Shortcuts. Good when you need to get home faster. Not so good in recruitment.
It used to be all about the need for speed – agencies promising a big database with ready-made ‘perfect’ candidates or job websites spinning algorithms and advising keyword magic tricks in an advert.
But now recruitment articles are bombarding us with “hacks” to be more efficient.
‘Communicate with candidates regularly…’ ‘Give and ask for feedback on every CV’… ‘Improve the job description’… ‘Consult’…
Recruitment has evolved but the components are always a client, a vacancy, and the search for a suitable candidate.
The “hack”? Just good old-fashioned communication, isn’t it? A recruiter listening to and understanding what the client is looking for, the ability to carry out a detailed and proactive search in response, and candidates being treated with respect.
If you’re a good recruiter, isn’t speed-based first-past-the-post contingency like Chris Froome going all out for the green jersey in each stage of the Le Tour de France – rather than the maillot jaune he’s more than capable of?
Isn’t the recent Eureka trend – advising a focus more on efficiency and quality – just the job recruitment should be and has always been…, rather than a hack?