Hey everyone! Thanks for reading my second post here in dev. too!
After my 'graduation' from a unicorn tech company in Indonesia as a Product Management role, last year in October 2019 I took a role as a Tech Recruiter in a Japanese company. Some people say my role is an 'agent', or 'headhunter'. But headhunter seems creepy, so I prefer Tech Recruiter because it sounds cool 😎
Back to the topic, so this post is my contemplation session on what I've been learning for a year. What are my contemplation items?
1. A change of mindset from an engineer into a salesperson.
In my first 3 ~ 6 months, I've been very carefully picked candidates to scout/talk with. As the result, I usually land on good candidates that usually leads to passed the document screening process from clients.
But my KPI on 'scouting candidates' turns out not being that good because I don't scout/talk with many candidates.
What have I done to fix this:
I realized that not all good candidates could write their profile on Linkedin comprehensively, or perhaps doesn't have the time to compel their experience into their profile. So I tend to be less judgemental, and more open to a conversation to dig more into their experience.
2. From objective-based conversation only to relationship-forging conversation.
The recruiting business is trust-based. You provide a service by doing consultation and conversation with candidates, then match them with their preferences and within our recommendation. But sometimes because of our KPI, I tend to accomplish it as fast as possible. And I sometimes forget to the soul of consultation-business: an honest conversation
What have I done to fix this:
It's just like you are talking with your spouse or your bae. I need to be more empathetic towards my candidates. Give them attention, show them that you are listening and you are careful. It's a bit energy-draining, but it will build their trust in you.
3. Communicate the candidate status, even though there isn't any update from the clients.
I've just learned this from a Youtube Video, a talk from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPfhZsAGsEI inspires me. From what I remember, he said things like this
if you are entrusted by someone to sells something they have, and if they are requesting an update, telling them that you are still doing your best to look for a buyer, will not show that you are incompetent. Instead, it will build trust and give ease to the customers that you are still handling their kinds of stuff dearly.
KPI tends to makes me focus on what matters in the business. After doing a consultation with one candidate, we need to move fast and consult one after another. And I sometimes only remember to contact a candidate again if one of those two things happen:
- we have another opportunity for them to try on.
- they are proceeding to the interview stage.
What have I done to fix this:
Spare my time around 1 minute (and it could be less) to give their update at least once a week, or if they are in an urgent needs to find a job, give the update once every 2-3 days even though I still couldn't have an update from the clients.
4. Understand their motivation, and build the conversation around that.
People changing their jobs do have different motivations. If I do understand what are they looking for, I can get their trust, therefore I could get their willingness to interview with all of their heart.
I previously do a blind-shot to send a cold message based on their skills matched with our clients' requirements.
What have I done to fix this:
Take a thorough look at their profile, their resume, and their conversation. Make sure they will get a good salary, what kind of job they want to after, and so on.
5. Learn how to tweak your thoughts through writings and speaking.
Honestly speaking, I've been always a straightforward person. It's good for some situations, but sometimes it's not good for building a rapport for some candidates that are still not interested to have a conversation with me.
What have I done to fix this:
Enrich your vocabulary, read some best practices on how to engulf your intention into a word that is not offending or feels like burdening them.
So yeah, I think that's it. I hope in the next year I could become a better and more humane tech recruiter for you. Feel free to hit me with any questions or comments!
Credits to https://www.sutrahr.com for my header image.
Top comments (0)