Imagine being in a room full of people and this question is asked: “How many like the good things that non-profit organizations are doing?” The individuals in the room are then asked to identify with a show of raised hands. The likely reaction is that nearly everyone, if not all, will put up their hands. However, if this question is asked: “How many would like to volunteer to work with a non-profit organization?” You’ll find very few hands being raised because they have to do so for free.
This is the challenge these organizations face when it comes to recruiting helping hands. Hence, they sometimes enlist the services of a non profit search firm. With the wider reach of such firms, it becomes less tasking on the non-profit organization. Yet, they must deal with the task of hiring a competent recruiter.
Therefore, in this article, we will show you the steps you should take to hire a competent recruiter who specializes in non-profits.
1. Create a Draft of the Job Description and Profile
This is a step that is done before contacting or reaching out to a recruiting firm. What will be the job of the individual when recruited? What kind of candidate profile are you looking for? These questions among others will help shape the draft you will create.
The draft, in turn, will help you in choosing the best search firm. For example, is it a local, regional or national search? If it is a national search, then you need a firm that has that kind of reach.
The draft will also help you during the final stages of the search by guiding you to ensure that you get the right person for the job.
2. Create a List of Prospective Recruiters
You can build this list by getting referrals from colleagues and partners. You can also run online searches to find potential search firms. While doing this, ensure that you assess the quality and experience of these recruiters.
If you get to know about a recruiter via referrals, you should ask the following questions to verify the quality of the firm from the individual who made the referral:
- What position did you want to fill in your organization?
- What drew you to hire the search agency?
- What was your working experience with them like?
- What was your organization’s job description development process?
- Did you receive exceptional candidates through the recruiter?
- How well was the representation of your company by the recruiter to the candidates?
- Is the search firm readily accessible?
- What other things can you share that would help my company’s hiring process?
All these questions will also help you determine if the recruiter is fit for the job you want to hand over to them.
3. Ask for Proposals from Recruiters you have Short-Listed
The step above will help you narrow down the number of firms you have listed in your original list. At this point, you will need to contact the recruiters still on your list. Ask them to send in their proposals.
Once you get the proposals, you can then assess among the list those who fall short and those who meet up expectations. This will be another stage whereby you eliminate some other candidates.
4. Interview
After you have gone through the proposals and find them to be satisfactory, then you need to invite the search firm for an interview. Click here to learn how to conduct an interview. This step is very important as you get to learn first-hand from the recruiters if they are qualified to handle the job or not.
Two major questions apart from other questions should be asked:
- How is the candidate pool built?
- Who carries out the search?
5. Ask for References
During the interview, you can ask the firms for references of clients they have worked for in the past. This becomes another way to assess the performance of the recruiters.
So, you’ll have to contact the referenced individuals or organizations as the case may be to find out if they have positive or negative reports about the recruiters.
6. Make Your Selection
If at this point you still have over one search firm on your list, then you need to choose from the lot. After going through all the steps above, any recruiter still left must be competent.
If you don’t know what means to follow in making the final choice; you can always follow your gut. Visit https://hbr.org/2019/10/when-its-ok-to-trust-your-gut-on-a-big-decision to find out when it is okay to trust your gut when making a big decision.
Conclusion
In the article above, we have discussed the steps you should take to hire a competent recruiter who specializes in non-profits. If you have any questions, please let us know.
