The Benefits of Working with a Specialised Recruiter

In the ever-evolving world of tech startups and scaleups, high-performing sales and marketing teams can literally make or break a business. You could develop the most game-changing, innovative product of all time and it would go unnoticed without a strong team sharing it with the world.

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The trouble is that building a top-tier sales or marketing team is far from easy. It is actually becoming harder and harder to hire good salespeople in particular. Firstly, it takes time to identify the best talent for your business. Then, you need to pique a candidate’s interest and keep them engaged throughout your hiring process. Plus, it is even harder to close sales and marketing candidates because high-performing individuals often boast attractive compensation packages and commission structures. You will need to be competitive in order to secure them.

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Oh, and you need to do all of this whilst managing your existing team and hitting your targets! One way to instantly make hiring easier is to partner with a specialised recruitment agency. In this blog post, we will dive into how recruiters can help you hire and what the advantages are compared with using an internal recruitment team or trying to manage hiring yourself.

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What does a recruiter actually do?

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There is a common misconception that recruiters just whack up a job advert, call through candidates on a job board, send you the best ones, and charge you a huge fee.

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This could not be further from the truth. Let’s outline everything that goes into helping you hire as an agency partner.

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1. Understanding your vision

We will have detailed conversations with you until we understand your mission, values, ideal profile, expectations, and interview process. Without this, we cannot fairly represent you in the market.

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2. Finding and engaging candidates

We will conduct market research, write compelling adverts to gain traction, post on job boards, create lists of target companies, write boolean searches, scroll through thousands of profiles on LinkedIn Recruiter and tap into our networks and communities.

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Then, we will compile a long list of the best and most suitable candidates, craft personalised outreach messages to each, gauge their interest, and book a call to tell them more.

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3. Screening candidates and pitching your opportunity

We will have detailed qualification calls with longlisted candidates to understand their current situation, pain points, background and experience, achievements, metrics, ideal next opportunity, salary expectations, and career aspirations.

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If they are aligned, we will pitch them your opportunity, answer their questions, and talk them through your company’s structure, mission, and values to get them engaged and excited.

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4. Introducing them to you.

We will help candidates tailor their CV/resume for your opportunity, plus we will write a summary of each candidate so that you can easily see their current situation, relevant experience, and expectations and can refer to this throughout the process.

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5. Streamlining the interview process

We will be there to help at every step of the interview process. We will manage all the scheduling - we will get your availability, each candidate’s availability, find a time that works, organise calendar invites, and create meeting links. We will also run candidate preparation calls so that you do not waste your time speaking to unprepared candidates.

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After every interview, we will check in with candidates to debrief them, get their interview feedback, get your feedback, relay all information to both parties, and organise the next round of interviews.

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6. Offer negotiation and delivery

Toward the end of the process, we will deep dive into each candidate’s thoughts and feelings. We will know which other interview processes they are in, how your opportunity compares to others, and what it would take for them to join your team.

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We will share these insights with you and advise the best way to secure your top candidate.

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7. Onboarding

We will align all parties with agreed start dates and signed contracts. We will also coach your successful candidate through resigning from their current role, combatting counter offers, and negotiating their notice period.

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Plus, if your expectations change or candidates withdraw at any point, we will go back to the beginning and start again. As a leader, it is unrealistic to assume that you can do all of this yourself whilst completing all other business-critical tasks.

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But, do not just take our word for it. Let’s explore some of the biggest advantages of working with a specialised recruiter.

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What are the benefits of partnering with a specialised recruiter?

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1. You will save time and effort

As a hiring manager, you likely have a team to manage and targets to hit. Outsourcing a time-consuming and mission-critical task like hiring means that you can spend more time on the core business activities that will drive your career and business’s growth and leave recruitment to the experts.

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2. You will be guided by industry experts

Specialist recruiters spend all day every day talking to clients and candidates within your niche. We therefore have our ear to the ground and can share exclusive insights with you to help you improve your hiring process, enhance your candidate experience, and stay competitive.

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The best agency partnerships are open and transparent so that your recruiter can share their honest feedback and advice to make your process as smooth and streamlined as possible.

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3. You will have access to a niche talent pool

A good recruiter knows your market inside out. They will be members of intimate networks and communities that will give you access to hard-to-reach candidates. Specialist recruiters are also taught industry-leading headhunting tips and tricks that will help them secure you the best talent in the market, not just on the market.

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4. You will be able to hire with speed and efficiency

Practice makes perfect, so experienced recruiters know how to do their jobs with speed, precision, and maximum efficiency. We also have access to the latest technology to speed up your process and maximise hiring quality.

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For crucial sales hires, every minute counts if you have an open vacancy, but you will be our main focus as we do not have other business-critical tasks to consider.

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5. You will be represented fairly

Candidate experience is everything when it comes to hiring. Firstly, a positive candidate experience greatly increases the chance of your favourite candidate accepting your offer. But candidate experience can also make or break your reputation as an employer.

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‍77% of candidates share a positive interview experience with their inner circle, so by working with a recruiter who truly understands and accurately represents your business’s mission and values, you will be painted in a positive light amongst candidates which will boost your employer brand and make future hiring easier.

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6. You will gain a different point of view

At every stage of the process, your recruiter will be checking in with your candidates. They can therefore tell you exactly how each candidate is feeling about your opportunity. They can offer potential interview talking points and shed light on their other interview processes and offers so that you can position yourself as the most competitive.

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Candidates are often more honest with a recruiter as the middle man than with you directly due to fear that their true feedback may jeopardise their position in your process.

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7. You will only interview the best of the best

Instead of reviewing thousands of unsuitable applications, reading hundreds of sub-par CVs, and screening below-average candidates, you will only be presented with the best of the best. A specialist recruiter will pre-screen candidates to make sure they are a great fit for your role and culture before putting them in front of you.

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8. You will avoid expensive mistakes

Did you know that a bad hire can cost your business up to $240,000?! Given the time it takes to hire, ramp up, off-board, and re-hire when you realise you have made a mistake, it is worth getting it right the first time around.

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A specialist recruiter can help you get there smoothly and will always help you triple-check candidate quality before pulling the trigger.

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Conclusion

Partnering with a specialist recruitment agency offers a multitude of benefits for tech startups and scaleups. The overarching theme, however, is that specialist recruiters make your life as a leader easier. Hiring is difficult and time-consuming - let the experts take away the pressure so that you can focus on your existing team and targets. Also, do not underestimate the steps that go into hiring - it’s not as simple as posting an advert and choosing the best application.

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A strong hiring process supported by a specialist recruiter will give you a positive ROI and top-tier hires that will transform your sales and marketing teams and catalyse the growth of your business.

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