If you want to join the ranks of elite recruiters, one of the best ways to do this is to up your ‘relationship’ game. That is, great recruiters, do one thing extremely well: never leave anybody hanging. No matter what it takes, always follow through as promised. Let’s say that it’s Friday and you have a candidate that is waiting for post-interview feedback or some sort of verdict? The hiring company contact has either given you good news, bad news, or possibly no news at all. More specifically, they don’t have post-interview feedback yet or simply have not gotten back to you. Good news is easy, but it’s bad news or no news that most recruiters choke on.

Classic Recruiter Mistake, you owe a candidate post-interview feedback but have not yet gotten any type of update from the company. As a result, most recruiters do nothing b/c they figure “what’s the point of contacting them if I don’t have news yet?”

The thought of updating candidates without information paralyzes most recruiters. The best recruiters see it as an opportunity to strengthen that relationship. Just be direct and transparent and let them know that you have not forgotten about them. That you are still working on getting feedback. Voila – you’ve just differentiated yourself from the majority of mediocre recruiters.

All humans want to know where they stand and there is nothing worse than silence. It’s that simple. This works with all interactions on both sides of the TA equation. That is if a candidate has not made a decision or is not getting back to you. it’s just as important to let the company know that you’re working on it. Bad news also should be delivered sooner than later. You always want to be respectful of others’ desires and the right to have closure. Trust is everything. The key to any relationship is building trust. which gets accomplished by showing respect and following up. especially once you’ve made a commitment. The golden rule is that if you tell somebody you are going to do something, make sure you do it. Don’t put it off and do what is right. Moving forward as a best practice, don’t leave anybody hanging in the wind. Respect leads to trust which leads to success.