how to leverage your recruiter

some do's and don't for leveraging your recruiter as a hiring manager or candidate

open role: vp of demand generation

• running all-things dg/growth marketing for a series a

• reporting to the cro, working with product marketer

• sleeves up in the trenches, little/no oversight

• onsite in sf 5x a week. need to like that

interested? apply here or reply to this email

active candidate: strategic account executive

• 10+ years of enterprise sales experience selling technical products

• selling mostly data platforms with some rev-tech products

• $2-3m in revenue each year and never below quota

• #1 rep every year the past 5 years

want to chat with them? email me

my 2 cents: how to leverage your recruiter

working with a recruiter, as a hiring manager or candidate, can either bring immense value or be a complete waste of time.

what makes the difference? knowing how to leverage them.

recruiters are incentivized to be helpful. the only times they truly win are when they place candidates with companies that they stick with and genuinely enjoy.

so, as a recruiter that has personally placed hundreds of candidates with dozens of companies, here are a few primary ways to best utilize the recruiter you’re working with

hiring managers:

let’s start from the top:

1. industry experience: if the recruiter you’re working with isn’t able to say “no” to a role you need support on, then they’re likely a generalist and imo, steer clear. if you’re looking to scale your sales and marketing teams and build out of your dev teams, you shouldn’t be turning to the same recruiter for both needs. find a recruiter that stays in their lane and let them cook.
   

2. speed to market: the biggest sticking point recruiters experience with clients is having to down shift their speed to match the client’s pace. if you’re consistently getting follow ups from your recruiter (internal or external) for feedback, next steps or direction on what roles to prioritize, then you’re the problem. great recruiting is most often hindered by timing and, as you know, time kills all deals. stay responsive and make your recruiter catch up to you not slow down for you.
   

3. clear is king: when you’re giving feedback (good or bad) to a recruiter, be quick, clear and direct. “not a culture fit” isn’t an answer. give specifics. don’t worry about being mean or rude. if you’re out of line, a great recruiter will correct you. but chances are they can see beyond the surface and understand why that feedback is a dq for that candidate. but, they can’t dial in the search and improve the input quality if they don’t know what to adjust.
   

4. let them push back: if you trust them to screen, trust them to push back. their #1 goal is to find the right candidate for the role. that’s it. and chances are if they’re advocating for a candidate after they’ve been rejected it’s because a) they think you’re wrong or b) they think you missed something they believe you’ll see on the 2nd go-around and be glad you did.
   
   if they’re wrong, they lose trust. if they’re right, they gain it.

candidates:

trust me, recruiters want to help.

but, you gotta help yourself.

but cam, how? so glad you didn’t ask

• find a recruiter in your space: recruiters are specialists. find a recruiter that’s focused on your industry and/or your role type.
  

• keep them up to speed: if i ask a candidate where else they’re interviewing and they say, “i’d rather not share” that’s an immediate red flag to me. what are you hiding and why? if i’m not up to speed with your search then how on earth am i supposed to properly advocate for you? tell your recruiter where you’re interviewing, at what stage and for what role. don’t trust them? talk to your therapist or don’t work with them.
  

• trust their advice: we’re not here to get a first interview going. we’re here to get you a job at a company you’re excited about. when we tell you how to prep for an interview, take it seriously. if we tell you to avoid certain phrases or traps, listen to us. if we tell you to send a follow-up, just send the follow-up. we want you to win and our advice comes from years of experience and first-hand knowledge.

TLDR: help me help you

working with the right recruiting partner can be the secret weapon behind your team’s growth. however, if you don’t know how to leverage them for the tool that they are, it’s like throwing a hammer at a screw and hoping something happens.

lean on their expertise. trust their advise. heed their warnings (dramatic, i know).

we know what we’re doing and if you’re paying us, then get that roi and trust us to do what we do best: recruit.

music for your friday