The shoemaker does not go barefoot: Tips for recruiting recruiters

The process of recruiting recruiters is changing together with the requirements of the “new recruiter.” The method we developed is based on training, the ability to adapt to dynamic situations and testing their skills. Here’s how we do it:

2021 was the year of the recruiter, or if you’d prefer, we can also say that the world of recruitment has entered a new era. The need for quality, targeted recruitment increases for companies that are adapting and growing. Recruiters in these cases become risk managers. Suitability is the keyword. According to figures from author and strategic advisor Scott Steinberg, “84% of recruiters are currently engaged in adapting their work methods to covid-related restraints.”

Steinberg is trying to tell us that the world is changing, and the recruitment process along with it. Recruiters themselves are changing. But wait, what about recruiting recruiters? Spoiler: the industry is going through the same revolution among recruiters.

Companies are looking for more and more talent, a generic word that essentially refers to suitable and correct employees for that specific company. Therefore, the new recruiter has to expand his or her toolkit. We invite you to read how this manifests itself and how to handle the new challenge: recruiting recruiters!

Of course, there are a few basic characteristics that make a successful recruiter, especially the motivation to help others succeed, to position yourself behind the scenes. Obviously, having a mind for business, the ability to read and work with people, integrity, discretion and ambition have also remained important, but the new recruiter has to know how to adapt, show flexibility, improve his abilities as an advisor, sharpen sourcing skills on social media and bring all tools to bear, even during virtual interviews. Don’t be mistaken, virtual interviews aren’t going anywhere.

“Recruiters dramatically improved their willingness to learn the moment corona entered our lives,” says Johnny Campbell, CEO of the Dublin-based recruitment platform SocialTalent. “Hot topics for learning are counseling training, virtual interviews, how to remain productive when working remotely, virtual onboarding and internal movement within the organization. Learning how to be a better counselor was always a popular topic among recruiters, but many of them searched for it for the first time because their managers required that they have a lot of knowledge about the developing job market.”

Requirements of candidates, the recruitment process and recruitment of recruiters are all changing. In essence, when it comes to recruiting recruiters, the correct way of looking at it is like any other recruitment, except that the client and the recruiter are the same. The secret: identifying the qualities required for the position, understanding how the candidate would complete the existing team and creating a process that tests the qualities that we’re looking for. Sound simple on paper? Let’s take a look at how we do it at iTalent.

We believe in custom made service with the goal of reaching optimal suitability of the employee for the needs of the client. That’s how we recruit our recruiters. We came to the understanding that traditional recruitment based on experience and education in the fields of human resources, behavior sciences and organizational consulting slow the growth of the organization. Therefore, we choose our employees according to skill and ability, not just business experience. We call this “diversity in the organization.”

This isn’t just a slogan, it’s our project to bring people who sometimes lack experience into a deep, changing field that requires a lot. Our goal is to lead a revolution in the world of recruitment, giving opportunities and opening doors for more and more people. We don’t believe in fixation. It’s 2021, and the world is changing. There is no reason to continue recruiting employees using old methods by reviewing search keywords or education and business experience. A change in outlook and culture is needed in the world of human resources and we are happy to stand at the head of the revolution so we don’t miss a single excellent candidate because he didn’t study at “the right place.”

Our method is based on identifying strengths and skills we then test in a deep, behavioral interview. Instead of focusing only on experience, we look for the ability to learn, interpersonal communication, achievements, planning and organization, the ability to make decisions and solve problems, assertiveness, conflict management, the ability to deal with change, and of course, emotional resilience, analytical thinking, a desire to make an impact and flexibility of thought. That’s how modern, successful recruiters should look as far as we’re concerned. How do we find the ideal candidates? To this end, we developed an in-house behavioral interview.

The goal is to use examples that show the candidate’s behavior in certain situations to get an idea of how they might behave in the future. Think about the world of dating. It’s so much fun when conversation is flowing with funny stories on the first date and it doesn’t feel technical with questions like, “What did you do in the army?”

Through the situations presented in the interview, we examine independence and responsibility, and look for initiative and proactivity, trying to see how the candidate would handle pressure and how they conducted themselves in the past as part of a team.

The next step is a homework assignment that requires the candidate to face a new challenge – a situation that the candidate has never been in before that requires creativity and study of the new world of content. After this task is completed, candidates participate in a professional interview with a content specialist and team leader. We want to understand how they think, hear how they cope with difficulty and examine their technological and analytical skills as well as their ability to think broadly. We have adjusted ourselves to the competitive, changing conditions of the market and learned how to create a quick process of 7-10 days at most so we don’t miss out on any good talent. We look for potential and skill that can’t be found in a resume or standard interview.

Since we are employed in training and the development of skill, we established a training department in our organization. For us, this is the essence of the innovative organizational mindset we are trying to spread. This meaningful investment of building up someone from inside rather than searching for a complete and final product from outside pays off. The result is significant achievements on a quantitative and qualitative level of human resources at our company.

So, what’s the secret to recruiting recruiters? Treat the process like any other recruitment. Because we are a company employed in recruitment, internally and externally, we can say that we take care to use the method we developed with our clients and ourselves. We believe in our way of doing things, and success is therefore not long in coming. The market is now at its peak and we simply can’t do more of the same. You either join the revolution or get left behind.