Certified Coach & Talent Acquisition professional with Talented Recruiting Andrew Call weighs in on how recruiters & candidates can work together in a lasting capacity for stellar results.
I recently attended a workshop in Connecticut for people who are new to the field of recruiting (aptly named “Rookie Retreat”) and came away with a brand new outlook on the impact of our profession. One of the guest speakers was a successful, long-time veteran, specializing in talent acquisition for big financial firms on the East Coast. His talk came near the end of a very long first day, where the collective attention span(s) of the attendees were visibly dwindling. But it was his particular testimonial to recruiting that presented me with a new perspective on the work I’m doing, one that I suspect will stay with me for the rest of my career. He described himself as being a “career fiduciary” for the candidates that he works with and cited that this was the single most important reason that his career has had longevity and success.
What is a “career fiduciary”, and why is it so pivotal that we in recruiting ALL think of ourselves as holding that responsibility? “Fiduciary” is often thought of in the field of investment/finance, and Investopedia defines a Fiduciary Advisor as someone who is “paid a retainer by an employer to advise employees on their retirement plan investments, as well as to provide a complete range of other products and services.” Now I’ll share my own definition of a “career fiduciary”: “someone always committed to serving the best interests of a candidate and potential employer”.
Let’s explore why at Talented Recruiting we serve as a “career fiduciary” to our candidates. We source, reach out to, and have conversations every day with people who we think could be a good fit for any given role we are working on or could be working on in the future. I feel privileged to be in a career where I have deep, meaningful conversations with talented and interesting people every day about their careers, dreams, and hopes. Through genuine interest and caring we build authentic relationships with our candidates, and when you have an authentic relationship with someone - you want what’s best for them. That means we want to make sure that we position them for the best career opportunities. And it also means that if we don’t have a role that we can submit them for right now, we will be on an active lookout for other opportunities that might potentially be their “dream job”. We advise, coach, cheer, and do whatever else we can to support candidates in their career journeys. This also means having difficult conversations at times on sticky subjects such as compensation, or feedback; however, we will always be upfront and honest so that our candidates can make the best, most well-informed and holistic decisions possible. We keep in touch with our network after we’ve successfully worked together, maybe coffee or lunch or even a glass of wine every now and then so that we can continue to build our fiduciary relationship together.
As Talent Acquisition professionals own serving as career fiduciaries to our candidates and hiring partners, and candidates and hiring managers look to us as such, the impact we have in creating a world where the best people are working at the best places and engaged in meaningful purposeful work is at an all-time high. Consider a career strategy call today! Reach out to andrew@talentedrecruiting.com.