Working with Recruiters: Best Practices for Hiring Managers

Steve Yakesh

February 5, 2013

One of the most important aspects of any relationship is communication. This certainly holds true when it comes to the relationship between a hiring manager and a recruiter. Why follow best practices for working with a recruiter? Because recruiters provide the most value when your relationship with them is open and honest. If you follow these simple guidelines, your recruiting challenge won’t feel like a challenge at all.

Make sure the compensation you’re offering lines up with the job expectations. For example, don’t expect to attract a $100K candidate for $50K.
Tell your recruiter about your organization’s culture and what attributes a candidate needs to have in order to be a great fit.
Explain to the recruiter what the new hire needs to accomplish in the first six months, first year, and even five years out.
Maintain a system of timely feedback (inside of 24 hours) and open communication for all phases of the process such as interviews, submittals, etc.
Move the process along as efficiently as possible. Elapsed time dampens a candidate’s enthusiasm.
Be honest about any internal candidates throughout the process.

You’ll realize the best outcomes if your recruiter serves as your strategic partner, not just a vendor. So invite your recruiter to more deeply engage in the process of finding the right talent for your organization. Only then will your vision of the perfect candidate be realized.

Steve Yakesh / About Author

As President, Direct Hire & Executive Search, Steve leads Versique’s award-winning permanent placement division with more than 20 years of experience. Additionally, he guides strategy for Versique’s twelve practice areas, including IT, HR, Finance & Accounting, Engineering & Operations, Sales, CPG, Digital Marketing, Executive Retained Search, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Family Owned and Demand Generation.

His diverse background and wide breadth of expertise add considerable value to Versique’s executive retained search team. Prior to Versique, Steve held numerous sales and marketing leadership roles and gained extensive experience inside both a global 50 and fortune 500 company.

Steve’s Approach
With a background in sales and marketing, Steve brings a unique skill set to the team and understands there’s no room for error in the selection of critical roles like CEO. He has a natural aptitude for leadership, which was developed through roles at a variety of companies prior to joining Versique over fifteen years ago. Steve has spoken nationally to audiences ranging from business owners and leaders to agency recruiters on the topic of generating qualified candidates and leads, which has led to significant financial results for those in attendance as well as for the organizations he has recruited for.

Steve is a recruiting practitioner who intimately understands the industry and the issues facing each position he fills. Additionally, he has the expertise to identify which candidates are capable of effectively operating within each role and, equally as important, within the culture of each organization. Steve’s approach accounts for each candidates competencies, personality traits, motivating factors and the past experiences that make them a good fit for the role.