Managing Expectations
Various Recruitment Professionals describe recruitment differently. Some say it's a science, some take it to be an art requiring high degree of people skills and negotiation skills.
Everyone has their own interpretation of Recruitment as a profession and their interpretations have evolved from their own experiences. I say 'evolve' here because interpretations change with experiences.
For me recruitment is all about 'Managing Expectations'.
Expectation Management is as old as the history of Human civilization. We all do it and experience it in our daily lives with our friends, families, colleagues etc.
Expectation Management is about bridging the gap between what we want and what is the best that we can have.
Hiring companies are always after the most talented and experienced candidates. They want someone who can do the job and a half, is a team player, can lead blah blah blah..... . .
But they have a limited budget for that position and under no circumstances they are allowed to go beyond it, even if they have to strike a little compromise.
Similarly the candidate is seeking a bigger pay cheque, a better job title, a parking lot in the Corporate headquarter etc etc...
But they also have their own limitations and hence cannot have all that they want.
That's where we step in. We recruiters sell the company, position, job title to the candidates and sell skills, talents, years of experience to our clients while managing expectations of both client and candidates.
Though good sales skills are paramount to a recruiter's success, one might need other vital skills to be a complete recruiter.
Giving the right advice to both candidate and client and maintaining candor and transparency with tact is very important for building long term relationships.
The current market situation makes it very easy for a recruiter to forget the basic ethics for a while and just concentrate on generating revenues.
That's where I think a good recruiter needs to bring his Emotion Management skills and stick to the ethical standards of this thankless yet rewarding profession.
Note: Do read my next posting to know my opinion on Japanese recruitment market, it's challenges and how to overcome those challenges.
Comments