The IT recruiting industry has changed significantly over my 20 years in the business. But building and maintaining relationships with my candidates and consultants remain the most important aspect of my role as a recruiter.

Recruiting is more than just filling a role

It’s listening to my candidates to understand their motivations to help them find their next, great career move. Something I value is building long-term relationships with my candidates from the start. I pride myself on being an honest and responsive communicator, communicating clearly and often while building a friendly rapport with my candidates and making sure they feel valued and appreciated.

My goal is to build long-term relationships with all my consultants. I have worked with several consultants for 10+ years on multiple contract assignments. I’m always thrilled when I’m fortunate enough to work with a consultant again after their assignment is complete.

Relationship building is especially important for those candidates with in-demand skill sets like software engineers. Software engineers are inundated with recruiter contacts. And they just don’t have time to field calls from every recruiter that reaches out, so building trusted relationships with these candidates is critical to success in this business.

When relationship building works

Last year, one of my previous software engineering consultants, Jay, who I had remained in contact with throughout the years, reached out to me when beginning his job search. Jay, a referral from one of my other consultants, is one of those people who stuck out to me from our first conversation. His positive attitude and appreciativeness make him a joy to work with. So, creating rapport with him was easy.

Having worked with Jay in the past, he was a proven consultant, and I was eager to help him land his next position. Within a week, I was able to land a fantastic role for him with one of our prestigious Fortune 500 clients as an application architect.

However, due to COVID-19, our client had to put a freeze on the position. It was very disappointing, but we were diligent about keeping in touch with Jay and the hiring manager every few weeks so that we could know when the freeze was lifted and when we would be able to secure that role for him. After several months, the freeze was lifted, and we were able to get Jay on board. Had I not had the long-term relationship and trust built with Jay, this likely would not have resulted in a successful hire.

The success story

It’s extremely rewarding in this business when you get the opportunity to hear that your candidate enjoyed working with you as much as you enjoyed working with them. Jay wrote a nice testimonial speaking to the great experience he had working with Synergis during his job search. To hear Jay’s side of the story, check out our case study with him here.

And if you’re a software developer looking for your next role, I’d love to chat about your goals and experiences.

About the author

Christy Cifreo serves as Sr. IT Recruiter for Synergis. She has 20 years of recruiting experience, focusing on IT positions. Prior to Synergis, she began her career in the staffing industry at a small boutique firm specializing in CRM and ERP recruiting. She also spent time at GE Energy as a recruiting and vendor coordinator. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Jacksonville State University. In her free time, Christy enjoys spending time with family, wake surfing and playing tennis.