Something that many hiring companies fail to recognize while sourcing talent is this: The hiring process for job candidates found by their internal talent acquisition teams should be different than the process they use for candidates who are presented by a talent recruiting firm. I’d like to explain the differences and why they’re so important in the recruitment process.  

As a professional talent recruiter, I work hard to find the best talent for my clients. While vetting and selecting potential candidates, this typically involves multiple conversations with qualified professionals, including face-to-face or video interviews, interview preparation calls, and more. It also involves reference checks for those who advance in the process. All of this happens before my clients ever meet with a candidate.   

As a hiring manager, if you work with a strong talent recruiting agency, consider this factor in shaping your hiring process: The full experiences that job seekers encounter with your organization during the interview process – including time spent with a talent recruiter – have great bearing on your employer brand and company reputation. It’s important to consistently refine processes to ensure you provide quality candidate experiences that lead to successful hires and also enhance your brand image in the job market.   

Here are three key considerations that will help streamline your hiring process while working with a talent agency.   

1. Length of Process   

During the talent recruitment process, and before I present candidate resumes to a client for consideration, most candidates have been through at least two interview steps with our recruiting firm, and as noted, some go through more, depending on the open position. This does not include interview preps, debriefs, reference checks, or other vetting efforts to ensure the fit is solid. In other words, the top talent we present to clients has invested significant time in pursuing a role before their resumes ever make it to a hiring manager’s desk.  

As you execute your hiring strategy, be sure to recognize these candidates’ investments of time. More specifically, if your process for internally sourced candidates typically involves three interview steps, and you apply the same process for agency-sourced candidates, consider that an agency-sourced candidate is being put through four or five rounds of interviews for the same role. This is not ideal, as many top-tier candidates, including sought-after passive candidates, abandon opportunities when the interview process is too long and drawn out.    

There’s a better way that’s more advantageous for your organization and the candidate experience. Here’s an example. When we began a relationship with a large hospitality chain, their head of human resources acknowledged this redundancy and chose to skip internal recruiter interviews and advance our candidates directly to their first interview with the hiring manager. They trusted that Goodwin Recruiting’s interview methods are as thorough as their own. This simple step not only acknowledged that we are indeed a partnership-focused talent agency, but it also resulted in speeding our client’s hiring process and hiring success, while enhancing the candidate experience.   

If you work with a talent agency you trust, this approach can streamline your hiring process, too.  

2. Number of Candidates   

My youngest son struggles to fall asleep at night because he has a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out). Sometimes, employers fall into the same trap in their recruitment strategies. They interview a candidate who is outstanding, but don’t want to move forward without seeing other candidates in fear of missing out on someone better.   

I’m currently working to fill a role for an organization. My efforts and those of other partners here at Goodwin Recruiting who are supporting this talent search have resulted in reviewing hundreds of resumes and interviewing more than a half dozen candidates. However, to date, we have only been able to present one candidate to the client. Along the way, we’ve discovered candidates who were not truthful about their experiences, lack the skill sets our client needs, or don’t present themselves with professionalism.  

Our client met with the one candidate we presented and loves this candidate but feels like they can’t hire yet because they “haven’t done enough interviews.” FOMO strikes again! And since the Goodwin Recruiting candidate is so highly qualified, the probability is high that this professional has received multiple job offers and may well be off the market before our client reaches a hiring decision.   

Some companies and hiring managers have internal standards that demand a certain number of interviews be conducted before hiring for a job opening. When you work with an external talent agency, it’s important to acknowledge that several of these required interviews have already been conducted.  

3. Personality Profiles and Assessments   

Personality tests and related assessments offer useful information about job candidates; however, I believe they are only a piece of the puzzle. Your internal recruiting teams might use these profiles to weed through countless job applicants to decide who will be invited to an interview. Should the same assessments be used with job candidates who are presented to you by a talent recruiting agency?  

A strong talent recruiter becomes deeply invested in your talent search, taking time to learn and know specifically the type and caliber of candidate you need for an important role. Given that we meet with qualified candidates, learn their stories, explore their skills, and believe they are a cultural fit for your team and company – before presenting them to you – it’s highly likely that our in-depth process offers you more significant insight into a candidate than a personality profile provides.

In general, if you use personality testing in your recruitment process, let the insights guide your considerations and conversations with candidates – rather than allowing test results to become immediate dealbreakers with candidates.    

Streamline your hiring process with the right recruiting partner    

If the simple suggestions in this article are unsettling to you, it may be a sign that you’re working with the wrong recruiter. I’m a huge believer that talent recruiting is a true partnership between an agency and hiring company. At Goodwin Recruiting, we not only invest the time to learn what you need and understand your company culture, but we also take pride in and are repeatedly recognized for delivering top talent.   

When I send potential candidates to clients and hiring managers for consideration, these are candidates I would hire myself if I were in their shoes. Yes, this sets a high bar with very selective standards. But when you partner with a quality recruiting agency, this is how your recruiter should regard and perform their work on your behalf.    

On a final note, most quality recruiters will be up front in telling you when we don’t currently have a candidate who meets your needs, rather than present candidates that are not a fit, which is not how we roll.   

Feel free to reach out to me with your talent sourcing needs. Let our network of 300+ recruiters coast-to-coast find and thoroughly vet the best candidates to elevate your team and performance.