Top Recruiter Qualities According to Top Recruiters
By Lea Wolfinger, Vice President, Ashton Tweed
Taking on the role of a recruiter in the search industry requires some distinct characteristics in order to be successful. But what kind of qualities does it take to be cut out for a recruiter position?
I couldn’t answer this alone, especially because there are different personalities and stylistic approaches to recruiting (one reason why different recruiters are assigned to different projects or clients!). So, I decided to go straight to the source and ask the most experienced recruiters at Ashton Tweed what top qualities they thought made them good at what they do. See what everyone had to say:
CEO & Partner
Top Quality: Creativity & Persistence
“Executive search is a science – from database research to market messaging and metrics – but it is also an art, meaning the ingenuity it takes to engage a candidate in a way that is above and beyond what others are doing. Creative thinking can be brought to bear in both the science and the art of search.
In addition, experienced recruiters know that if you don’t follow up after the first communication with a second attempt, then you have wasted your time from the first outreach. Persistence backs up the creative recruiter. One needs to press beyond the first couple of contacts, especially in today’s environment of electronic clutter. If you don’t persist, you will not succeed in this industry.”
Vice President
Top Quality: Relationship Building
“Connecting on a personal level, to an extent, is as important as connecting on a professional level in recruiting. A mix of both is key. A personal connection can be something as small as wishing a client a happy birthday, asking a candidate about his/her vacation, or simply remembering the names and ages of their kids. Or it can be larger overarching actions like building a sense of trust and honesty with your contacts during these exciting but also often tense times of professional transition.
The bottom line is that recruiting is a relationship business. Candidates can always become clients in the future and vice versa. Having a solid relationship will help develop a strong, continuous business bond.”
Director – Executive Recruitment
Top Quality: Comprehensive Communication
“Comprehensive communication means effectively discussing each step of the recruitment process with both the candidate and the client in an efficient and timely manner. This is a top quality to me because it leaves the guessing game out of the equation for candidates and clients – both parties should know exactly where they stand at any point in the recruitment process. Honesty and transparency are valuable assets in this type of communication.
Possessing the ability to be tactful when communicating these details is an added skill which helps to create lasting relationships that will continue beyond the current search at hand.”
Director – Executive Recruitment
Top Quality: Integrity
“For me, one of the things that helps make a good recruiter is integrity. The search industry is a business that is, unfortunately, fraught with so many obstacles and compromised ethics. I think those with integrity and a strong conscience – those who do the right thing – rise to the top. People remember that.
As a recruiter in the life sciences, I make choices that I feel are the best for both the clients and candidates to be successful in their endeavors to improve the quality of human health. This provides me a reliable moral compass and gives me a concrete sense of integrity in my own work.”
Director – Executive Recruitment
Top Quality: Intuition & Open Mindedness
“Intuition is that gut feeling some of us get with no basis in fact. We pick up on something positive or negative that another person is giving off, which we often find hard to explain. It’s important to be receptive and trust these feelings as a recruiter.
A professional could look like the perfect candidate – have all the necessary attributes and answer all the questions perfectly – and yet something tells you there is just something about him or her that isn’t quite right for the role. This is key to making the right hiring choice. Intuition is keeping your mind open to these subtle hints and listening to your inner voice telling you to think beyond what is in front of you. The right answer might surprise you.”
Recruiting necessitates a unique blend of human resources experience and in-depth industry knowledge, but it takes more than just this know-how. As you can see, there is a foundation of basic principles and qualities that makes someone more than just an ordinary recruiter, but a great one. Sometimes these skills go beyond what can be listed on a résumé or in a job description – you just have to know yourself and be able to put these abilities to action… Do you have what it takes?
Our recruiters and their strengths are valued by Ashton Tweed. Contact us today to see how we can help your business.
Share your insights! Contact jamesrudman@ashtontweed.com to contribute your life sciences article as a guest writer.
1 Comment
I love what each of the recruiters had to say in this article! Each quality was very specific and definitely reflected your personalities – it’s great insight into the true value of our industry 🙂