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Why You Need to Be Very Careful When Choosing a Recruiting Firm

Over the past week, we've been following a fascinating discussion on LinkedIn that clearly reflects the poor state of modern third-party recruiting. Here are some of the findings that we compiled in a content analysis, using comments from both the candidate and client perspective (if you are unable to see the tables, they are attached below and posted at http://blog.hireinsightselect.com):

Table 1: Candidate Results

Table 2: Client/Employer Results

As an employer, it is important to understand that recruiters, and firms that include candidate sourcing as a part of their service (e.g., Hire Insight), should be providing value through either or both of the following:

1. Targeted Sourcing – actively searching out a select few suitable candidates for a particular role (i.e., “hunting”).
2. Filtered Sourcing – gathering a large number of qualified applicants and using an objective means of filtering out those with highest potential for the role (i.e., “fishing”).

To do their jobs effectively, both need to clearly understand the needs of the both the client and candidate in order to find a suitable match - this is the most central purpose of an employment or recruiting agency. Unfortunately, it is also the number one problem noted by both
clients and candidates in the above impromptu survey.

As a client, here are a few key questions that you should ask any third-party agency before employing their services:

1. What actions will you take to understand my needs and job requirements?
2. How will you recognize those with high-potential for the role? (note: make sure that they use objective methods, not their own subjective judgement)
3. What information will you provide me for each candidate, other than their resume? In other words, how will you help me make the right decision?

If you are a recruiter reading this posting, please consider using objective assessments to qualify candidates and provide your clients with information with which they can make good hiring
decisions. This will only help in terms of building strong relationships, repeat business, and a reputation for being ethical and honest. Even if you decide not to use Hire Insight methods, we would be more than happy to extend the professional courtesy of recommending other tools and methods.