Successful Recruiting is Like Golf

June 30th, 2016 by Veronica Blatt

successful recruiting is like golfToday’s guest blogger is John Gilbert from Options Consulting Group. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Options Consulting Group has been supporting industry since 1990. The firm’s business partner/trusted advisor engagement style is complimented by expertise and success in executive, professional and technical recruitment for permanent, interim management and contract roles. John’s thoughts on why successful recruiting is like golf can be found here:

Recruiters use LinkedIn. This isn’t a trade secret. We use it to interact with clients, candidates and to develop possible connections. It’s used to keep up to date with news and as a platform to publish work. However at OCG, we have numerous other tools at our disposal.

John Gilbert – OCG Owner/Principal explains it this way – when playing golf, you don’t use the same golf club every time you hit the ball. You’ll need drivers, putters, woods and irons on every hole to complete the game in the best possible style.

This is the same for small and medium businesses when recruiting. Realistically, you can’t expect to find the best-suited candidate to fill your vacant position by limiting yourself to searching LinkedIn and Seek. You’ll need various methods to identify and source suitable candidates, which is where a recruiter acting as your trusted advisor/business partner becomes even more important.  And we’re yet to touch on interviewing skills, effective applications management and potential negative impact on your employment brand!

Taking Options Consulting Group as an example, we have access to well-developed networks via NPAworldwide, extensive databases and access to selected and relevant job boards – and over 80 years of experience between us. This helps our clients to connect with the best person for the job.

Is this your experience when going alone?

Time

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) have limited time to dedicate to finding the perfect applicant. It may seem easier because you don’t have to explain your business and position to a third party, however, SME’s filling their own staff vacancies are required to complete their own filtering process. This can be time-consuming as you will be setting up meetings, reading CV’s, interviewing and assessing multiple and potentially unsuitable applicants.

Experience

Recruiters know what works and what doesn’t. They’ve experienced bogus qualifications, probed on reference checks and know the signs to look for. Experienced recruiters don’t shy away from salary negotiations and have clients’ and candidates’ best intentions in mind. These are some of the key elements when hiring that cannot be overlooked. Being blindsided isn’t an experience anyone wants to have; recruiters know how to handle these situations.

Resources

There are multiple resources that your recruiter will have access to. These include personal contacts in relevant industries, paid subscriptions to specialist forums and personal databases that have been added to over the years. OCG has proven processes, quality assurance, and a 12-month candidate care program, ensuring peace of mind.

Confidence

This is an important element of a successful recruiter. Conducting the recruitment process for the first time can be daunting and filling your own staff and leadership vacancies is no exception.

Feeling like the right questions aren’t being asked in the interview may undermine a candidate’s confidence in the role, the company and runs the risk of alienating the candidate from the opportunity.

When choosing to outsource your recruitment needs, ensure you are working with a company that understands your business environment, processes and competencies for the role – a business partner and trusted advisor who wants to solve your problems rather than sell you a person!

Using the right golf club for each round allows you to strategise your best play. If you would do it on the golf course, do it for your business too!

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