Newbie recruiter’s first weeks: what to watch, where to run?

A new job or a new field is almost always certain stress for any person and, perhaps, the first month of work as a recruiter is the most concentrated period for his “get into the role”. How can a newbie recruiter make the most of this month? We offer practical recommendations from experienced colleagues Yuliia Zhukova (HR BP, “Yurii-Pharm”) and Alina Shevchenko (Lead IT Recruiter, INDIGO).

What to ask management in the first week?

Of course, each company has its history with the period of acquaintance and adaptation, but even in a small recruiting department, a newbie will not be allowed to sit and watch for long. Of course, they won’t throw them under the tanks, but they will give some tasks for vacancies. What is important at this stage to quickly join the process and not feel embarrassed?
Therefore:

• in the first week, it is important to study the structure of the company and familiarize yourself with the profiles of positions for which there are already vacancies;
• talk with managers, understand for yourself what portrait of the candidate, in addition to the requirements described in the application for selection, the customer expects, also what results in his work the customer wants to get. As a result, you should have a fully formed vacancy in your hands, consisting not only of responsibilities, requirements, and social benefits but also containing information about the location, team, tasks that the employee needs to solve in the first months of work;
• determine the timing of the closing of the vacancy, the format of the interview, and the number of stages, as is customary in the company now.

At first (exactly 2 weeks), do not hesitate to ask the mentor any, even the stupidest, in your opinion, questions,” Alina Shevchenko emphasizes. “Because the faster you get into the processes, the easier it will be for you and your manager in the future.”
Having worked for a certain time in the company, you will see how you can improve these processes – if there is such a need,” Yuliia Zhukova says.

Where and how to look in the beginning?

According to Yulia, it is vitally important to think over where the target audience of candidates might be. For example, it makes sense to look for candidates for working specialties on such job sites as work.ua, rabota.ua, olx.ua, and, also not to miss posting ads (in permitted places), search by recommendation (chat with colleagues of similar positions).
For specialists of common positions, you can use the same job sites + post vacancies on Facebook, Viber profile groups. And for leadership positions, you already need to use direct search or hunting since this category of candidates is often employed and does not need to be actively searched, LinkedIn is also welcomed.
Concerning the IT sphere, the most effective sources are LinkedIn, Djinni, Dou. Job portals still work for Juniors or marketing specialties. Plus, there is a huge number of telegram channels in various specialties, and companies also send email messages to their internal databases (which are stored in CleverStaff),” Alina says.

First call: how to prepare

When preparing for a phone call to a candidate for the first time, prepare for yourself a list of questions that should be asked at this stage. To determine what is important to know about the candidate based on the screening results you can work with the manager.
It is important to tell about the company, its location, the specifics of its activities, brief functionality of the position, ask the candidate clarifying questions and invite them to a meeting – in case of a positive impression.
If the candidate behaves inappropriately or you understand that you are not ready to invite him for an interview, give him the right feedback. Because even those candidates with whom you only talked over the phone, also form the external brand of the employer – through your communication. Therefore, be discreet, positive, and polite.
A person must imagine and understand where he is being interviewed at all, who calls him. After you “got interested” in him, you can clarify important points from experience (key requirements in the vacancy). Since this is a telephone interview, it does not have to be lengthy. If at the end of the interview you understand that the candidate is suitable according to the initial requirements, immediately appoint a more advanced personal/Skype/ Google Meet /Zoom interview. Regarding intonation – you need to make a good impression, so it is desirable that the voice was “friendly”, and not “demanding and clamorous”. So the interview will be without stress, and the candidate will more easily “confide in”, – Alina shares her experience.

First personal interview

Concerning the format of the interview – agree with the manager regarding the acceptable format to him. For example, you start a conversation by asking questions about soft skills, motivation, clarifying questions about a resume, or the leader is leading the conversation, and you are connected at the end; or mixed formats.
I personally don’t like to drag out interviews, so I try to stick to my already developed structure,” Alina says. Her interview plan is something like this:

• tell the candidate right away what the interview plan is and how long it will take,
• tell about the company/product/project,
• tell what kind of person we are looking for,
• ask some questions that are important for the position,
• answer the candidate’s questions.

At the meeting, listen carefully to the candidate, make notes for yourself, brief conclusions, record strengths and areas of the reserve. At the end of the meeting, be sure to thank the candidate and let him know during what period you will provide him with feedback on the results of the meeting. Be sure to stick to deadlines.
After the interview, discuss the candidate with the manager, ask how the candidate is suitable for the vacant position, express your observations, and – decide on further actions.

Final candidate

A job offer is sent to the final candidate, which sets out the working conditions and other guarantees of the employer. If the candidate accepts it, the registration process starts. Often, HR specialists are involved at this stage. Your task is to provide the candidate with a list of documents for registration, set a date in agreement with the immediate supervisor and a specialist in the HR department.
If a recruiter is from a recruiting agency, then when they make an offer to the final candidate, it is necessary to connect the finalist with the responsible person from the company, who will “process” him further, so that the person is not “lost” – “transfer” it for adaptation. If the recruiter works in the company and will onboard the newcomer, then one day before the newcomer starts to work, give a little information about him, namely, send a newsletter that a new person will hold “this position”, will work in “this team”. And on the day of the release – show the office, if it is removed – then connect to the general call and introduce the newcomer, introduce him to the team, mentor, or leader + tell him what awaits him on the first working day/week,” Alina shares her experience.

If this is part of your functionality, then you need to control the creation of an onboarding plan for entering the newcomer’s position, meet him on the first working day and hand it over to a mentor who will be engaged in his professional adaptation,” Yuliia adds.
In some companies, it is also the responsibility of the recruiter to conduct the Welcome training. Then you should decide on the date of such an event, notify the new employee and introduce him to the company through a presentation. The companies also have a Welcome kit – branded kits for a newcomer (eco-bag, notebook, pen, cup, T-shirt, etc.)

The skill of small talk, persistence, and – “calm, be calm!”!

Of course, in the first month of work, it is important for a recruiter to develop such soft skills as perseverance, ability to multitask and prioritize, ability to search for information, desire to develop,” Yuliia Zhukova from “Yurii-Pharm” says. “But communication skills and personal energy, which the applicant-interlocutor always feels at the first meeting, is no less valuable.”
How you start your first conversation when meeting a candidate at the front desk will set the tone for the entire interview. That’s it we are talking about small talk – the great art of small conversation, which is so appreciated in English-speaking countries in the business environment when meeting with unfamiliar people. Learn to start a conversation easily and naturally (which is not always easy), and not necessarily “about the weather” – this will help the candidate to relax and “become soften”.
Alina Shevchenko from INDIGO also focuses on persistence – to herself, if you have chosen IT recruiting. “When a recruiter just starts his activity in IT, a lot of incomprehensible is expected for him, and in order not to abandon everything in despair at the very first stage, you need to make an effort – do not give up! For example, because you don’t immediately understand why JavaScript is both front and back. We must not give up, not be lazy, and google, ask, collect information. There is no other way.
And at first, you need to learn to stay calm in the work process, in any circumstances. This is not easy for beginners, but over time, “immunity” will appear (if, again, make an effort). Learn to be calm – to both clients and candidates. You need to get used to the fact that all people are different and each needs its approach. Again – there is no other way! “

The thoughtful and measured reading

Of course, there is often no time for reading in the first month of a new job, but recruiting is just the area where “letters” define the outlook and attitude of the recruiter. You do not need to multitask, try to start with one or two books and regularly browse specialized portals.
Both Juliia and Alina unanimously recommend all books by HR guru Svitlana Ivanova. In particular, the bestseller “The Art of Recruiting” is certainly subject to mastering. Of course, today there are many manuals for testing different competencies but this book, as well as the presentation and main fundamentals from Svitlana Ivanova, are very useful for starting work. This is a “classic” that helps out in the early stages. The book is available in print and electronic form on book sites in Ukraine (for example, yakaboo.ua).
Useful articles on the topic can always be found on such portals as indigo.co.ua (blog, IT recruiting school), dou.ua, ain.ua. Don’t try to cover and read everything – pick a couple of sources and follow their expertise.

Conclusions

Usually, the functionality of a recruiter includes the search and selection of personnel. But this process cannot be successful and of high quality without a theoretical and practical background, knowledge of psychology, management, rhetoric, etc. In order not to drown in the flow of new information, a newcomer recruiter needs to note the “landmarks”, and move from one to another – keeping calm and showing perseverance.