The irony is hilarious.

Or it would be if it were not so costly.

Exhibit A:

Recruiters are squealing about candidates ghosting them. Counteroffers everywhere. So many uncommitted candidates with such unreasonable expectations. Boo Hoo! Clients are not ‘getting’ the candidate shortage. Clients are too slow to react. Clients are refusing to take advice on hiring trends and candidate expectations.

Exhibit B:

Recruiters, who no longer need to work from home, continue to do so, eschewing client meetings IRL or seeing candidates face to face. Ever. Candidate interviews that once lasted an hour, in a room, face to face, transferred to zoom for 45 minutes, then 25 minutes, then 10, and then… do we really need to zoom them at all? With no qualification, questioning, discussion, or advice, clients’ job orders are emailed to recruiters. Candidates are ‘briefed’ on jobs and debriefed after an interview in a 2-minute phone call or (God forbid) via text or email.

Can you see the disconnect?

Recruitment has got increasingly remote. Driven by the pandemic at first, but now because ‘it suits us‘.

In many cases, it’s also got shallower, faster, more superficial and shortcuts taken.

The bleeding obvious should be staring you in the face.

Go the other way.

You must get more engaged.

Resist the lazy, quick, ‘wham bam thank you, Sam‘.

Just because you can use technology, that is not a reason to automatically default to it.

What outcome are you trying to create?

Is it more likely via a text? Or will a coffee or a phone call do it so much better?

The message is more face to face where you can – and where the reward is worth it.

More detailed, more probing interviews and job-order taking.

Be in the room, not on the zoom!

No assumptions. Constant checking in. Regular updates. Continuous, consistent, courteous candidate communication.

Why would a client take your advice on evolving her hiring strategy when you have never met, hardly speak, and everything is via email? Where is your credibility? How strong and deep is your recruiter equity?

You interview a candidate on zoom for 10 minutes, seldom return their call, and then you squeal when they ghost you or take a counteroffer without telling you.

You have no relationship. No engagement. No right to expect anything.

So, any recruiter blaming ‘the skills shortage‘ for their poor results is sadly deluded.

The only skills shortage that matters is the lack of consultative recruiting skills.

Thousands of people in Sydney, Melbourne, London, New York, Auckland, and Cape Town are getting jobs every day. (i.e., pretty much anywhere you are)

The real question is, are you getting your share?

Candidate shortages are a good thing! That’s why clients use us! It is the chance for a great recruiter to truly shine. It is how we prove our value.

Candidate shortages are not an excuse for a shallow, shitty recruiting process.

Your job is to become the world champion at finding candidates, engaging with candidates, bringing candidates to the hiring table, and managing the process to acceptance and beyond.

And how do you expect to do that with a 10-minute zoom chat and a couple of texts?

Less Zoom. More (being in the) Room (with people). (See your results) go Boom!

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‘The Savage Truth‘ Book. 10,000 copies sold.

Still the number one bestseller on Amazon UK for recruiting books.

Sells 5 copies a day somewhere in the world. Every day

( I know! Hardly Harry Potter. But it gives me a kick)

Got yours?