As recruiters, we’re prone to conducting deep analysis of candidates’ experiences, qualifications and soft skills to determine if they’re the right fit for our job. Yet, we often shortchange ourselves when it comes to analyzing our own career and professional decisions. At some point, we all hit a point of stagnation that serves as an impetus to take a step back and evaluate the possibilities.
Recruiting has become an increasingly complex profession, flooded with new tools and technologies and, in turn, greater demands for productivity. Many recruiters feel they are stretched too thin or inhibited by the technology constraints of their employer. As the talent landscape rapidly evolves, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) providers offer an exciting career growth opportunity. In fact, research and business consultation firm Everest Group reports that the RPO market grew by more than 16% globally and 21% in North America in 2013 alone.
Regardless of profession or industry, considering a career change requires careful evaluation. If you’re intrigued by recruiting in the RPO industry and perhaps weighing the benefits of a jump to an RPO provider, consider the following advantages:
Recruiters are often faced with challenging decisions when it comes to their professional capabilities. Career-wise, is it best to develop precise competencies by specializing in one area or focusing on one company? Or, should we seek consistency in many areas and recruit for a number of professions and/or industries to avoid limiting our potential? Working for an RPO provider, you can tap into the best of both worlds.
True RPO providers often assume responsibility over the entire recruitment function, providing a dedicated team of specialists to integrate and become an extension of a client’s internal team (much like in-house, corporate recruiters). Functioning as part of the organization enables recruiters to understand the company’s culture, values and employer brand, as well as their recruitment and business needs. Instead of bouncing from short-term project to short-term project, RPO recruiters work toward the long-term success of the client; their success becomes your success.
As an employee of the RPO provider, recruiters also have access to a vast network of experienced peers and leadership support, the latest recruitment tools and technologies, in addition to training opportunities — all of which provide the opportunity to grow your breadth of expertise throughout the recruitment lifecycle. In an RPO environment, being proficient in a number of areas and industries enables recruiters to transition to a different client, which creates additional, tremendous growth opportunities.
The RPO industry has been embraced by many organizations across the globe seeking to reduce costs, enhance talent quality and gain transparency into recruitment and workforce performance. Today, organizations are also turning to RPO providers for support on strategic issues, such as workforce planning, employer branding initiatives and recruitment consultation to align talent strategies with overall business objectives and instill long-term success.
Recruiting for an RPO provider offers the opportunity to impact each of those areas, and wear many hats, including consultant and strategic partner; roles that are not always available when working independently or for a contingent staffing firm that relies more on speed than on quality, satisfaction and right cultural fit.
Strategically sourcing complex, hard-to-find talent demands that recruiters continuously sharpen their skills and technical capabilities. When in a continuous mode of reactive recruiting, or working with an organization that lacks the resources to support higher learning, this is difficult, if not impossible. As a result, recruiters often put their professional growth on the back burner, as the majority of their time is spent simply trying to catch up. Working with an RPO provider, however, enables proactivity.
Many RPO providers offer training opportunities and educational courses. Others, like Cielo, my company, have a full education curriculum dedicated to building up recruiters’ skill sets. Backed by the necessary support and resources, recruiters are then positioned to tackle — and get ahead of — challenging recruiting demands. With the right support, recruiters can embrace challenges and affect change while growing career potential along the way.
As the RPO market continues to grow, the opportunities for recruiters in this profession are endless; in particular, the ability to refine your skills, tackle new challenges and set yourself on a direct path toward rapid, multi-directional learning and advancement. Ultimately, if you have a passion for people, despise monotony and seek to establish yourself as a differentiator in the recruitment industry — while having a little fun along the way — RPO recruiting may be your answer.
