What Makes a BAD Recruiter? With Bernt Schindler | Anwar Khalil

This week I sat down with Bernt Schindler to discuss the key reasons a recruiter may not be as effective as they could be in their role. Bernt has decades of experience in recruitment, holding positions such as the Head of Talent Acquisition at leading companies such as IBM and Graincorp. Here are our insights.

Prefer reading? Here’s the scoop…

What Makes a Bad Recruiter? 

So when you’re having an interview or picking up the phone to talk to a recruiting job candidate, what are the signals? The most’ no, no, no’ signs that you’re getting in that phone call – say you’re phone screening for a recruitment role?

I think for me it’s arrogance. I believe that the days of the arrogant recruiter are gone. Recruitment used to be very cowboy-ish, a bit you know, doing things behind you or the clients back. I think, ultimately, the people and recruiters who act like that do far more damage than they do good. 

More than just impacting themselves, they also affect the teams around them. Being able to work in an effective and impactful team is extremely important these days, especially in the recruitment space. 

It’s not an individual’s world anymore. You have to be working as a team. You have to be working to build and uphold a culture. There’s simply no place for arrogance and excessive personal ego. 

What Else Makes for a Poor Recruiter?

As discussed previously in this conversation (and in another blog) – it’s wrong to think that recruitment is just sales. A recruiter who has this mindset will struggle to succeed and drive the best outcomes for both themselves and their clients.

I believe there’s so much more to the role than just the sales aspect. You need to realise that a salesperson looks at a human being as a commodity to be able to sell. In contrast, a recruiter needs to understand that a human being is a human being and adjust accordingly. Recruiters need to treat both the hiring manager or the stakeholder equally. They need to connect in the same way with all candidates, even unsuccessful ones. 

Why? Because the world is too small. If you treat somebody terribly as a candidate, even though you’re not going to give them the job, I guarantee it’s coming back to bite you later in life. Definitely.

Missed Part 1 with Bernt Schindler? Read it here: ‘What Makes a GOOD Recruiter’

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More with Bernt soon!