I read a blog recently that is addressed to external recruiters. I thought it was well written and useful:
The Real Reasons Why Corporate Recruiters Hate You
I responded with a general message to internal recruiters and HR people:
Excellent article!
In my 15 years of recruiting, as a headhunter and staffing consultant, I have worked with some great internal recruiters (and HR generalists and HR Managers), and some that were very difficult. I like the people like Amy that give me straight answers. So for the people NOT like Amy here are my suggestions:
1) Tell me what you like and what you do not like. Be straight with me, I can handle it. If you are wishy-washy then I can not improve, and be a better person to help you, and get you what you need.
2) I am here to make to make your life easier. I can do this because I am a specialist. I am not here to waste your time, my objective is to use as little of your time as possible. If you answer my calls or emails, I can get more work done more quickly, which will make you look good.
3) Be willing to trust me. I know that I have to earn it. But after a while look at my record. When I provided you candidates, and told you which was the best for your company, was I right? Did I fill your positions with great people? I am happy for you to track me. Let me prove myself. Then in a few months, when I say “you have to interview this person…” you will know that I really do have a great candidate. No, I will not over-use that phrase if I am any good.
4) If you let me have direct contact with your hiring managers I will respect their time as well. I will always CC you on emails and candidates, or send you an email report if you were not involved in a phone call. I will treat you as a team-mate not an obstacle.
5) Once the contact is signed I am not going to try to inflate candidate salaries to improve my fee. If I want you as a long term client, I know I need to find the middle ground on salary. I want you to be happy, and I want the candidate to be happy. I want to make more placements with you. The simple financial truth is that I can make a lot more money making multiple placements than I can by inching up salaries.
6) I have a technical background. I can talk the right language to the candidates and the hiring managers. I really do understand both sides. If do not understand it I would be happy to explain some of the technology to you, and I am sure that your hiring managers would be happy to do so as well. If you do not have the time to do this, then trust that I know the technical details, or listen to your hiring manager to see if I am getting it right.
7) If I cannot help you with a particular job I will let you know, or if candidates are tough to find. I may have allies that can help you.
I will send you reports and candidate summaries. I will let you know how things are going, including if I am having problems.
9) If I am not doing a good job then let me know. If I am not doing all the things listed above you have a right to be unhappy about it. Let’s talk about what the problems are. If I am not treating you and your company with respect, then you can terminate my contract. Sometimes this is the best for both of us and it much better than ignoring me for months until I finally give up.