For most companies, the need for qualified recruiters is only slightly less constant than death and taxes. But, as the role becomes more complicated and specialized, finding above-average talent becomes a job unto itself.
This is obvious, but bear with me for a second. For most biotech startups, hiring starts deceptively easy. The early employees are typically referred, highly committed, highly knowledgeable, and are likely to draw in their personal, trusted networks. Rather than having to prove their credibility, the company is already reliant upon it and uses their reputation to grow its own.
Then, a few dozen hires in, that machine breaks down. The organization begins to reach beyond the pool of known and validated candidates and into a recruitment mode focused on out-of-network gambles as well as comfortable passives who want to understand the upside. The recruiter suddenly becomes a salesperson who can do rough vetting, represents the company, and becomes the first point of contact for prospective employees. This is where an average recruiter might not cut it. The added sourcing, the deeper vetting, the judgment that comes from knowing what good looks like — all of it now runs through one person.
“What I look for [in recruitment support] is not all that different from what I look for if I’m hiring a scientist or engineer,” says Conor Sullivan, Associate Director of Human Resources at Harbinger Health. “Recruiters need to be able to represent the opportunity credibly.” This level of understanding can only grow by working with the hiring manager, asking them questions about their business and how that role fits within that business.
“I’m looking for genuine curiosity towards understanding what the problems are in the business and how that person coming in and solving those will impact the business for the better.”
For a client evaluating a headhunter, especially in biotech, the headhunter’s understanding of the industry is what separates a partner from a placeholder. “There are a lot of generalists out there that just kind of follow anybody willing to pay a fee,” says Jeff Caskey, founder of Nexagen Search.
“If you need someone that can do volume, low-complexity hiring, it will be easy to find someone who can just push paper. But if you’re looking for a true talent acquisition partner, you’ll want someone that can educate and advise on how to hire, understands the company’s positioning and can provide a value proposition for the company and given role.”
That understanding can come with friction. Recruiters must ask tough questions of candidates — and of employers while still selling the opportunity. If an organization is seeking an above-average candidate, “[the recruiter] needs to be able to efficiently articulate to a candidate why this may be a great fit,” says Sullivan.
There is a “sell-vet” mode that every good recruiter knows: Give enough to entice the candidate but ask probing yet tasteful questions to determine true fit for a role. This is not something all recruiters are truly capable of. It’s a special dance — professional and subtle.
In many ways, at least for early-stage organizations, the recruiter is the most important salesperson in the company. Candidate perception of an organization’s brand has measurable benefits: LinkedIn’s employer brand statistics report credits companies with strong employer brands with 50% lower cost-per-hire, 28% lower turnover, and 50% more qualified applicants. A poor candidate experience reduces a candidate’s willingness to learn more, follow, and engage in the future.
And how can you find the best people… if the recruiter isn’t at the top of his or her game? It’s not the ‘warm-body function’ that too many companies relegate it to. A likable, generic, process-oriented recruiter may be fine for many low-difficulty roles, but without specific knowledge and deep insight into the organization, the exceptional and well-qualified will often pass the opportunity by. At that moment of the conversation, the recruiter is the company itself. A lack of professionalism or of company insight will give candidates genuine pause. The cost of average recruiting is a narrower funnel as the best candidates don’t get rejected — they vanish before the hiring manager ever sees them.
It takes an exceptional recruiter to land exceptional talent, and if that’s who you’re after, don’t settle for just anyone, as this individual is the embodiment of the company they represent.
There’s some irony buried in all of this: the same selection bias that costs you candidates is at work when you choose a recruiter. The best won’t be easily swayed and will be focused on how well it fits them. Average candidates will usually be quite eager, and average can often interview well. Recruiters by nature are generally good talkers and know the interview process well. Polish and ‘fit’ can be easy to game; meanwhile, judgment under pressure (for example) is not. This is exactly how exceptional recruiters sometimes get passed over while average ones flourish, and it’s where we pick up in our piece on You’re Overlooking the Best Recruiters.
