While there is no such “surgeon general” warning for recruiters, the intensity of both the volume and the quick deadlines have been known to cause burnout for many recruiters. Once a recruiter hits the burnout phase, the individual, the organization and, when applicable, the client greatly suffers.
The ensuing problems can be quantitative and qualitative as time-to-fill slowly but surely lengthens and the candidate fit quickly becomes weaker.
There are various signs that recruiters and recruiter managers can use to identify burnout, and then a variety of ways to address and prevent it.
Here are the top five signals that a recruiter may be headed toward crash and burn:
- Over-reliance on tools that are the “usual suspects.” An energized recruiter will look everywhere for the best candidate. While this search includes major job boards, all good recruiters know to look in the less obvious places. If a recruiter is only looking at the usual suspects or refusing to use alternative methods (e.g., cold-calling, niche sites, LinkedIn), this is a danger sign that they are burning out and losing the vigor required for a comprehensive search.
- Conducting less-thorough research. While this symptom is closely related to the first, it is worth highlighting on its own. Recruiters, who are not creatively researching areas such as competitive companies and other potential industries to find candidates, are displaying another potential sign of burnout.
- Disinterested in the hunt. Recruiters are curious and inquisitive people by nature. They like the process of the hunt, and often see recruiting as a giant game of hide and seek. If a recruiter seems to have lost that drive for the chase, it could be a signal that they are nearing the point of burnout. One of the more tangible signs that the drive and curiosity has waned is a lack of interest in brainstorming. Recruiters on the hunt like getting ideas from others and talking about their searches, so if they shy away from brainstorming with others using defensive phrases like “done that, didn?t work,” it is not a good sign.
- Over-use of technology. Generally, recruiters like talking to people. If the recruiter is relying too much on technology in order to avoid live contact with others, this is a problematic sign. Knock-out questions are fine, but we?ve heard of recruiters trying to automate entire screens! That means a critical part of the process (selling the position) gets left out. A recruiter who is not engaging with people is not engaged.
- Unusually quick pass-through of candidates to hiring manager. If a recruiter is passing through a very high number of candidates, it means that they are not adding value to the process as much as they could and are focused more on finishing than candidate quality.
Once recruiters or managers of recruiters notice these signs in themselves or others, there are several ways to address the issue. Here are three sure-fire approaches to help alleviate recruiter burnout:
- Get creative again. Recruiting is an innovative process and requires an atmosphere and management style that is conducive to spurring creativity. This includes frequent breaks using areas where recruiters can go to look away from their screen and talk to others, and even games that distract the mind. All these help productivity and resourcefulness. If a recruiter only sits among four gray walls for hours and days, burnout will ensue.
- Do new assignments. Recruiters who always look for the same types of jobs can lose that creative spark. Those who do new assignments for different types of roles can get that spark back. For example, if you spend most of your time on information technology, from time to time take on the challenge of filing an administrative position for someone. Why? IT searches are more about specifications, while administrative searches are more about fit. The assignment will get skills rounded, thinking challenged, and creativity fresh. And the reverse scenario works too. Those recruiters used to searching for the “fit” positions will get re-energized by the challenge of looking for the needle-in-the-haystack technician.
- Make brainstorming part of the process. For recruiters (and any creative process), bringing others into the solution can be immensely helpful. For managers, assign one recruiter as a subject matter expert to another. For recruiters, ask this of your colleagues. This can help both recruiters to have excuses to help each other and keep both energized with a different perspective.
While these strategies can be implemented when signs of burnout become visible, they are best used as preventive measures. With these methods in place, recruiters will remain creative, sharp, and inquisitive.