Ten Things I’ve learned about Corporate Recruitment

[Simon Meth]

After many years in corporate recruitment I've learned a few things. At least I think I have. Read the following ten things I've learned and see if they resonate with you. Please add some things you've learned as a comment.

1. Hiring managers often complain about not receiving enough good resumes from you but they often either don't review or don't respond to the resumes you send them.
2. Candidates apply to jobs that they have no business applying to. I'm a plumber so I'll apply for a brain surgery position because it's like plumbing.
3. You can't satisfy everyone all the time so satisfy as many people as you possibly can.
4. People love or at least appreciate feedback both positive and negative.
5. It's boring to look at hundreds of resumes and attention often wavers.
6. Being a good administrator is critical to being a good corporate recruiter.
7. It's much better to let a hiring manager know that you're searching for qualified candidates and not send any resumes than it is to hide from the hiring manager and send junk.
8. Closing top candidates starts with the first contact you ever have with them.
9. At most companies, great candidates are dying on the vine. First pick the low hanging fruit.
10. Referrals are the number one source of corporate hires and the quality of referral candidates is, at best, no better than other candidates and maybe even lower.