Editorial
We appreciate the effort you put into your application. However, after careful consideration, we have decided not to proceed with your candidacy for this position.
— common email response received by candidates
Where have all the great recruiters gone?
Have you been laid off as leaders continue to cling to a looming recession that has never arrived?
Has someone convinced your leadership that AI can do your job?
Or are you just exhausted, trying to balance conflicting demands from your organization versus the labor market?
If you’re a talent acquisition professional, please know you are needed now more than ever. No doubt there’s a role for technologies to improve productivity and broaden reach to be as inclusive as possible, be that match-making software, social media postings or applicant platforms. However, I'm appalled by the decreased value being placed on the personal connection that only humans can deliver. In a world that suffers from chronic isolation, delivering a compelling candidate experience is the first step to a lasting fit. Just like dating, the early stage of a working relationship is typically when people try to show up as their best. If the dating is mediocre, rest assured the marriage will be worse.
Don’t Mistake Filling Jobs With Recruitment
Companies consistently talk about the importance of great talent, yet they manage recruiters as an expense — or worse — a drain on productivity, not as cultural ambassadors. Skilled recruiters are worth their proverbial weight in gold. They know how to listen, how to build relationships and how to represent organizational cultures at their best. More than anything, great recruiters rise above the obvious and seek to experience the whole person. After all, isn’t the goal to hire a colleague with whom others want to work?
There is no substitute for the discernment a recruiter can bring. Exploring and appreciating the fit between an organization and an individual is desperately needed in today’s labor market. Economy notwithstanding, employees will exit an organization when the fit is wrong (as Andre Martin covers so well in "Wrong Fit, Right Fit"). Along with compensation, the desire for purpose, impact and professional growth are consistently in the top five reasons people seek new roles. Recruiters should create the psychological safety for candidates to self-disclose, share what they are seeking and show up as their authentic selves — an aspect of inclusion that the corporate world has been chasing for decades.
Related Article: Recruit for Fit by Aligning Expectations and Reality
The Only Thing Worse Than No Hire Is a Bad Hire
I solicited real-world examples from a few heads of talent acquisition to explain why skilled recruiters are so essential. Below are four of the most compelling reasons they offered, as they transcend industry, function and level within organizations.
Uncovering False Representation
Apparently one of the negative uses of AI is a candidate’s ability to create a compelling resume and answer screening questions without possessing the requisite knowledge or skills. The most striking example I heard was about hiring a software developer. The individual was a freelance contractor who successfully advanced through multiple rounds of screening, including answering a few application-oriented problems that needed solving. Once the candidate made it to the final interview, it became apparent that this “developer” had no clue what they were talking about. They had used AI prompts to create plausible answers, but when asked to explain their decision-making process or describe alternate approaches, the candidate came up empty.
Appreciating Experienced Candidates
The more experience a candidate has, the more likely they are to be eliminated by AI. Recruiters can see the patterns of success and explore the underlying skills that transcend a series of jobs. Experienced talent is typically quite good at identifying their going-forward career aspirations, which is not the same as the sum of their resume. Quite the contrary, it is normal for individuals to shift their career preferences over several decades of work. Their experiences have taught them what they love, which can mean choosing a narrower focus than their qualifications suggest.
This isn’t the same as age discrimination, but it is closely associated. When you hear a candidate described as “overqualified” or the candidate profile includes wording like a “fresh” perspective, that made be code for age bias. The same is true for ongoing education. If you are surprised by the 50+ candidate who wants to leverage tuition assistance to earn another degree, that’s likely age bias. The working assumptions about workers age 50+ are completely outdated, just as the assumptions are about the ideal age when someone should retire.
Emerging data suggests today’s early career talent has a decreased desire to lead or manage others. They enjoy their autonomy and flexibility, work/life integration, and prefer the freedom afforded to them by being an individual contributor. With leadership pipeline challenges already in existence, recruiters are more attuned to the value of lived leadership experiences and the acumen experienced candidates bring.
Related Article: Are We Taking Mid-Career Talent for Granted?
Demonstrating Skills That Matter
Communication and interpersonal skills were consistently cited as critical, yet lacking in many candidates. The ability to listen was tops on the list, along with clearly expressing ideas and demonstrating an ability to work with others. On paper, candidates may look like an outstanding fit, yet during the interview process they are unable to demonstrate the core communication skills required to successfully onboard and excel as a new hire. A skilled recruiter won’t get lost in the candidate’s technical acumen and can real-time assess the broader skills needed to be an effective team member.
Creating a Sense of Belonging
A sense of belonging begins with a company’s approach to talent acquisition. Ask anyone who has worked with an outstanding recruiter, and they will tell you what a difference that person made as a brand ambassador. A great recruiter can be the final addition that favorably tips the scales, as they convey culture norms. They signal the potential for new and welcoming relationships, just the same as weak recruiters signal how challenging it will be to successfully onboard.
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Making a job decision is both logical and emotional. When candidates feel safe expressing their professional and personal needs, a skilled recruiter can respond with compassion and empathy. Once this cycle begins, it becomes easier to fully appreciate a candidate’s motivations, to assess fit, and to constructively negotiate an offer than will be accepted.
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