Not only is Thanksgiving a great time to relax and enjoy a day with your family, it’s also the perfect time to reflect and show appreciation.
For hiring manager perhaps it’s a time to reflect and give thanks to your recruitment team.
For all the recruiters out there that aren’t confident that that will be the case this Thanksgiving, I’m going to share with you 3 things you should be doing to ensure that hiring managers are indeed thankful for you.
- Take Control of the Intake Process
Instead of being a shrinking violet and quietly jotting down notes in the corner… come prepared, and drive the discussion in order to uncover key info that you need to be successful.
Here’s a few things you want walk away from the intake meeting feeling good about and that hiring managers will ultimately be thankful for.
#1 – Setting Expectations. Does the hiring manager understand that 15 hires per week is unrealistic or did you nod your way into a hole you can’t get out of until it is too late? Setting honest and realistic expectations in the beginning is a much better option than disappointing when you are unable to hit those goals later down the road.
#2. Get a clear understanding of what the value of the job is. The goal is to often find what the ideal candidate profile looks like, which is a definite must-do, but additionally you want to walk away with finding out what the true differentiators of the job are and the value that the candidate would receive.
#3. That you were prepared – show up to the intake meeting with data. Let the hiring manager know that you did your homework. You have market research on salary benchmarking, you’re able to make recommendations on the ideal profile based on what you know and have found and talk strategy.
- Teach
Just because a hiring manager is in their position to make a hiring decision, that does not necessarily mean that they have a ton of experience conducting interviews or perhaps they haven’t been properly coached or formally trained. So…coach them. Teach them how to avoid biases, how to use structured interview format, alternatives to cliché questions.
I mean if you ask an accountant if they could be any animal what would they be and they choose to be a humpback whale, does that really help you with your hiring decision?
- Bring creativity to the table
You don’t have to be a marketer, to think like a marketer, it just takes a little effort and an ability to know your resources. There is a lot competition out there, how do you get through the noise to reach candidates?
The recruiters that are making an impact and hiring managers are truly thankful for, know how. It may be putting in extra effort to post eye popping graphics on social sites or putting together a simple video showcasing the office. It’s just a little extra something to get on a candidate’s radar. Here’s a video we’ve made, showcasing the office of one of our clients.
Again, you may not have the skillset to design professional graphics or edit videos – but it doesn’t have to be perfect. There are plenty of free resources out there at your availability. Check out Canva.com for ideas on templates and graphics – most of which are totally free. And remember that the iPhone and iMovie app are powerful tools for recording and editing video.
Of course, at the end of the day it’s all about delivering, number one way for hiring managers to be thankful for you is bringing in top talent to the company. And these 3 things will help you do just that.
