In today’s competitive landscape, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) isn’t just a valuable asset for candidates—it’s essential for recruiters too. A recruiter with high EQ elevates the entire hiring process, ensuring your needs are met with precision, they nurture and build strong relationships with both clients and candidates and make smart decisions to find the perfect fit for your organisation.
In the high-stakes world of recruitment, where each hire can shape a company’s future and a candidate’s career, there’s an often-overlooked factor that can make all the difference: Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Beyond CVs and interviews, EQ is the secret weapon that separates exceptional recruiters from the merely competent.
How do we understand EQ? It is essentially the ability to understand, manage, and utilise emotions effectively in oneself and others. It’s not just a soft skill—it’s a vital competency in the recruitment process, impacting every interaction and decision. This crucial ability can determine whether a candidate gets hired or not and how well-suited they are for a role. It is what enables a recruiter to delve deeper and gain a sound understanding of a candidate’s headspace, which impacts directly on their motivation for changing jobs.
Applying one’s EQ helps in determining whether a candidate is an exceptional individual for your client, whether they will be a top match for the position, have the correct or relevant industry experience or have a transferable skill set to meet the requirements. It helps a recruiter better determine whether their personality, drive, and passion for this new opportunity come through to reach that short list and secure an interview. With experience in any industry comes the refined art of using emotional intelligence to pre-empt and manage processes such as interviews or negotiation stages. This ensures all parties involved benefit, making the entire recruitment process smoother and more effective, greatly enhancing the candidate experience.
Recruitment is fundamentally about relationships. An exceptional recruiter prioritises establishing a rapport with clients and candidates by understanding their motivations and needs. Communicating effectively in ways that resonate with each person is what sets great recruiters apart. These nuanced interactions empower recruiters to convey how a role is a smart move for a candidate’s career, from both a skill set and future career perspective.
The candidate journey can be an extensive one and being authentic and transparent with them is imperative. Having strong relationships with candidates and clients leads to better engagement, improved experiences and increased trust. This sets the stage for successful hiring outcomes and less time wasted in securing the best person for the job.
Market insights reveal that companies with a smooth, streamlined, and personalised recruitment process gain a competitive edge. Positive candidate experiences entice top talent to engage and apply for roles. In contrast, companies that treat candidates poorly or have slow, non-existent communication tarnish their reputation. Word spreads quickly, and candidates advise their networks to avoid companies known for bad experiences.
In the Legal recruitment space, transparency and understanding are key, trust is a non-negotiable component in all interactions. Being self-aware and adaptable with clients and candidates sets recruiters up to manage both parties’ needs and wants, effectively.
Empathy, conflict resolution, and a solution-oriented mindset are cornerstones of EQ, allowing recruiters to view issues/processes from the perspectives of candidates and clients. This skill is essential for resolving conflicts, addressing concerns, and negotiating effectively. Harmonious relationships and optimal results are the outcomes of these efforts.
Cathy Machingaidze, Partner – Legal & Company Secretarial at REDi Holbourne Recruitment Group shares her insight on this, “Empathy allows us to understand the underlying issues and concerns of both clients and candidates, leading to better solutions and outcomes.”
Recruiting is all about relationships and effective communication. A recruiter with high EQ understands and appreciates the importance of establishing rapport quickly, understanding the motivations and requirements of candidates, and subsequently communicating in a way that resonates with them. This leads to better engagement, improved candidate experience and increased trust.
Ethical awareness and decision-making are non-negotiable aspects of EQ. Recruiters are often faced with situations where they must balance the interests of clients, candidates, and the agency. Sticking to one’s high ethical standards may prove costly from a monetary perspective (in cases where a candidate has to decline a role), but such conduct will always stand the test of time where relationships are concerned, as well as engendering trust in the process. With a solid moral foundation, recruiters can make choices that uphold integrity and fairness for all parties involved.
In the dynamic field of recruitment, personal growth is a constant. Professionals who know their strengths and areas for improvement have a head start in their self-improvement, professional growth, and career success.
Self-control is another key element of emotional intelligence. Recruiters deal with various emotions, from the frustrations of a difficult client to the disappointment of a candidate’s failed interview or a candidate’s decline of an offer extended. A sharpened EQ helps manage these emotions constructively, ensuring professional performance remains unaffected and workplace relationships stay positive.
Adi Steiner, who is a top-notch Researcher, and part of the Legal team at the REDi Holbourne Recruitment Group, shares some great advice her colleague shared with the team once, “Sometimes we need to call it what it is, not what it feels like. By dealing with the facts of matters, we tend to view them less emotionally.” This approach helps maintain objectivity and focus as setbacks are inevitable in recruitment. Staying focused on the present and directing energy toward finding solutions rather than dwelling on past setbacks is crucial. This proactive mindset is essential for overcoming challenges and enhancing EQ.
Emotional Intelligence is more than just a buzzword; it’s a game-changer in recruitment. By honing their EQ, recruiters can build stronger relationships, make more ethical decisions, and navigate the complex emotional landscape of their profession with grace and effectiveness.
In a field where people are at the core, EQ is the ultimate differentiator. Lead by example and watch how the entire recruitment process transforms.
This article was written by the REDi Holbourne team, August 2024.