I love my fantastic knee-high, patent boots! They are comfortable, but most importantly they make me feel sexy and make me feel good.

Wearing my knee-high boots today got me thinking about the other good thing that happened today. I spent all morning interviewing three candidates for a role in our legal team. A fairly straightforward role with candidates supplied by one of my PSL suppliers. At the end, the hiring manager sat back in her chair, gave me a big grin and said: “Hannah, that was one of the most enjoyable mornings I have spent. I’m delighted. Great candidates, well done.”

That made me feel good. And what made me feel even better was the call about an hour later from the same hiring manager telling me that they wanted to hire two of the three candidates. A real ‘high five’ moment. Did it make me feel good? You bet! Then back to my desk to tell the recruiter the good news and hopefully make him feel good too. So why was this assignment such a success? Crucially the recruiter, whom I have used before and knows the company, got the basics right. For me the basics are simple. They are: good candidates; suitable for our role (right salary, qualifications, experience, able to start when we want etc); and presented on time with all of the relevant information and red flags highlighted. Anything less is unacceptable. It seems so obvious but so few suppliers manage the basics.

So what will delight? Of the 35-odd suppliers on our PSL only about five get our business. A couple have been kicked off without getting any business because of stupid errors such as pestering line managers and then trying to headhunt them! Oh, I know - I did it myself when I worked on the dark side but I didn’t do it when I was on a company’s PSL. Dangerous!

I deal with one small boutique recruitment company for business development and strategy roles. They continue to delight me because the consultants actually consult; they listen, strive to understand every nuance, they recommend and they challenge. They build rapport, and without exception the candidates they find are spot on. The one thing I like is the time she spends on understanding “Why should you be interested in this opportunity?”

In my view this is key to selling the opportunity to the best candidates. They are passionate about working for us and it shows in everything they do. They are true ambassadors for our company. I think I love this company almost more than I love my boots. Being our ambassadors is so important because they help reinforce our brand with the candidates, many of whom work with our competitors.

Recently I was interviewing for a relatively straightforward finance role. The candidates, supplied by a well-known finance recruiter, were pretty good. Of the four interviewed, three were suitable and we made a good hire. But the thing that spoilt the whole experience was that none of the candidates had been properly briefed about the company. We want to hire people who really want to work for us. So come on suppliers - brief the candidates and encourage them to do some research on the company. Because so few do we have started producing our own candidate briefs for the suppliers to give the candidates. It includes some simple information on the company plus the job spec, of course.
We do this so that we are sure that the candidates have been properly briefed and I can feel confident that my hiring managers will not be disappointed.

Make me feel good and you will get the business. Doing the basics isn’t enough to delight.

Recruiters: please please me - as much as my boots do!