Recruiting Ethics: 4 Considerations for the Entry Level Recruiter

When you start recruiting, chances are that nobody will come to you and explain the caveats in recruiting business ethics: what’s right and what’s not so right. You should assume that regular code of ethics applies, but there are several important distinction you must make for yourself independently of management; ethical distinctions that will ultimately decide what kind of recruiter you will become. Here are a few that come to mind:

The Candidate – The candidate is the most important aspect of your success and also the greatest challenge to your recruiting ethics. It may be surprising to some, but many in the agency world place a far greater emphasis on the happiness of the client. “Client pays the bills”… this may be so, but without the candidate there is no pay. The disrespect and arrogance leveled toward the candidate is astounding. Candidates are commoditized and represent a Revenue or Gross Profit number and some recruiters completely forget that these are human beings. Yes candidates have their own agendas, but so do you. It’s your responsibility to make sure you are benefiting the candidate as much as yourself.
Give and Take – Another aspect of recruiting ethics that is just as important as the candidate. Who will make more money? The recruiter who builds a relationship on Take or on Give? Scott Love put it best when he described a relationship as a bank. Can you take a withdrawal from an account that you have not deposited money in? No. Can you mine candidates for information including references, referrals, and leads in the first conversation you have with them? Sure, but, ask yourself, would I want to be used like that? The answer is a resounding No.
Resume – How much can you alter a resume to get the interview? You can’t. During your conversation with the candidate, it is your job to pull out as much information as possible about their background and to perhaps have the candidate update the resume with this information. As a recruiter you are also a professional resume consultant and one of the “gives” you can offer to your candidate is that of creating a stellar HONEST resume. What you can do that is perfectly ethical is emphasize certain job responsibilities heavier then others. How much heavier is up to your sense of recruiting ethics. This is your opportunity to give to candidate a free service after which you can ask for a withdrawal i.e referral, lead, or endorsement.
Rate/ Salary – Ask your candidate what they make and what they want to make. You can’t give away the house when determining rate, but if you are trying to squeeze an extra dollar or two to make a commission band, I would say you are risking a relationship. Relationships are more important then any quota, commission band, or managerial whim. So I make a little less on one deal, the relationship I build with my candidate for giving them a little more will repay large dividends in the future. While $5/h may not seem like much on paper, if a candidate works for you for a year that’s a couple hundred for you and $10,000 for them!

There are many issues in recruiting ethics that are broadly discussed in forums and blogs by many industry leaders; I’ve included a couple of resources. The most important part of your search for recruiting ethics is YOU. Talk to people, research, and think about what exactly it is that you do everyday. You would be shocked to know how many people in our industry just don’t care.

http://www.recruitersworld.com/Articles/RW/Christine/ethics.asp

http://careers.tcco.com/CampusRecruits/Interviewing_Ethics.htm

http://www.ere.net/2004/04/21/the-ethics-of-recruiting/\

http://www.fordyceletter.com/2003/02/01/corporate-recruiting-ethics-an-ongoing-threat/

http://www.scottlove.com/

http://www.glresources.com/340.html

http://www.recruitingblogs.com/

Tags: candidate, ethics, recruiting, resume, sales