In this blog we discuss how to:

• Make the hiring manager’s life easier
• Ensure a more thorough screening process
• Make it easier to recruit from target source companies
• Improve candidate control

Pressure on overworked senior and principal engineers can become unbearable as they juggle their own deliverables alongside training and developing more junior engineers. Add to this the extra burden of time reviewing and interviewing candidates and you have a perfect storm of time pressure that we see all too often with clients that are trying to deliver to customers, develop their products and recruit all at the same time. The immense workload can lead to the risk of flight of existing key employees to less stressful environments.

 

Many companies feel they increase their chances of finding the right candidate by placing the vacancy with a number of recruitment agencies. This can be a mistake. If the recruitment process is not slick and speedy then by the time you do find the ideal candidate and make an offer, those candidates are often no longer available.

 

When you have more than one agency competing to get to a finite resource first, the effects on how your vacancy is perceived by the industry and your target candidates can be very damaging for you as an employer. Once a potential candidate has been spoken to more than once about a vacancy, they can get the impression that you are desperate, or that everyone is being spoken to about the same vacancy. This can be highly off-putting especially when the candidate has highly sought after niche skills or expertise. Meanwhile, the competing agencies can quickly become disillusioned and drop your vacancy down the priority list and leave you with an unresolved problem.

 

Companies that use recruiters must now understand that to get commitment, full commitment must be given, and that means working exclusively with one, specialist, high-quality recruiter on each assignment.

 

Here are some great reasons why:

 

Commitment

Recruiters who work on a contingent basis will work energetically for a short while but as they do not have your full commitment, they may quickly lose interest in a vacancy and move on to the next client whose vacancy is easier to fill. On the other hand, an exclusive recruiter will be fully committed to finding you the right candidate, even if it’s a difficult vacancy to fill. Along with this, exclusive recruiters search for and approach passive candidates that contingent recruiters do not have the time or resources to find.

 

A more thorough screening process

Due to the full commitment, you have from an exclusive recruiter, each candidate on the recruiters shortlist will have been through a more thorough screening process. Working closely with an exclusive recruiter allows the recruiter to gain a better understanding of your business and requirements of the role, meaning that they are able to screen a candidate on not only their experience but also how they would fit within the company culture and more. This screening process takes time but an exclusive recruiter is willing to invest that time to ensure that only candidates who are the best fit make your shortlist.

 

Makes the hiring manager’s life easier

As a hiring manager, you have to review a multitude of CVs submitted by a number of competing contingent recruiters, meaning you have less time to deal with other work-related responsibilities. Due to the screening process in an executive search, mentioned above, a hiring manager’s workload is reduced as they only have shortlist of qualified CVs to get through.

 

Confidentiality

Sometimes, it’s important to keep your job opening private for whatever reason, working with one exclusive recruitment agency will better ensure confidentiality.

 

Easier to recruit from target source companies

In the technology market, it’s not always easy to find the right candidate. A lot of the time, candidates are passive so they’re already content in their jobs and aren’t necessarily looking for a new role. When this happens, it’s sometimes essential to recruit from direct competitors; working with one exclusive recruiter can help you to do this. It takes more time and finesse to reach these passive candidates in a way that avoids gaining a reputation as a poacher; in these scenarios, it’s the recruiter’s job to put a buffer between your company and your competitor in order to circumvent such situations.

 

Improve candidate control – your candidates won’t be submitted to other companies

Not only are you exclusive to your executive recruiter, but they’re also exclusive to you! Contingent recruiters will sometimes present their good candidates to numerous clients at once, which can result in a talent bidding war and you losing out on an ideal candidate as a result. Whereas an exclusive recruiter will only submit candidates to your company and work to ensure top talent accept your offer over any others.

 

Enigma People Solutions is an award-winning technology recruitment consultancy. We find technical leaders for the emerging and enabling technology industries. Visit our services page for more information. Visit our job search page for the latest vacancies in photonics, electronics, semiconductor, software and IoT in Scotland and the UK. Check out our blog page for the latest in the technology industry. You can get in touch with us hello@enigmapeople.com or call us on + 44 131 510 8150