Old Skool Recruiting!

Before we start and for those wondering  yes i know I have misspelt “skool”!

The purpose of this post is to write about why I miss “old school recruiting” and why at Syntech we are trying to bring some of those old skool recruiting techniques back in the office.

Something I always say to clients, applicants or anyone new to recruitment is how I miss the mindset of the old school recruiter – that basic wolf of wall street training & mentality of “just get on the phone it’s not going to dial itself” kind of attitude! These are skill sets you can’t often teach.

What I mean is — Let’s go back to the 90’s when I started in recruitment. Before the mainstream recruiting culture relied on job boards, email, and the internet and to some extent lost the art of communication and talking to people in a real conversation.

The way I recruited and was trained was a very hands-on approach. I did this full 360 life-cycle and I feel that it’s extremely important to recruit in that capacity because it gave me the stepping stone to really qualify my candidates & understand my clients. I never recruited by a boolean search. I never recruited by sending resumes before interviewing the person first.

In other words, I got it and understood what was required to get the job done (no matter how hard it seemed).

What I mean by that is, if a candidate’s CV is put on my desk and I submit them to you, that candidate is either getting the job or coming very close to it. If my candidate doesn’t come in second or first place, I must’ve done something severely wrong because at the end of the day, I pride myself on two things — saving you time and money. That is my job.

My job is to interview ten to fifteen top candidates, figure out who the best one is and send them to you.

What’s the result? You get the best possible talent in the market and hopefully get to make that great hire!

That’s what you pay a recruiter for, and remembering in most cases you don’t pay anything until we are successful.

So, old-school is not allowing a database to match a candidate; it is interviewing and really getting to know a candidate personally and professionally before submitting them.

Old-school is matchmaking and understanding the hiring managers requirements as well as the company culture.

It’s selling your company as if I’m an employee — and not just selling the company, but the company values and ideologies.

That’s what I feel is missing today — the extensive, hands on approach. It seems most firms these days are pushing tech & online meetings. There is a huge loss in that person to person interaction — being able to really stand behind somebody and put your stamp of approval and reputation on the line for that person.

Allow me to illustrate:

The search for our client’s Snr HR Manager required finding a candidate who possessed the right mix of experience & sector knowledge, but just as important someone who would buy into their family feel culture and values. Someone who would have humility and leadership, while being sophisticated and aggressive enough to drive their multi-million pound growth.

Challenge 

Find an HR Manager with hands-on experience, working within a manufacturing FMCG environment, along with a tight job market could prove exceedingly challenging. The role is confidential and finding the right person spec is essential.

Solution 

The client considered managing the recruitment process of this key hire on their own. Realizing the time involved and the results they were looking for, they hired Syntech Talent (part of the Syntech Recruitment group) as they are experts in HR/L&D & People roles. After speaking to the client many times on the phone and Teams, we designed a search strategy that would be much more effective and decided to start from scratch. This role involves a head hunting highly confidential approach and many candidates could not be found with the typical recruiting methods of today.  Our senior recruiter would be tasked to come up with a creative solution for finding qualified candidates which required “old school” recruiting.

Through passive recruiting methods like networking and referrals, my colleague has identified some key individuals.  By reaching out to different contacts and resources, including the stakeholders themselves, the recruiting team was able to understand the needs and requirements on a granular level.  This enabled the recruiter to become an effective and passionate brand ambassador for the client, helping potential candidates understand the incredible opportunity to live and work in a vibrant, growing, affordable, and up and coming business.

Results 

A large pipeline of candidates identified for the role, as well as future searches.  Approximately 50 people were contacted, interviewed, and vetted, identifying 15-20 potential candidates.  Of these 15-20, only 3 were sent to the client as they were the right technical & culture fit.

We are awaiting feedback and hope the client will feel we have done a great job, which will result in interviews and an offer.

True resourcing & matchmaking skills are an essential skill of any good recruiter, and where possible this should be tested at interview stage or in the early stages of their training/induction program.

If you’re a hiring manager, try supplementing your digital approach with unique recruiting approaches that get attention. Even though it is old-school, direct phone calls, in-person interviews, and sending paper messages should be part of every team’s recruitment black book (another old skool term).

For reference this is a personal post and even though I love the old skool way of recruiting I also know the value of some of the new methods & technologies.

If you would like help with your next hire and want to work with old skool recruiters that partner their clients then reach out today!

www.syntechrecruitment.co.uk