This is not the only communication rule, though. It's crucial for the recruiter to:
• adapt to changes in requirements during the candidate selection process;
• correctly identify the hiring needs;
• be able to present the candidate to the customer;
• keep in touch with the customer;
• give feedback to both sides;
• check references from past jobs;
• conduct personal interviews;
• participate in the interview with the customer;
• prepare the candidate for the interview with the customer;
• be able to sell jobs
So, that's it about communication. What other skills are important for a recruiter? Below you can find five main points.
5 SKILLS OF A MODERN RECRUITER
What should a recruiter be able to do, apart from building a sourcing strategy?
Conduct employee evaluations.
This is an important skill not only for the recruiter but also for any HR specialist and hiring manager. Conducting a full-scale assessment and presenting the conclusions to the hiring manager will help to avoid mistakes and reduce the employee turnover rate in the company.
Know the basics of copywriting and marketing.
The recruiter should be able to write letters and describe openings on job sites. Their job is to attract the candidate using the right headlines, benefits, advantages, etc.
Sell the job and the company.
To do this, the recruiter needs to understand the candidates' needs, pains, and motivations. Knowing these criteria makes it easier to work with objections and find out if the candidate fits the company's values and won't leave after the probation period.
It's pointless to try selling a job to a candidate without clarifying their motivation first. When the candidate runs away during their probation period, all three parties will be dissatisfied: the recruiter, the customer, and the candidate
Manage job openings as a project.
This means that the recruiter should take a systematic approach to the search: build a strategy, analyze results, and look for the best resources.
Communicate effectively with the customer and the candidate.
This is what we've described above. The recruiter's task is to convey information to both parties in a way that is understandable to them. To do this, they always need to know how to talk to the person in front of them.
Have an understanding of the IT industry
A recruiter should know what IT professions there are on the market, which language is used to develop web and hardware solutions, what frameworks and libraries exist, what is the difference between relational and non-relational databases, and many other nuances of IT.
Possess the knowledge of the current situation in the labor market and be able to analyze it.
It is essential for a recruiter not just to find information from open sources, but also to conduct their own analysis and make hypotheses and decisions based on it.
WHAT TO READ TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT-RECRUITMENT
If you come to IT recruiting as a beginner and know nothing about staff assessment, start by reading the books "The Art of Staff Assessment" by Svetlana Ivanova and "Techniques for Successful Recruitment" by Tatiana Baskina.
It can be useful to study cases of companies and IT startups on VC.ru or Habr. We also recommend you take a look at Irina Shamaeva's blog.</p>
You can learn about search tools that are used today on our Telegram channel
For those who are determined to get a solid foundation in IT recruitment and learn how to fill IT positions without experience in hiring such specialists, we suggest taking a Junior IT Recruiter course.
• adapt to changes in requirements during the candidate selection process;
• correctly identify the hiring needs;
• be able to present the candidate to the customer;
• keep in touch with the customer;
• give feedback to both sides;
• check references from past jobs;
• conduct personal interviews;
• participate in the interview with the customer;
• prepare the candidate for the interview with the customer;
• be able to sell jobs
So, that's it about communication. What other skills are important for a recruiter? Below you can find five main points.
5 SKILLS OF A MODERN RECRUITER
What should a recruiter be able to do, apart from building a sourcing strategy?
Conduct employee evaluations.
This is an important skill not only for the recruiter but also for any HR specialist and hiring manager. Conducting a full-scale assessment and presenting the conclusions to the hiring manager will help to avoid mistakes and reduce the employee turnover rate in the company.
Know the basics of copywriting and marketing.
The recruiter should be able to write letters and describe openings on job sites. Their job is to attract the candidate using the right headlines, benefits, advantages, etc.
Sell the job and the company.
To do this, the recruiter needs to understand the candidates' needs, pains, and motivations. Knowing these criteria makes it easier to work with objections and find out if the candidate fits the company's values and won't leave after the probation period.
It's pointless to try selling a job to a candidate without clarifying their motivation first. When the candidate runs away during their probation period, all three parties will be dissatisfied: the recruiter, the customer, and the candidate
Manage job openings as a project.
This means that the recruiter should take a systematic approach to the search: build a strategy, analyze results, and look for the best resources.
Communicate effectively with the customer and the candidate.
This is what we've described above. The recruiter's task is to convey information to both parties in a way that is understandable to them. To do this, they always need to know how to talk to the person in front of them.
Have an understanding of the IT industry
A recruiter should know what IT professions there are on the market, which language is used to develop web and hardware solutions, what frameworks and libraries exist, what is the difference between relational and non-relational databases, and many other nuances of IT.
Possess the knowledge of the current situation in the labor market and be able to analyze it.
It is essential for a recruiter not just to find information from open sources, but also to conduct their own analysis and make hypotheses and decisions based on it.
WHAT TO READ TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT-RECRUITMENT
If you come to IT recruiting as a beginner and know nothing about staff assessment, start by reading the books "The Art of Staff Assessment" by Svetlana Ivanova and "Techniques for Successful Recruitment" by Tatiana Baskina.
It can be useful to study cases of companies and IT startups on VC.ru or Habr. We also recommend you take a look at Irina Shamaeva's blog.</p>
You can learn about search tools that are used today on our Telegram channel
For those who are determined to get a solid foundation in IT recruitment and learn how to fill IT positions without experience in hiring such specialists, we suggest taking a Junior IT Recruiter course.
To put it in other words, it's full stack in recruiting :) Below you will find more details about the functionality
THE RECRUITING PROCESS: STAGES AND TASKS
Keep in mind that the steps described below are the classic version of the process. They may vary from company to company: they can be mixed, dropped, or new ones might be added.
Planning
How does the recruiter allocate time during the week or the day? What helps them be as efficient as possible? You will learn more about scheduling techniques later in this article.</p>
Preparation
As a result of this step, the recruiter has several things ready: the ideal candidate profile, the sourcing strategy, the email template, and of course a selling job description.
Marketing
The recruiter publishes openings on social networks, job sites, Telegram channels, and chat rooms. They also send personalized emails to eligible candidates. The audience needs to know who you are currently looking for.
Sourcing
Here's where the active search for candidates starts. The recruiter searches on job sites, professional and social networks, forums, and messengers.
Selection
Now a recruiter sends all the interested candidates into the hiring process itself. It is important to monitor the candidates and collect feedback at each of its stages.
Closing a candidate
A recruiter brings successful candidates to the last step – the offer. At this stage, they explain to the candidate what is expected of them, answer the questions, once again tell them about the work conditions in the company and agree on a date when the candidate is to start working.
THE SOURCING STRATEGY
A recruiter does not need to dive into the intricacies of sourcing and building boolean queries. The sourcer can do that. However, a recruiter should be able to build a sourcing strategy to control the process.
Here are the steps you might follow:
Determine the essential requirements of the job.
Make a list of resources where you can search for candidates. If possible, add search tools and extensions to that list.
Prioritize your list of resources. Always start with the ones with the most engaged candidates — those who are actively looking for work and are open to communication.
Write your queries, from narrow to broad ones. Narrow queries are main skills, location, and salary. They will help you find the right candidates. Use the queries on priority resources first.</li></ol>
Why should a recruiter bother with sourcing if they have a sourcer?
First, while sourcing, the recruiter can compare search results from different resources and identify the best ones.
Second, it expands the candidate funnel. The recruiter finds not only specialists who are actively looking for employment, but also those who are just thinking about changing jobs. In the future, this recruiter can be among the first to offer them a job.
Third, sourcing is not just about finding candidates. It is the skill of using the web to find any information you need.
Another useful skill is writing conversion emails. We'll talk more about that in the next section.
HOW TO WRITE AN EMAIL WITH HIGH CONVERSION RATES
You've done a great job with your strategy and you've already found some ideal candidates. How do you compose a letter for them to get them interested and to make sure they respond?
Here are a few rules that work for us.
Write personalized emails.
The candidate should understand that the company is interested in them. Naturally, every recruiter has an email template ready. Be sure to add a few lines about the candidate that you're writing to: mention their work experience, achievements, etc.
Show your interest in the candidate.
Ask questions about the candidate. For example, what they are interested in, what tasks they would like to perform, and what professional goals they have for the next year. This way you will understand whether your opening matches their criteria.
Write from person to person, not from company to candidate.
We, us, our — it all sounds very cold and has long ago stopped to appeal to a developer. It's much more interesting to read a letter from a recruiter. Tell a little story about the job opening and its main challenges. Don't forget to mention what's so cool about the company that both the recruiter and the tech leads are still working there.
Call for action.
For example, you can ask a question that the candidate will want to answer extensively. Or you can ask them to call back and ask the questions they have. With some practice, you'll find the trick that works best.
What to do if your letters aren't answered?
Start with analyzing the profile of a candidate or group of candidates who are similar in their interests and online behavior.
⠀
One option is to do this with tools such as OctoHR or Candy Jar. They analyze the GitHub profile and sometimes CandyJar can help to compose a personalized letter based on the candidate's open projects on GitHub.
LinkedIn has a Crystal extension that often (not always, though) notices how a user communicates and what format they prefer to use.
⠀
In addition to these tools, you should always describe the project, and highlight the values and interesting tasks of the job. As a result, the really interested candidates will start answering you.
Should you text the candidates who are on probation?
Since we've started talking about letters, let's consider a situation when a candidate is already out on probation. The recruiters are often afraid of scaring them off and decide to leave them alone.
«ut in reality, this is the time to keep in touch with the candidate. Sometimes the customer may tell you that the candidate left as early as their first week and they need a new employee right now. Where do you find a new person so quickly?⠀
To rule out such situations and have backups, contact the candidate and find out how they feel in the company. Communication is a vital part of a successful hiring process.
HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH CANDIDATES AND CUSTOMERS
The main rule is to never assume what other people think!⠀
Ask questions, ask if you have understood the answer, but don't assume things. This can lead to you having an opinion that has nothing to do with reality.
THE RECRUITING PROCESS: STAGES AND TASKS
Keep in mind that the steps described below are the classic version of the process. They may vary from company to company: they can be mixed, dropped, or new ones might be added.
Planning
How does the recruiter allocate time during the week or the day? What helps them be as efficient as possible? You will learn more about scheduling techniques later in this article.</p>
Preparation
As a result of this step, the recruiter has several things ready: the ideal candidate profile, the sourcing strategy, the email template, and of course a selling job description.
Marketing
The recruiter publishes openings on social networks, job sites, Telegram channels, and chat rooms. They also send personalized emails to eligible candidates. The audience needs to know who you are currently looking for.
Sourcing
Here's where the active search for candidates starts. The recruiter searches on job sites, professional and social networks, forums, and messengers.
Selection
Now a recruiter sends all the interested candidates into the hiring process itself. It is important to monitor the candidates and collect feedback at each of its stages.
Closing a candidate
A recruiter brings successful candidates to the last step – the offer. At this stage, they explain to the candidate what is expected of them, answer the questions, once again tell them about the work conditions in the company and agree on a date when the candidate is to start working.
THE SOURCING STRATEGY
A recruiter does not need to dive into the intricacies of sourcing and building boolean queries. The sourcer can do that. However, a recruiter should be able to build a sourcing strategy to control the process.
Here are the steps you might follow:
Determine the essential requirements of the job.
Make a list of resources where you can search for candidates. If possible, add search tools and extensions to that list.
Prioritize your list of resources. Always start with the ones with the most engaged candidates — those who are actively looking for work and are open to communication.
Write your queries, from narrow to broad ones. Narrow queries are main skills, location, and salary. They will help you find the right candidates. Use the queries on priority resources first.</li></ol>
Why should a recruiter bother with sourcing if they have a sourcer?
First, while sourcing, the recruiter can compare search results from different resources and identify the best ones.
Second, it expands the candidate funnel. The recruiter finds not only specialists who are actively looking for employment, but also those who are just thinking about changing jobs. In the future, this recruiter can be among the first to offer them a job.
Third, sourcing is not just about finding candidates. It is the skill of using the web to find any information you need.
Another useful skill is writing conversion emails. We'll talk more about that in the next section.
HOW TO WRITE AN EMAIL WITH HIGH CONVERSION RATES
You've done a great job with your strategy and you've already found some ideal candidates. How do you compose a letter for them to get them interested and to make sure they respond?
Here are a few rules that work for us.
Write personalized emails.
The candidate should understand that the company is interested in them. Naturally, every recruiter has an email template ready. Be sure to add a few lines about the candidate that you're writing to: mention their work experience, achievements, etc.
Show your interest in the candidate.
Ask questions about the candidate. For example, what they are interested in, what tasks they would like to perform, and what professional goals they have for the next year. This way you will understand whether your opening matches their criteria.
Write from person to person, not from company to candidate.
We, us, our — it all sounds very cold and has long ago stopped to appeal to a developer. It's much more interesting to read a letter from a recruiter. Tell a little story about the job opening and its main challenges. Don't forget to mention what's so cool about the company that both the recruiter and the tech leads are still working there.
Call for action.
For example, you can ask a question that the candidate will want to answer extensively. Or you can ask them to call back and ask the questions they have. With some practice, you'll find the trick that works best.
What to do if your letters aren't answered?
Start with analyzing the profile of a candidate or group of candidates who are similar in their interests and online behavior.
⠀
One option is to do this with tools such as OctoHR or Candy Jar. They analyze the GitHub profile and sometimes CandyJar can help to compose a personalized letter based on the candidate's open projects on GitHub.
LinkedIn has a Crystal extension that often (not always, though) notices how a user communicates and what format they prefer to use.
⠀
In addition to these tools, you should always describe the project, and highlight the values and interesting tasks of the job. As a result, the really interested candidates will start answering you.
Should you text the candidates who are on probation?
Since we've started talking about letters, let's consider a situation when a candidate is already out on probation. The recruiters are often afraid of scaring them off and decide to leave them alone.
«ut in reality, this is the time to keep in touch with the candidate. Sometimes the customer may tell you that the candidate left as early as their first week and they need a new employee right now. Where do you find a new person so quickly?⠀
To rule out such situations and have backups, contact the candidate and find out how they feel in the company. Communication is a vital part of a successful hiring process.
HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH CANDIDATES AND CUSTOMERS
The main rule is to never assume what other people think!⠀
Ask questions, ask if you have understood the answer, but don't assume things. This can lead to you having an opinion that has nothing to do with reality.
Yazilya Nasibullina
Founder of the Academy
and Recruitment Agency
Tech-recruiter
and Recruitment Agency
Tech-recruiter
A recruiter is an HR specialist and a sourcer all in one. Recruiters don't just look for specialists on job sites, social networks, and other professional communities. Their tasks also include communicating with candidates before the interview, conducting interviews, and communicating with the client
WHO IS A RECRUITER AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
HOW TO BECOME AN IT RECRUITER: TIPS FOR BEGINNERS
What does the recruiting process consist of? What skills does a recruiter need? Where to start when diving into IT recruiting? In this article, you will find the answers to these questions and more. Read it and put it into practice!
