Who can be a Smart Recruiter!

There is a belief that anyone can become a Recruiter.  Most of the Managers believe that they know recruitment better than a Recruiter. I strongly disagree with both.   Recruitment is an art.   Many including me do not consider candidates who say that they want to explore Recruitment being part of HR. No, Recruitment is a specialized area in HR and at many places it is part of business operations. An ace Recruiter will demonstrate some distinctive qualities.  Let me try to explain - 

Being SuperTechy -  A Recruiter will demonstrate strong willingness to learn and understand technology and keep abreast of what is happening in the technology landscape. Many of the Recruiters and Hiring Mangers play with "Ctrl F" and short list or reject a resume.  But I had the opportunity to work with a few smart Recruiters who will talk to the Hiring Manager, understand what the prospective employee is going to work on, what are the dynamics involved in the project, what all are the soft aspects to be considered, which technology stacks are to be used and what the mandatory requirements to look for are. Another important skill is using various techniques and technology to source candidates  e.g. how to effectively use social media and mobile technology in recruitment. An ace Recruiter will thoroughly screen a candidate, gain confidence and then move forward to next level. 

Being a Voyager:  A good Recruiter will instantly be ready to take any risk. They would have already achieved something good while in school or at work.  I had Managers who were Karate Champions, a 3-time Mr Chennai, an Anchor for a Horror Series on TV and a couple of female recruiters who were a Taekwondo Champion and a Basketball player. So going the extra mile is an inborn skill.  A recruiter cannot have hobbies like "reading books" and "listening to music" and cannot be timid, play safe and avoid situations because many a times, the individual has to win the battle alone. So one of the most important traits to look for is whether the candidate has taken a risk in life or explored something new.   A heavily protected person from childhood may find it difficult to become a good Recruiter and face the challenges.

Being a Psychologist: Recruiters need to be good listeners and highly ethical. They also must have traits of strong judgement, opinion and influencing powers.  Recruiters cannot behave vaguely and be misguiding, I have seen my Team members counselling the candidates and at the same time influencing Hiring Managers to take the right decisions.  Recruiters can never win hearts by being egoistic and arrogant. Recruiters  need to deal with Customers, Candidates and Colleagues, both Seniors and Juniors, very diplomatically; influencing what is doable/achievable. Therefore, it is extremely important that a Recruiter is able to manage and win them over by demonstrating patience, influence and diplomacy.

Being a Fashion Freak:  Recruiters need to be up-to-date, be it wearing the best clothing and perfume, carrying the latest gadgets or driving a stylish bike/car.  He/She has to be the most fashionable among the colleagues and friends! This is to say that a  Recruiter must be aware of what is the latest trend in the market - anything and everything. I had a Manager who used to identify a Recruiter or HR Manager from a crowd.  He will challenge us in any party and identify HR Managers and Recruiters.  

Being a Nursery Kid: It is important that a Recruiter has the qualities of a child. Children have the habit of influencing and getting anything that they need. Children have the curiosity to learn and feel  no shame in asking questions.  A child will always be playful and similarly a Recruiter cannot be a serious personality . They need to be joyful always and enjoy each moment. 

Being a Celebrity:  A Celebrity is visible publicly, very flexible,  a role model who is looked up to, and love to spend time with people and engage them. A Recruiter needs to feel like a celebrity. Recruiters cannot have a fixed frame of mind.  I have seen some of my team members not sharing their photograph on social media. If a person wants to be in Recruitment, there is no way he/she can have reservations about their privacy. Celebrities are also highly responsible and make statements with sensitively. Similarly, a Recruiter should always worry about how they are being perceived by people around them.

Now many people will not have these qualities due to various circumstances but I have seen many being transformed with proper coaching and guidance.  In conclusion, I would say that Recruiters are specially made people who need to maintain class while dealing with the masses. 

The Story of Cook!

I invite attention to 1990s when all new age facilities like Google, Whatsap, Internet, Mobile phone were not there or not easily available. My friend had a Senior joining in his office in Delhi. Those days, if any one new comes, all will give utmost importance to make that person comfortable and settle easily. And now I am talking about a Senior who joined with my friend happened to be his Boss. One can think about the importance now!!

The Boss had only one and small demand and that was to get a good Cook. Most of them thought it is easy but had no clue as to how to get a good cook. But they had a nice guy Kailash in their office, the Go To Buddy!  He will make anything possible.  So all of them rallied behind him to somehow get a good Cook.  Kailash got hold of a Cook who is serving with one of the IAS Officers in Delhi. My friend arranged a meeting with the Boss and his family.  He got out-rightly rejected because he has no ability to cook all type of cuisine - Boss will have Guests who will be with varied cultural background so the Cook should know various types of recipes (keep in mind there was NO www.sanjeevkapoor.com those days). Kailash got another smart guy and they presented that Souh Indian Cook who lived with a Military Officer in North India. Kailash was very confident that  he cracked it this time.  My friend asked the Cook to meet Madam (Boss' wife) directly.  All were waiting for the good news but next day morning Boss was upset when he entered office . He called Kailash and blasted him as to why he sent a Cook whose personality and communication skill are pathetic  (Change in Job Description). As per Madam, the Cook should be able to handle/serve their Guests pleasantly so he must be presentable. Another new demand is that the Cook should also able to drive Bike OR Car to get provisions and vegetables from market independently. Tired Kailash found a Cook who is working with a Marwari family for 20 years and who can cook, drive and take care of kids too.  This time Cook got rejected because he is too aged and no energy!!! We debated this issue over a week end party as to how to please the Boss;  not delivering a Cook is now will be termed as a performance issue for many at office. We decided that we look for a Driver who can cook very well. Next day I also participated in the brief to Kailash to find a smart Driver who can cook. Kailash had a tough time and found a Driver who is working with a Start Hotel for long time.  He has exposure to cooking and ready to take up this job for money.   He was asked to get briefing from the Chef in the Hotel for various recipes before we arranged a meeting with Madam.  It took a week and then the Driver converted to a Cook met the Madam.  She was very happy to consider him as he comes with good background of working in a Star Hotel, smart and had all qualities including the zeal to learn! Rest is history.

If I look back,  this case becomes very relevant to all IT Recruitment I come across today. All HR principles of recruitment and dynamics relate to this case. There must be a change to this madness. One must know what is needed and who can do the job in the first place itself. There is no point in having 3 - 4 - 5 level interviews and go on rejecting candidates! I always wonder if the Interviewer was born to become what he or she is today! And the fact is each individual differs in personality and capability.  All reached a level just because one got an opportunity to learn and grow. We need to think using technology in selection process, take risk and give chance to the candidates who shows the hunger to learn and perform. We deal with human beings and cannot be customized in a factory!

2015 - year of Judgements

I did not realize that 2015 will be over so fast.  I spent a lot of time on reflecting me and the situations affecting my consciousness.  So it was full of judgments!!

First is about the judgement which I took to leave Polaris where I worked for eight and a half  years and was buried in the mundane work and thankless ... many would say this and agree ....Recruitment! I was always and  passionate about the brand Polaris; its culture and never wanted to leave this Company. However, certain interesting circumstances at work provoked me to think the value I carry. This is when I started toying up with various options and wanted to become an entrepreneur seriously. Consulted this thought with many of my close friends and all gave thumps up.  During this period, I happened to meet Ajay Kolla and couple of discussions landed me to Wisdomjobs.com.   Many advised me of the risk involved and thankful to them but taking Risk is not NOT new to me as in the past I left Mysore Cements Limited (into Manufacturing),  Delhi  where I worked for eleven years and relocated stock barrel to Hyderabad to join Intelligroup, an IT company.  I am just going by my guts and banking on my luck again!!!

Second is about my own judgement on some one.  I am staying in a community called Bollineni Hillside. This community may be having 1000+ families and out of which almost 120  families are from Kerala.  So there is a cultural outfit formed in the name of BHAMA. It is a real God's gift that few selected and good people landed here from God's Own Country.  This year I witnessed the third Onam celebration here.  I was also an active participant and committee member for the celebrations. We had a lot of struggle initially as there was not even single sponsor coming forward and we had no idea how to meet the expenses.  However, I was amazed seeing the motivation and spirit of few of the residents in organising various programs i.e. cultural programs, rangoli competition, painting competition,  sports, sadhya, etc. Since the finance part was very weak, there was a need to control the expenses carefully. We have a Treasurer and he hardly nods his head for any expense being asked for.  However, we had multiple Committees and each committee was given complete freedom to execute the part they are assigned to.  Committees also had sub committees.  Each program was in its class . Done Superbly! The quality of cultural programs was nothing less than a program where we go and watch paying 1000s of rupees. Participation in this whole activity gave me lot of insights and management lessons as to how to organise and execute a big project.  I cannot take names of people involved here as we had a consensus in the committee that we will not appreciate any individual specifically .  However, I have to take name of a person for a different reason and that is Sandeep Karunakaran who is so called Treasurer for BHAMA.  I can only tell that Sandeep is very unique and to cut short, many including me talk nonsense wherever we meet but this guy will always be sensible and never talks nonsense.  He will always demonstrate high values and will stick to certain principles whether you like or not. Sandeep has amazing talent of taking things practically - many a times he asked me this question during the Onam celebration arrangement.... Jayetta ithellam nadako? (Jayetta will all this work?) and also positively. He may appear to be reserved and an introvert but has wonderful capability of networking among his peers. 

The second part of judgement -During the Chennai Floods,  my co-brother passed away suddenly and had to rush to Pune with my wife Beena.  We had to leave my 84 years old father at home alone and had to request my neighbor Shine and Nisha to take care of him. Many may be knowing the trauma what all gone through wherein all struggled without water, power, internet, mobile connectivity for days together.   Sitting in Pune, I used to try all numbers of our friends in Chennai multiple times and will get tired. I used to observe Face Book every minute to see updates on Chennai Floods however nothing on Bollineni, about my father or friends. I and Beena were very worried and I was not able to sleep properly thinking the trouble Shine is going through to take care of my father.  Having said all good things about Sandeep, he is very poor in seeing messages in whatsap ... may be he is thinking its all junk.  So, there are chances he will check messages once in a week.  However, the first call I received during this period was from Sandeep seeing my messages in our whatsap group - not sure what made him to see those. First the call got disconnected and I connected him immediately and I was dumbfound the way he communicated to me.  He was his at best in telling all positive things about the whole situation making me so comfortable.  I asked him few question and his answer cent per cent positive and practical. His message made me so comfortable that day. Now this is an art which every one cannot have that in a bad situation like Chennai floods too, you have the guts to paint a positive picture and give the facts practically and positively. And these circumstances make to judge Sandeep to be very different and unique. I am lucky to have met him!

The year 2015 ended with lot of interesting events and judgement. It is going to be a different life now.