With the growing number of recruitment firms within Dubai, UAE and the Gulf regions, it would be fair to wonder which of these companies stand out amongst the rest. Everybody in the industry is now claiming to be an expert in their own niche market, whether it’s within executive search in Dubai, general recruitment, online recruitment or industry specific recruitment.
Sometimes we come across a client who asks us the golden question; “Why should I pay you an expensive fee for qualifying and selecting a candidate when I can do that myself?” Of course the answer to that question will ultimately lead us to another topic altogether. What I’m trying to say is, apart from the service that you deliver, what value do you bring to both a client and candidate that makes you rise above the rest as a recruitment organization?
The Burj Executive lays down the basic characteristics of a recruitment firm:
- Recognizes its own best assets – Recruitment is a profession of people, and there is no better avenue of enhancing this profession other than your own staff – the recruitment consultants. Do not focus on their monthly targets. Take care of your own people, recognize their skills and develop their weaknesses. They’ll do more for you than you can imagine if they’re happy with their seats within your company.
- Personal touch – As a previous candidate, my job hunting process meant subjecting myself to people who were cold and insensitive when handling my career needs. I hated recruitment consultants who routinely ask questions without any true interest in your individual sentiments. A good recruiter must be friendly and listen to every word a candidate is uttering, understand and be patient to every client demands. A great recruitment firm will implore their consultants to be the personal bridge of communication between the client and the candidate.
- Uses technology carefully – Although the UAE online recruitment industry is still in its infancy, the growing popularity of social networking sites has created the need of recruitment firms to ride the wave of technology. Websites such as LinkedIn, eCademy, and Facebook create yet another medium where executive search consultants and management professionals can meet and discuss potential opportunities. A great recruitment company will acknowledge the existence of this media and use them appropriately and to their advantage when sourcing both requirements from clients and candidates for their vacancies.
- Effort in branding – In most cases, no matter how good you are in this industry, if you lack effective branding and or marketing, you will be left behind. What are common strategies, you ask? Branding goes beyond just a logo, it’s building a good website, effective press relations, social media networking, etc. There are a million creative ways in getting your name to your customers.
- Value in the service – Please and I repeat, please, do not be a postal service. CV’s can be submitted quickly within just a matter of minutes from the initial request. And these profiles end up as rejects in the eyes of the client. As one of my recruitment managers would say; “Please do your due diligence”. Read the resume and interview the candidates. Get to know and validate whether or not the candidate is an 80-100% fit for the vacancy. If needed, conduct some profiling or tests to determine technical skills and personality traits for your client. Add value to your service and do not stick to mediocre CV searches.
Trust and confidence – Being in the recruitment industry, you are entrusted with confidential information from both the candidate and the client. Keep that trust and build the confidence in both your customers. A good recruitment company will know which information to divulge and which to keep as part of the confidentiality clause, whether or not it is stipulated in your contract.
