A quick Introduction

My name is Greg Kneuss (pronounced n-oi-ss not K-noose), for the past 8 years I’ve been recruiting in the manufacturing sector and during this time I’ve covered a broad range of disciplines across various industries such as automotive, aerospace, automation, engineering and general manufacturing.

I am extremely passionate about seeing candidates through every stage of the process and this has reaped positive rewards with clients choosing to work with me time and time again.

Having been in the industry for some time, I wanted to share my experience and viewpoint on recruitment in the current employment market.

With employment rates at a record high in the UK and the number of live vacancies increasing I feel its time companies were made aware of what is currently a very challenging market.

Throughout this series of blogs, I will discuss a number of key factors which can affect the successful hiring of the right candidate. The first key factor being…

Working with multiple agencies

“Imagine a solicitor spending 100 hours in a month on a case and not being paid for it! This happens in recruitment so Recruiters learn to box clever”

My personal view is you shouldn’t have to recruit through multiple agencies, Recruiters generally have a target on their head and prioritise their time working on  roles which ultimately delivers payment. Recruitment is one of the only industries where lots of work can be put in with no reward at the end of it. Imagine a solicitor spending 100 hours in a month on a case and not being paid for it! – unfortunately this happens in the recruitment industry so Recruiters learn to box clever by carefully selecting how they choose to spend their time (I digress).

Picture yourself as the candidate

Now where to start? You go on a job board and you see the same vacancy posted 5 times by different agencies.

As the candidate you are already thinking “I’ve got a mountain to climb just to get an interview” and “how desperate are this company?”

You’d then think back to the contact you had with Recruiter Joe who took the time to call you and provide you with a complete overview of his role, he was the only recruiter dealing with his client and he’s confident that he can get you an interview as he works exclusively with his client and fully understands who and what they are looking for.

Are you really going to apply for the role that needs 5 recruitment agencies on it?

If you’re a Hiring Manager here are three questions to ask yourself before engaging multiple agencies

1) Are you going to brief 5 Recruiters properly?

2) Do you have the time to do this?

3) What about if you’re HR, are you happy with all the phone calls from Recruiters you’re engaged with?

It’s all in the timing.

“… It’s important you move quickly on any candidates who are right for the job and show commitment.”

It’s likely that the candidate will trust recruiter Joe as he has given them the best experience right from his initial phone call. With today’s candidate driven market you are less likely to have a choice of multiple candidates suitable for job offer. Therefore, its important you move quickly on any candidates who are right for the job and show commitment.   Holding out for 5 candidates could very likely allow for other job offers to come through to these candidates, risking losing them and starting the process again.

While I do appreciate some roles are harder to fill than others and you might think having a few more heads looking at it might improve the chances of filling the position however I would urge you to think a little differently and put your trust in one Recruiter.  If you need to increase efforts on the recruitment front, then do so after you’ve given the individual the opportunity to fully invest their time and efforts.

Here at Glen Callum Associates, the rest of the team and I always agree on timescales, keep our Clients updated on the candidate market and our activity. We work with the Client to help guide them through any changes which might need to be made to ensure we both experience success at the end of the process.

So to conclude, Why use a multi-agency when to use one recruiter allows you the following benefits :

• Your recruiter is going to invest MORE time and resources in finding you the RIGHT candidate
• The jobseekers are perceiving your role as exclusive and sought after and are more likely to apply
• You aren’t being bombarded with lots of calls from numerous recruiters
• You have one line of contact
• Using one recruiter enables you to create a relationship with someone who fully understand your business and your role
• You are taking away the “race for a CV” and creating a dedicated want to find you the RIGHT CV

And here ends Part 1, next week we will cover “How to provide your recruiter with a comprehensive brief: What we need to know and why”. Remember to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to see the next chapter that will be released next week.