The Ultimate 2023 Dating Guide for Recruiters

It’s Valentine’s Day - and we recruiters could take a few pages out of the dating book. After all, approaching candidates and clients is a lot like approaching a potential partner – and you’d be surprised how many behaviours tend to be exactly the same! Instead of being all-business, give your candidates and clients some love - recruitment style!

Screen your candidates like you would a potential date

Just like in the dating world, you need to screen your candidates like you would a potential partner or you might end up finding some skeletons in the closet later on! Instead of focusing on the looks, make sure you get into the deep stuff - this could be an initial call in which you ask a set of questions or briefly dive into their experience before inviting them on a first date with you (an interview!).

Make sure there’s a spark

It’s no secret that the candidate and the client need to have a spark of sorts – apart from the matching experience and qualifications, it’s crucial that the candidate fits within the company culture. This is where you need to get to know your clients really well - are they a heads-down bunch or do they like banter and lots of socialising? If there is no chemistry, it will just fizzle out during the interview process.

Speed dating never works

If you’ve ever been speed dating, you know that it’s impossible to get to know a person within 5 minutes – and the same goes for your candidates. Even if you’re drowning in applications, don’t go through them too quickly or you might miss a real gem! Sure, you need to screen your candidates efficiently, but once you have them, make sure that you take the time to really get to know them. Not just their experience - you want to get to know what their goals and aspirations are, so you can find a perfect match for them!

Don’t ghost – even if they’re not a match

Ghosting in the dating world can be common but that doesn’t make it right! Don’t ghost your candidates – after all, you never know if they may be a good match for a role you have later on… Plus, you don’t want them to bad mouth you or you will damage your reputation as a good recruiter! Even if a candidate wasn’t successful after taking the time to interview, chase your client for feedback. Job hunting is hard enough without being ghosted and left wondering what went wrong. The same goes for the candidates that don’t fit within the role you’re currently working on - the saying ‘right person, wrong time’ applies to recruitment as well! Make sure you keep them warm in your database so that when the right role appears, you can match them to the job!

Break up if you have to

Sometimes even the best relationships come to an end. If you’re struggling to find the candidate the right role, or if they have messed you around and not turned up to interviews, it might be time to say goodbye. Breakups don’t have to be messy though - I’ve had referrals from candidates I didn’t place because they liked my honest approach and communication throughout the process.

The same goes for clients - just because a client has a vacancy doesn’t mean you have to work on it. If they are difficult, are working with too many other agencies you are competing with, or wasting your time, it’s time to move on to better things!

And to learn even more about becoming a top recruiter this year, have a read of our eBook!