Respecting The HR/Recruiter/Hiring Manager Relationship

Getting all three together is kind of like putting cats in a bag. Well, not really, but it requires a delicate touch, mutual respect and understanding. There are processes in place that must be respected and followed (without exasperation!) and the HR rep is going to enforce those because … well that’s their job. And while sometimes it seems painfully bureaucratic, it’s important. Things can get ugly if a recruiter or hiring manager flirts with the notion that HR is purposefully putting up roadblocks. It sounds silly, but it can happen and it can destroy a relationship and ruin a lot of hard work.

The hiring manager has a slightly different problem to solve: ensuring smooth business operations. If the company has a lot of red tape and the hiring manager is getting impatient, a good recruiter should diplomatically encourage patience and avoid any railroading or guerilla impulses. The recruiter will likely have to work again with that HR rep. A good recruiter will take the long view and work through the process if they want to stick around.

Finally, the recruiter’s focus must be on maintaining this sometimes fraught relationship, proving that he truly gets the people he works for and adds value to the equation. The recruiter is at the service of both the HR rep and hiring manager.The goal is the smoothest transaction possible and that can be hard if the relationship is new and there’s a learning curve thrown in the mix. So it may never be a love triangle, but it certainly should be a mutual-respect triangle, even if that makes for a clumsy pop song title.

About NextGen

NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.

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