The Power of Listening in Recruitment: Insights from a Talent Acquisition Leader

Talent acquisition operates at such a high speed that listening can take a back seat to an urgency to fill roles. But I can tell you this from my years of experience as a talent acquisition leader: listening skills are arguably the most important tool in recruiting. This is part of what I like about this article… the way we listen not to words but to the needs, aspirations, and fears that lie beneath the words, both in candidates and in hiring managers. In this post we provide a bit more detail on why listening is a major emphasis for us and how the ability to listen much better can significantly improve the recruitment process.

Understanding The Aspirations of the Candidate

When we talk about recruiting, we tend to put a lot of stock into qualifications, experience, and fit with our culture. But it is equally, if not more, important for hiring teams to know about a candidate's career goals, motivations, and values. That is not active listening.

1. Establishing a Rapport and Trust: Listening correlates very closely with both rapport and trust creation. Candidates who feel they have been listened to are more likely to share their real aspirations, concerns, and hopes. The more similarities you have, the more likely that they will ultimately find positions that are relevant to their career aspirations, leading to increased satisfaction within the job and far greater job retention rates per candidate.

2. Seeing Past the Resume to the Potential: Resumes and LinkedIn profiles give a look into a candidate's achievements but do little to capture the potential, passion a candidate is capable of. Good listeners in interviews can discover the hidden strengths and passions which don´t appear on a CV. However, that can help you uncover how the talent that could otherwise go unnoticed, might be there.

Aligning with Hiring Managers

Listening to hiring managers is as critical. They have the best understanding of the peculiarities of their teams and the challenges they face. Good listening... which can help translate hiring managers' expectations into candidates' potential.

1. Explaining Role Expectations: There might be certain things that the hiring managers wants that is not part of the job description. Listening skills are key to understanding what competencies and personality traits the role requires by listening and responding to the needs and concerns of the candidates. Ultimately what this ensures is that the wrong candidate with poor background and not skillset should not be get hired, which in turn proves a significant step that wrong hire does not take place.

2. Controlling Expectations: Occasionally, the expectations of hiring managers can be worlds apart from what the market has to offer. With transparency and communication open, recruiters can also temper those expectations and provide market trends to help recalibrate those unrealistic demands. This all-in approach helps turn recruiters into true business partners with hiring managers.

Greater Candidate Experience

Candidate experience is probably the most important part of the recruitment cycle. What is more, a good experience will not only improve the employer brand but also contribute to the likelihood of being accepted by the candidate. Listening is huge in this area.

1. Tailoring the Approach: Each candidate is different and one size does not fit all Recruiters should listen to candidates and use that feedback to make the recruitment process more suitable for them. This may include adopting flexible interview schedules, detailed feedback, or addressing specific concerns. This sort of personalization help get candidates feel more valued and...

2. Reducing Anxiety and Building Confidence: Job interviews can be stressful. By actively listening and responding empathetically, recruiters can help reduce candidates’ anxiety and build their confidence. This leads to more authentic interactions and a more accurate assessment of the candidate’s fit for the role.

Continuous Improvement

Finally, listening is not a linear process, it is about a journey of listening, acting, and listening again to always provide the most value to others. When looking at what these placements did and did not do well, recruiters can discover valuable insights that can help to inform a better approach.

1. Post-Hire Feedback: Asking for feedback from candidates and hiring managers post hiring can give you golden nuggets. Recognizing what worked — and what didn't — for recruiters allows them to hone their strategies and deliver better results down the road.

2. Remain Agile: The labour market is always shifting and this means staying agile. Listening and learning ensure that recruiters have a pulse on the changing landscape in order to better plan and remain proactive.

Conclusion

To sum it up, Listening might just be a secret weapon of the trade in Recruitment. We are able to do more than just hear words, but are also able to comprehend the context and feelings that accompany them. Talent Acquisition Leader, by developing the skill of active listening in your team you will result in better hires, stronger relationships with your candidates and hiring managers and an all around better recruiting experience. Keep in mind the best recruiters are not just amazing talkers, they are great listeners.