I received a call last week from a potential client that said, “I need help recruiting. Do you do that?”
I told him that I did provide recruiting services, and then I asked him, “What makes you think that you need help recruiting?”
He said, “I can’t find the right people.”
I said, “Have you posted a job advertisement online?” Yes, he had.
I asked, “Are you getting applicants?” Yes, he was getting applicants.
“Then you do not need help recruiting,” I told him. “You need help interviewing.”
Most business leaders are confused about what recruiting does for their hiring process and what it does not do. Recruiting is asking people to apply for a job. Interviewing is the screening process to finding someone to work for you. Hiring is the yes or no question that you ask yourself before making a job offer. Recruiting is simply getting the applicants. That’s it. No more. No less.
So let us be clear on what recruiting does NOT do:
- Recruiting doesn’t help you select the right candidate. Interviewing does that.
- Recruiting doesn’t help you figure out what you want. Creating an Ideal Candidate Profile and accurate job description does that.
- Recruiting doesn’t ensure that you will be successful in your hiring efforts. An effective hiring process does that.
The terminology around hiring employees is jargon-based, confusing and not very helpful. Educate yourself about the entire hiring process before beginning your search.
Happy recruiting! (and interviewing and hiring!)