Here, Konstanty Sliwowski, the founder of Caissa Global Recruitment, explains why he had to turn away a client. He talks about the expertise of his niche-specific recruitment agency and the roles they are good at filling up. Later, he explains why it is good to turn away someone who wants something you’re not an expert at.
To find out more, go through the below transcript:
I turned away a new client on Friday. It was a conscious decision; maybe, not an easy one for most but definitely the right one.
Some may think this is crazy. A recruitment business not taking on a job - Now, during a crisis, or ever, for that matter - Why?
It is quite simple really. I have too much respect for my clients to BS them. My business, Caissa, is very very good at filling certain types of positions; CTO’s (Cheif Technology Officers), VP of Engineering, and Principal Engineers, for example.
This is where:
- We have a network
- We have a deep candidate experience
- We deliver impact and success for our clients
So why did I turn away this client - a company I really like, and with which, I would like to work with one day?
Well, during our discovery conversation about the role, it became clear that the specification of the role was different from the initial job description.
Without giving away too many details, the position was too far in the direction of hardware infrastructure operations, which we have limited experience with. The position did not fit with our expertise.
What made this difficult was that:
- The company was eager to work with us,
- Saw immediate value in our process, and
- Had been referred to us by a satisfied client of ours.
Sure, we could have taken on the search and worked on it. But, I know from experience that we would not have a sufficient network to be able to:
- Deliver the same quality of candidates
- Depth of screening as we do with our core competencies
It would slow down the search, and let’s face it; when you engage an agency, it is to get high-quality results fast.
So I said no to taking on a new job and even recommended another agency. I did this because it was the right thing to do out of respect for the prospective client as well as our obligation to deliver within our core competencies to our existing customers.
In sum, it is important for a skill-based recruitment firm to:
- Maintain its reputation. You’re good at something doesn’t mean you can take on the opportunity you’re not familiar with.
- Clearly understand the job requirements. Make sure to go through every detail and align yourself.
- Don’t commit. As you’re not familiar with the role, your search will be slower than usual. And clients want quick results.
- What if the client wants you to do what you’re not good at? If you find them going beyond your reach, it’s better to refuse and recommend the right recruitment agency.
Are you looking to hire Chief Technology Officer or VP Engineer for your company? Are you in search of a developer job in Berlin? Don’t hesitate to contact us and discuss.
