Q: Steve, What makes you different from other recruiters?
A: My Recruiting Principles.
1. A recruiter’s job is to save you time.
As a hiring manager, you want to focus on high-leverage work. That’s why you’re considering a recruiter. Whether you are leading an engineering team, a sales team, or an entire organization, there are better uses of your time than talking to misfit candidates and reading resumes. Respect for your time––and my own––is the lodestar of my work.
2. A recruiter must be accountable.
My process is this: First, I tell you what I’m going to do. Then, I do it. Finally, I show you what I’ve done. In high-end engineering recruiting, that means sending n emails, conducting n/10 phone interviews, scheduling n/25 hiring manager screens, and n/50 interviews. n changes each search.
3. People are more important than processes, workflows, metrics, etc.
In my experience, outstanding candidates do not tolerate BS from HR departments. Like you, they are too busy doing productive work to jump through arbitrary HR hoops. Business processes are important, but I make exceptions for the exceptional.
4. Money matters (but so does culture).
Call me a realist––Nine out of ten candidates take the offer that pays more (Oh! To be a recruiter at FAANG…). But that tenth candidate is what makes startup recruiting interesting. A defined company culture is critical.
5. Good recruiters are multilingual.
And I don’t mean foreign languages––though I’ve spent years learning Chinese and Spanish. One key to recruiting is to understand that each candidate* has his own priorities: commute, stability, project scope, leadership responsibilities, world domination, do-gooding, etc. It’s a recruiter’s job to find out what makes each candidate tick.
*Except salespeople. For them it’s all about OTE.
6. Integrity through it all.
Ever have a candidate sign an offer only to have him no-show on his first day of work? Been there, done that. But I never want to be that guy. I strive to be forthright and cultivate long-term professional partnerships.
Q: Steve, What makes you different from other recruiters? A: My Recruiting Principles.
1. A recruiter’s job is to save you time.
As a hiring manager, you want to focus on high-leverage work. That’s why you’re considering a recruiter. Whether you are leading an engineering team, a sales team, or an entire organization, there are better uses of your time than talking to misfit candidates and reading resumes. Respect for your time––and my own––is the lodestar of my work.
2. A recruiter must be accountable.
My process is this: First, I tell you what I’m going to do. Then, I do it. Finally, I show you what I’ve done. In high-end engineering recruiting, that means sending n emails, conducting n/10 phone interviews, scheduling n/25 hiring manager screens, and n/50 interviews. n changes each search.
3. People are more important than processes, workflows, metrics, etc.
In my experience, outstanding candidates do not tolerate BS from HR departments. Like you, they are too busy doing productive work to jump through arbitrary HR hoops. Business processes are important, but I make exceptions for the exceptional.
4. Money matters (but so does culture).
Call me a realist––Nine out of ten candidates take the offer that pays more (Oh! To be a recruiter at FAANG…). But that tenth candidate is what makes startup recruiting interesting. A defined company culture is critical.
5. Good recruiters are multilingual.
And I don’t mean foreign languages––though I’ve spent years learning Chinese and Spanish. One key to recruiting is to understand that each candidate* has his own priorities: commute, stability, project scope, leadership responsibilities, world domination, do-gooding, etc. It’s a recruiter’s job to find out what makes each candidate tick.
*Except salespeople. For them it’s all about OTE.
6. Integrity through it all.
Ever have a candidate sign an offer only to have him no-show on his first day of work? Been there, done that. But I never want to be that guy. I strive to be forthright and cultivate long-term professional partnerships.
Stephan Campbell 