Making Your Network Stronger Is All About Doing the Little Things

Hey superstar recruiters, I see you making placement after placement, and this one’s for you.

You’ve got it all, and you’re on top of the world. You get a req, hunt for and sweet talk the perfect candidate, show the hiring manager what’s so great about them, crush the placement and move along to the next req.

But wait!

Slow down there, superstar. No matter how good you might be at making placements, there’s one integral piece of your recruiting strategy that there’s a pretty good chance you’re missing out on: the opportunity making placements opens up for you to build and strengthen your network.

Networks are important. They help you rockstar recruiters do your jobs even more efficiently. How? It‚Äôs a personalized database for you to tap into and source candidates from, and it‚Äôs largely made up of connections you make in the midst of making placements. Hiring managers you talk to, candidates that you hire who know other people in the field, candidates you don‚Äôt hire but still make a good connection with‚Äîthese are all people who build up a web of people you can call your network.

Though you’re building these connections every day in the recruiting world, there are easy ways you can go about making them even stronger. And the best part? It only takes a small token of you time and effort.

As soon as you’ve made a placement, before hopping onto the next best thing, take a minute and review those who you met while working on the req. Think about who you want to keep as a valuable member of your network, and consider hitting them with a small gift—something to say you were glad you got to connect, and you’d like to keep communication lines open with them:

1. A gift card. If your candidate that was hired has a network that you want to tap into, or if the hiring manager you worked with could keep sending reqs your way and you want to make sure they do, consider sending over a small gift card for them to treat themselves. I still remember the first time a person in my network sent me a few bucks on a Starbucks card; it wasn‚Äôt much, but it showed me that they truly valued our relationship.
2. SWAG. Maybe you didn‚Äôt get to hire the candidate you loved, but you want to keep them in your back pocket. Find one of your company‚Äôs smaller but cooler SWAG items (for example, at Kinetix we have little orange footballs with our logo on them), and send it to them as a desk topper that also works as a reminder of the connection they have to you.
3. Just an old-fashioned greeting card. Don‚Äôt want to spend your money shipping an item or purchasing a small gift card? Stick to the traditional route and you‚Äôll make just as much of an impact. Pick out a memorable card (please, leave the ‚Äúthinking of you‚Äù cards at the Hallmark counter)‚Äîsomething that‚Äôs funny and that they‚Äôll want to keep around. Then write a short note, thanking them for their time and asking to stay in touch.

Building connections and strengthening your network doesn’t have to be about grand gestures. In fact, it’s typically the little things that people will remember most. And when you need help making another placement? Your ROI will pay off big time in the small steps you took to make sure your network knew you cared about them.