HOW TO BE A GREAT RECRUITER: 4 Traits to becoming a successful recruiter.
I absolutely love recruiting and I love helping people, I mean, where else do you get a chance to help positively impact a company/organization grow while helping someone find a great career. No other career field gives you this type of satisfaction.
Often times recruiters are viewed as slick salespeople that just want to sell the next candidate to their client’s hottest job openings. Honestly, I don’t blame anyone for thinking that. I know several recruiters that should not be in the recruiting business or even people business for that matter. To be a great recruiter you have to have a love for people in a way that you always want to help others. It may sound silly but honestly, if you are all about the commission then find another career.
So why do so many recruiters just not get it? Some just don’t know any better while others were brought up in a high sales mentality culture and did not have the proper training and mentorship. Then there are those that think they know what it is to be a recruiter and they bounce around to 10 different recruiting jobs in 5 years and are still trying to figure how to be a successful recruiter.
Traits of a great recruiter:
Honesty
Loves people
Excellent communicator (listens to people)
Attention to detail
That’s it and honestly, I mess up the last two more often than I should, but never 1 and 2, never.
If you take too many shortcuts and are not honest with your clients or with the people you are recruiting, then you are done. If you have nothing else it is your honesty. Enough said.
You also cannot be a good recruiter if you do not love people, learning about them and figuring out what motivates and helping them get what they want. If you do this right then you absolutely can make a lot of money as a recruiter. If you are faking it till you make it, you will not be a truly great recruiter.
I’ve known for some, that being a good communicator comes naturally, but not for me. I have had to work on that and I continue to work on being a good communicator. So, if you are not a good communicator do not worry you can become one. The most important trait of a good communicator is someone that knows how to listen to people. If you actually listen to people you will learn to understand so much more about the person you are communicating with. Listening can be hard sometimes but if you become a good listener, you will be a great recruiter.
If you are a good listener then you tend to hear the details and the meaning of what people are say so much better. The details of what people are saying is important to be a great recruiter. Understanding the details of what your client is looking for in a new hire is just as important as the details of what the candidate is saying about why they are looking for in a new career. If you pay more attention to the details of what people are saying, it will help you become more detail oriented. So, understanding the details is more about listening than anything else.
The recruiting field is an amazing field to be in. So, if you are a recruiter or want to be one, then choose to be a great recruiter by being honest, loving people, listing and paying attention to the details.
You can do it!
