Who said talent acquisition (TA) and human resources professionals are not salespeople? They are among the most diverse and agile sales professionals, just don’t call them salespeople. You ask, what is their product? A talent acquisition and human resources professional sells an opportunity. Their product is the potential of “a job,” or “a career,” or even a “career change,” and all of that is wrapped up in the employer they are representing. No big deal, you say, anyone can do that, right? All you have to do is be energetic and a good communicator. Stop right there, and let’s begin to unpack what really goes on behind “just a recruiter.”
There are certifications a person can earn to become a certified TA professional or HR professional or both; there are classes to take, there are metrics to understand, and so much more. When I talk with individuals about getting into HR and specifically recruitment or TA, there are 4 areas I encourage them to think about. The first is intellectual curiosity: what are you curious about, and what do you like to talk about? The second is process discipline and organization; you are managing a book of business, and you need to be organized. The third area you must think about is, what is your level of comfort in dealing with conflict and rejection, people do say no and conversations can get delicate. Finally, what do you find gratifying in your work?
Intellectual curiosity is an interesting concept. We all have areas of focus that we enjoy and other areas that we don’t. When thinking about TA, it is essential to have a keen sense of intellectual curiosity about the type of recruiting you are going to do. For example, if the concept of science and anatomy intrigues you, then perhaps a focus area could be medical device or pharmaceutical. As a TA partner, you are the trusted partner to the business and as such, the business is looking to you to sell the opportunity; to discuss with the hiring manager what is important in the role, as well as understand what the candidates are sharing from a technical or functional perspective. If you can’t ”speak the language,” it is challenging to highlight the opportunities to a candidate as well as translate their experiences into what the business is looking for in their talent. If you are not curious about it and don’t understand it, both the managers and the candidates will see through you. If this is the case, you run the risk of becoming a “resume pusher,” not a partner. So, choose an area you are interested in, and learn all about it; in other words, know your product.
When it comes to managing a desk of opportunities and candidates, organization is the key. The rule of thumb I encourage a TA partner to think about is the rule of thirds. One third of your requisitions should be in the open and sourcing stage, another third should be in the screening and interviewing stage, and the final third should be in the offer and pre-employment stage. Calls will quickly go from one to another, messages will be left on your phone, text, email and yes, even snail mail. Keep your candidates and opportunities organized, be flexible and be able to pivot very quickly in topics and plan time for yourself to do that deep chair sourcing and networking. The last thing you want to find yourself is speaking to a candidate or a manager about an opportunity only to discover you “had the wrong one.”
"If you can’t “speak the language” it is challenging to highlight the opportunities to a candidate as well as translate their experiences into what the business is looking for in their talent."
Rejection, crickets, ghosting, call it what you want, but the old saying you must knock on seven doors to get one to open applies in talent acquisition too. It is even more critical today, as there are so many tools at your disposal to connect with candidates, that candidly, the opportunity may simply be overlooked. The candidates that you may want to pursue, those actively employed, may not be actively looking, so you strive to find the right balance between being overwhelming and networking. An individual who is accustomed to instant responses, quick messages back, and is not comfortable with the long pause, then the career of a TA partner might not be an ideal place for you. I see this applying across all fields of TA, from executive retained search to agency; the greatest variable in the work a recruiter does is “people.” For every acceptance and start for a candidate, there are stories of candidates withdrawing after accepting and even yes, not showing up on their appointed start date. There is also the possibility that you are so close to extending the offer only for conditions to change and you must tell the candidate those dreaded words, “We are putting the job on hold.”
Once you have figured out what aspects of business you are interested in, determined you are good at managing multiple priorities and keeping your desk organized, and are ok with having the metaphoric door closed on you several times, you now get to ask the most important question: what satisfies you. If you are satisfied with assisting individuals and businesses in aligning the right talent at the right time and all your efforts are for the benefit of others. Talent acquisition might just be the place for you. If you are “in-house”, meaning you are part of the business, then you could reap the rewards of your efforts through the success of the company. If you are a supporting resource, augmenting the business, then your success is “filling the role” and moving on, but wait, is it really? In both cases, your efforts have changed people’s lives. Your efforts have opened new doors and new horizons for others. When all is said and done, self-gratification is found in knowing you helped make a change for others.
Now that you have heard just a few things, I encourage those thinking about going into talent acquisition to think about whether you are sure you don’t want to consider sales?
