10 outstanding qualities of RPO recruiters

Hiring the best recruiters leads to the best results. That’s why it’s a top talent acquisition priority for leaders and C-suite executives globally.  

But lackluster core recruitment capabilities often hold internal and agency recruiters back. Recruiters' technical and soft skills are crucial to winning top talent.  

Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) partners like Cielo – which is creating better hiring experiences for leading companies worldwide – have honed these skills to perfection and continually train recruiters to exhibit them. Outsourcing your recruitment process will help you gain these 10 outstanding qualities of RPO recruiters: 

1. Interpersonal communication skills

From the initial phone call to orientation, high-quality talent expects a high-quality candidate experience. RPO recruiters use the latest technology to facilitate this process but also deliver high-touch experiences that make the candidate feel important. 

Making strong connections is critical to an RPO recruiter’s success. They build rapport with candidates to uncover honest and helpful answers. Great talent recognizes other great talent, so these relationships will also lead to more referrals. 

Communication and relationship-building skills are critical not only for our recruiters’ careers but also for the experience of candidates and hiring managers. A bored or disinterested recruiter has a huge negative impact. Think about the last time you spoke with a customer support representative who didn’t care about helping you. You probably didn’t end the discussion feeling great about their company. Now imagine how you’d feel if that same person was holding your job opportunity in their hands. RPO recruiters are trained to ensure an experience like this never happens. 

2. Aptitude for relationship management

Relationships are the foundation on which organizations are built. So, it should come as no surprise that the ability to develop and manage strong relationships is a key recruiting skill. That means getting to know people as individuals and treating them as such.

RPO recruiters ensure candidates are happy whether they are offered a job or not, which protects and enhances the client organization’s image. They also build trust with hiring managers to give them peace of mind that their hiring needs will be handled.

These approaches produce measurable results. The difference in a hiring manager’s happiness before and after dealing with recruiters trained in relationship management is remarkable.

3. Insatiable thirst to learn

A lot can be taught through training, but great recruiters naturally desire to always improve. They don’t have to be experts on day one. They only become experts by constantly educating themselves on their industry, client and role.  

That’s the mindset of RPO recruiters. They understand the importance of expanding their knowledge and bettering themselves to positively impact the recruitment process for everyone. 

4. Ability to ask questions

The role of an RPO recruiter is to find the most qualified, interested and available talent that aligns with the organization’s culture. To succeed, a recruiter must constantly look for gaps in their understanding of a position. If a hiring manager makes a vague request, the recruiter must recognize that more information is required and ask for it. Remaining silent is a disservice to both parties. 

To truly distinguish themselves and become trusted resources, RPO recruiters actively listen to their hiring manager’s challenges and offer solutions – even if they don’t have direct control over those challenges. They’re also advisors, understanding elements such as the talent market and candidate preferences to help educate and coach hiring managers. 

5. Exceptional prioritization skills

Prioritization is essential in any position, particularly for recruiters. There are always new requisitions to complete, and every hiring manager will want their position filled first. RPO recruiters understand how to arrange requests correctly to serve the bigger picture, asking for guidance when they don’t know what should come first. They develop a clear sense of what’s truly important and what’s simply perceived as urgent – and focus on the essential tasks.

6. Critical thinking

Another key trait is the ability to determine and assess candidate quality, which cannot be reduced to checkboxes in a software program. A candidate’s education and job history provide important data points but reveal little about personality or integrity. 

Resumes and CVs don’t provide a complete picture. They can make bad candidates seem great and great candidates look less than ideal, which is why human judgment plays such a critical role. RPO recruiters are experts at behavioral interviewing tactics that help them determine who should make it to the next stage.

7. Passion for interacting

RPO recruiters live for their calls – whether they’re talking with candidates, hiring managers or associates. Individuals on the other end of the line notice and appreciate this, which results in a great experience for both hiring managers and candidates. 

Following up is in an RPO recruiter’s nature. They can’t help but close the loop. They strive to make sure no one feels forgotten, and no task is left undone. They know the costs of inaction and the rewards of moving forward. All of this protects and bolsters the brand of the organization they represent.

8. Keen insight

RPO recruiters read between the lines and ask questions to uncover truths, whether they were hidden or not considered before. This leads to bold questioning with empathy. It lets a recruiter see past a candidate’s nervousness when they’re ideal for the position. It also helps them empathize with a hiring manager’s concerns about replacing former key team members.  

Insight motivates recruiters to ask probing questions about the necessity of certain job requirements or candidate requests. It enables RPO recruiters to move beyond simply accepting orders to become more consultative and deliver additional value. 

9. The ability to sell

RPO recruiters sell job opportunities (and the organization they’re recruiting for) to potential candidates. They’re also selling hiring managers on the candidates they’ve discovered. Every step they take is an effort to move someone toward action. 

Great recruiters believe in the opportunities they offer. They recognize the value they deliver and thrive on getting people jobs and giving organizations exceptional talent.