At the border of several professions, that of recruiter remains paradoxical and mysterious by its nature and its content. Where everyone improvises themselves a recruiter one day, this profession is deceptively simple and has its codes, its ethics and its skill levels.
Legal, marketing, sales, coaching and psychology = all in 1. Here in all simplicity is the composition of the recruiter’s profession. Slightly complex! Practice is essential because this profession is not learned in books, nor on school benches. It is acquired day after day in contact with experienced recruiters.
Step by step. The legal aspect, search techniques, and mastery of the recruitment interview are probably the most important aspects for the initial learning of the profession. Observation, note-taking, anticipating subsequent questions, directing the interview; all these aspects require a certain dexterity. It is not uncommon to see roles reversed and the candidate becoming the one who leads the interview.
The art of asking questions and securing one’s voice. While reading the CV is the basics, the art of asking relevant questions is not always innate. Avoiding leading questions, refraining from judging and asking sufficiently open and neutral questions to obtain authentic answers requires a certain fluidity in interaction with others.
Know your market. Understanding the economy, knowledge of the job market, of professions and economic actors are essential elements. Being recognized as a partner of choice by companies and human resources departments requires the contribution of real added value.
What technique? Interview technique, sourcing technique… the word « technique » often comes back in the recruiter’s lexical field. The interview by competencies is by far the most complex, as it requires real agility from the consultant and perfect knowledge of professions. It allows obtaining rich and authentic answers, avoiding formatted speech.
Let’s not play psychologist with our candidates! A trap into which the most empathic among us could fall. An interview is not a psychology session. Some notions in psychology are more than expected from the recruiter, starting with the mastery of biases. Identifying one’s own personal biases is an interesting exercise to keep in mind a basic adage: remain objective in a world of subjectivity!
