It's a great time to be a recruiter - as long as you're up for a challenge.

Recruiting industry gurus have been talking about sweeping change for years, but it's finally starting to happen:  The trifecta of social media + the recession + talent shortages have got organizations rethinking their whole approach to recruiting.

This is good news - recruiting is finally being recognized as a strategic business function that can have an enormous impact on the bottom line, not to mention corporate culture - but it also presents a challenge for recruiting professionals.    Some recruiters may have come to believe the hype:  That there's nothing more to recruiting than a basic job description, a LinkedIn account, and a checklist of some basic skills and experience. 

The truth is, there's never been a better time to be a recruiter, but you have to be willing to think strategically.  For agency or contingency-fee-based recruiters, this means thinking about ways you can deliver value-adds and a more consultative approach.  For corporate recruiters, this means finding innovative ways to deliver against key metrics.  Either way, it's all about the big picture and ROI.

Smart moves for agency and contingency-fee-based recruiters

Whether you're working within a larger agency or as an independent, you can bet that your clients are scrutinizing your fees more than ever before.  Canadian organizations are finally becoming more receptive to modified RPO models - where they outsource or insource some or all of the recruitment lifecycle - so when they are paying contingency fees, they're looking for significant value-add.  Here's how you can deliver:

• Specialize.  The deeper your knowledge, expertise and network in a particular field or industry, the more likely you are to be the go-to person when an organization is looking to fill a specific role, especially those hard-to-fill ones.  Chances are, you're already specializing in a haphazard way; it's time to get serious about it, and make sure your clients know you're the local expert. 
• Network, network, network.  Clients don't balk at 20% fees when they know you can deliver the people they need faster than anyone else.  So it pays to stay in touch with passive A-listers over the long-term.  All it takes is one 'ungettable get, hired-them-in-a-week' miracle to create a super-loyal client.
• Build your profile and personal brand.  You'd be surprised at how many clients - and A-list candidates - will Google your name before they take your call.  If they don't find you, it's harder for them to believe you're the expert you say you are.  Write a blog, maintain your Twitter account, get everyone you know to 'like' your Facebook page - whatever it takes to ensure you really do look like you're worth it.
• Offer consultative value-adds.  If you're doing your job right, you're engaging your clients in conversation, and they're telling you about their current hot-button business issues.  Do they have a process gap?  A talent pooling challenge?  A specific metric they need to meet within the next quarter?  Show them how working with you can deliver against these business issues:  Offer to help them create a better recruiting process, offer a flat-fee talent-pooling service, or reporting against specific metrics.  It's a great way to differentiate yourself.
• Don't just be a 'supplier'.  If your clients are just emailing you job descriptions and waiting for you to send them candidates, you're doing it wrong.  You're not creating loyalty and you're definitely not delivering the best candidates - how can you, when you probably don't have the full picture?  And you're probably spending a lot of time chasing candidates for clients who aren't appreciating your efforts.  Every recruiter I've ever spoken to says the same thing:  When you tell clients you won't work jobs until - and unless - they have a conversation with you about them, you either gain a fantastic long-term client, or lose one you didn't want anyway.

Smart moves for corporate recruiters

This is a great time to be a corporate recruiter, because there are more opportunities than ever to be recognized as a strategic thinker.  It's all about demonstrating your value - and the value of recruiting - to the organization.  Here's how:

• Improve the recruiting process.  Chances are, your organization know it needs to make changes in the way they're conducting recruiting efforts, but no one's grabbed the reins to make those changes.  Why not do it yourself?  Create a better hiring manager-recruiter information transfer process, develop a monthly reporting template, even a management status report - anything that shows you're looking to improve the recruitment function.
• Demonstrate meaningful metrics.  99% of organizations talk about metrics like 'quality of hire', but don't actually do much to track them.  Creating and implementing a program to track quality of hire (based, for example, on the percentage of new hires who are still on the job after 12 months or who have been promoted within 18 months) is a meaningful metric which will get you noticed.
• Write better job descriptions.  Studies show that creative, interesting, and compelling job descriptions will attract 250% more A-list candidates, and significantly reduce time-to-hire.  So stop relying on the boring list of bullet points the hiring manager copy and pasted, and start getting a little creative - and watch your individual metrics increase exponentially.
• Spearhead recruitment branding efforts.  Recruitment and employment brands are more important than ever, especially if you're in an industry experiencing talent shortages, or if you're recruiting for hard-to-fill roles.  If your organization isn't already focusing on its recruitment brand, or if it's been relying on marketing department cast-offs, why not offer to lead the charge?  (You can sell the idea by demonstrating how a strong recruitment brand reduces the need for outside recruitment fees, because it'll be easier to attract great candidates.)