A blog title caught my eye this morning, "All Recruiters are Liars". First, notice there is no differentiation between internal and external recruiters, everyone is lumped in together. Naturally, I had to read the article since I am an ex-recruiter and a lot of people in my circle of contacts are recruiters and those that aren't might bump into a recruiter sometime in their career.
I assumed, prior to reading Mo Edjlaia on the Third Rock blog that someone, somewhere, had been wronged by a recruiter. "Say is isn't so!" you gasp. But the article wasn't about dirty, rotten. scoundrel recruiters. It was about recruiters telling an authentic and honest story about what the job and the company offers and being REAL about it. It's a call to arms for recruiters to make sure the story they tell is what the new hire is going to live.
Right now, I have recruiters rolling their eyes and thinking, "I'll never fill any open positions that way." First of all, I don't believe any recruiter deliberately lies. Some may polish the story a little bit and others might have no idea how bad the situation is down there in transportation or IT or wherever. But, if they are worth their salary or fee, they should find out. They owe it to themselves because ignorance doesn't exactly build one's professional credibility.
I used to recruit for a retail organization that had a tough reputation. They were highly professional and cutting edge but they demanded a lot from their employees. My presentation was this…
"It's retail boot camp. Think of it as the retail equivalent of getting into the US Navy Seals. Is that they type of organization you see yourself in and can you honestly commit to me that you will be fulfilled and happy in that type of environment? Before you answer, let me tell you that it doesn't make you a bad person if you aren't. Years ago, I was that type of person, but if you asked me today if I would sign on, the answer would be a resounding no. My life has changed and so have my priorities "
Was it that difficult working there? It wasn't any worse than the story I told and hopefully it was actually better. The company had high new hire turnover, recognized it and was working to change it. I think the turnover was the result of the story not being authentic and real. I didn't dread the calls 30, 60 or 90 days later from my placed candidates because they called to thank me and tell me it wasn't that bad and they were really learning a lot. Working hard yes, but learning incredible things.
Tell the true story. If the true story isn't the one being told when recruiting, then work to change it. If you can't change it then move to an honest organization.
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