Part 10, and final part, of a 10-part series entitled, “10 Traits of the Best Contract Recruiters“
Aligning Contract Recruiters with Clients
In the course of managing our business since 1999, we have interviewed and hired a number of highly successful professional contract recruiters. We intend to keep doing that and have worked to identify some of the traits we have seen in our best performers over the last 18 years.
Today’s blog is the last in a series of 10 that identifies the traits of our most successful senior recruiters. We hope this perspective will provide guidance to those new to contract recruiting, offer some insight to experienced recruiters who are always looking to improve, and give TA/HR leaders some ideas on what should be expected of a contract recruiter. We also hope that this will stimulate ideas and conversation that provide additional insight from readers of this blog.
The 9 articles presented thus far are:
Part 1: Pursue Contracts that Leverage Your Strengths
Research and assess each contract opportunity objectively to evaluate your chance of success.
Part 2: Client Relationship, Not an Employer
You are a guest in your client’s home.
Part 3: Professional Curiosity and Pursuit of Knowledge
Learning about the business and technology of your client increases your ability to understand the true needs, to communicate more effectively with hiring managers & candidates, and it’s fun.
Part 4: Stay Organized and Communicate Efforts
Stay organized, track and report your efforts openly and in a consistent manner. Market your wins through data. Do not allow TA or HR leaders to be surprised by negative news.
Part 5: Respect the Dynamics of Being a Virtual Recruiter
Over communicate. Go the extra mile to be available by phone, email, or text. Be diligent with documentation and reporting.
Part 6: Factors in Determining Hourly Rate
There are many factors to consider when giving a rate. Know the market and the customer to price yourself realistically for the long haul.
Part 7: Should a Contract Recruiter Incorporate?
Both the professional contract recruiter and the client company can benefit.
Part 8: Building a Business Case for Contract Recruiters
It generally costs less to hire a contract recruiter than it does to hire the same recruiter as a regular employee or to use agencies. There are many factors for a client to consider but the best business case to present is the reputation of the recruiter.
Part 9: Bring Added Value
….above the expectations of the client.
Why It Works at Williams & Sewell
I hope you have enjoyed our blog series highlighting the traits of the best contract recruiters. These are not just traits we’ve observed while managing our company. We’ve lived them. Bill Sewell and I worked many years in the high tech corporate world. We witnessed first-hand the positive impact a great recruiter can have on an organization. They are key contributors to building high performing teams which ultimately impact the bottom line.
When we started our company, we vowed to only hire recruiters who would give our clients stellar service and represent us well. We made it personal. Our names are the company name and our reputations are at stake. The ultimate flattery to our vow for quality is that a high percentage of our contract recruiters have been hired regular full-time by our clients and we have lots of repeat business.
We are most effective when the HR / TA Leadership considered us a true business partner, not just a commodity vendor. Our 12-year relationship with Broadcom, a multi-billion dollar semiconductor technology company is a prime example. We were originally brought in by the EVP HR to help lower their cost-per-hire (CPH) and time-to-hire (TTH). They had aggressive hiring goals and they were heavily dependent on agencies. The TA team was under-resourced. We provided them with several contract recruiters and sourcers. We helped the TA Leadership to develop alternate mass recruiting techniques. After one year, both CPH and TTH was reduced by 50%. We can’t take credit for the entire result, but we were one key piece of that puzzle.
Their TA organization gained hard-earned credibility. The TA leadership engaged us in strategy planning and problem-solving discussions. They did not look elsewhere for contract recruiters. They knew we would deliver. This only gave us more motivation to provide the highest level of service possible. Broadcom remained a very active client for 12 years, only winding down as a result of their acquisition last year.
Quality is Key
We have proven that we can find the best recruiters over and over again. We have been successful in business by bringing high quality recruiters to our team and matching them with the right clients and opportunities. We consider both to be our customers. It is why we get repeat business and why we have been successful for 18 years.
10 Traits of the Best Contract Recruiters
Part 1: Pursue Contract that Leverage Your Strengths
Part 2: Client Relationship, Not an Employer
Part 3: Professional Curiosity and Pursuit of Knowledge
Part 4: Stay Organized and Communicate Efforts
Part 5: Respect the Dynamics of Being a Virtual Recruiter
Part 6: Factors in Determining Hourly Rate
Part 7: Should a Contract Recruiter Incorporate?
Part 8: Building a Business Case for Contract Recruiters
Part 9: The Added Value a Good Contract Recruiter Brings
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