By Barney Horne
In this last article, I share some of my thoughts and experiences with recruiters from the perspective of a QA professional. If you have read the previous articles, you will know my pet peeve (probably shared by many of you), which is the endless approaches by recruiters offering irrelevant or unsuitable opportunities. I understand that recruiters want to cast a wide net, but without the right preparation, this approach runs the risk of turning off QA professional to the point where we just ignore all approaches. And that is a shame, as recruiters can offer the QA professional opportunities that otherwise they would miss.
So let me share my 5 top tips for what would make the ideal recruiter.
1. The first one is obvious, but not so easy: offer the candidate opportunities that fit their needs. By this, I mean suggest roles that are not only relevant to their experience but also fit their career expectations, approach to work, management style and character. To achieve this, the recruiter must invest some time to get to know and understand the candidate. This relationship building can happen over time, or it can be through a meaningful one-time discussion.
2. The recruiter must represent the candidate positively but honestly to the hiring company.
3. They should also provide the candidate with advice to help during the recruitment process. This includes working with the candidate to improve their CV and maybe reflecting with the candidate how their experience fits the needs of the company. This can be a great help to the candidate to boost their confidence and so enhance their interview performance.
4. The recruiter can sometimes be the person who challenges and stretches the QA professional to try something unfamiliar. I had worked for 3 pharmaceutical companies but never for a Contract Research Organisation (CRO) when I had a recruiter call. He chatted to me for a short while, then asked if I had ever considered working for a CRO. He gave a great pitch for the company, I applied and was successful. I thought I would try working for a CRO for a couple of years, but enjoyed it so much that I stayed for 10.
5. Lastly, the recruiter’s job does not finish once the candidate’s CV has been forwarded to the hiring company. The recruiter should continue to keep the candidate informed, motivated and positive throughout the recruitment process.
In conclusion, I hope you see how the ideal recruiter is so much more than the middle man between company and candidate. For an aspiring QA professional a specialist QA recruiter can be your advisor, your personal champion, and maybe even your mentor to steer you successfully on your QA career path.
Read Part 1 and Part 2.