This applies to external recruiters as well as candidates and employers: they must differentiate themselves by offering something new. An ongoing relationship with candidates is today the key to effective sourcing and at the heart of the role of the recruitment consultant.
For the past year, recruiting professionals have observed a clear resumption of activity: companies not only recruit but also, they recruit urgently. In this race against the clock, the risk is great for the firms commissioned to propose the same candidates as their competitors. In the mission of consultants, whether they are involved in recruitment, interim or transitional management, the emphasis is therefore on sourcing, which must be more effective than ever, whereas it was fifteen years ago , their role was balanced between the search for customers and the search for candidates. "In a context where applications that meet the needs of companies are rare, we must be better at identifying and evaluating candidates," said Thierry Andrieux, founder of Humanessence, a firm specializing in support functions.
To be able to propose candidates that the competition has not proposed, nothing beats the relational
"Currently, when a company commissions three or four firms to find the same profile, it often happens that the same CV is sent almost simultaneously by these firms," observed our interlocutor. In a shortage market, how to stand out as a recruitment intermediary, how to propose candidates that the competition has not proposed? Sourcing on all existing platforms is useful but does not allow you to submit an application exclusively. The investigation must therefore be carried out elsewhere and this elsewhere begins in the pool that each recruiter has managed to create and maintain. Hence the importance of the link to maintain with the candidates. The latter can be potential candidates for a current mission or effective referrers, by directing the search for the recruiter or by recommending profiles likely to be interested in the position to be filled.
The recruiter must show white paw to attract the candidate
Today more than yesterday, candidates do not want to waste time. For them to accept an appointment, there must be a real position at the end. To approach a candidate, the recruiter must show white paw. "This is to reassure him of the seriousness of the firm, on the understanding of the trade of its target, on its expertise as a recruitment professional, and this is valid whatever the function sought", continues Thierry Andrieux. The relationship with the candidate is thus established on good foundations.
The recruiter is a hunter and a cultivator
To stand out is the lot of all: the candidate, the company and the external recruiter must know how to differentiate themselves. Today, the difference is made by the quality of the link. Between the ability to source and the ability to create and maintain relationships with candidates, the recruitment consultant is "a hunter and a link cultivator", notes Thierry Andrieux. It's not new, but some may have forgotten it.
Sophie Girardeau