Recruiters are shouldered with the responsibility of selecting candidates that fit well in the company’s culture, based on the resume of the candidate, a face-to-face interview and the HR’s own better judgement. Over the years, a lot has been said about hiring processes. Many renowned personalities have penned quotes about Recruitment that, not only relate to recruitment or its importance, but also can work as guiding points for recruiters.
So, if you’re a recruiter, here are 5 most influential quotes on Recruitment, that will surely help you refine your own hiring process:
1. “To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to.”
– Kahlil Gibran
Past achievements and milestones are great to judge a candidature, but not a foolproof method for recruitment. Capabilities and passion are two completely different aspects, with the latter being a more coveted trait. On the same principle, recruiters may also face candidates having big gaps in their resumes. This can be for medical, self-improvement or family issues. Very few recruiters master the skill of understanding the capabilities of a candidate, without bias regarding past work gaps. A candidate might be really good and have a knack for adaptability, but recruiters might become too cautious and not consider such candidates as a good fit. Interviewers should give candidates a fair chance to explain their story, and check if his/her aspirations to grow with the company are true.
2. “Don’t lose your empathy; remember what it’s like to look for a job, it’s emotionally exhausting work.”
– Kristin Patrick
One of the most vital qualities for a recruiter to develop is the virtue of empathy. Empathizing with your potential employees in order to connect on a deeper level will strengthen the employer-employee relationship from the beginning. Most of the candidates in the interview are going through a stage where they have already faced multiple rejections, having financial issues, worried about their future and nervous about the interview itself. This may make it a little difficult for them to relax and show their capabilities to the fullest in the interview. But it will help a lot for recruiters to maintain an empathetic approach.
3. “Don’t look for the perfect candidate.”
– Jonathan Clarke
A perfect candidate is a wild goose chase. There is no, and there wouldn’t ever be a “perfect” candidate who fits exactly in all criteria. While hiring, the focus should be on finding the most befitting candidate for the job role and finding the one nearest to the ideal candidate. Recruiters may spend a lot of their time in searching for the right one, but they can equally spend that time in hiring a trainable candidate who can get up to speed and start becoming an asset for the company faster.
4. “You can hire good people and let them work, or you can hire cheap people and tell them what they have to do.”
– Warren Buffet
As recruiters, there will always be a balancing game between the company budget and candidate skills. But like Warren Buffet rightfully says, saving a few bucks on hiring can be a costly affair in the long run. Though it doesn’t always have to be related to pricing, it might be the first thing that comes to mind. However, it can also relate to skills, ethics, personality or team-spirit. One of the best indicators of a bad hiring is the need to micromanage someone.
Along with the above quote, Steve Jobs also said, “Hiring the best is your most important task”, and he was not wrong at all. Often times, recruiters forget why they hired a specific individual for a particular job role, which is, to make the employer’s work easier. But the focus of the recruiter gets diverted and they often end up hiring people who are unfit for the role. It should be noted that working hard might be essential in a lot of situations but smart-work is definitely something that helps a company in the long run.
5. “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.”
– David Oglivy
For a company, the best assets are employees who are really good at what they do; sometimes, even better than the ones present. It bodes well for recruiters to keep in mind that getting a candidate who is better at a particular job than the seniors present in the company can only be good news for the company. This, in turn, creates a positive and challenging workspace for everyone present in the company.
Today, recruitment is as much of an art, as is science. With the mind-set of the recruiter playing a major role in hiring the best candidates, its imperative for them to be mentally motivated. In one of our previous blogs, we did speak about the 4 top noteworthy skills required by any recruiter. These skills, along with the quotes on Recruitment, as given above, can guide recruiters to refine their hiring strategies and find that perfect fit for any job role.