5 Lies You Might Hear From a Recruiting Company

No recruiting company has a stack of ‘perfect’ candidates waiting around for your particular job to become available. Finding the right candidate takes time – time to understand your company culture, time to specify the need you’re looking to fill, time to screen qualified candidates, and time to dig deeper than the resume to find the perfect candidate for

. If a recruiting company immediately tells you they have the perfect candidate, it means only one thing: they’re careless. Don’t waste your money on “careless.”

Most recruiting companies don’t do a good enough job of screening their candidates before hitting the send button again and again. If your recruiting company is doing its job, you should receive only two or three resumes for each position, and each of those resumes should strike you as a candidate that meets your needs. If you’re spending a lot of time sifting through resumes, you’re not getting what you paid for. (By the way, if your recruiting company tells you lie #1

#2, you know you’re in trouble. They simply cannot both be true.)

The #1 method that successful recruiting companies use to find external hires is referrals. What’s #2? Job boards! Nearly one in four external hires are found on job boards.* Job boards are important tools for finding new candidates, but they only offer

candidates (those who are currently looking for a job). Many times, the best candidates are

candidates (not actively seeking a job). You want a recruiting company with a proven record of tapping both.

It’s just not possible to fill openings this fast

do it well for the same reasons listed under lie #1. Look for a recruiting company that sets reasonable timeframes for filling each position. You should be willing to wait for the right candidate, but you should also demand clear expectations for how long that might take.

Simply knowing the buzz words for your industry is not enough to make anyone an expert. Most recruiting companies don’t fully understand the jobs for which they are seeking candidates. How could they? They’re dealing with a lot of different positions from a diverse range of industries. The only expert in your field is

. What you want from a recruiting company is someone who takes the time to learn about your business and its needs. With the right recruiting company, you’re getting much more than a service; you’re getting a

in managing your most important asset: your people.

*https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2011/06/09/recruiters-say-job-boards-are-here-to-stay/