Building Relationships with Recruitment Agencies

Top talent will NEVER join a company with a mediocre recruiting process. They assume the rest of your company matches that experience. Yet most leaders treat their recruiters like transactional rubber stampers — then wonder why they can't hire A-players. The reality: how you treat your recruiters gets reflected in your recruiting process. Treat them like cogs in a machine? That's EXACTLY how they'll treat your candidates. Here are 8 ways treating recruiters as strategic partners transforms your hiring: 1. Give them a seat at leadership meetings A biz recruiter pitched "we need an implementation specialist" for months. Candidates weren’t biting. Then she learned this hire would unlock a $2M contract. Changed her pitch to "we need this role to hit Q3 revenue." Filled in 2 weeks. 2. Make recruiting metrics visible company-wide When engineering managers check recruiting dashboards daily, magic happens. One team went from "where's my hire?" to "I see 3 strong candidates entering final rounds." Transparency turns recruiting from blame game to team sport. 3. Let them push back on unrealistic demands A recruiter shared w/ me why she quit her last role: "I was tired of smiling when they wanted senior engineers for junior salaries." Smart companies empower recruiters to say, "that's unrealistic." The rest lose their best recruiters. 4. Include them in offer strategy, not delivery Watched a startup land their dream candidate in 48 hours — beating higher cash offers — because their recruiter could negotiate on the spot. Most make recruiters deliver pre-baked offers like pizza. 5. Invest in their tools like engineering Teams tracking candidates in Google Sheets wonder why they can't compete. Companies investing in real recruiting tools see 4x productivity gains. Your engineers get the latest MacBooks. Why make recruiters work in spreadsheets? 6. Give them time to build relationships One Gem customer filled 70% of roles in 3 weeks. How? They maintained relationships with past candidates for YEARS. Most measure recruiters on this month’s roles they need to fill. So they spam everyone and start from zero next quarter. 7. Empower them with data "Trust me, the market's tough" doesn't move executives. "Your salary range is 25th percentile — here's the data" does. Give recruiters access to data and industry benchmarks. Watch them become business partners overnight. 8. Celebrate their wins like revenue That top 1% engineer who chose you over FAANG only happened thanks to your recruiter — celebrate them like AEs winning deals. Ring the gong. Most companies only notice recruiters when hiring stops. TAKEAWAY In this market — 2.7x more applications, 90% unqualified — the difference isn't headcount. It's whether you treat recruiters as strategic partners or paper pushers. Your recruiters are interviewing for new jobs right now. Still think they're just order-takers?

How to build relationships with industry leaders, hiring managers & recruiters (without being annoying) A while back, I wanted to connect with a well-known tech leader. I could’ve sent a cold DM, but I knew it’d get ignored. Instead, I played the long game. I showed up in their comments, shared their insights, and even referenced their work in my posts. Months later, they followed me back—and now we chat regularly. Here’s what worked (and how you can use it to connect with industry leaders, hiring managers, recruiters, and peers 👇): 1. Engage before you approach → Comment on their posts thoughtfully (not just “great post!”) → Share their insights with your own perspective → Show up consistently—one comment won’t cut it 2. Be valuable, not needy → Instead of asking for advice, offer something useful → If they run a newsletter or community, help promote it → Answer questions in their comment section—show you’re engaged 3. Move from fan to peer (or candidate to colleague) → Start sharing content in the same space → Reference their work and add your own spin → Tag them when relevant, not just for attention 4. Play the long game → Relationships aren’t built overnight—be patient → Keep adding value without expecting immediate returns → Over time, they’ll notice you—and that’s when real connections happen This isn’t just for big names. It works with recruiters, hiring managers, and industry peers too. Most people spam DMs and wonder why they get ignored. The smart ones? They show up, engage, and become part of the conversation. - LinkedIn can open doors you didn’t even know existed—but most people never use it to its full potential. Don’t be like most people. Start showing up, engaging, and building real relationships today. Your next opportunity could be one conversation away.

The Rejection Email That Changed My (and the candidate’s) Career I just helped a candidate secure a job offer after he'd been rejected by the same company just three months earlier. How? The candidate did something most job seekers never consider. When he received the initial rejection, instead of quietly moving on, he sent a thoughtful response thanking the hiring manager for the opportunity and asking for one specific piece of feedback. That email sparked a conversation which eventually led to him being considered for a different role. This story highlights something I've observed repeatedly in my years as a headhunter: your response to rejection can be as important as your application. Here's what successful candidates do differently: 1. They view rejections as pauses, not stops. The hiring world is fluid—budgets change, requirements shift, and new positions open up. Maintaining positive connections keeps you in the loop. 2. They ask for targeted feedback. Don't request general improvement areas. Ask: "Could you share one skill I could develop that would make me a stronger candidate for similar roles?" This is specific and actionable. 3. They show growth between applications. If you reapply, highlight what you've learned or improved since your last application. This demonstrates commitment and adaptability. 4. They stay visible professionally. Comment thoughtfully on the hiring manager's LinkedIn posts or share relevant industry articles. This keeps you on their radar without being pushy. 5. They treat recruiters as long-term connections. A good recruiter remembers candidates who communicate professionally, even when things don't work out. We often come back to people who left positive impressions. I've seen too many qualified candidates vanish after a rejection, missing future opportunities. The job search isn't just about finding vacancies—it's about building relationships that last beyond a single application. #JobSearch #CareerAdvice #Recruitment

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 Recruitment is known as a fast paced industry, but there’s one part of our role as recruiters that can’t be rushed; building relationships. In my experience, creating long-term relationships with our clients, candidates, and colleagues is invaluable. Not only does this approach lead to better hiring decisions, but it also shapes careers, fuels business growth, and creates networks of trust that last for years. Here’s why long-term relationships should be the foundation of any great recruitment strategy: 𝟏. 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞  The best partnerships – whether with clients or candidates – aren’t built in a single conversation. They develop over time, through consistency, honesty, and delivering results. When businesses work with recruiters they trust, they gain a true partner, not just a service provider. The same applies to candidates. Many of the strongest hires come from professionals we’ve known for years and placed more than once. 𝟐. 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐞 𝐚 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 One of the most rewarding aspects of long-term relationship-building is seeing how careers evolve. Many candidates we’ve placed early in their careers have gone on to become hiring managers or senior leaders, and when they need to build their own teams, they often return to the recruiters they trust. A single placement can turn into a lifelong professional partnership. 𝟑. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬  Understanding a company’s culture, leadership style, and long-term growth strategy takes time. The deeper that understanding, the better the hires. Clients who treat recruiters as strategic partners rather than short-term vendors see the biggest return on investment – not just in speed to hire, but in quality and retention. 𝟒. 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬  In today’s job market, candidates expect a personal, transparent process – one where they feel valued beyond a single application. A recruiter who stays in touch, offers advice, and provides genuine career guidance builds relationships that last. And when candidates have a great experience, they refer others, expanding the recruiter’s network even further. 𝟓. 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧  The recruitment industry is built on trust and reputation. The most successful recruiters are the ones known for honest, long-standing relationships that create value for both businesses and professionals over time. At the end of the day, recruitment is about people, not transactions. The strongest partnerships aren’t measured in placements but rather in careers built, businesses grown, and trust earned.

"So… what do headhunters actually do?" I get this question A LOT. Usually followed by: "You just send CVs, right?" "It's all about the fees?" "You only call when I'm desperate?" 15 years in this game. Let me clear this up. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Most people think recruiting is transactional. CV in. CV out. Invoice sent. That's not recruiting. That's admin work. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Here's what most recruiters do: Spray and pray. Send 50 CVs. Hope one sticks. Never meet the client. Never meet you. Just playing email tennis. Crazy, right? ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ At Aslant Legal, we do it differently. Every client we work with? We meet them. Every candidate we represent? We qualify them properly. Every placement? Strategic, not transactional. We believe in face-to-face connections. (Yes, we actually meet you. Wild concept, I know.) Because how can you match people you don't truly know? ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Here's what actually happens behind the scenes: ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ WE TRACK THE INVISIBLE That partner who just lost their biggest client? The firm planning to expand into Singapore? The team that's about to implode? We know before LinkedIn does. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ WE SHAPE YOUR STORY Your CV says "10 years experience." We say: "Built three practices from zero. Generated $5M in new business. The only lawyer who kept that impossible client happy." Big difference. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ WE DECODE THE MARKET You see job postings. We see patterns. Which firms are desperate vs. strategic. Where the real opportunities hide. Why that "dream job" is actually a nightmare. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ WE PREP YOU FOR REALITY Not just "tell me about yourself." But: "They'll ask about that gap in 2019." "Don't mention the merger." "They value hustle over pedigree." Details that change outcomes. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ WE PROTECT YOU FROM BAD MOVES Last month, I talked a lawyer OUT of a role. $50K more. Fancy title. Toxic culture. My job isn't to close deals. It's to build careers. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ WE NEGOTIATE BEYOND SALARY Everyone fixates on base pay. We fight for: → Flexible arrangements → Equity stakes → Development budgets → Exit terms The stuff that actually matters. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ The truth? Good recruiters don't wait for you to be looking. We move before the market does. We're not matchmakers. We're strategists. And the best part? When we do our job right, you'll never need us again. (Until you're ready for the next level.) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Still think we just sling CVs? 👇 ♻️ Repost to change someone's perspective ➕ Follow Shulin Lee for insider truths P.S. The recruiters who spray and pray? Who never actually meet you? They're not headhunters. They're email forwarding services. P.P.S. At Aslant Legal, we do real recruitment. The kind where we actually know who we're recruiting.

"We want to work with multiple agencies, cast a wide net and assess our options." Something's wrong here and here's what happens next.   I heard this last week from prospective client.   While on face value, the idea of working with multiple suppliers makes sense. More agencies means more candidates, which is a good thing. Right?   What actually happens is that while you might get more candidates from a variety of sources, that's where the positives end. Because that variety is also likely to include a varied level of quality.   Internally within recruitment companies, each consultant could be working 3-10 or more roles at any given time. The most common way they allocate their time, is according to what role they are most likely to fill - "Fillability".   When you decide to work with multiple agencies at once, the likelihood of each consultant placing that role drops and in turn so does the allocation of time or priority for your role at that agency.   What you end up getting is a surface level service, which doesn't give your company the time and effort it deserves. The easiest way to overcome this is by working with one selected recruiter on an exclusive or retained basis. With this approach, you are committing to using that agency, which allows them to make a greater commitment internally. That means: 🕒 Greater time invested by the recruiter resourcing for the role.   👫 More than 1 consultant allocated internally to search for the role.   📋 More elaborate and detailed sourcing approaches to the passive and dormant market. 🤝 Time saved on both briefing additional agencies and no time wasted on unnecessary interviews. There are many other additional benefits, but these are the first 4 that come to mind. If you want to know more or how you can implement this in your next hiring process, let me know and I'll talk you through it. #recruitment #hiring #qualityofhire

By now, you already know: the best roles are rarely filled through job boards. They’re filled through relationships. Over the years, I’ve refined a method I call the “Strategic Access Framework.” Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Identify the right people inside your target company Don’t just think about recruiters. Instead, ask: Who has insights about the team, culture, and challenges I want to be part of? These are the leaders and decision-makers worth building a connection with. 2️⃣ Initiate a conversation to learn, not to pitch Set up meetings with genuine curiosity. Ask about the company’s direction, leadership priorities, and what success looks like in their roles. When you focus on learning, you naturally leave a stronger impression. 3️⃣ Position yourself for a referral Referrals don’t happen by accident. They come from thoughtful conversations. By asking the right questions and sharing relevant experiences, you’ll naturally open the door for them to connect you to the right opportunity. 4️⃣ Nurture the relationship long-term A single meeting isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. Stay in touch, share insights, and keep the dialogue going. That way, when opportunities arise (and they will), your name is already top of mind. I’ve seen professionals land interviews and offers within weeks by applying this approach. The key is to stop relying on online applications and start investing in the relationships that drive hiring decisions.

“A recruiter told me they don’t even want to post jobs anymore.” “Why?” I asked. “Because we get 150–200 applications. We’d rather go straight to someone who’s visible and looks like a low-risk hire. This is the reality now. It’s an 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁. They have options. Too many of them. So, how do you stand out in this market? Here’s what I’ve learned from recruiters and clients: 🔹 𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗜-𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲. What they want? The human behind the words → Be honest. Be specific. Tell your career story like no one else can. 🔹 𝟮. 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 You need the right 1 recruiter to message you. → Optimise your profile with keywords specific to your industry, tools, and niche. → Engage once a week. Even 2 lines of insight on someone else’s post keeps you on the radar. 🔹 𝟯. 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗕𝗘𝗙���𝗥𝗘 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀. I've seen the trend of 1 voice call and 1 Zoom call with recruiters before passing to the interview. →Why? Trust matters. → Be ready to speak with clarity and communicate your "value" 🔹 𝟰. 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱. → Invite recruiters for a 15-min virtual coffee (even voice chat). But don’t pitch. Instead: ✔ Ask what roles they’re hiring for ✔ Ask what challenges they see in the industry ✔ Share how your skills align with that 🔹 𝟱. 𝗚𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. → Don’t just say Business Analyst. Say: 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵-𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘉𝘈 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩, 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 + 𝘰𝘱𝘴. → Make it EASY for the recruiter to say, “Yep — this is our person.” If this felt like a wake-up call, it’s because it is. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be visible, forward-thinking, and human. #jobsearch #hiring #linkedintips #linkedinoptimization #careercoach

 You don’t need another recruiter. You need a partner who can access talent Australia doesn’t have. Recruiters work in the local market. That’s the limitation. If carpenters, tilers, nurses, or electricians aren’t applying locally, a recruiter can’t magically create them. That’s why employers keep telling me: • “Recruiters bring me the same candidates I’ve already rejected.” • “We’ve paid fees with no long-term hires.” • “There simply aren’t workers here.” Exactly. Because the solution isn’t local recruitment. It’s global access. Here’s how I work differently: • I source from overseas talent ecosystems (India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, UAE) • I screen for real, hands-on skill - not inflated CVs • I run trade-specific vetting • I coordinate interviews between you and shortlisted candidates • I guide you through sponsorship, compliance, paperwork, and onboarding • And I stay with you until your worker lands in Australia and starts working This isn’t recruitment. This is end-to-end global workforce building. One Queensland employer told me: "Patrick, you solved in 3 weeks what we’ve been stuck on for 8 months." That’s the difference. I don’t introduce candidates - I solve labour shortages. You don’t need resumes. You need reliable people. What’s been your experience working with recruiters for hard-to-fill roles? #SkilledMigration #WorkforceSolutions #AustralianEmployers #GlobalTalent #HiringChallenges

Recruiting isn't about closing fast. It's about staying close. But here's the challenge: How do you follow up long-term without annoying the candidate? How do you stay on their radar… without feeling like a telemarketer? You ask for permission, and you earn the right to stay in the conversation. Here's a simple 3-part framework I teach leaders to use: 1. Acknowledge the timing "I totally get that now may not be the right time to make a move." When you acknowledge their current reality, you build trust. 2. Ask for alignment "Would it be okay if I stayed in touch over the next few months, just to keep the conversation open?" This shifts follow-up from "nagging" to agreed-upon access. 3. Set the tone for future value "I'll make sure anything I send your way is relevant to where you're headed, not just where you are today." Now you're not a recruiter. You're a future-focused partner. Bonus tip: Keep it human and low-pressure. Text updates. Quick voice notes. A win your team just had. A leadership thought that made you think of them. The goal isn't to sell. It's to stay worth replying to. Because the best candidates aren't always ready on the first call. But they do remember who stayed connected the right way. Play the long game, with permission, not persistence.