From Good to Great How to Become a Badass Recruiter

From Good to Great How to Become a Badass Recruiter Every company needs employees, and every person needs a job, so you might say that the recruiting position is necessary for the current system.Whether you want to work in an HR department in the company, or in a private hiring agency, there are some things you need to know.First of all, being a recruiter is not that hard, but being a badass recruiter is very hard. Everyone can be an average recruiter, but not many people can wear the title of an excellent recruiter. Therefore, we are here today to help you with becoming one.We could say that all badass recruiters have some things in common: they all have a certain set of skills, qualities, and habits. In other words, skills, qualities, and habits are the pillars of being a great recruiter.Good recruiters have some, but not all of the above, which is what separates badass recruiters from regular ones.Right now, we are going to dive deeper into what these skills, qualities, and habits are, in order to get a better understanding of what it takes to be a great recruiter.SKILLS THAT COULD HELP YOU BECOME A GREAT RECRUITERLet’s start by examining certain skills that every great recruiter has. Some might not be necessary in order to do the job, but they are very useful when it comes to doing it.1. Skills in SalesOne way of looking at the job of a recruiter is to compare it to any job regarding sales. Same as in sales, in recruiting you to want to sell a job to your candidates. You want to give them an offer that would benefit them, and at the same time be acceptable for your company.Therefore, having some skills in sales would help greatly. By using them, you could definitely think of a way to make both your company and potential candidates happy, by offering them nice working conditions, while respecting the limitations set by your company.2. Skills with PeopleThe whole recruitment process is simply a different sort of sales. Instead of selling a product made by one person to a different person, you need to sell on e person (a candidate) to your company and you have to sell a job position for the candidate.So, we could say that it is still the sale process, with multiple stages. And since it is about selling the job and the candidate with a certain set of skills, you need to be good with the people, understand them, their motives, their wishes, and reasons. Only then you will be able to become the best of the best when it comes to recruiting.3. Communication SkillsOne of the most important skills you should have in order to deal with people is, of course, good communication skill. The way to properly present your offer to candidates and make them accept it. The way to convince your bosses about a candidate’s worth.All that requires you to be communicative and good with words. That way, people will recognize you and respect you. In business, you can never talk too much. The more you talk, the more information you can learn and give. In other words, you simply need to practice and find that op timal level of information sharing that would be enough to satisfy both your candidates and the company.4. Skills in MarketingSometimes a good recruiter is not so easy to find. Sometimes people get picked for the job, simply because they are famous, which doesn’t have to mean they are the best at what they do. It just means they advertised themselves better than other recruiters, who could potentially be better than them.Therefore, in order for you to become a badass recruiter, you need to have some marketing skills, so you could fight your way to the top of the food chain and make companies select you as their recruiter, over other people. For that reason, you should do research and find out what are the most in-demand marketing skills, and make sure to learn them as best as possible.5. Ability to Solve ProblemsSame as on any other job, there are occasional difficulties in the recruitment world as well. For example, let’s say that you found a perfect person for the position in your company, but for some reason, the conditions you offer are not enough and the person is not willing to join you unless you change your offer.Now, sometimes it is easy to solve this, just offer a higher salary or certain benefits, but most of the times, the company sets the maximum salary limit you can offer to job applicants.In order to get that candidate to join you, you would need to use your creative problem-solving skills, to think of something that could be done to satisfy the candidate, while respecting the company’s limitations.For instance, if the problem is the job location, you could offer organized transportation to the candidate, or if you work for a big company with offices in multiple locations, you could offer your candidates to work in an office close to their homes, while keeping other conditions unchanged. That way you would increase your chances of hiring the candidate in question while respecting the company’s salary limit.6. Ability to NegotiateAbility to negotiate comes naturally as one of the most important skills every badass recruiter should have. Recruiters need to be able to make good offers, find a balance between their candidate’s wishes and the limitations set by the company’s officials.Good negotiation skills are very important during the offer stage when you have to “guess” the terms that could be acceptable to both the company and candidates. A good way to ensure the success is to offer realistic amounts, but keeping it a bit lower than what the company is ready to offer. That way, you would have a chance to increase it if needed.Some companies though will want you to offer a fixed amount, without lowering it during the interview. In that case, you can always work with other information, since salary is not the only deciding factor. There are other points of interest, which you could use to your advantage, such as bonuses, transportation fees, health insurance, etc.7. Good Time ManagementLast skill, but not the least, every badass recruiter should master is the ability to manage their time in a good way.Depending on the company you work for, you might have a small or huge amount of potential candidates. In any case, you should organize your activities to help you maximize your productivity and time, without having to reschedule so often, because of other obligations.Some interviews may take longer than others. Some recruitment processes have several stages, especially in large multinational companies. So, the entire hiring process needs to be well-organized and carefully executed.However, in some companies, that doesn’t have to be the case. You can organize your interview outside the office, go grab a cup of coffee with the candidate, or even do the interview while doing shopping. It all depends on the job position and the company’s rules.In both cases, time management is crucial, so make sure you know how to organize your time and make good schedules.THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITIES OF A BADASS RECRUITERNow that we went over some skills every badass recruiter should have, let’s talk about what qualities separate bad or good recruiters from badass recruiters.1. ConfidenceOne of the most important qualities, not just for a job, but for everyday life in general, is to be confident. While there is a confidence gap between men and women, it is certain that confident people are more attractive, both in a personal and business way.In order to become a badass recruiter, you need to look and sound confident. You will often have to persuasive and make people accept your terms, which is only possible if you reassure them that it is a good decision to make. You can’t do that if you are not or you don’t seem confident about it.Confidence is not just important for your candidates, but for yourself as well. There is no company that would hire recruiters that are not self-confident and sure they are able to complete their job.2. PatienceAnother quality every badass recruiter should have is patience. When everything goes smooth and you are able to find the right people for the job, there is no problem. However, like with everything in life, things won’t always go smoothly in hiring business as well.You may end up losing a very important candidate or having difficulties with finding the right terms to offer. When that happens, you might get nervous and be under the pressure from your bosses. However, you shouldn’t despair. Be patient instead and work harder to work on a solution that could fix the problem, whether it is looking for a new candidate, or working on a new set of terms.3. PersistenceYou could say that persistence and patience are inseparable. And you would be right to say so. In hiring business, there is usually a need for repeating negotiation or continuous looking for suitable candidates. That means you will have to be persistent in what you do and don’t give up easily, even when things seem dark.Sometimes, you may need to change your offer one more time or to look for one more applicant or simply to make one more decision. To be successful in this kind of environment, persistence is the key.4. ProfessionalismWhen it comes to business, and especially with dealing with people, it is very important to be professional and to be recognized as a professional. People would be more likely to do deal with you if they knew you are professional or that you come from a serious company.For example, it’s not the same if you go to an interview in a new, small company, and to Google. You would act differently in both. Therefore, as a recruiter, it is a very good idea to always be as professional as you can, in order to earn a reputation.5. DependabilityIn business, everyone like people who are capable of doing things on their own and to make tough decisions without hesitating too much. It means a lot to companies if they can rely on their recruiters to pick good candidates for them.Therefore, you should always try to be depe ndable and show your bosses that you are a trustworthy person, who is capable of hiring the perfect candidate for the job they need.Apart from that, if you are dependable, your candidates would be more eager to trust you and accept your offer with less resistance. Along with that, they might even look up to you as their personal coach, from who they would learn new and important things.6. Good Risk ManagementDepending on whether you work for a big company as a professional recruiter in their department, or for a separate hiring agency, you might face more or less risk.Of course, it is riskier to work for a hiring agency, because salaries there are not fixed and you earn it according to the number of people you get for your clients. Therefore, there is always a risk that you could fail in getting the job done, meaning you wouldn’t get your payment.In order to become a badass recruiter, you will have to learn to manage that risk and to become comfortable in a risky business environm ent.7. Ability to Stay Calm in a Chaotic EnvironmentAlong with the risk, comes the managing the chaos that comes with it. Hiring job is not quite easy and you may find yourself in some very chaotic situations. At one point you may be at the top of things, while at other points, you may be at the bottom.Therefore, you need to be adaptable and to stay calm in a chaotic environment. Keep doing your job and try to solve any problems that may have occurred during that time. However, even though the job is risky, the rewards are high, so that is one more reason to get comfortable with chaos, so you wouldn’t have any issues.HABITS OF A BADASS RECRUITERNow, having all those skills and qualities we had previously talked about is not quite enough to become a badass recruiter. You also need to practice a lot, which means that you need to grow certain habits, to make it easier for you to get used to doing things a certain way. Let’s see what those habits are.1. Good PlanningEvery good syste m needs a good plan. Same goes for recruiting. We had already mentioned how good an organization is important for recruiting. Therefore, it is only natural that planning is an important part of the process as well.It doesn’t have to be a lengthy plan. You should simply take some time, let’s say 30 min to 1 hour to plan the activities for the next days, what calls to make, what people to see. That way, you will be ready to start working tomorrow when you come into the officer, rather than having to spend time planning on-site.By doing that, you will be able to focus on more important things at work, which could possibly lead to increased productivity and a more professional way of dealing with potential problems.2. Phone TimeOne of the pillars of recruiting is constantly talking over the phone. Therefore, you should get used to it, if you want to become a badass recruiter.Data shows that recruiters whose phone time is bigger, usually score more hits than others. And it is safe to say that most of them really enjoy being on the phone, talking to people and trying to get those candidates for their clients or company.3. Tracking MetricsIn order for you to be able to analyze your score and working progress, you need to track metrics and get the necessary data. That would help you see how well you performed during some period of time, what you could do better and whether or not you should change something, in order to improve the entire process.There are different ways to track your metrics, depending on the field and other factors. You should explore your options and use ones that are suited for your job the most. 4. Having Straight PrioritiesAlong with the planning process, it is also very important to make a categorization plan, allowing you to prioritize activities and people that are more relevant to your business.For instance, you could categorize people into different groups, dividing those who are almost ready for offers from those who just entered the s ystem.   That way, you will be able to prioritize interviews and finish the entire process in a shorter amount of time.Another good solution is to prioritize activities that would maximize your revenue, which is an excellent way of getting the most money for your services.5. Not Giving UpNo matter how things may look tough, you should always try to follow through with your plan and actions. Being a recruiter isn’t easy. There is a lot of stress involved in the process, especially if you work in a hiring agency, where salary is based on the number and quality of people you bring in.Therefore, you will face some difficulties. And in those situations, it is important not to give up when things seem tough. That way, you will show your bosses that you are a fighter, which is what they need from a recruiter.6. Don’t Get too Comfortable in Your Safe SpaceAs in normal life, people often tend to get too comfortable with something, for instance, in one job, which can halt their career dev elopment in the future. Therefore, even though things may look good and comfy, you should always strive for better and push yourself to achieve more.This is, of course, the case when it comes to recruiting too. Even though you may think you are doing your job well and enjoy your current place, you shouldn’t get too comfortable. Instead, you should try to become even better and look for a way to improve your current position.Also, we had already said that recruiting is a risky business, so you never know if you will stay in your “safe space” forever or whether it could crumble at any moment. It is something that you simply cannot control, so it is better to be prepared.7. Keep Training and Educating Yourself to Become even BetterIn order to keep striving for a better position, you have to keep learning and training. Do some courses, acquire a new set of skills or simply practice your negotiation skills by continuously working with people.Apart from that, you can always watch an d attend webinars related to recruiting training, where you can learn a lot of new and useful tips and tricks that would help you do your job better.Along with that, you have an option to complete formal training programs made by the National Association of Personnel Services, such as Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) or Certified Employee Retention Specialist (CERS)All you need to have, in order to improve your knowledge about recruiting, is to have a will to do it.CONCLUSIONThere you go, folks! That would be everything we have prepared for you today. We learned what makes a badass recruiter.You now know about the three pillars of a badass recruiter: skills, qualities, habits. We explained each of those in detail and learned why they are so important.What remains now, is for you to start implementing what we had taught you here and focus on becoming a great recruiter that could be recognized by everyone.If you still have any doubts or questions, don’t hesitate to ask us in the comment section below. As always, see you in the next one!