Who Comes First - The Client or The Candidate?

By Christopher Williams

I can't tell you how many times I have spoken to colleagues engaged in a job search who walked away from the process believing that their recruiter didn't value their contribution. Their calls weren't returned promptly, they didn't get timely feedback after an interview or they got a call from the recruiter's assistant who failed to give them a clear understanding of the next steps.

According to Linkedin Talent Solutions 2015 Talent Trends, "94% of talent wants to receive interview feedback." That says a great deal doesn't it? By taking the time to get the feedback from the client and sharing it with the candidate you're doing two things. One, you're ensuring that the candidate understands their interview performance: mistakes made or things they did well. You're also making sure that you are crystal clear on what the client wants. If you sent a "rockstar" candidate and the client was still undecided, then you might need to revisit the job specifications and get on the right page.

Then there is the recruiter who calls a prospective candidate and it's only about the client and what that candidate has to say gets tossed into a blackhole instead of noted for follow up. Fast forward a few months later and the recruiter is in a bind and needs help, so they call the one candidate they know can help. The problem is they forgot to help that candidate when he/she needed it.

What now? How do you, the recruiter, move forward? You don't. Not unless you are willing to own your misstep. Show that candidate that they are a priority and focus on what you can give instead of what you want to get. Even then it might be too late to salvage the relationship. 

The bottom line is whether you are in a retainer or contingency based recruiting business, the candidate is just as important as your client and essentially should be treated equally well. Today your candidate "Jane" may be an associate, but 2 or 3 years from now, she could very well be the hiring manager or running her own company. So by establishing the relationship correctly in the beginning, you have ensured yourself a possible seat at the table when the time comes for the next recruiting opportunity.