The Candidate Relationship Trumps Everything

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

Good job seekers do their homework. They research and develop a list of companies they would enjoy working. Recruiters have an opportunity to establish relationships with these highly sought after and qualified job seekers focusing on resources, engagement and value long before the job posting is advertised. When good talent finds a company (or list of companies) they want to work for they’ll start building relationships with the recruiters. Whether their dream job is open or not, they understand the importance of the relationship.

As a recruiter a job seeker building a relationship with them should be instant gold. Even if you don’t have a job opening for them you’ll keep them in your back pocket and continue to build the relationship until you have something that fits their skill set. In doing so, you’re building a pipeline that focuses all on candidates that already have the passion to work for your company. This helps narrow the playing field and makes your job so much easier as the recruiter.

The smart job seeker is doing this with all the companies they want to work for because when times comes the recruiter is going to know them above other candidates who blindly submit their application. The perfect job seeker is a passive one who is always looking for the next advancement opportunity if they’re not completely happy with their company or doing see any type of growth in their future. No one wants to be a mid-level employee their entire life.

Good recruiters focus on closing requisitions. They research the candidate and understand the list of must-have qualifications the hiring manager needs. Great recruiters begin engaging, qualifying and talking to the community of qualified candidates at least six months before the actual opening. As I said in my previous post over lowering your open job requisition times the smart recruiter is going to have at least five candidates before a job is even posted online. The only way to have this is to start networking and getting to know your target demographic.

A good recruiter is a smart networker. They’re attending events in their industry and getting a feel for those working in their industry. Networking and connecting on LinkedIn will give recruiters access to employment history and a better understanding of who their qualified candidates are and aren’t. If the opportunity arises any employee can turn into a passive candidate. Sometimes it just takes the recruiter showing them the opportunity. Building these relationships will allow recruiters to continually be connected with and engaging with job seekers who will fit open positions down the road.

Learning to organize candidates and successfully build a pipeline of well-qualified individuals should be every recruiter’s ultimate goal. How do they successfully do this? They build the candidate relationship. Whether they’re the first ones to reach out to the candidate or the candidate makes the first move, it’s important to latch on and make sure you’re constantly engaging talented job seekers.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s is the Chief Blogger & Founder of Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @jmillermerrell.