Build Recruiting Influence with These 6 Steps

​SAN FRANCISCO—The question that maverick thought leader Matt Charney gets asked most often by recruiters is "How do I get to be a social media influencer and HR famous?"

His typical response: "Why would you want that?"

Charney, the chief content officer for Allegis Global Solutions, a leading recruitment process outsourcing firm based in Hanover, Md., believes that building an influential brand is important for recruiters. But the influence that matters can't be measured by a Klout score or the amount of Twitter followers you amass.

"The influence you need to be able to exert is on your candidates and on your hiring managers and on your business," Charney told attendees at Hiring Success 2018, a conference for recruiting professionals held by SmartRecruiters, one of the leading next-gen talent acquisition systems.  And that influence doesn't necessarily grow out of social media presence or speaking gigs.  

To set the stage, there are a few things going against recruiters and the recruiting profession, Charney explained. Recruiters do not enjoy the most stellar reputation. A Google search for "Recruiters are…" will bring up items like "scumbags," "the worst," and "a waste of time."

There's also not much unifying professional codification.

"Maybe you got a degree, maybe you didn't," Charney said. "There are more professional qualifications to sell real estate, or cut hair. There are no requirements [that must be met] to be a recruiter. It's a wonderful profession, and some of us have some passion about it, but at the same time most of us just fell into this."

So that's what people think they know about recruiters—they're often disliked and inhabit a nebulous place in the business. "If you work for a crappy company with a bad brand, the only thing that you have with which to influence anything is your own reputation," he said.

Recruiters can't change a broken culture or the perception of the company. They don't set compensation for open positions. They don't make the technology decisions. And they're not even mostly responsible for bad hiring decisions, he added, placing the lion's share of the blame for failed new hires at the feet of hiring managers.

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Building Influence

Charney listed six areas where recruiters can legitimately build influence, which will help them do their jobs better.

Reciprocity. Communications from recruiters to candidates are generally about how awesome the company is, or what the company needs, he said. "There's very little value exchange in that." He advised recruiters to be more open, be reliable, provide recognition and show gratitude. Open doors instead of acting like gatekeepers. "Asking 'How can I help' will get you further in building influence than saying 'That's not my job.' "

Commitment. If you agree to do something, do it. That includes contacting a candidate if you said you would. "High touch wins over high tech every day," Charney said. "Timelines and deadlines aren't just suggestions—meet them or meet the consequences."

Recruiters should work to extract commitment from hiring managers as well. "Make sure you get a hard deliverable from your hiring manager on when they will start reviewing resumes and for each step of the process." Also, don't overpromise and underdeliver. Recruiters are prone to that, he said.

Social. You can put yourself out there, which people are increasingly doing, but remember that social presence is not a strategy—it's a tool, Charney said. "The message is the message; the medium doesn't matter."

Tips for social media interactions include "knowing when to engage, when to listen and when to shut up. Don't overshare. You're not the greatest company in the world, and no one wants to see every open job you have."

Authority. Recruiters are not in a position of power. "It's a candidate-centric market and you're essentially an intermediary between candidates and your customers, the hiring managers," Charney said. "So, make sure you remember who your clients are, who your stakeholders are, and give them what they want with as much structure as you can impose."

The one area where you are recognized for expertise—careers—can be leveraged for subject matter recognition. "Be a career concierge internally," Charney said.

In addition, only 22 percent of hiring managers think their recruiters have a good understanding of the open jobs. Charney recommended recruiters seek out trusted voices—the employees—and amplify them. But don't appropriate your employees' stories to fit a narrative. "They're already talking about their experiences. Are you listening?" he asked.

Scarcity. Recruiters can create scarcity—when things are highly valued because they can't be easily obtained—by focusing on the work that can't be automated. "Don't work against machines; work with them. Human interaction is your value."

Likability. This one should be simple. People want to work with people they like. All candidates are future colleagues. "That means be yourself at all times," Charney said. "A recruiter just filling orders can be replaced. No one can replace you if you are being yourself. While we're not the most highly thought of profession—in fact, we're lower than PR in terms of credibility—it's never too late to reinvent your brand."

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