This is for anyone wanting to have an amazing 2019. Take your recruiting career to the next level with this simple to follow the guide on how to be an awesome recruiter in 2019. Last year I wrote a list of things that I thought would help recruiters be amazing in 2018, this year I am back with an updated version. Some of the things are the same as last year, same, same but different. A simple to follow a collection of ideas, methods and hacks to help you in 2019.
2019, Recruitment isn’t broken, we all just need to get better at Recruiting!
I have spent a lot of nearly ten years of my career under the black cloud of HR PR claiming Recruitment is broken. I have watched many entrepreneurs crash attempting to fix recruitment with Blockchain, AI or some other tech hodgepodge only to realise that the real problem in Recruiting is how hard it is to actually is to hire someone.
Recruiting isn’t broken. Recruiting is hard. Anyone building a team these days needs a unique set of skills just to hire efficiently.
Recruitment as a skill needs to be recognised and developed. Recruiters that hire should be proud
If we really want to fix recruiting, its up to all of us.
That’s why I wrote this post, to share what I know with the world. I hope this will help you be awesome at hiring in 2019.
Please share this link with everyone in recruitment you know. Everyone on your company slack, email lists and if you’re feeling rebellious print it out for the people that still don’t have the internet.
It is up to all of us involved in hiring to fix Recruitment. Here is how you can start being a better recruiter.
Get to know who you recruit
The biggest complaint I hear about recruiters is they don’t understand the jobs they recruit for. Every mistake I have made during my recruiting career could have been avoided if I had just spent more time getting to know who I was recruiting. Get to know who you recruit, spend time with them they will help you fill all those jobs you are trying to hire for!
TIP – Find some people who you want to hire and ask them, how would you like to get your new job?
Partner with your hiring manager
Your hiring manager is your end client, it is their team you are hiring for. Get super cosy with them. The best recruiters I know, are never annoyed at their hiring managers but see them as complicit partners that they are trying to help grow. Recruiters success in 2019 will be down to how well they know the team they are hiring for. Get close to them today.
TIP – Set up weekly check ins, show them who you have approached, ask them if they can do your follow ups for the people who didn’t reply!
Tell people you are hiring
Yes, so new for 2019. Tell people you are hiring! Advertise the Jobs you are hiring for. Not crappy job ads with 40 bullet points and a wall of requirements. Get out there and tell people who you are hiring and what they will do. Don’t forget to tell them what they will get out of it. Crazy to think it’s 2019 and the best way to hire people is still to advertise!
TIP – Here is my walkthrough of how to hire people for free on Indeed.
Don’t be scared to Fail
Stop hunting for perfection and worrying about getting everything right. Start messing things up. The best manager I ever had taught me that he was happy when I was failing 20% of the time. If you have never failed, you have never done anything. Start Doing, Start Failing.
TIP – Watch this Ted Video Playlist to learn how to Fail
Ask questions when you are stuck
There is so much power in asking questions. Not questions you could have just googled, but the complicated ones or the ones that need input from elsewhere or from someone with experience. There is a forgotten magic power in asking people questions, it helps you make new friends and helps you leverage the expertise in your own org and your network. Don’t think you know everything, ask more questions!
TIP – Give this HBR Article a Read
Don’t be a creepy phantom, Engage
Odd that I should tell
TIP – Tweet me or comment, its easy!
Know your market
If you are going to be an expert recruiter in Python or the next
TIP – Use reviews on sites like Indeed and Glassdoor for
Get REALLY GOOD AT Finding stuff out!
Seriously the number of people that can’t find stuff out on the internet still blows my mind. You are a recruiter, your job is to find people. That means you have to get good at looking for people. Learn how to search for anything quickly. It will make your life so easy..
TIP – Learn about George Boole, use this tool to look for people on Facebook, learn all the search tricks here and when you get super advanced
Use Data
Measure everything. Use Data Religiously in every part of your life. Its 2019, big data is everywhere. I still find recruiters
Design for Privacy
As a Recruiter you have a lot of private data. CV’s are seriously sensitive information, so is interview feedback and salary info. Get your head around the fact that you are dealing with a lot of private data and start treating it like such. Don’t leave people’s CV’s lying around.
Tip – Read my Alan’s blog on what Sourcer’s & Recruiters need to know about GDPR
Authentic content Wins
Seriously, no one cares about your brand values. Authentic content is shared by the people that actually work in the place. Everyone knows that your “employer brand” is a lie. Let your people tell their story.
Tip – Start watching Gary Vee videos!
Stop Writing Bland Emails
Dear Mr ten-page email writer. If you fall asleep writing the email, I
TIP – Read Sofia’s story about her journey with
USE FEEDBACK
See every piece of feedback as a gift.
Whoever gives it, everyones perspective needs to be listened to when it comes to hiring.
Everyone is your client. Using their feedback to improve will help you get better!
Say No – Often!
Sadly, as recruiters, we are gatekeepers as well as dream givers.
You will find yourself saying No a lot more than saying yes.
Getting good at this and confident with this is key to your success as a recruiter.
Tip – It’s expensive not to give candidates feedback
Document
Getting really good at documentation is an important skill for every recruiter! This not only helps us share knowledge and collaborate
From taking interview notes to sharing new techniques. This starts by learning things like how to touch type and
Documentation is a key skill everyone in recruiting needs.
Read more
Well you got this far so you must be doing something right! What I really mean by read more, is consume more content! Consuming long form content is the differentiator in todays world. Sure, you can learn a lot watching 2 minute videos. To be an expert you need to consume more long form content.
Help people out
Every recruiter I spoke to in 2018, when I asked them why they are a recruiter told me it was to help people. Nuff said.
Help people.
You will reap the rewards in the long run.
Find a community
A network is Key to everyone’s career success. Communities are key to getting the latest hiring knowledge and learning about the easiest ways to hire people. It’s 2019 people you can explode your network and your career. Spend time asking questions reading, learning and soaking it all in. If you are an InHouse recruiter join DBR, if you like Growth minded recruitment, join the growth hacking recruiters.
TIP – Check out Hung Lee’s amazing list of Communities to join in 2019
Share your best ideas
Please. It will help the rest of us get better.
If your stuck, share other peoples ideas!
Please share this.
UPDATE NUMBER 1
I thought it was a bit arrogant of me to just post my own thoughts, so I asked the worlds largest community of recruiters. The Facebook Group “Recruiters Online” to also share their thoughts on what will make recruiters better in 2019 and I was overwhelmed by the responses. Go check out the post here, I have screen grabbed some of the top responses below.
