Tips for employers on working with external recruitment agencies
Here are a few important tips on working with external recruitment agencies.
A) Pay close attention to the questions they ask you regarding the position and your company during your meeting with them. If you are not comfortable that the recruiter did a thorough job analysis with you and asked questions not only pertaining to the job, but also about your business, your management style, the culture at your company, or anything else you deem important, it might be a good idea to look elsewhere.
B) If you start receiving a large number of resumes from your recruiter, and many of them are really not what you are looking for, be on alert. Some recruiters will send anything they have that’s even close, hoping something will stick. Maybe give them some feedback that they have missed the mark and where they missed it. If things don’t improve, it might be time to move on to a new source.
C) Specialized Recruitment Firms are recommended. If you have a position for say, a VP of Sales, then look for a recruitment firm that specializes in Sales Recruitment. Generalist recruiters can often do a decent job for lower or mid level roles but specialized recruiters will have the network, the industry knowledge and moreover, will be able to better recognize the most talented people in their (and your) area of expertise. They will have determined processes, have created finely tuned questions to ask candidates, and have a deeper understanding of what’s important to the role.
D) It’s generally accepted that if you are working with a recruiter, then you should probably allow them some time to find someone for the vacancy before opening the file up to other recruitment firms. If you are in desperate need to find someone quickly and feel it’s necessary to use more than one recruitment company, then it’s a good idea to inform all parties you are working with multiple firms on the role. From the recruiter’s standpoint, they are investing a lot on time, money and resources to help you with this hire. If you let them know the situation in advance, it won’t cause negativity if they don’t fill the order for you, especially if they are working on a contingency basis.