People looking to work as a recruiter or those who are already a recruiter, but still want to improve themselves – this is the right post for you. People in the job of recruitment have to meet all the requirements of their client and organization. Job of Recruitment, unfortunately offers limited opportunities in most of the firms but success requires ability. The people who are the most professional and successful recruiters have a few things in common. They are the traits required to be on the top of the list of clients looking for recruitment solutions. Let us compile a small list of such required qualities:
17 Qualities to Become a Successful Recruiter:
1. Good listener:
This is the leading quality required to be a successful recruiter. The person should listen carefully to both – the client as well as the job seeker. Only careful and attentive listening ensures that you understand the needs of both the sides. Thorough understanding is required to find the match that is perfect for both.
2. Confidence:
The recruiter should have confidence in himself and the services being offered by him. If he lacks self-reliance, this will be visible to all and he would be dismissed before being hired.
3. Ability to market:
The person should have great marketing skills and know to promote and market his skills, services and expertise amongst the job seekers and the clients. Having a pool of talented professionals does not help if the recruiter cannot showcase their talent to the other parties. He should be able to convince the client to hire one amongst his many candidates. Negotiation skill, convincing power are of utmost importance.
4. Target Driven:
Targets are not necessarily given only in the field of marketing. They are the aim of every business. Some target to achieve a specific sale quantity while others target to achieve a desired profit. Similarly, successful recruiters should be competitive and target driven to be able to handle the pressure of this job. Recruitment agencies and clients offer basic salaries and additional incentives based on performance and to get that target achievement is very important.
5. Skill of building relationships:
A recruiter is in such a profession that he meets new people daily. The person should know to network. Networking is very important in the corporate sector and the person should love to meet new people and not to let go of any opportunity to turn it into business. It also allows the recruiter to build reputation, trust and thus attract people. It lets you save time and efforts as then the focus can be on finding suitable matches for existing clients rather than finding new clients. If current jobseekers are happy with the recruiter, they will recommend him to others like friends, family, etc., and when existing clients are happy, they will recommend him to other organizations as well.
6. Communication:
Recruitment sector demands great communication skills – face to face, over the phone or through mails. The person should know when and how to say things. When a client’s requirement doesn’t match his existing talent pool, he cannot straightforwardly deny it. He should look for other options to fulfill the need and keep the client positive, in the meantime. The person needs to be tactful and thoughtful, at the same time.
7. Multitask:
The recruiter will work with numerous clients and job seekers together. He should be able to juggle the different projects and at the same time, remember the needs, specifications and details of all of them.
8. Time Management:
Time management skills are very crucial as certain vacancies may be urgent and they should be on the priority list of the recruiter. Similarly, clients that are more important should be attended to first as they give the recruiter his pay.
9. Patience:
The job is not easy and needs a lot of patience on the part of the recruiter. The client may have a huge list of requirements and he should be able to maintain composure at all times. Also, the client might not like the candidate at once and require additional interviews and discussions with the recruiter as well as with the job seeker. Calmness and understanding the needs of clients and job seeker is vital in such cases. Inspite of having all other qualities, one may not succeed if he is not resilient in this profession.
10. Speed:
Recruitment is a very competitive field and also clients and job seekers get attached to various sources to fulfill their needs. The recruiter needs to be fast to seal the deal quickly by finding the perfect match in the least possible time. Nowadays, speed matters more than the size.
11. Body Language:
The person should be a reader of body language. He should be able to understand what is going in the minds of the other person by having a look at his body postures. This not only saves the required efforts, but also builds trust as the other person knows you comprehend him and his needs perfectly.
12. Leverage Technology:
Recruitment is not restricted only to traditional methods and nowadays, methods making use of online recruitment are gaining popularity day by day. Hence, being familiar with social media, use of the internet and various available softwares gives the recruiter a cutting edge and shows that the person keeps himself updated with the latest market trends.
13. Sorting Problems:
In a profession as dynamic as recruitment, the person should be able to handle complex situations and sort the problems that might come along the way. He might have to face situations like the candidate may find another suitable organization and hence decline the offer at the last moment or the organization may wish to change the criteria after the recruiter has found a match. Such problems need to be handled tactfully.
14. Reliability:
Trust and reliance are two very important aspects of any relation and in corporate and professional word, they hold even more importance. If the recruiter cannot complete the given assignment within the specified time frame or offers services of inferior quality, the client and job seekers lose trust in him. This results in loss of clientele.
15. Team Worker:
The job of recruitment is a team work and no person can handle all the responsibilities alone. They are often delegated and fulfilled collectively. Companies of high caliber often conduct research and give assignments only to recruiters who have a wholesome team capable of finding the candidate as per their requirement. Communication and co-ordination between the team and maintenance of balance between the members is the responsibility of the chief recruiter.
16. Treat every person as unique:
Great and successful recruiters do not keep all clients in a single generic brand; they realize that personalization is the key. Every client, job and the candidate should be branded as unique and the knowledge of their capabilities and talent should be used to bring both the parties to a common, mutual note.
17. Honest:
Many recruiters in this profession are not honest and ethical. They often use lies to attract their customers and are pushy. This results in long term loss in lieu of short term gain. Work should always be conducted with utmost integrity.
18. Adaptable:
Flexibility is another key important trait that a person must possess in order to be successful. He should be adaptable to the situation and shift his approach as required by changes in the situation. Rigid thinking is not suitable for a recruiter.
A recruiting career is challenging and interesting. It is dynamic and ever changing. If you have the required traits, the rewards are significantly worth it. The temperament and qualities described above are shared by all accomplished recruiters. A recruiter’s networking skills and believing the fact that relations are based on quid pro quo, i.e., doing something for a person who will do something for you in return; is a fundamental aspect. The mentoring skills needed for this job, the career advice that a recruiter gives is vital for a candidate. The loyalty and commitment received by such a person is worth the undertaken efforts.
