Job-Related Call From In-House HR Department and Consultants, Differences and Approach!

With the advent of technology, finding a job has metamorphosized into various strategies and moves one can make to ultimately find their place in the industries. And on the other side of the process, especially the congruency provided by the job search portals, recruiters have devised their own processes to find talents. And just like the portals, Human Resource Consultants were born out of these requirements of bridging the gaps between the two.

 And with that came the era of being searched for, as a job seeker, offers with opportunities if handled right. Being contacted with job prospectus even when the vacancy never crossed your sight is one blessing from the ecosystem technology has provided. And this means the older ways are not obsolete, rather better applicable. And the approach has evolved as well. So, when contacted by an in-house recruiter and a consultant can be two very different scenarios.

To understand better, here are the key differences between the two to look into:

•             HRs are a part and direct representative of the organization while consultants are indirect and contract partners, which gives an advantage to the consultants by working for both, the organization and the candidate. For the candidate, it makes sorting doubts and setbacks much more easily and prepare accordingly with support leading to a refined candidature, one reason why many organizations seek consultancy to research candidates.

•             Consultants can be much more informed about general queries but only HRs can evaluate a candidate’s actual resonance with the organizations. Thereby evaluating candidates in the initial contact and efficiently going through the process. The reason why most of the smaller organizations prefer in-house research and processing and invest in portal subscriptions instead.

•             HRs being the organization itself (the image, first touch, passage to it), they have limits and often, reaching out has limits too. While, consultants can be reached out more often and thus, handling of candidates is better on that side. Also, because of more communications and indirect affiliations, they have better information about candidate’s other search results and priorities. Thereby, being better equipped for not losing on opportunities for either side. Also, a similar flow of information is received from the organizational end as well, thus, being helpful to candidates.

With the above points in mind, here is a little guide to handling calls for job vacancies from either side, starting with HR Department.

What to do when HR calls with a job opportunity?

•             Maintain a positive professional demeanor, greet and listen carefully about the prospect. Respond briefly and efficiently unless asked otherwise.

•             Exchange basic information about self and the opportunity and the organization. Get your job description clear before confirming to anything, ask few but relevant questions. Although not really recommended, but can also ask for some time, a day max, to think over it. But it’s best to take things further with such little contact.

•             Work your way towards an appointment and get clear on the documentation and formalities. Also, a telephonic conversation with any team member can also be arranged and seeking it can be a good option.

•             Get contact details and seek permission to follow up appropriately.

What to do when a consultant contacts with a job offer?

•             A neutral demeanor with an inquisitive attitude to extract information about the role, company, pay and allowances, and other details. Similar details about self can be provided to be instantly reviewed by the consulting personnel. Also, inquire about any charges that may be payable by self (usually, being charged for a consultation before the selection is a known misconduct).

•             Exchange detailed information about every aspect of the process and even seek tips and reviews for them. Consultants are there to bridge and thus, can be very helpful.

•             Get an appointment scheduled and direct contact arranged from the employer/HR (for single use at least). Also, the consultants can be of great help in pay negotiations which should be taken into account.

•             Get other contact details of the consultant and follow up at least once in a day or two and more if it takes longer time. Can be done many times but two to three follow-ups should be the limit.

Direct recruitment is confining itself to lesser segments these days towards managerial positions. Fresher jobs and lower-experience/skill/post jobs have started to go through consultants more often. Mainly due to the volume of applications they can handle and are there and efficient initial screening and candidate preparation they can provide. While direct recruitment yields similar results, the process itself can become inefficient while handling larger volumes.

However, start to intermediate managerial jobs are mostly being handled by recruiters directly, although consultants do aid in research, leads, and initial contact but anything beyond that is mostly handled by HR personnel.

Also, with recent observations, consultants are providing probationary employment from their end as well known as off-roll employment or contract employment. This is a unique opportunity for many, especially freshers and freelancers who want to gain more initial and wider experience and network as well. It is one added advantage Consultants are providing these days but it is not for everyone.

This article is inspired by parts of another article which can be accessed from here.

Why Referrals Are Losing Value And The Value Itself, Explained!

Referral hiring has been one of the most effective methods for organizations to build reliable and enduring teams, especially on the management side. Referrals worked because it brought in people with proven or tested abilities and persona, to say the least. While many other aspects can be relied upon to test them, few factors (assurances) still remained missing. And with the advent of referral hiring and networking as a part of recruitment and job search, it has started to lose the charm. Let's understand it first.

Coming through an existing employee, an endorsement gives boost to the candidate and also makes the recruitment process a two-way test, 

One, to get the candidate from a person who knows the organization from inside and thus, the perceived connection of the candidate and team might work better, 

Two, testing the judgment and/or understanding of current employee(s) towards other members and needs of the organization.

But as time and technology went forward, standardized practices took over most of it, while referrals reserved a special spot in the job applications.

While still in use, extensive information about individuals is readily available, and thus, the overall judgment is majorly influenced by the knowledge. Exceptions are always there, but general cases and scenarios witness the influence.

In order to analyze whether referrals are still up for consideration, here's a look at the recruitment process with and without them:

·         Job Application without referrals goes directly with other applications and with the regular processing, while referrals go direct and have a faster processing due to point of contact available. Counting it as a neutral advantage, it does bring efficiency to the process.

·         Test and Interview Calls, especially pre-visit telephonic interviews can have positive results with a greater probability, considering the same conditions with a un-referred applicant. The advantage here is the positive image the call begins with due to the reference, which affects the overall process.

·         Interviews, again, may share the same overall advantage. But the profiles and other information (relative to other candidates) tend to shadow the fact and interviews become almost unbiased.

Seeing the above, while referrals certainly provide an advantage in the process but not so much as to substantiate recruitment itself. Job search without referrals is almost the same process after applying. Although, on the other side of the story, referrals can actually make a difference if processed properly.

The point to consider with references, be it the recruiter, the referrer, or the candidate, there is a broader analysis in the recruitment process, especially interview, that needs to be done. Its relevance depends on the amount of unique data it provides that can't be acquired otherwise. And bringing in the referrer in context can do exactly that.

Interviewing the referrer for why, how, and what will be the positives (and negatives) of hiring the candidate. It can lead to a better organizational setup whether or not the candidate is hired, because of the better understanding of the decision.

Opinion: With all the information available, references have lost their value in most cases. For upcoming times, unless the recruitment processes evolve, they will lose value further. However, getting a valuable reference will certainly lead to a substantial boost in the jobs search.

The value depends on, One, profile, if it is related and senior to that of candidate, Two, experience, the more the better, Three, position, at least a few ranks over the applied profile, Four, involvement, whether the referrer is directly or indirectly involved with the organization, Five, credibility, whether unproven or tested in past (not necessarily with referencing but work in general), and Six, relationship, with the candidate (professionally; personal doesn't make a positive difference) and with the organization as well.

If the six things check out, it calls for a very strong endorsement, getting which is not easy either, both the traits and the reference itself. Although, the most important of all these are Credibility and Relationship. A person whose work and/or judgment is proven is always bound to give more reliable and better recommendations. Similarly, the relationship of the referrer with the organization and the candidate will define the resonance of values that can connect them better. If these two criteria check out, especially for recruiters, it can be considered a good endorsement.

So, however, the value may have faded, referrals still hold a very high regard when it comes from the right people. And so, it is important to network inside and beyond the industries to create relations that help one grow. More on this SOON!