13 Reasons Why Recruitment is Weak in China and What We Can Do
Jim Nelson
President, SHI Group China-Recruiting Trustworthy Talent for Western Companies Active in China
The State of Recruitment in China is not good, and I think I know why.
Recruitment in China
- Needs are great and true talent is highly limited
- Companies ask for the moon in qualifications and get just that on the pre packaged resumes, but the resumes are not true and character took a back seat
- Companies go to big name recruiters because they are big name, but the big name recruiters are pitching candidates on resume qualifications as fast as can be.
- Companies do it themselves and never consider what professional focus could do for them in this tight labor market
- Companies ask recruiters for more resumes, and they get more manicured resumes. Quality lags as the truth is lost.
- Companies use multiple recruiters and can not spend enough time clarifying need with each, and efficiency of the search is limited. This lowers efficiency of HR, hiring manager and recruiters together
- Recruiters agree to work when they do not have the man power, and do not inform the client beforehand
- Recruiters do not know or tell important facts for you to consider for the hire as want to place.
- Recruiters push their candidates on companies and do not care enough or know enough about the client.
- Companies emphasize low cost and get low quality.
- Companies occasionally notice fit, but rarely consider the cost of workers whose yes may not be yes under pressure, They get false fit.
- Companies start recruiting but do not engage the process and candidates lose interest as responses and overall process are too slow and opaque
- Companies are not transparent with candidates and bad fit results.
Recently I have had some companies ask us to send some sample resumes. This is a kind of due diligence, and we respect that and comply. Companies should choose one recruiting company that they like and can trust and then clarify process and needs deeply with recruiter. Greater transparency on both sides makes the process better, but you must have a head hunter that you know and trust. Having a few possible back up head hunters is always useful for safety. See also How to Get the Right Headhunter for Your Business and Use Them Well (finding and using Good Recruiters)
Other Weakness in Recruitment in China
Also, candidate pool is overrated. Having 50,000 vetted resumes in house is meaningless. Most searches are for some very specific skill and even 50,000 vetted resumes would not be enough. You often need all of China to find these people. 1.3 billion is a realistic pool. Availability constantly changes. Easier searches are for people that turn over quickly. There is no way to keep even 100 vetted resumes fresh efficiently. Good candidates do not stay available long and do not flip jobs. Some companies map certain skills and who is in what desk. Do you really want them to know you that well. They must steal from you then if they are that tightly focused. Trust is so important. Pick one or two and go deep. See also Recruiting – To Outsource or Not to Outsource.
Cost Manager ; Procurement Manager
6yLast recruitment I have to do was a nightmare... I was looking for some “Cost Estimators”, an Engineering Position. Unfortunately, I have to refuse around 40 CV from recruiting company before they finally understand that I was not looking for some accountants! Every time, after reading one of the CV, I feed back the reasons why I even don’t want to meet candidate, just because even if they looks like very good as accountants, that was not the target position! I do a big mistake, I write “costs” in the job description, automates do the rest of the job! As said in a previous comment on this post, some junior recruiters don’t have the mandatory professional background to understand the profile you are looking for, and unfortunately if the salary of the position you offer is not very high, senior recruiters are not interested to spend time for a small bonus... and I don't accept paying a recruitment company and have to train the recruiter to found the good candidate !
Regional Manager, Marketing & Sales Excellence
6yInteresting points. Those hints another truth, recruitment is high cost & low ROI
Founding Partner at ECFO - Co-Founder and Managing Director at Decision Modeling Systems Ltd.
6yAlso important to add that recruiters make money from churn and often unscrupulous ones will contact the same people they placed to move to a new position in as little as 9 months after they have been placed in a position.
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6yI fully recognize this description that you give of recruitment industry in China as I have experimented it on numerous occasions myself... Another point that tends to bother me: headhunting companies using staff just graduated from university for filling managerial positions (or even directors); where those young people might be very nice, they barely know anything of how a company is operated nor about the industry that they are supposed to recruit for... focusing on quantity rather than quality apply in many fields here, and this also explain a lot... Luckily, there are serious recruitment firms doing their job properly and going further than "mass-automatized-treatment-of-massive-databases".