The global talent shortage for tech jobs combined with the historically low unemployment in tech has made the role of the technical hiring manager more crucial than ever. In such a candidate-driven and competitive market, a good recruiter can make the biggest difference to the quality and efficiency of your company’s hiring process.
Good recruiters don’t necessarily come from HR backgrounds; previous experience in coding, design, marketing, and customer support is considered a part of recruiting skills.
As a tech company, you need to be careful not to make the mistake of hiring a general recruiter. General recruiters without a tech background aren’t qualified to judge if a candidate is suitable for a tech role. Since you’ll be hiring for specialized positions such as front-end and full-stack software developers, you need someone familiar with the criteria of the technical role and equipped to assess potential employees against those requirements.
So what is the mark of a good recruiter? Besides efficiency in daily tasks, good recruiters help companies identify and hire competent individuals. This article will list four key traits to look for in a good recruiter:
They’re invested in their work
A telling sign that a recruiter enjoys their work is if they are part of various communities. Online and offline communities give access to a large pool of candidates, allowing recruiters to build relationships and gain technical information. In addition, the hiring process can be made easier by knowing many people.
The people recruiters specifically reach out to will usually be of higher quality than the average candidates. A good recruiter also has talent pools in professional communities like LinkedIn.
The tech industry is evolving quickly. A good tech recruiter needs to be aware of the field's developments and wants to learn more about them. Tech-savvy recruiters are the best at hiring, given their genuine interest and ability to keep up with the industry.
Lastly, for a specialized industry like tech, recruiters need to know the technical terms and jargon to gauge the skill level of a potential candidate. With a smart recruiter on your team, you’ll know whether it’s a database engineer, software developer, or full-stack manager you need and what job requirements will fit the bill.
They’re mentally agile
For your company to have a shot at attracting and retaining tech professionals, a recruiter needs to be on top of all hiring tasks, big and small. Recruiters must be transparent right from when they are initially speaking to potential candidates to when they make an offer. A hiring manager who ignores emails and phone calls, doesn’t know the exact job role and is unclear about benefits can instantly make a candidate lose interest in working with your company.
A good recruiter is in tune with what candidates want and is quick to use this information to their benefit during the hiring process. Knowing that developers are happier at smaller organizations or the fact that remote developers find that the lack of human interaction directly affects their productivity are some insights into what developers want your recruitment team should be aware of.
Finally, a good recruiter should be solution-oriented. The hiring process is usually laden with multiple problems like excessive candidates, losing applicants to scheduling conflicts, and problematic interview experiences. An agile recruiter doesn’t get rattled by the barrage of problems but accepts them as a part of the job and works to solve them quickly.
They have previous experience
Recruiters with previous experience in HR or relevant tech fields will make for a competent addition to your company. Prior experience can help recruiters learn where to find suitable candidates, build a talent pool, and close the deal for an employee.
A recruiter with previous tech experience can minimize errors and mismatches in the hiring process. Their technical knowledge will help you land a competent professional. A seasoned recruiter recognizes the soft skills and aptitude to be the best fit for the job. An experienced recruiter can objectively sift through the prospects and find the one best suited for the position.
Someone with previous experience will also have mastered the administrative requirements of the role, such as being familiar with labor legislation to avoid the risk of asking illegal interview questions or knowing how to draft an offer.
They are professional
A recruiter is often the candidate’s first point of contact with an organization and helps them form their initial impressions of the firm. An unprofessional or rude individual will paint an unattractive picture of your company. On the other hand, someone who is polite, punctual, and deeply understands your company’s values will create a better candidate experience.
Good communication skills are the bedrock of HR; good recruiters know how to navigate conversations and build rapport with candidates tactfully. For example, knowing when to alternate between a strictly business conversation and a friendly chat is crucial for recruiters to break the ice and create a connection with their pool of candidates.
Enhance Your Hiring with FloCareer
Recruiting can be challenging, even more so when hiring for tech roles. However, an expert recruiter will bring a combination of soft and hard skills to the table and significantly improve the quality of hires in your organization.
Finding an exceptional technical recruiter in a market full of individuals who rely on soft skills and Google buzzwords can be tedious. It takes patience and perseverance to comb through the market and find a recruiter who you can trust with your staffing needs.
Instead, you should consider outsourcing the interview process to a trusted provider like FloCareer. Our team of 3,000+ qualified experts has domain expertise, interviewing knowledge, and skills to help select the right candidate for the role. Moreover, our modern interview infrastructure, structured reports, and analytics make the process efficient and effective.
Sign up with FloCareer to create a positive hiring experience for your candidates while keeping track of your cost per hire and time to hire metrics.
