I had an associate of mine approach me the other day. There is dialog within her client base on how managers can help with the recruiting efforts of the manage’s department. This inquiry was not centered around “what can we do better from a process perspective – feedback turn-around, slimming down job requirements, etc”, but catering to more on pipelining candidates and finding good people for their respected staff. Credit to a manager for their willingness to help!
Who’s Job Is It To…?
Isn’t it recruiting/HR’s job to find people for my positions?
Many individuals know that people have certain duties and responsibilities in a company or on a team. Most people understand this. Recruiters perform a lot of leg work when it comes to filling an open position – sourcing candidates, writing & posting jobs, screening resumes, setting up phone screens, performing phone screens, routing information to hiring managers, arranging face-to-face interviews, breaking bad news to declined candidates, making offers, etc. Yes, those are all duties of the mighty recruiter. Keep in mind that many recruiters have learned their craft by understanding what the hiring manager wants. They know people. They can talk to them, but the expert in the area they’re recruiting for is the client – the hiring manager. I’m an IT geek, but I don’t claim to know exactly what it takes to be successful in their area.
Hiring Manager, Ultimate Expert
The hiring manager knows the type of person that will do well in their environment. That’s been mentioned. The manager not only knows what initial questions to ask, but also how to follow up given answers with even more questions, probing deeper and deeper to gauge knowledge and depth of knowledge on a given subject matter. Eventually they’ll know more about the candidate than a recruiter. They will know what tools they use, how those tools work, how the tools relate to their own area. The manager will know other staff that perform the same job duties as the candidate and can compare skills. The hiring manager is typically tuned-in to their own industry. They keep up with trends in their industry. They keep up with the changes. They adapt. With that, the hiring manager will attend conferences, seminars, and events that cater to their area of expertise.
Finally – The Network
Through these events, along with industry insight, the hiring manager will build a network – direct and indirect. The direct network contains first level contacts – people they know. These could be ex-employees or supervisors. Maybe they moved to another company, in this day and age it’s overly simple to keep in contact with those individuals. As previously mentioned, the hiring manager will attend events and meet more people. The manager may connect with online groups that talk about their area of expertise. Some of those contacts may connect to the hiring manager on Linkedin, online forums/groups, or Twitter. Their is a common interest – their industry. These latter contacts become indirect. They’re more passive. The hiring manager may know ‘who’ they are, but not know them as in-depth as their first level contacts. Nonetheless, it is here that everything comes together. This is where the hiring manager can help. They can provide guidance on where to post their job opening(s). This audience is the network that needs to know about your job opening. If they’re not interested, they may tell someone else they know. A ripple effect begins. As humans, we like familiarity. We’re more likely to make a connection with someone where there’s a level of familiarity. A referral or a connection can remove some initial reservations.
Guidance
Hiring managers, don’t sell yourself short. You can be an asset in the recruiting process. Rest assured, us recruiters will do all the heavy lifting for you but your help can go a long way. Some things you can do to help:
- Share the link to your online job posting to your network – groups, social networks, etc
- Talk to friends and family about your opening. Social media is not the ‘be all end all’, and your network is not only online. Spread the word
- Provide the recruiter with ideas on where to post your position – college campuses, newspapers, etc
- Let the recruiter know where you, and similar professionals, hang out – events, establishments, etc
Together, as a team, we can make it all work.