Current News

Professional recruiters are “talent detectors”, says IRP

Recent press reports have focused on new trends in selection procedures as employers look at different ways of filtering out inappropriate candidates.  For example, one media story last week focused on employers making use of trained psychologists in candidate interviews to act as ‘lie detectors’.   

Commenting on these trends and on the tightening of selection procedures, Angela Masters, Chair of the REC and of the Institute of Recruitment Professionals (IRP) says:  “The tightening of selection procedures shows that employers are recognising the importance if getting the recruitment process right. This is a good thing and is an opportunity for recruitment professionals to highlight the added value that we provide on a daily basis by putting the right candidates forward in the first place. 

 “Recruitment increasingly requires up to date knowledge of increasingly complex rules and regulations as well as a broad range of skills ranging from the interpersonal to the commercial. Continuing to raise the bar in terms of both internal competencies and external recognition is the underlying premise behind last year’s launch of the IRP. 

“Recruitment professionals play a key role in digging beneath a candidate’s CV to find out what there are really about and are also equipped to look beyond easy pre-conceptions to identify those who can actually do the job rather than those who simply perform well at interview. As a result, all recruitment professionals are not just in the business of being effective ‘lie detectors’, we are in the business of  being effective ‘talent detectors’.” 

The increasing focus on effective selection procedures is also being driven by the safe recruitment agenda especially in sensitive jobs involving working with children or vulnerable adults or in high risk workplaces such as airports and financial services. 

One of the ongoing policy campaigns being taken forward by the REC External Relations team is to promote the positive role of the industry within this safe recruitment agenda.  

For more information, visit the IRP website, http://www.rec-irp.uk.com/home