Why My Favourite Client Thanked me for My 'Stalking Abilities'

A client of mine was distressed. They needed a legal secretary immediately, the Partners were stressed, the hiring manager was stressed – they just needed someone to come and fix the problem. The Partners wouldn’t accept a temporary staff position, they wanted someone to ultimately be there for the next 5 years (ideally forever).

Despite this, the Partners had extensive travelling commitments to their other offices around Australia and it was difficult to find times for them to meet with the candidates.

Having been in internal recruitment dealing with Partners, I could empathise with their busy schedules but that wouldn’t let me stop from asking HR daily “when will they be able to interview the candidates?” In the world of recruitment, everything happens, fast. Good candidates in the legal field are sparse and a good recruiter will pick up the reigns and advise the hiring manager, “this is a matter of urgency, I strongly recommend you meet with this candidate or you may risk missing a golden opportunity”.

Recruiters are perceived as being relentless. It’s often because we know that, if you’re not relentless in securing that all elusive interview, the hiring managers may miss out on a true asset to their business.

When the perfect candidate interviewed with them and she accepted the job, started within a week, I was thanked for my ‘stalking abilities’ ( the hiring manager’s words!).

I ‘stalked’ the hiring manager despite it feeling a little like an ambush on her front, to lock in to meet the person who would suit their firm beautifully. So while it felt like an ambush, they desperately did need someone and when the candidate turned up, everything happened within the space of a week. My candidate felt that everything had progressed smoothly and efficiently, she was ready for the job and this level of urgency made both my candidate and the hiring manager realise they were both a priority for me and the firm.

From my point of view to finish, I knew both the candidate and the role were hard to find and fill. If hadn’t ‘stalked’ the hiring manager, this could have resulted in unnecessary frustration and delays.