You are probably familiar with the current trend that is followed i.e. Social Media Recruiting. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this put simply it is a new strategy that recruiters and companies use to fulfil their branding as well as hiring needs by utilising Social Networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ optimally.

As a Recruiter if you’re wondering why you’re efforts are going in vain, then you are probably following the 4 habits that Effective Recruiters avoid. If that’s the case then let’s find out what are the 4 habits that Effective Recruiter’s avoid and rectify them to improve our performance.Complain that there aren’t any good candidates

This is quite common with most Talent Acquisition Professionals, but let me stop you there. It’s fairly simple to start complaining and avoid the work. So before you start complaining take a minute to make a check list and identify whether you’ve explored all your options –

• Have you taken the time out to look?
• Have you completely searched you’re database?
• Have you written a Boolean Search String with all the required information filtered?
• Have you done an advanced LinkedIn Search?
• Have you done a Monster search or any other job portal?
• Have you checked Social media like Facebook, Twitter etc.?
• Have you contacted current and past employees for referrals?
• Have you got in touch with influential people?

You get the picture, need I say more?

Spam Candidates

Do you send In-mails to everyone that meets one keyword of the job spec by using LinkedIn or any other networking sites but haven’t tailored it according to the candidates you’ve sent it to? If that is the case then it will definitely affect your chances of establishing contact with potential candidates. In such a scenario it is important to note that individuals respond better to personalised contact as compared to a generalised one.

Falsely connecting with individuals

Another common method used by many Recruiters is having false connections. When we wish to establish connections with individuals, the general tendency is to say things to get them to listen to you. The most common statement used is that you’ve done business together although that may not be the case. Once rapport is established a connection is made. This is done by almost every person on LinkedIn that is seeking a candidate. In order to get the most response it is important to stop developing false connections else you’ll lose connections rapidly.

Describing every job as a Great Opportunity

Nothing puts off candidates then describing every job as a great opportunity. Popular statements that are used are …

• This is a great opportunity!
• You’ll have the opportunity to experience X!
• You can take the opportunity to learn Y!

So on and so forth, does this sound familiar? Therefore, if you’re following these statements in your job specs then you might want to stop because no one really responds to such statements.

There you have it the aspects that can make a difference. These are but a few habits that Recruiters follow which affects their efficiency on the whole. Therefore if you wish to be a good Recruiter instead of an average one, you need to first identify if you’re following any of these habits and avoid them. This will in turn improve your hiring percentage and land you with the right candidates. Do you have any ineffective Recruiting habits you’ll like to add?