed top performers that must be poached from the best firms. The opposite of a warrior is the administrative, or “Bambi” recruiter. They are:
Conclusion Recruiting is a unique field. Literally no one in it has a degree in recruiting (because no university offers one). Most recruiters use recruiting as a stepping stone to another HR job. As a result, they don’t spend the time to become experts in recruiting. They don’t join professional recruiting associations and most just “learn on the run.” They repeat the practices of those that came before them, even though technology and the economy have changed dramatically in the last few years. It’s time to call an administrator an administrator. It’s an honest profession…it’s just not recruiting! <*SPONSORMESSAGE*>