Staffing Professionals Tell All

Words of wisdom from the recruiting front lines

We asked staffing leaders around the world to share their top

priorities, biggest mistakes, and best career advice.

Here’s what they said.

What excites you most

about your job?

Finding people their dream job and knowing that you are

helping them to make a positive career change is really

rewarding to me. No two days are ever the same. One day you

can be working on a role based locally in Sydney, the next day

flying to Singapore to meet with clients and candidates. There is

never a dull moment! You are on a constant learning curve…

Elaine Moran

Senior Recruitment Consultant, Market Search Executive Recruitment

Staffing Professionals Tell All 4

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=95024572

I truly love my job because of its diversity. I work as an advisor

for our internal stakeholders answering all kinds of questions

about recruiting our target audience. I am responsible for all

online recruitment initiatives. I also get to know the best

professionals in our field because of all recruitment activities we

explore.

Britt van Capelleveen

Sourcing Expert, Yacht (Randstad )


https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittvancapelleveen


Job satisfaction. We put so much effort into building

relationships with both our clients and candidates, and put

immense focus on understanding the cultures and values of our

clients’ working environments. When you find the definitive

match and place the right candidate with the right client, it’s a

fantastic feeling. All parties are delighted with the outcome and

you’ve just reinforced relationships all around.

Richard Hindle

Recruitment Specialist / Account Manager, M&T Resources




The variation of the work. Always getting in contact with new,

interesting people with interesting careers and personal goals.

Also, being able to help candidates as well as customers find

new career opportunities and employees.

Johanna Hultemar

Sourcer IT / Engineering, Academic Work


https://www.linkedin.com/pub/johanna-hultemar/42/270/555


As a specialist recruiter focused on the high-tech market, I am

heavily involved in launching some exciting startups across

APAC. I am always learning about new, emerging

technologies, and this keeps me engaged in the industry… I

am passionate about people in technology.

Sasha Jenson

Northern Region Manager, Launch Recruitment



What would you say to someone who’s

thinking of becoming a recruiter?

Always try to understand both the position you’re looking for,

and the person you found. Make an imaginary match before

approaching the candidate. Then listen.






Resilience. Accept that there are going to be highs and lows

working in this industry, and despite your best efforts,

unfortunately things don’t always go your way. After all, it is

ever-changing and you are dealing with very diverse opinions,

personalities, cultures, and economic situations. So don’t take

it personally. Dust yourself off and move on. And remember

that the feeling you get when you are successful far

outweighs any disappointments.

Elaine Moran

Senior Recruitment Consultant, Market Search Executive Recruitment Staffing Professionals Tell All 11


You need to be creative, have faith in your own ability, have

the ability to see the big picture and fearless when you speak

to the market.

Jim Roslund

Sales Manager & Senior Partner, Additude Öresund AB


https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimroslund



Make sure you know your field of work. No matter if you’re

recruiting IT professionals, engineers, or economists, you

need to know their market and understand what it is they

actually do.

Johanna Hultemar





Be a sponge. Soak up everything around you from other

recruiters (good and bad!), meet as many clients and

candidates as possible and read industry articles. Knowledge

will empower confidence ,and once you’ve learnt a structure

around how to recruit, it is this self-assurance (not

arrogance!) that will set you apart from the rest.

Richard Hindle





Invest in LinkedIn and get certified. I’m strongly convinced

that LinkedIn is the best way to understand and to find your

addressable market. LinkedIn has brought me a lot of

knowledge and skills, not only to use the Recruiter Seat, but

also in terms of recruitment in general. Within my vertical, we

get most of our candidates from LinkedIn. It’s the way to go

for the future.

Marco Van Veggel

Senior Recruiter, Yacht (Randstad)


https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcovanveggel


To be a good recruiter, you must harness your empathy and

ability to listen. I always remind new recruitment consultants

coming into our business that they should remember the time

they were once looking for a job and to think about what

exceptional service they would like to receive if they were in

those shoes again.

Sasha Jenson




What are your tips for

closing candidates faster & getting

a better candidate acceptance rate?

Celebrate successes. Showcase your successes so clients

and potential candidates will see how you can be an added

value to them. Brand yourself as the dedicated recruiter for

your client and towards your potential candidates…it’s

important to showcase your successful placements.

Marco Van Veggel





Don’t contact people who are “long shots.” If you don’t think

the position is a good fit from what they’ve told you during your

contact or their profiles why waste their (and your own) time?

It’s not professional…Feedback. Always let the candidates

know what’s happening. Even if you don’t have any new

information, let them know that.

Johanna Hultemar





Meeting every candidate you represent for a job builds

rapport and trust immediately. Candidates will automatically

feel an affinity to recruiters who take time to meet and

understand them fully. Already you have their buy in.

Richard Hindle





Asking the right questions at the start of the recruitment

process can help eliminate any potential surprises towards the

end. For example, why are you looking for a new role? Quite

an obvious question, but understanding why your candidate is

looking for a new position will help when it comes to dealing

with any counter offers or salary negotiations that may crop up.

Using the knowledge you gained at the outset enables you to

handle any issues quickly and efficiently.

Elaine Moran




1. Try to understand the person you reach out for. Is this

opportunity you’d like to offer really a great next step? If yes,

why? Use social media to get to know someone’s motives. 2.

Keep your message short and sweet! 3. Try to be original. The

more original you are, the more your vacancy/opportunity will

be shared and seen by the right people.


Sourcing Expert, Yacht (Randstad ) Staffing Professionals Tell All 22



Understanding what’s important for the candidate if it comes

to the offer. Know what drives him and how to play with the

package to offer. Always offer a career growth trajectory.

Marco Van Veggel





Continuous contact with your candidates throughout the

application is key. Set date expectations with them and stick to

them even if you don’t have any tangible updates. A trusted

relationship that has been built is much harder to fracture. Also,

ensure the job description, rate or salary, and length of contract

are clear up front and agreed to. Last-minute disagreements

are the root of all evils when finalizing a placement.

Richard Hindle

Recruitment Specialist / Account Manager, M&T Resources Staffing Professionals Tell All 24



Who & what do you turn to as

resources for doing your job better?

I work closely with my manager who has been in recruitment for

over 25 years; I have learnt a lot already and continue to do so.

Networking with industry peers and attending events is a great

way of keeping alert on what’s going on in the industry. It’s also

a good way to share your experiences and learn from others.

Elaine Moran




Colleagues and other sales executives and business

developers in our sector. Customers and clients are also a

good source of how to be better in your profession.

Jim Roslund

Sales Manager & Senior Partner, Additude Öresund AB





My colleagues. One of the reasons for the success at M&T

Resources is the collaborative manner we share information

around our candidates, clients, and markets. The people I work

with are the first point of contact I go to when resourcing for

that next role.

Richard Hindle





I keep my industry knowledge up to date by interacting and

sharing information on some niche technical groups…Here I

can interact with both clients and candidates whilst raising the

Launch Brand in the market…I also refer to the Linked In

training forums to keep me abreast of new product

enhancements and ensure that my team is maximizing the way

they use LinkedIn.

Sasha Jenson

Northern Region Manager, Launch Recruitment Staffing Professionals Tell All 29


Utilising the techniques and tools available from LinkedIn, as well

as attending their training workshops, participating in online

seminars and events ensures that you are consistently learning

and making the most of what is available to you.

Elaine Moran




LinkedIn is an effective way to proactively contact and attract

new professionals to your talent pool. Job boards are another

one. There is always a case to be made for advertising any

role, and new contacts that are readily available can be made

easily here.

Richard Hindle





What are your tips for becoming

a better sourcer or recruiter?

Choose a specialty/vertical. Due to all online possibilities

nowadays — like LinkedIn, Twitter, Google — you are able to

become a thought leader in your field, build strong networks, be

the one who people think about when they like to take a next step

in their careers. The second best advice is to stand out for all the

right reasons; don’t spam your target audience just to get as

many as possible responses on your vacancy, but show genuine

interest for each potential new colleague you'd like to recruit.





As recruiters, one of the most frustrating aspects of the role is

when you struggle for feedback after interviews or sending CVs.

Set the tone in how you deliver information and gain an

understanding as to how and when your contacts prefer to be

contacted. Also, be in it for the long haul. Clients are fed up of

cold callers and one-off contacts. Building relationships doesn’t

happen overnight. You need a long-term strategy to become and

remain front of mind when your client goes to market.

Richard Hindle




Don’t be afraid to delve or ask the tricky questions. Even ask the

same question twice if necessary. It is much better in the long run

to have all the information you need at the first meeting. Your

clients and candidates will appreciate that you have a complete

understanding of their requirements.

Elaine Moran




Investing time in getting feedback of all interactions you have

with potential clients and candidates. Asking feedback of

candidates you hired, but also candidates who decided to give it

a pass. What do they think of the way you’ve approached them

and what did they perceived positive or less positive? What tips

could they give you so you can grow your knowledge and get

more insights to improve yourself?

Marco Van Veggel





Focus on building and developing good relationships. Making a

good impression from the start is essential for a successful, long-

term relationship. Don’t forget that candidates can often become

clients, so you want to make sure that everyone remembers you

and has a positive experience.

Elaine Moran




Be interested in the field of work for which you are recruiting. If

you don’t understand your customers, candidates, or the market

you won’t be able to do your best work. And feedback! Always

make sure that candidates and clients know what’s happening

in the process.

Johanna Hultemar





One thing which really helps me is doing market research to

understand the market place, the persona of your target profiles

and understanding what drives them and what has their

importance. Based on that you can set a strategy how to

approach, how to steer during an interview, and how to manage

them throughout the process.

Marco Van Veggel





What was a mistake or

difficult situation you learned from?

It’s pretty awkward to source and “seduce” a candidate to

have a talk with us, and then hear from the hiring manager

that there will be no interview with this person because of a

shared past, a candidate’s bad reputation, or whatever. That’s

why I ALWAYS share the profiles I’ve sourced and found with

the hiring managers who I am recruiting for before

approaching them.





Not long after starting off in recruitment…I sent a resume to the

client following a telephone interview. I had not met face-to-

face as I wanted to get the candidate’s details in front of the

client that day. Although the client was impressed with the

resume, they were not impressed that I hadn’t met the

candidate and wouldn’t interview them until I had. I managed to

meet with the candidate that night, and the following day they

were in front of the client. Luckily, I filled the role and I definitely

learned not to let that happen again.

Elaine Moran




Not knowing enough about the company and the role I was

recruiting for. Not knowing everything there is to know would

set the wrong picture for the candidates I contacted. I’m

never doing that again.

Johanna Hultemar





I took in a job briefing onsite with a client. There were 2 other

recruiters in the room…I made myself a coffee before I called

a candidate I felt was suitable. When I called 5 minutes later,

he told me he just got off the phone with one of the other

recruiters about the same role and gave them permission to

represent him. I won’t ever go to a job briefing without the

numbers of candidates that I think could fit the role. It’s a

competitive industry and speed to market can be critical.

Richard Hindle




Always follow through on your promises. Integrity is

everything in my industry and open and transparent

communication is extremely important. Even when news is

difficult to relay to a client or a candidate, it is important to

communicate that news in a professional and caring manner.

Sasha Jenson




How does LinkedIn help you?

From a recruitment/sourcing perspective, LinkedIn always

keeps me up to date of all developments within the industry,

what’s happening at target companies/clients, and gives me

access to connect with candidates. Search strings and search

alerts really help me to be efficient, and the analytics give me

insights how I work and how I can improve. About 90% of my

candidates are from LinkedIn, both by direct sourcing and

indirect sourcing.

Marco Van Veggel





LinkedIn is part of my daily routine as a recruiter. From checking

my search alerts in the morning to posting jobs, reviewing

applicants and performing searches. I also use the online training

centre regularly if I have a query or can’t work out how to do

something. Reading the articles and updates usually keeps me

busy over morning tea, and sharing articles or posting jobs on our

company page is something we also do regularly.

Elaine Moran




I use LinkedIn almost every day, to source, to engage with

our future talents, to know and understand our market and

our target audience, and to keep up to date about latest

recruitment news.






I use LinkedIn daily. Everything from educational articles,

connecting with interesting profiles, contacting potential

candidates and to get a good look of the market in a specific

area, segment or branch to name a few.

Johanna Hultemar





Important for me is that my personal profile is updated with

relevant information for my clients, the developments within

the industry and my employer, but also information which can

help in driving business development. It’s a great platform to

share your successes with clients and candidates to trigger

their interest. It’s a great way to showcase yourself as the

recruitment professional of choice towards your current

network, but also towards your to-be network.

Marco Van Veggel





After browsing the LinkedIn Updates email for connections

that have changed jobs, I’ll scan the homepage for interesting

posts and profile updates most morning to like or share. I’ll

also check who’s been viewing my profile…as well as my

profile ranking amongst colleagues and peers. Depending on

the types of roles I’m working on, I’ll log into Recruiter and

commence some key searches on potential candidates

before carefully selecting profiles for an introductory InMail.

Richard Hindle




All businesses should harness Linked In to promote their

employment brand. LinkedIn Recruiter is a fantastic tool to

help any business to pipeline talent and pool candidates for

future hiring. It’s worth pointing out that LinkedIn is a highly

effective way of initially engaging with your next potential

employee and works well when copied in with personalized

engagement strategies.

Sasha Jenson




Learn more:

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Staffing Professionals Tell All

Recruiting & HR

Transcript of Staffing Professionals Tell All