For some time now, the role of the recruiter has been undergoing a process of change ranging from the characteristics of the position to the skills required to perform in the position.

We know that the recruiter is the first image of a company or consultant and it is the person who will have to make the decision of who will participate in the selection process. It works to attract the most qualified professionals, and also gives the possibility of a future job for an unemployed person or growth for those seeking change.

With the explosion of demand for IT profiles in Argentina, this role has changed to such an extent that it is difficult to take considerable time to accompany a selection process, but from there come the new skills required today. The excessive volume of goals and the pressure on recruiters to fulfill them has cooled down the way of connecting with interviewees and with the same process because only the “close the vacancies now” matters, losing the enjoyment of this beautiful job.

The current IT Recruiter scenario

One of the complexities of this role is that you work with people. IT recruiters who are performing internally in companies must manage to align with the Talent Attraction team, applicants, PM and the HR Manager or COO. In the case of professionals working for consultants must work with a team that they often do not know, with the client or partner and candidates. Adding that occasionally, they do not access the full information of the request; it is a blind search.

This new scenario makes it necessary to develop a new excessively accelerated pace of work and the emergence of an indispensable personality characteristic: double empathy. But what does this mean?

The role of the recruiter requires a double empathy: first with the objectives, becoming attached to his own work, creating a warm bond with the role and the same demand to achieve a correct and lasting incorporation; and secondly with the people involved in a company, the PMs and above all with the people interested in the position. This means empathizing with a person who receives more than 5 proposals per day and accompany him until the incorporation something complex? Did they ever hesitate to change jobs? Surely they did.

In addition to this, companies want IT professionals as soon as possible, at the risk of a messy incorporation process, but also the opposite is that despite demand, there are companies which have very extensive processes and candidates prefer not to participate. Yes, there are many variables involved in the selection process. The last and perhaps most important factor for consultants today is wage negotiation and we know that this implies a personal flexibility but also requires creativity to find positive alternatives for the parties (client – candidate).

It should be clarified that empathy with candidates will not only help to have a better link for the accompaniment in the selection process but also, will generate an opening to technical learning product of working with IT profiles, which makes the difference when interviewing and commenting a job proposal, because as well as professionalizing the customer experience to generate more sales it is also necessary to improve the emotional experience of the interviewees. These are the points that will mark the difference between Talent Acquisition professionals and HR generalists who interview occasionally.

Frustration

All these variables can bring negative consequences on the recruiter such as frustration, lack of analysis or attention to detail. Precisely these effects are one of differences between a selection professional and an IT recruiter, since the former must not deal with frustrations for not obtaining profiles in accordance with the requirement, due to the situation of the labor market and our country.

There is a context that demands more than it can give, but still the need for soft skills in Talent Attraction departments and consultants to achieve good communication between the parties involved in the recruitment process becomes more evident every day, an empathic accompaniment towards the candidates and a great interview.