They can be a Barrier to doing your job

Recently, my friend told me that his company could not fill up positions fast enough and that the candidates are not suitable even though the company is using headhunters. I thought, "this is the best time to find good, qualifying candidates. So what is happening?"

Sometimes the Human Resources department already had the candidate's resume buried in its files. HR departments are so busy that they lose good candidates without realizing it. While a hiring manager may be interested in the candidate, an HR might have put a big X on the application. This is the risk companies take when they let someone other than hiring managers sort through resumes. HR doesn't necessarily have the depth of knowledge that a department manager does.

A good headhunter can help navigate the muck and mire of the candidate review process in most companies. A good headhunter has direct access to the hiring manager and is more motivated than the HR department to make a connection, because he earns a fee. They may be able to both speed up the process and get the candidate in front of the manager in advance of candidates that are brought in by the HR office.

Mistakes that a HR makes:
1. They don't recruit. Because of the volume of "resume flow", they don't identify and pursue the people they want. Instead, they take what comes along.

2. They rely too much on ads. The best candidates are lost to headhunters and to employers who leverage personal connections to attract them.

3. They know too much about HR and too little about their industry. The typical recruiter spends more time reading HR journals than trade and professional publications that are read by the people they want to recruit.

5. They don't know how to 'update' or 'sell' the managers of a good candidate. HR should stay close to the department they are recruiting for. That's how they can daily influence the hiring manager's of recruiting activities.

6. They waste candidates' time. Good candidates don't have time for applications, tests and screening interviews before they talk with the hiring manager.

7. They waste headhunters' time. Engaging with too many headhunters to 'fight' for one position and not disclosing whether candidates' are suitable for the role. Which result in more resumes being sent over that are not relevant and having headhunters having bad impression of the HR or company.

And the old saying goes, "If you don't know how you are doing, you can't fix anything."