Who not to hire as a recruitment consultant
Long time readers of my material will be aware of the sort of qualities I believe are necessary to be a successful recruiter. Specifically my eBook, Succeed Quickly or Fail Slowly, goes into detail (with examples) of the top five competencies of highly effective recruiters.
What I haven’t written about is the opposite end of the (hiring) scale. In other words who not to hire as a recruiter. Given the many hiring mistakes I have made (or witnessed from my vantage point as a coach) I thought it would be worthwhile to share a few of my thoughts on this topic.
See if there is anyone you can recognise from the list of 8 below:
Who not to hire: Victims
Why they get hired: They talk a great game
Why they fail: Nothing’s ever their fault or responsibility
Think: Schapelle Corby
How to spot them: ‘Personality conflict’ is their reason for leaving almost all of their jobs and their genuine accomplishments are very thin on the ground
Why they get hired: “They’re so nice, clients will love them”
Why they fail: They would rather swim with sharks than make a marketing call
Think: Melissa Doyle (Mel & Kochie from Sunrise)
How to spot them: They never stop smiling and they judge their performance by how they feel, not what they achieve
Who not to hire: Intellectuals
Why they get hired: The letters after their name look impressive on your business cards
Why they fail: They construct a lot of Excel spreadsheets rather than do anything useful that might lead to a placement
Think: Antony Green (ABC election analyst)
How to spot them: They remind you of your boring Uncle Brian
Why they get hired: They have a great answer to your behavioural question about attention to detail
Why they fail: They endlessly research, review and correct rather than market, interview and go on visits
Think: The QA Manager
How to spot them: Their immaculate resume
Why they get hired: They really want to help people
Why they fail: They help all the candidates other agencies don’t
Think: Hugh Evans (2007 Young Australian of the Year)
How to spot them: They have no sense of humour
Who not to hire: Egotists 
Why they get hired: Their self confidence is like a ray of sunshine compared to all the People Pleasers and Victims you currently have in your team
Why they fail: They never get that recruitment is all about the other person, not them
Think: Malcolm Turnbull
How to spot them: Every other sentence begins with “I…”
Who not to hire: Dorks
Why they get hired: “I need someone to recruit accountants”
Why they fail: Their phone manner would put your grandma to sleep
Think: Kevin Rudd
How to spot them: Nerdy glasses, boring haircut
Who not to hire: Drama Queens
Why they get hired: They seem to have a ‘great personality’
Why they fail: They cry or throw a hissy fit when people say ‘no’ to them
Think: Carson Kressley
How to spot them: They roll their eyes and use lots of gestures
Who not to hire: Barbie or Ken
Why they get hired: They look great (really great!)
Why they fail: They keep forgetting how to turn their computer on
Think: Posh & Becks
How to spot them: Their bleached teeth