The recruiter skill clients respect most

How often has a client said something you know is wrong or suspect is not in their interests, but you let it slide because ‘they are the client’?

A great recruiter knows they are the expert and must manage the process.

There is a risk that one might interpret ‘pushback’ as a form of confrontation. This is not how I am using the word at all.

I’m talking about a recruiter who has self-belief and the courage to offer the client a different point of view that is in the client’s best interest.

This is not an adversarial situation.

Indeed, I have found that challenging a client’s assumptions or hiring strategy and advising them on a better way builds respect and trust between the recruiter and the client.

It doesn’t have to be something huge. For example, the client might say they liked the two candidates they met today and suggest a second interview in ten days. In that situation, you need to push back and explain the situation’s urgency to the client and the risk of losing quality candidates.

Watch the video snippet from the Savage Recruitment Academy training library and read the full story below.

Or, the client wants a planned new hire to work 5 days in the office. You advise that this requirement will cut many of the best candidates out of the shortlist, and maybe a 3/2 office/home split will attract higher-calibre prospects.

The requirement to ‘pushback‘ emerges throughout the recruiter job. In many ways, it is your job.

• Qualifying the job order
• Selling job – order exclusivity
• Selling the shortlist
• Managing the interview process
• Negotiating the salary and the offer
• Negotiating fees and margins

Pushback encourages open dialogue between yourself and the client and establishes the rules of engagement. A recruiter who doesn’t push back when they know they should inevitably end up conceding to the client’s whims, regardless of what they might be.

That inevitably leads to poor outcomes, which, by the way, the client will blame you for!

The recruiter is left frustrated and often feels somewhat demeaned. Also, very frequently, unpaid.

It’s not good

Pushing back on a client’s direction when you know you should provides an opportunity to demonstrate your value, prove your worth as a trusted advisor, and confirm that you genuinely have recruiter equity.

And the swift evolution of the recruiter role in the wave of AI and automation actually means pushback is of even greater value.

If all you do is ‘transact’, tech will replace you. Your value is your ability to advise, consult, offer insights, tell stories, and create outcomes and strategies your clients would never think of.

Because you are the expert!

Of course, tone, language and facial expression are important because you are not trying to be aggressive or condescending. Instead, you are a professional expert advising your clients for their benefit.

Respectful, consultative ‘pushback’ builds credibility and better relationships.

It allows you to influence outcomes for the greater good.

That is pretty much what your actual real job is.

It is also excellent for your self-esteem, which you may not yet realise is the foundation of success and fun in our industry.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

*****************************
The video above is a short snippet from the 200 + hours of recruitment training available on the Savage Recruitment Academy

Subscriber of the SRA?

Six hundred and fifty recruitment companies have subscribed to the Academy. If you are a subscriber and wish to view the entire original video that this snippet is based on, you can view it here. 

Not yet a subscriber to the SRA?

If you are not an SRA subscriber, please consider joining. Access the website for a list of contents, platform demo and pricing Here.

Sign up for the SRA here 

*****************************************************************************************************************************************