For many, the recruitment process seems like a huge mystery. All you know is that you upload a resume, and then if you are lucky, someone will reach back out from the company and want to speak with you.The less lucky will get a communication saying you will not be considered for a role. And for luckless, you don't hear a thing.

Having been a corporate recruiter for the vast majority of my professional career, I want to share a look into the reality of life as a corporate recruiter. This is not to elicit sympathy for those in these roles. I am a big believer that information is power. If you know more about the hiring process, this helps you understand what is going on when you apply for a job. When you know this, you may be able to use this knowledge to your advantage.

Who in HR Is Doing the Recruitment

Depending on the company's size, it may have individuals dedicated solely to hiring for the company. Often this group is referred to as Talent Acquisition (TA). The individuals may do all aspects of hiring, often called full-cycle recruiting, or may specialize in one part of hiring, such as sourcing candidates. TA staff may be divided up to support specific departments or be assigned new openings as they occur. Openings are generally referred to as requisitions, and each person will have a requisition load that they are working on at one time. This load varies by company and industry. Generally, the harder the position to fill, the fewer the requisitions that an individual will have to work on at one time. The number of requisitions that a recruiter is working on can depend on the growth path of the organization, the role's level in the organization, and the department's funding. I have seen as low as single digits for corporate recruiters to as high as 100(!). The average recruiter probably has anywhere from 10-25 at a time.

At smaller and even some mid-sized companies, individuals doing Talent Acquisition may be doing other aspects of HR, such as managing performance, employee relations, learning, safety, compliance, and even compensation and benefits. Since these individuals are splitting their time among several areas, they are always juggling their time between pressing areas. Suppose there is an employee investigation needed or benefits open enrollment happening at the same time as recruiting. In that case, recruiting activities, such as reviewing resumes and setting up interviews, may be delayed. Because these individuals may have less time to dedicate to their open requisitions, their sourcing activities can be less deep and thorough. They may rely more on reviewing previous applications in a database or doing a basic LinkedIn search than more sophisticated methods that other, dedicated recruiters may do.

Activities Before the Job Is Posted

No matter the size of a company, TA staff must put together a job posting. This can be a standard format or can be customized, depending on the role. Most often, the job description is the basis for this posting. TA may have to wait for the hiring manager or another HR team member to review a current job description or write a new job description. The compensation team may need to review the position to determine the salary range for the position if it is a new position or salary ranges need to be reviewed due to changes in the market or a new location. Some companies have job posting templates already loaded into their Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and used when a specific opening occurs. Often there is an approval process before a job is posted. 

Before the job is posted or shortly after, the assigned recruiter will speak with the hiring manager to better understand the role and any special requirements. These intake meetings are crucial. The recruiter may not be familiar with the position, so it is an opportunity for the hiring manager to explain the role, the day-to-day duties, and any specific needs particular to the new hire's success. For example, if the company is going into a new business area, the hiring manager may want someone who already has experience in that area. Additionally, there may be discussions on the job boards used to post a position or if a third-party agency may need to be engaged. 

Finding and Screening Candidates

Recruiters have many options for finding candidates for open positions. What they will do will be somewhat dependent on the difficulty of finding qualified candidates. In some organizations, they will have a separate team of staff focused solely on finding qualified applicants. They are called Sourcers, and their job is to look for people who meet the position's requirements. These people identify individuals through various means, such as internet searches and looking through the company's candidate databases. Often they will also reach out and qualify that the person is interested. If the person is interested in speaking further about an opportunity, the candidate may be given to a recruiter who will take over the recruitment process. While there may be a separate person or team that does this, more often, recruiters will do this sourcing.

Companies will also often notify their staff about openings to encourage referrals. There may also be an outreach to the hiring manager and their team's networks to let people know about the opportunity. And of course, the position will be posted on the company's website and various job boards.

As applicants apply through job boards or are found through other sourcing means, they must be qualified to move forward in the process. Some ATS systems are set-up with knock-out questions. These would be questions that are an absolute must for the person to continue in the process. As an example, a driver must have a valid driver's license. If they do not, the system deems them automatically unqualified for the role, and an automatic email letting the candidate know may be sent. The ATS can be set up to determine the candidate's match to the position, based on specified criteria. In many businesses, the recruiters do this. If the ATS system is used to determine the initial match, resumes will get closer scrutiny by the recruiter. If an applicant is deemed qualified to continue the process, there may be additional screening, either through an assessment, questionnaire, or through a phone interview. 

A recruiter is often the first person to speak with a candidate. Their job is to assess a candidate to see if they are a fit for the hiring manager. Sometimes the hiring manager will want to see the resumes of all the applicants for a position, and sometimes they will want to review a subset, such as the resumes of the ones that the recruiter feels are the best match, or they may wish for the recruiter to decide whom to screen. During the screening interview, the recruiter will almost always ask about salary. It makes no sense to spend additional time with a candidate when both sides' expectations for compensation are not close. The recruiter will also check on the work history to ensure there are no red flags and check communication skills and general knowledge. Recruiters will make notes on each candidate. Sometimes these notes will be given to the hiring manager. Or instead, a summary of the particulars learned about each candidate. The recruiter may recommend who the hiring manager should interview or leave it up to the hiring manager to decide. 

While it would be great for the hiring manager to be immediately responsive to who should continue in the process, this is often not the case. Hiring managers may want to take their time in reviewing candidate information; they go on vacation or are otherwise busy. Recruiters can spend a lot of time following up with hiring managers to see if they have looked at the candidate information and decided. This is why a gap occurs between when a candidate was screened by HR and an interview with a hiring manager is scheduled.

Interviews

Depending on the position, the candidate may go straight to a full in-person/video interview, either with the TA professional or the hiring manager. TA professionals are often also in charge of scheduling these interviews, including those held with other staff members. There can be delays in scheduling these interviews if the interviewer is traveling or otherwise unavailable. Many candidates will be required to go through multiple rounds of interviews or panel interviews. With the more people involved in the hiring process, the longer it usually takes to schedule and make a final decision.

During the recruitment process, the TA professional will have discussions with the hiring manager to communicate how the process is going, ask questions, clarify what the hiring manager wants, provide insight about candidates, and make recommendations. Sometimes what the hiring manager wants and the reality of what candidates can offer are at odds. Recruiters may persuade the hiring manager to take a broader view of what may be acceptable in a candidate. Some hiring managers are willing to change their list of needs to wants, thus increasing the pool of candidates qualified for a position. However, others are determined that the recruiter can find what they desire and are willing to wait to hire until a perfect candidate is found. 

After the Candidate Is Selected

After a final candidate is selected, the recruiter may need to develop an offer or work with other HR professionals, such as in compensation, to create a compensation package that may include hourly rate/annual salary, bonus, equity, or other perks. The TA professional may also be making the verbal offer and then preparing and sending out a written offer. Either before or after an offer is accepted, references may need to be investigated. After an offer is accepted, additional background checks and even drug screening may need to be initiated. Lastly, the TA staff may also be in charge of all required first-day paperwork and the onboarding process. 

With multiple requisitions open at one time, the corporate recruiter may be working on any or all of the above tasks during each 8 hour day. A typical day may include sourcing, reviewing resumes, phone interviews, in-person interviews, making offers, and initiating background checks. Communications should also be going out to candidates letting each know their status or if they have been rejected. Lack of communication is one of the areas that job seekers have the most issue with the process. While it is not the right thing to do, many recruiters feel that telling people that they are not moving forward in the recruitment process is a lower priority when they have so many other priorities on their plate. They are being judged by how quickly they can fill an opening; not, how quickly they get back to candidates, especially those that will not be hired. That is why when push-comes-to-shove, communications often take a back seat to other activities. Again, I am not saying this is right. It is just a question of how recruiters are incentivized to prioritize activities.

How to Work Effectively with Recruiters

So as you can see, people in Talent Acquisition have a lot to do as part of their job. Knowing this, job seekers can do a few things to stand out.

1. Most job ads have specific requirements for the job. Make sure you have the majority of what is required and highlight it on your resume or CV. Recruiters are not mind readers. They may have deep familiarity or no familiarity with a particular role. You don't know. Make sure you can connect the dots for the recruiter and show that you have the qualifications requested.

2. Be as flexible as possible. If you get called for an interview, the recruiter may have only a few time slots available to meet. Try to make yourself available during those times. 

3. Make sure your communications, either written or verbally, are succinct and address the questions asked. Building rapport is good; going off on unrelated tangents is not. 

4. Cut your corporate recruiters some slack. Many are overwhelmed with candidates for each opening due to the current economic conditions. Open requisitions may generate hundreds of resumes that need to be addressed. If you never hear from a company, yes, that is bad. If you hear from a company a bit later than you would prefer, sometimes there is a good reason. Maybe the hiring manager has gone on vacation, is on travel, or is just undecided about a candidate. Perhaps the recruiter got pulled on another group of openings that were deemed more critical. Or maybe the corporate recruiter at a smaller company was pulled onto conducting an investigation that needs to happen right away. You do not know, so please pack your patience. 

Conclusion

Being a corporate recruiter is a multifaceted job. They have to be multi-taskers, negotiators, persuaders, and good listeners. They are the company's face to candidates, a brand manager of sorts, and a project manager, working with many people throughout the organization to get a position filled. When I was a corporate recruiter, I loved working with the candidates and finding work they would love. I also loved working with the hiring managers and finding people that would be an asset to their team and the organization. It is not an easy job, though. Understanding what they do and why they do it helps each candidate make that vital connection with a recruiter. That connection can be essential to getting your resume in front of the hiring manager. 

You may also be interested in Show Your Results: How to Get Your Resume Noticed.

Shelley Piedmont is a job search coach. She wants to help job seekers put their best foot forward by providing the tools for a successful job search. If you need career coaching, resume preparation, interview skills assessment, or LinkedIn profile assistance, she can help. Schedule a 15-minute no-obligation consultation.