It’s no secret that technical people are overwhelmed with proposals. As a result, IT&C talent acquisition is a very proactive process. We recruiters just can’t afford to wait for candidates to come to us – why would they, when simply visiting their social media accounts will return dozens of job offers? This means a candidate’s first contact with a new employer is likely going to be an unsolicited conversation with someone from Human Resources. But unsolicited often doesn’t mean unwelcome; sometimes the candidates we get in touch with will want to know more, because they’re interested in making a change, or simply because we’ve made them curious. This is where a candidate’s relationship with HR begins. Many people believe this interaction ends after being hired, only to be resumed in the event of a job change. Furthermore, some technical people see recruiters as bureaucracy-oriented professionals, who can’t spell Java and think Pearl refers to beauty accessories, and therefor can’t figure out why they need to talk about their technical history to a non-technical person.
We do our homework
We might not be able to actually write code, but we do understand technicalities. When we’re in a room with a candidate, we have to immediately be able to tell if they’re right for the job or not. Obviously, this would be impossible if we had no idea what you’re talking about. Recruiters keep themselves up-to-date with the latest technical news and trends, understand the difference between programming languages and what they’re used for, we know how long it takes to turn an intern into a junior with proper training, and how much experience someone needs in a certain skill to qualify for the level of complexity the project we’re recruiting for demands. So don’t be afraid to talk to us. We can keep up!
We care about our people
When a candidate we’ve found and interviewed is happy with our offer and gets accepted, we feel proud. It means we’re doing our job right. This is why we don’t feel our job ends after they’ve been hired. We want to know they’re doing well, we’re happy to make sure they fit in, we introduce them to the team, and we’re keen on keeping in touch and offering our help whenever needed. We don’t just ‘abandon’ a new employee into their new job without looking back. We nurture the relationship we’ve created and attempt to build a lasting and trust-based professional connection.
Employees come to us for all kinds of things
We’re the friendly go-to face making the connection between the company and its people. So people come to us to feel connected with what’s going on within the company, and to ask for career-related advice. We know about how your medical insurance works, we listen to the office buzz to know what employees would like to do on the next teambuilding, we organize the children’s parties, order and wrap the Christmas gifts and orchestrate the Secret Santa, we talk to you about the benefits of your company-discount-card and offer vacation-planning-related advice. But employees also come to us for career-related advice; sometimes they have a choice of changing projects within the company, and ask what we think would benefit their career most in the long-run; people who would like to get additional training ask about the procedures involved; when they feel like the time has come to renegotiate their salary, employees often find it easier to talk to us about it first. We handle many types of requests and inquires, and always encourage open, honest communication and transparency.
Have you built a fruitful professional connection with the HR department in your company? What encourages you to consolidate such a relationship? What discourages you from maintaining it? Share your opinions with me, visit our careers section if you’re looking for a new challenge, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ for a better insight into life at InCrys!