My advice, get to you know your recruiter, but better yet, get to know whether or not they can sell?!
A couple of years ago, I caught an interview with basketball great, Charles Barkley. The comment that captured my attention was when he mused that “there are only five jobs in the world.”
I forget which positions he listed at the time, but the thought stuck with me. It’s an interesting idea, but over time I realized that I disagree with it. There aren’t even five jobs in the world. There is only one: sales.
There is only one job in the world
When you’re recruiting, you are really selling a brand, convincing candidates to buy in to a company. Employment is clearly a business transaction. Employers buy time and effort with money and benefits, candidates buy money and benefits with time and effort. Everybody is in sales.
Artists sell art. Clergy sell belief and membership. Athletes sell tickets and sponsors’ products. The garbage collector works for the city and keeps the city streets clean, selling the municipal brand to homeowners and tourists. Journalists sell newspapers (or at least they used to.) Customer service, IT support, finance, of course they’re all in sales.
I said in an earlier article that marketing is recruiting, and that is true. But what is marketing really? It’s sales. So is recruiting.
The key to success in almost any role is understanding what you are selling and who your target market is. When you can tailor your pitch and delivery to their needs and wants, you close the deal.
Applicants aren’t enough
If you want to hire the best talent on the market your recruiters have to be able to sell your company as a better place for them to build their career than rival organizations. Anyone can get applicants. Most jobs that are advertised receive too many applications. The trouble is that roughly 95% of them are irrelevant or unqualified candidates.
That often leaves companies selecting from the remains, the best of bad options. You’re better than that. Your company needs better than that – especially for your leadership roles.
You need people who will be passionate about their work, their teams, and your brand. People who can create strategies, implement solutions, and deliver results. Leaders.
Can your recruiter sell?
To win that kind of talent, your recruiters themselves have to be leaders…and really good sales people! They must know your culture, your mission, and what makes your company a great place to work. They need to believe in the vision of your company and be able to communicate it to the types of talent you’re targeting.
Recruiters have to know the talent market, know what they need and want, and they must be able to clearly articulate the full range of your company’s benefits as an employer of choice. They have to sell.
The Leadership Agency was founded with one purpose: to help companies lead by helping them hire the best leadership talent they need to take them to the top of their industries. To find out more, contact Jamie Hoobanoff, Founder at The Leadership Agency. jamie.hoobanoff@leadershipagency.com
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