Recruitment is a huge responsibility therefore if the recruiters go wrong in here, then everything might turn upside down. The company and the recruitment consultant need to work hand in hand to dig out the treasure that is the best suitable candidate in this case.
It is not like the small or midsize recruitment consultants are the only ones who are facing the most challenges, instead, you will see that even the big recruitment consultants also come up with weird challenges at times.
But the new recruitment consultants or hiring consultant sometimes find it really hard to cope- up with some of the challenges that come their way.
Some find it hard to complete the work within the stipulated time period because of the scarcity of resources, whereas some find it hard to maintain proper documentation. Challenges are many, but they get better with the times.
One of the major challenges that the new recruitment consultant faces is the lack of commitment of the candidates. Though the clients and the candidates, both are equally important for the recruitment consultants but maintaining good relationships with both of them is a tough act that they need to master.
20 Recruitment Challenges of Hiring Consultants:
1. Rent of the office space:
This is one of the biggest challenges that the new recruitment consultants was facing at the time of economic downfall.
The office rent is huge and if you do not have a good number of clients, then it becomes really difficult to bear the rent every month.
That is the reason they prefer recruiters who can work from home and even better if they can get the freelance recruiters who are only paid if their candidates get selected. This way they will be able to save an amount which can be put to use for their growth and development.
2. Building the candidate database:
When you are new in the field, then it is quite natural that you won’t have a huge database of candidates already lined up.
Instead, you will need to start from scratch, so this is another challenge that the new recruitment consultants faces.
It will take a long period of time to create the database, therefore when the client comes in with the requirement, in most cases you cannot provide them with a ready-made list of candidates. It, in turn, delays the process of recruitment a bit than normal.
3. Commitment from the candidates:
It is one of the biggest challenges that new recruitment consultants face. Most candidates feel that these new kids on the block will not be able to provide them with the perfect opening that they are looking for in terms of salary as well as job openings.
Therefore, what follows is a cat and mouse game between the recruiters and the candidates. The candidates don’t pick up the phone of the recruiter and even if they do, it is only to come up with the excuse that they are stuck somewhere due to which they are not able to attend the interview.
This not only tarnishes the image of the recruiter but it also hampers the image of the candidate big time because it shows his lack of commitment and irresponsibility. It is frustrating for the recruiters as they are not able to fulfil their commitment as well due to these kinds of candidates.
4. New recruiters:
When you are a new recruiting consultant then there are chances that your recruiters will also be new, therefore it becomes a challenge to train them as well.
When it comes to training then there are several aspects that need to be taken into account and they are qualifying clients, identifying candidates and then indulging in interviewing them, writing job specifications and every other aspect that is concerned with the recruitment process.
The new recruiters find it difficult to manage the client and the candidates simultaneously, thus becoming a huge challenge for the recruitment consultant to perform extensively as well.
5. Best tools at low cost:
With the introduction of technology in every field, professionals are finding it a lot easier to organize their work.
But the main challenge lies elsewhere. These tools are costly therefore even when they are helpful the new recruitment consultants won’t be able to afford it if they have budget constraint.
So even when they know that the Applicant Tracking system is a huge boon for the recruiters, they will find it hard to access it for their benefit.
6. Speeding up the recruitment process:
Yes, they need to speed up the process of recruitment. Gone are the times when you could take all the time in the world to find out the best candidate, but now the competition is stiff therefore if you are not tapping on the best talent first then within no time you will be left with unfit candidates.
7. Workforce not enough capable:
The more business volatility continues the companies will be looking for recruitment consultants who will be able to work in a more data-driven environment.
The planning must be completed with data, but top recruitment problems are that there are not so many talented people out there who will be able to work in this sophisticated workforce because they are not aware of this workload
8. College recruitment:
With times the expectation of the students about the recruitment from the college campus have increased, but the fact remains that the recruitment hasn’t changed much. Instead, you can say that it has been stagnant for quite a long time now.
But now it is the high time to look into the matter seriously and broaden the range to include even the passive students. Even the market research must be put to use to meet the expectations of graduates of a new generation.
9. Shortage of good recruiters:
All the best recruiters are already working with the top recruiters and they won’t leave them for the new consultants because neither will they get paid that highest nor will they be able to adjust to the environment where everything is scarce.
So when the recruitment process starts they start feeling the absence of a top recruiter who will be the answer to all their queries.
10. Knowing how to advertise:
These days more and more applicants are looking for authentic and real information from both the sources.
They want the official website of the company reflect the same thing that the recruitment companies are promising. If the two advertisements are well synced then the applicants find it dependable.
Therefore, when you are advertising any job opening as a recruitment consultant then ensure that you are offering the same thing that the company websites display.
11. Analysis of the competition:
Till date they have not been able to come up with some tools that will gauge or for that matter compare the two competing recruiter’s side by side.
They are all focused internally and unless you are able to count the number of candidates being placed successfully by the recruiter of all the competitors, you will not be able to know who is leading on the market.
12. Emotionally drained out:
When you are new in the business you can get easily drained out emotionally if something goes wrong.
Everything is hunky dory unless some storm sets in to disturb the normal proceeding. If you are new then it is quite natural that you won’t have much experience in this matter, but this must be treated as a learning phase and you must handle it efficiently.
Every situation will be new and you have to handle it in your own way so that you don’t let go things haywire and have full control from the beginning.
13. Getting the first lead:
It might be hard for you to get the first lead but once you get it you will see the offers flowing in.
So when you are not getting any breakthrough you must hang in there to see how things go off and keep on working harder. Try to give your all and you will surely succeed.
14. Acquiring more market knowledge:
New people won’t have much knowledge about the market when they are starting out, so it is important that you keep the learning curve rising all the while.
Making placements, carrying out a conversation with new clients, convincing them about you and getting to know each detail about the market is what you will be doing initially. The more knowledge you acquire, the more beneficial it will be for you.
15. Following up the work:
When you are new in the market in order to gain the confidence of the clients as well as the candidates it is important that you follow up with them regularly to see whether they are satisfied with the service or not.
If they require something, then you must be able to provide them so that they know where to turn up in case of emergency or otherwise. But the new recruitment consultants find it difficult to do that because of various reasons and one of them is the scarcity of resources.
16. Payment issues:
This is a common problem that many consultants face. The payment issue is a huge problem in here. Sometimes the clients delay the payment due to some reason and it makes the life of the recruiter miserable within that period.
17. Professional attitude:
Most new recruitment consultants have this big problem. They don’t have the professional attitude towards work instead sometimes they are too casual which hurts their reputation in the very beginning.
So when they are starting out they must make this very clear to their recruiters that they need to be highly professional.
18. Unable to expand:
Their reach is limited and now people who are growing have been able to do that mostly by expanding internationally.
But that is not possible for the new recruitment consultants to expand internationally from the very beginning because they are not a known name.
19. Taking up the offer letter but not joining:
There are candidates who appear in the interview when they are called up by the new recruitment consultants but later they don’t join the company even after getting the offer letter.
It hurts the image of the consultant big time and also the payment gets affected due to these kinds of no shows.
20. Candidates have high expectation:
Candidates offer a long list of expectation that the new consultants find hard to meet. They have limited resources through which they are trying to place the candidates, so if they come up with some unexpected demands then it proves to be a big challenge for them.
