Recently, our Instagram account hosted the first live broadcast "Workflow with Hiring Managers." We would like to share the main theses with you. And if you are interested in watching the full video, we invite you to our Instagram.
Working with Hiring managers is an integral part of any recruiter’s job. In general, this is where the entire search process begins. Therefore, it is very important to build the right communication with the company representative from the first minutes. After all, when you understand each other, it is much easier to find relevant candidates.
1. How to collect the right information about the vacancy?
First of all you need:
- To know your hiring manager face to face. Make the first small video call, where you will learn their role and the processes for which they’re responsible. After all, in different companies, people with the same role perform completely different tasks from time to time.
- Create a separate communication channel with the Hiring manager (Slack, Telegram, Teams, WhatsApp or any other). It will be faster and more convenient to solve all urgent issues tet-a-tet.
- Create a candidate profile (skills, place of residence, etc.). It is better to ask the Hiring manager about all the necessary points. Because in addition to standard points, individual companies may have their own special requirements.
- Plan the time of hiring. Each company has a framework for hiring an employee. Therefore, it is worth asking about them. Then honestly say whether it will actually be possible to meet these deadlines.
- Talk about all the stages of the interview: both the recruiting and client's stages. It is important to show candidates what to expect. After all, sometimes in companies there are not 2-3 stages of selection, but even 5-7. So the candidate must understand what is going to happen.
- Agree on feedback and its frequency. This applies to both the recruiter and the Hiring manager. It is important to always know what processes are happening right now.
- Prepare questions for the Hiring manager about the vacancy before the first call. It is even better to send them to the Hiring manager's e-mail address a few days before the call so that they can fill in all the necessary data. This will significantly speed up the communication process.
2. Speak to business in the language of numbers
Recruiters are the ears and eyes of Hiring managers on the labor market of IT specialists. Accordingly, you know the number of candidates of a particular referral and their average salary request. In this way, you can conduct high-quality communication with the Hiring manager regarding the fairness of the conditions of the filled vacancy. It is even better if you have certain statistics before the first call, because most Hiring managers like to talk in the language of numbers.
"I was very skeptical until I encountered it myself. In general, it is much easier for top managers to perceive everything in the language of numbers. Everything you say should be told in numbers, and it is better to show it. The more statistics on numbers, the better they understand what you are trying to convey," says Vadim.
More about this in the "Hiring Funnel" section
3. "We want someone like Ivan"
First of all, this is not a job description at all. But if you are still told something similar, you need to talk to this conditional Ivan. Find out what skills he has, what tasks he performs in the company every day, what kind of corporate culture he has, etc. If this is not possible because you are outsourced, then you need to ask all these questions to the Hiring manager. The more you know about Ivan, the easier it is for you to find a similar candidate. However, it should be remembered that sometimes it is much more expedient for the company to keep one Ivan, who has been working for the company for a long time and knows what to do then spend time teaching a new one.
4. Hiring funnel
"Any recruiter should use a database where they enter all candidates who have passed one or another stage. In my case, our company uses the Clever Staff database. There are all stages and the ability to extract data for a certain period of time, which will be visualized in the form of a funnel. It would be great for you to have such data, competently operate it and present it to the manager, if necessary," says Vadim.
The hiring funnel consists of several points. For example, you have found 200 candidates for a role. You talked to a hundred of them. Then you weeded out 50 because they don't have a certain skill, so the funnel got even smaller. Out of 50, you sent only 20 to a client for review. He talked to them and chose 5 people for the next stage. After the test task, three remained. After the final interview, one was chosen, to whom an offer was sent. See below for a visual example of a hiring funnel.
"According to the rule of good tone, our company shares the results of the work performed with the client every week. It is cool to save this data, because you yourself will understand in which direction the work is moving. And also the Hiring-manager will be calm, because they see all the stages and numbers with their own eyes," Vadim continues.
