Please don’t call me a recruiter…

But, Rose….uh, that’s what you do!

I get that, but hear me out: the term “recruiter” comes with a negative connotation, at least it does to me. 

So many recruiters don't actually care, they are transactional. Filling a seat, cashing a check, and moving on. They often don't understand the businesses they work for, or those businesses' value propositions. They aren't focused on the long-term successes of the companies they work with and they don't care about the role being the best match for the candidate.  Everyone has had this experience one time or another, in some capacity. That's why I don't like to be called a recruiter.

It would not be unfair or inaccurate to say that many recruiters look at their jobs as a game of numbers, with quotas for InMail and sourcing, endless reports and KPI tracking, and expectations to bring results, even mediocre results.

As with all business metrics, these things are important but come with the risk of making recruiting overly systematic, bureaucratic, and so focused on the numbers that the human factor gets lost, or worse, ignored. 

And I get why this happens. We have to show results. And people are our results. However, I refuse to play this way, which is why I refuse to call myself or our team recruiters. 

So, if I am a recruiter who refuses to be called a recruiter, what am I? I’m so glad you asked: my real function and passion is in talent advising. 

People on both sides of the recruiting project are my absolute passion. When I look at organizations, regardless of size, I see humans. And maybe a few playbooks, manuals, and processes - but mostly, I see people. I see businesses that need talent. I see hiring managers that need to hit their goals and delight their clients. As a talent advisor, I help them do that – with people. 

Here are a few important, “I am nots” to know:

• I’m not a robot with a cookie-cutter process that delivers mediocre candidates to standard run-of-the-mill businesses.
• I am not a “check the box,” “selling candidates en masse” recruiter. 
• I am not here to fill a seat because it’s empty. I am here to be a trusted partner for the long term.
• I am not here to tell you what you want to hear and stroke your ego.
• I’m not the recruiter who takes your skillset at face value and matches you with a position in your comfort zone. 

Enough with the “I am nots,” here’s a bit of what I do: 

• I am a talent advisor who genuinely cares about the candidates and companies I work with.
• I enable candidates to own strengths, needs, and interests. I channel hiring managers and organizational leaders to hire as internal stakeholders.
• I provide a platform of opportunity for candidates, hiring managers, and other talent advisors.
• I cultivate long-lasting, not transactional, relationships.
• I am here to ask the tough questions, push back when needed, and pitch strategies that will make your hiring process more efficient and effective.
• I’m the talent advisor who kicks self-limiting behaviors in the teeth, coaches you through breaking down those barriers, and helps you land the next big career move you didn’t think was possible.
• I change how people view “recruiting” because it is so much more than that.
• I am a “recruiter” who challenges the status quo by making it more than just recruiting. 

Talent advisory means more than just matching a candidate with a job they think they want. It’s working closely with organizational leaders and hiring managers to fully define what they’re looking for in a top candidate, what their opportunity truly entails, and then seeking out the candidates that others can’t (or won’t) and shepherding them through step by step.