Recruiters, remember being told there was a way to source while you sleep? Tools can automate and make the talent hunt more convenient, but there's no substitute for actively recruiting and meeting with candidates in person.
And what's more is finding great talent and developing recruiters' skills requires ongoing practice, and happens well beyond and between the 9-5 time frame. If making connections with others is part of the heart of acquiring talent, topnotch recruiters are always networking and building relationships with all individuals, not only those who may be a potential hire.
Read on for ways to step up your recruiting know-how even after you've checked out for the day.
Dabble, newbie.
Learn first-hand what a role's duties entails — skills, experiences, and knowledge — by experiencing a day in their work life. Want to recruit a designer? Download the Adobe Creative Suite, watch a few tutorials, and try to recreate your company's homepage banner. Looking for a copywriter? Create content for the company's latest ad campaign, and find out how the chief content manager edits and uses it, or chooses not to. To understand what you're recruiting for, recruiters should know the candidate they're looking for. You'll get an understanding of employees' work processes, challenges, management needs, and timing, which adds the extra oomph for pitching with substantiated conviction.
Become a regular somewhere.
Think of your favorite grocery store and a few of the employees you interact with during each visit. Could you see any of them working at a customer support position at your company? Alternatively, who's your favorite newspaper writer? Got a star blogger in mind? Maybe they're looking for a new marketing gig. Your network extends past the professional boundaries of sites like LinkedIn, Dribbble, and GitHub.
The idea is that by viewing those places you frequent often as excellent sources for candidates, you can watch their skills progress, build relationships, and appropriately reach out with a role for them when the timing is right. And this doesn't mean you need to derail much from how your current daily routine flows. Hence, "regular." Be one at a place you like, and because you notice there are prospective candidates ripe for your talent funnel. See — you can have your cake and eat it, too.
Pick up a new hobby.
Become committed to a recreational activity outside of work and you'll likely find yourself surrounded with like-minded people while doing something that's enjoyable and boosts productivity. As engineers are engaged with side projects, recruiters, too, should have side projects. Find a hobby you're interested in and invest time in building relationships with others who share your interests. Attend meetups, webinars, and networking events, or participate in online forums and build your web connections.
Through the recruiter's lens, these are all prime opportunities for sourcing candidates and simply learning how to find middle ground with strangers. Whether you choose to use a new hobby as a direct source of new candidates or as the motivating force for your next interview or outreach campaign, make the most of your newfound side interest by sharing your experiences with others, learning how to fix problems, keeping up with new tools and trends, and frequently discussing your ideas and challenges. Find out what makes others excited about their hobbies to learn what makes candidates excited about a new opportunity.
Effectively reaching out to candidates and recruiting them for your open positions requires making a connection that isn't just an email or cold call. Start building the candidate experience in advance of the actual first interview and through your interactions with other people, and you'll strike a balance between recruiting talent, and communicating and connecting with other people.
Learn how to build an even bigger network using the team of talent you already have. Join us for our discussion with Lyft on build an employee referral network and register here:
