Seven common recruitment myths

Recruitment is a big industry with an even bigger reputation. If you’re thinking of becoming a recruitment consultant, you may have heard stories about the workload, the culture, and the job.

So, we wanted to go through the myths of recruitment and show the truth in each.

Recruitment Myth 1:

Artificial Intelligence will soon completely replace recruiters

In today’s technology-driven world and with Artificial Intelligence (AI) becoming more common,  it’s no surprise that some professionals have got concerns about automation taking over their jobs. But, the reality of AI completely replacing recruiters would be extremely rare and unlikely to succeed.

While there’s no doubt that automated tools can certainly help a recruiter, finding the ideal candidate for a specific company is more than just data and requires good communication and emotional intelligence, which are always going to be essential components of the recruitment process.

Recruitment Myth 2:

Recruiters don’t really understand the roles they’re recruiting for

Any good recruiter knows their niche inside out, and this includes things that the candidate or hiring managers don’t even know themselves! Here, at LHi, we ensure all our consultants are specialists in their field.

It is really important that recruiters are able to identify talent to support their client’s needs and as such, they take the time to understand the role and the business that they are working on behalf of in order to ensure they’re finding the right talent to fit the role.

Recruitment Myth 3:

All recruiters are the same

If you ask most people to describe the type of person that a recruiter would appear like, most would say words such as assertive, outgoing, and confident.  Instead, recruiters share traits in hard work, communication, and listening skills but come from various backgrounds and with different skill sets to adapt to various markets and clients.

Recruitment is also about persistence, having the ability to really listen, picking out the key bits of information, and making a strong connection with your candidate. It is these skills that are what differentiate the good from the great.

Recruitment Myth 4:

Recruitment is all about working long hours just for the sake of it

Like all jobs, at certain points, especially when you’re starting out, it could require you to work longer hours than stated on your contract.  Recruiters are often dealing with people who are in jobs and unable to speak during normal working hours, as such recruiters need to adapt to allow these conversations to occur.  

But, one crucial thing in a recruitment role, is ensuring that you learn to prioritise, structure your day and focus on productivity. By mastering these skills, this will help you to meet all your objectives within your working hours.

Recruitment Myth 6:

Recruiters have an easy job, anyone can do well in it.

We all know that any job comes with its own set of challenges, and recruitment is no different. Recruiters need to master certain skills to do well in recruitment such as, they need to be good at both negotiating and maintaining great relationships with candidates and clients.

To find out more about what key skills you would need as a recruiter, read our blog here.

Recruitment Myth 7:

Recruiters Don’t Care About Their Candidates

Many people think of recruitment as just another sales job. But it isn’t.

Although recruiters do have KPIs, goals, and targets to hit, they ensure they help people find jobs to better their current situation and move up the career ladder.

Recruitment consultants take the time to understand what their candidates want, which allows them to know how to help them get the very best jobs in their field, and so their role is to help others do better, and that’s why it’s such a rewarding career.

Good recruiters partner with their clients and candidates to establish long term relationships and great recruiters are often an extension of their clients’ talent teams, supporting their growth by finding and securing them talent for many years.  And likewise with their candidates, they will follow their careers, advising on market changes and new and interesting roles for them to enhance their professional and personal development.

Get In Touch

There are a lot of growth and skill development opportunities within recruitment, and the best part? It’s a lot of fun. It is rewarding and if you’re lucky, you will be working in a culture that drives on each others support and celebration.

So, if you are someone who enjoys talking to people and is driven to get results and be rewarded for your hard work?  Reach out to our People Team today:

UK & Europe People Team at recruitment@wearelhi.com
US People Team at recruitmentUSA@wearelhi.com