In this post, Konstanty Sliwowski, founder of Caissa Global Recruitment, explains why he compared present-day recruitment agencies with ‘’ lawyers and why most companies don’t rely on them. He further explains what a recruitment agency should do to build a strong reputation.
Have you ever heard of Ambulance chasing? No, it is not some new sports fad. Ambulance chasing is a slur name for the type of lawyers who follow ambulances to the emergency room to find clients.
Sadly, I see very similar activity happening in the recruitment industry. In fact, I just had lunch with an HR Director I have been working with for many years and she confided in me that in recent months, it is almost scary to post a job advert because you will be bombarded with contact requests, messages, emails, comments on LinkedIn posts offering recruitment services, and calls from unsolicited recruitment agencies.
Of course, when you work in HR and specifically in talent acquisition, you do develop a bit of a thick skin to this type of behaviour. But it has become a real nuisance for many companies, and we hear this more and more often from clients that come to us with their engineering recruitment challenges.
Now I must admit, I do understand why so many recruitment agencies are “Ambulance chasing” at the moment.
- Fewer companies are hiring.
- Companies have less budget to spend on agencies, and
- There are fewer “everyday” jobs that are easy to fill that agencies would class as an “easy win”.
In fact, companies don’t want to be approached by recruitment agencies offering help with vacancies they know they can fill themselves. Sure, they can not fill them all because some are more time-consuming, challenging, or simply outside their area of experience.
This is why companies want to know who the agencies are that can help them effectively deliver on niche-specific challenging roles that they are struggling with. Chasing ambulances does not showcase this. Your reputation, market knowledge and proven ability within your niche do.
So I say this to agencies. There are no easy jobs to fill at the moment so stop chasing job ads of companies as if they were ambulances. Instead, show companies how you can help them with information, intelligence, value and market awareness.
To summarize, if you want to establish a reputable recruitment agency, you must
- Stop chasing job ads. Companies don’t want to waste time going through your email messages, unnecessary comments, or calls.
- Understand the specific requirements of these firms. They are looking for talent rather than just another person.
- Show them how you can help them. Companies want valuable information in response to the ads they post or publish.
- Focus on strategic approach rather than volume driven approach. Be their strategic partner.
- Know how to add value to your proposal. Provide insights of the job market and how you can help them get the right person.
Are you facing any engineering recruitment challenge? Do you need assistance in executive recruitment for your company?
and we’ll help you out!
