ATTENTION HIRING MANAGERS

Your organization is growing fast and you can't keep up with everything. You enforce mandatory overtime, but soon everyone in the department is overwhelmed. You finally realize you have to hire help to relieve the team and help the department's efficiency. You don't have an HR department yet, so you decide to engage a recruiting firm to hire qualified candidates for you.

After you hire the firm, chaos continues and now you're tasked with an additional duty; interviewing candidates on the limited time you already have. You know you need to hire someone, but you don't know how you'll find the time to participate; you'll figure it out later.

The consulting firm is kicking butt, sending you great vetted candidates. 1, 2, 3 days pass and you haven't been able to review the information because you've been swamped. The recruiter reaches out to remind you to review the information because candidates this good won't be around very long. 4, 5, 6 days pass and you still haven't responded. Now, candidates are being picked by other employees, the ones that aren't gone are following up with the recruiter for an update. You're still too busy to review resumes and haven't responded to the recruiter. The recruiter feels ghosted and the candidates are left in the dark.

Although we do most of the work for you, you are still an essential part of the process and need to be responsive. Here are some things to consider before engaging a recruiting firm.

1. Do you have time to dedicate to the hiring process? The recruiter may require a consultation or information gathering meeting before starting, there may be follow-up inquires or meetings you need to attend and emails throughout the process you need to respond to. Can you realistically handle this, if not, do you have someone else who can?

2. Do you have job descriptions or a general idea of what you need for the position? You may know you need help, but you aren't sure exactly what kind of help you need. Before engaging a recruiter, be clear (or have some idea) on the duties, responsibilities, and requirements of the position. The recruiter consultant can help you with this, but they will need your input.

3. Are you using the correct job title? Some organizations have titles that don't match well with the duties, skills, and requirements in the job description. For instance; I had a client that wanted an Executive Assistant, but the job description was closer to that of a Business Affairs or Business Development position. Being clear on what you need is more important than the job title; you can find a job title to match your needs, but a wrong job title will bring in the wrong candidates.

Being as prepared as possible before hiring a recruiter will make the process easier and less frustrating for all parties involved.