🚩 Red Flags in Recruiting: When Filling a Role Isn’t Enough
We continue our series about the red and green flags for selecting a recruitment agency for finding the best talent.
In this post, we’re discussing the foundation — a partnership between the client and the agency. Our experience focuses primarily on targeted hiring. Different rules and practices may apply to mass recruitment.
đźš© Red Flag: The agency only delivers candidates
A candidate presented by the agency may reject the offer and disappear. This risk is always present, but it’s higher if the agency doesn’t stay involved until the offer is made and doesn’t negotiate with the candidate.
đźš© Red Flag: The agency edits resumes
Sometimes, an agency recruiter might alter a candidate’s resume to fit the requirements of your role (without informing you). This can result in hiring someone who doesn’t match the CV’s qualifications.
đźš© Red Flag: The agency offers no explanations
Sending resumes without explaining why these candidates are a good fit is not a great practice.
In mass hiring, this may be acceptable. For specialized positions, it makes selecting the best candidate harder, because the client doesn’t understand the candidate’s value to the business.
đź’š Green Flag: The agency is honest about risks
The agency’s goal is to bring you the perfect candidate. However, reality isn’t perfect. A good agency will inform you about a candidate’s risks and shortcomings upfront.
đź’š Green Flag: The agency presents resumes as they are and explains their choices
A good agency doesn’t alter resumes but may provide an expert opinion — an accompanying letter about the candidate. In it, the recruiter will explain the candidate’s risks, motivation, and alignment with the role.
đź’š Green Flag: The agency supports the candidate until the offer
Typically, an agency won’t stop working until the candidate starts the job. They create a backup list of candidates in case the finalist declines the offer.
The agency will also conduct pre-offer negotiations with the candidate, ensuring they don’t disappear after seeing an unexpected number in the offer. And even if the candidate declines, the agency will try to win them back.
They will also monitor how the new hire performs during the probation period and step in if something goes wrong. A good agency will replace the candidate for free if they leave during this time.
đź’š Green Flag: The agency cares about your reputation
The agency is a representative of your company. Candidates will evaluate you based on their first contact with the agency. The agency’s actions could harm your reputation among specialists — damaging the market.
When the agency encounters negative feedback about you in the market, they will discuss how to address it with you.
A good agency is a long-term business partner, not just someone who “closes the position and runs.” They care about your reputation, and your brand, and provide balanced assessments, rather than pushing candidates on you.
— says Olga Makarova, Executive Search Consultant at NEWHR.
Example: Candidates applied for a vacancy and were extremely upset about not receiving feedback from the employer. This behaviour burned the company’s reputation in a niche market where everyone knew each other.
Later, the employer turned to an agency for hiring help. The client’s reputation in the market had already been damaged, and agency recruiters had to listen to negative feedback and work with it.
Subsequently, the agency extracted feedback from the company on candidates to mitigate the damage caused by previous mistakes.
For more insights on agency partnerships, check out our posts:
đź’™ At NEWHR Recruiting, we prefer a partnership approach to our work. If you need help hiring IT specialists at any level, contact us at contact@new.hr or fill out the form on our website đź’™
