What’s the first thing you see when you land on a recruiter’s website? If you’ve been wrapped up in the hunt for jobs or clients, you’ve probably begun to notice a pretty pronounced theme on all the ‘sites you visit: pictures of trendy young professionals cheerfully collaborating. Then, there’s lots of information: a forward-thinking mission statement, a go-get-‘em story… you get the picture.
Okay, so Clarity did that too, we even hired an actor to star in a video that told people about us. It’s an easy set of guidelines to follow, right? We’re good at what we do, and we want our website to convey our story. But we realized that it didn’t represent our core commitment; our recruitment firm isn’t about who we are and what we do, it’s about who you are and what you want to do. If our mission revolves around our clients (and candidates are our clients, remember), our webpage should too. That’s why when you land on our website, you’re not presented with us and our story (although we clearly have one, as you’re now discovering), you’re presented with the jobs you came to our ‘site for in the first place. I like to think that we’re all very interesting, talented people here at Clarity, but you didn’t come here to learn about that – you came here for a job.
That difference of first impressions, that’s the essence of Clarity’s mission. It’s easy to make a quick buck in recruiting, but it’s just as easy to lose sight of whom the industry is supposed to serve. Our clients aren’t just the people who come to us looking for employees, they’re also the candidates who put their faith in us to find them a role.
When a recruiter focuses too heavily on the wrong priorities, it’s easy to fall into habits like the ‘shotgun’ approach, gathering dozens or hundreds of resumes for a certain role, only ever responding the top ten or so applicants. It can be profitable, but it’s dehumanizing.
So what am I doing about it? Along with the rest of Clarity, a lot. This starts with keeping the candidate search tight and specific, which means paying extra-close attention to the needs of the client on the hiring side. I’ve mentioned our proprietary matching technology Luma-Fi before, and this is where it shines. Luma-Fi is unlike anything else out there, because our approach to research and development is unlike anything else out there. No one in the recruitment industry invests like this; no one in recruitment innovates like this. Once we’re as clear as possible on the specific needs of the client, we can target our search only to those potential candidates who are a great match. This way, we don’t need to string people along for a job they simply aren’t right for. The future isn’t going to favour big companies who deal in sheer numbers; going forward, successful firms will be based on small headcounts and meaningful client and candidate relationships,
Even so, the reality is that not everyone can get the job; part of our mission as recruiters is to create enduring connections between employers and employees, and that means finding the people best suited for the roles. Whether we can match a candidate with a role or not, we still do everything in our power to keep that person happy. Sometimes, that means updating the candidate on awesome new opportunities as they come our way; sometimes that means referring the candidate to our in-house ‘candidate advocate.’
Alright, maybe we’re all candidate advocates here at Clarity – after all, isn’t that what I’ve been saying all along? But this is actually a separate role from the rest of our recruiters, aimed solely at helping out those candidates who are looking for something that our regular recruiters aren’t in a position to find. This role isn’t a producing role; it isn’t measured in dollars billed; there’s no commission; it isn’t intended to factor into our revenue. The sole purpose of the client advocate is to increase the number of positive interactions a client has during their job hunt, even if we ultimately have to refer them to an agency more qualified in the appropriate field (we’re finance and accounting people here, after all).
We’re always trying to find new ways to make recruitment more human and more effective. We’re already a certified B Corp, meaning we’re dedicated to creating a positive social and environmental impact. ‘Ethical recruitment’ likely isn’t a term you’ve heard often, if ever. It might even go against your view of the recruitment industry, and that’s okay. Clarity has been disrupting the recruitment scene in Toronto for six years, and now we’re committed to bringing that disruption to Vancouver.
There’s always more to a story than can fit on a page. Get in touch today to learn more about my story, or to find out how I can help change yours for the better.
Shane Gagnon is the Director of Clarity Recruitment Vancouver, with six years of experience in the industry. This is his personal blog, where you can expect to find not only insights from his endeavour to disrupt the recruitment industry, but also a glimpse into his pursuit of a satisfying career for himself and the finance/accounting professionals of Vancouver. Join Shane for each new post, as he reveals the journey that brought him here, and where he plans to go next.
