The network decides
If you want to be successful in your career, you need genuine relationships with other people. This insight should apply to IT recruiters in particular.
Instead of relying on databases that are as large as possible, they should rely on a personal network that must be carefully built up - ideally through their own professional activities in the IT industry - and requires continuous cultivation: for example, through participation in specialist conferences, trade fairs or business clubs, but also through regular visits to clients on site.
Without an intensive exchange with those responsible in a company, it is difficult to identify with its performance, strategy and goals - which is considered a basic prerequisite for an authentic approach to candidates.
Close contact with the IT employer is also essential so that the recruiter can provide potential applicants with sufficient information about the position to be filled, the specific culture and other unique selling points of the company.
This is the only way to interest candidates in an advertised position and to inspire them to take on new challenges.
Long-term relationships desirable
On the applicant side, too, it pays to invest in personal, long-term relationships. The initial contact - regardless of which channel is used - should be well prepared and initiated with a great deal of tact.
The prerequisite is that the recruiter thoroughly examines the resume and qualifications of the candidate approached and can justify why he or she considers him or her suitable for a particular position.
Industry experience is also advantageous for this. It is important that the applicant builds up the necessary trust in the personnel consultant from the very beginning and does not have the feeling of being one among many.
An annoyed IT specialist once criticized the approach of the headhunters going for masses as a kind of "dynamite fishing": They "fish" very unspecifically in the pond of possible candidates and present "everything that comes up" to the customer.
A professional and experienced headhunter, on the other hand, assists an applicant throughout the entire recruiting process. This includes support in preparing the application documents and sharpening the profile in order to increase the chances of being filled.
Also, the recruiter should work to ensure that the interview rounds take place one step at a time so as not to scare candidates away with too many time delays.
At every stage, it is important that there is transparency about the progress of the application. If a headhunter keeps in touch with the candidate even after the placement, long-term relationships can develop from which both sides benefit.
In this way, a consultant can repeatedly offer the IT specialist jobs through his or her network that open up opportunities for career advancement - by moving up the career ladder or switching to a different IT subject area.
Honesty and seriousness
Honesty, seriousness and discretion: these are the essential qualities that make a personnel consultant permanently successful, especially in times of headhunting boom.
This should also include a frank word if, for example, it turns out that a proposed candidate does not fit the advertised position after all: In this case, a consultant should be interested in a sustainable relationship with the client rather than in his consulting fee.
Because word gets around quickly in the IT industry if a headhunter is only looking for the quick deal. Good headhunters even go so far as to ensure the quality of their work through a special fee model.
According to this, the client only pays one half of the agreed fee after a candidate has been placed. The personnel consultant receives the other only after successful completion of the probationary period.
