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Most of the recruitment industry operates on an individual commission basis, similar to the way a sales team functions. The recruiter has a set of positions they are responsible for and are commissioned for placing a candidate in each role. This system has been the standard since its inception, but who is that system really serving? We’ve all heard it before: Headhunters just, “throwing resumes at a wall” and “wasting my time with unqualified candidates”, or “The candidate didn’t even know what role they were interviewing for!”. We think there is a way to better serve both candidates and clients alike, and it’s all about leveraging the power of the team.
Why the Team-Model Works:
1. We’re not incentivized to be “pushy” or overly salesy: You’re only seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in the role, and have a full understanding of the responsibilities, requirements and your brand. The absence of an ulterior motive engenders a trusting relationship between us and our candidates. This trust leads to greater referrals and a larger candidate pool for us to draw from.
2. Multiple recruiters briefed on your search: Operating on a team-based model, opens up your search to the entire firm. This means more potential hires are hearing about your opportunity and more eyes are looking out for great candidates.
3. Diversity of perspective: Because multiple people are briefed on your search, there are multiple perspectives looking to fill in the blank. This means a diverse pipeline of candidates for you and a higher likelihood of out-of-the-box sourcing.
4. Fully vetted candidates: Multiple points of contact also mean that candidates, on average, are speaking to two or three of us before you even see their resume. This allows for greater insight into the candidate, the good and the bad. Any red flags are much more likely to pop up across three different conversations, versus just one.
5. Brand Champions: The credibility earned through the trusting relationship that we cultivate with our candidates extends into our conversations with candidates about your employer brand. Having more than one person on our team championing your brand advances that credibility. Our candidates end up more excited about your brand, and therefore the opportunity. It’s not just about candidates who end up interested in your position, but also those who aren’t. They walk away with a positive impression of your brand. Word of mouth is a great vehicle for advertising your employer brand.
In many ways our history has informed the way we operate today. From career counseling bootcamp to placement agency we have evolved a distinctive team-based, collaborative, model that allows our team to function as one cooperative unit. We still run our own desk, we just have the entire team supporting every search, meaning more, highly qualified, interested, and fully vetted candidates.