It Is Important To Have Reasonable Expectations For Recruiting Firms
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2025 4:54 am
It is completely fair for a company to ask for a higher quality of candidates from recruiting firms in order to justify their fees. However, it is not fair or reasonable for a company to expect recruiting firms to be a miracle worker. In the 2004 movie "Miracle" Herb Brooks (played by Kurt Russell) famously said to his Assistant Coach "I am not looking for the best players, I am looking for the right ones". If you are not a top employer, if you do not pay top money, if you are not in a top/desirable geographic region or a top location/desirable location within that region, and/or if you do not have top culture or career advancement opportunities then you will have limited ability to attract top talent and therefore you should not demand a recruiting firm to do as much. What you can and have every right to expect from a search firm if you are an employer like this is for them to find the "best fit" for you.
Just like in the dating world there is a right person for everyone, there is a right bahamas whatsapp phone number candidate for every job and company out there, just not necessarily the best candidates overall who nonetheless are indeed the best fit for you. It is important to be realistic in your expectations of the type of candidates you will be able to attract. If your competition has a better reputation than you, has a bigger budget than you (for salaries, etc), and provides better long term career prospects and benefits than you, then it will be nearly impossible for a recruiting firm to successfully poach the top talent you want from your competition.
10) Do Not Let Recruiting Firms Post Advertisements Online That Compete Directly With Your Own Job Postings
This error is more on the recruiting firms you engage than on you and your company, but if you allow a search firm you have engaged to do this then you are prospectively paying them a fee to compete against you for active candidates you would find/attract on your own. Most reputable and experienced recruiters will ask you about what advertising mediums you are using. You are paying a recruiting firm to recruit, if they are posting job advertisements on the same job boards you are using then they are not only repeating what you are doing on your own, they are competing against you.
Why would you be willing to pay a fee, any fee, to such a company? This goes back to Mistake #3 re: nominal fees. You may have gotten a lower nominal fee from these firms, but what you actually got was 0-10% level service for which you are actually paying 20-25% fee if you hire one of their candidates. It is important you set strict guidelines to the recruiting firm as to what search tactics will and will not be allowed in order for them to collect a fee.
Just like in the dating world there is a right person for everyone, there is a right bahamas whatsapp phone number candidate for every job and company out there, just not necessarily the best candidates overall who nonetheless are indeed the best fit for you. It is important to be realistic in your expectations of the type of candidates you will be able to attract. If your competition has a better reputation than you, has a bigger budget than you (for salaries, etc), and provides better long term career prospects and benefits than you, then it will be nearly impossible for a recruiting firm to successfully poach the top talent you want from your competition.
10) Do Not Let Recruiting Firms Post Advertisements Online That Compete Directly With Your Own Job Postings
This error is more on the recruiting firms you engage than on you and your company, but if you allow a search firm you have engaged to do this then you are prospectively paying them a fee to compete against you for active candidates you would find/attract on your own. Most reputable and experienced recruiters will ask you about what advertising mediums you are using. You are paying a recruiting firm to recruit, if they are posting job advertisements on the same job boards you are using then they are not only repeating what you are doing on your own, they are competing against you.
Why would you be willing to pay a fee, any fee, to such a company? This goes back to Mistake #3 re: nominal fees. You may have gotten a lower nominal fee from these firms, but what you actually got was 0-10% level service for which you are actually paying 20-25% fee if you hire one of their candidates. It is important you set strict guidelines to the recruiting firm as to what search tactics will and will not be allowed in order for them to collect a fee.