As part of Blue Signal’s Coffee with a Recruiter series, our own Senior Executive Recruiter, Melissa Coleman kicked us off with a discussion on some misconceptions about recruiting and the industry overall. Some key takeaways:
- Networking is about being helpful and becoming a knowledgeable resource within our industries - not about “stealing” LinkedIn connections.
- Recruiters have to be of service to both clients and candidates in order to reach their end goal.
- Recruiters are matchmakers, working to source and network to find candidates rather than dive into a magic drawer for resumes.
Watch and read below for the full discussion!
Question: What does networking look like for you as a recruiter?
Answer: “As recruiters, our goal is to be a valuable resource within our industry and focus.
A lot of people, when we send a LinkedIn invite, they are worried about us stealing their connections. Let’s be real here - most recruiters have all the tools we need that we can find anyone on LinkedIn and beyond - that’s not the goal. The goal is to be helpful. We want to be helpful to people within our industry. We want to be able to network with them and help them. Whether it is directly finding a job, or sharing industry information in terms of more depth, understanding, and knowledge.
We work really hard to understand and be well-networked within our industries.”
Q: As a recruiter, who do you “work” for?
A: “Technically, from a legal perspective, we’re working for the company. The company is the client because they are always paying us. But from a realistic perspective, we work for both sides. You need the candidates. And some companies actually refer to candidates as clients as well. We need both in order, quite honestly, for us to get to the end goal.
At the end of the day, we have to be of service to both sides. We want companies that think of us when they have a need - we want to do a good job and we want them to call us. And then we want the candidates, if they need a recruiter or if they have a friend that’s looking for a recruiter, to refer us. We’re not trying to shove a square peg into a round hole, or at least those of us that have been in the industry for any period of time. Our goal is to be of service to both sides.”
Q: What is a common misconception about recruiting?
A: “A very common misconception is that we have a magic drawer. It’s a little bit of a dated analogy, but that we simply pull out a drawer and pull out a resume. In truth, we put in a lot of effort and we have a process in order to find the right candidate for a role.
We work with the company to understand their needs. Going back to networks, we have a good network that’s a starting point for us. But we also actively source and recruit for roles to make sure we get the right fit on both sides. We’re matchmakers. We’re looking to make sure it’s a match on both sides.”
“Melissa Coleman’s 15 years of recruiting experience gives her a second-nature understanding of clients’ hiring needs. When it comes to manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, and sales in IoT and AI; she has a unique capacity to review chemistry and motivation from both parties and make lasting placements.”
Curious to learn more about recruiting? Be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay up to date on the latest news in recruiting, telecom, wireless, healthcare, manufacturing, and other exciting industries. To learn more about what Blue Signal can do for you, contact us for a free consultation.
