A recruiter walks into a bar… 

 

I was sitting in a bar in Bellevue last week, waiting for my to-go order.  I started chatting with two gentlemen sitting next to me and one happened to be a new hire in my organization, hired by one of my fellow Bing recruiters.  As we were talking, he asked me what I thought was a strange question: “Are recruiters incentivized to hire people?”  He wondered if we were more gate keepers or really trying to hire as many people as we can.  He said he felt like it is hard to be a candidate in the market and although his Bing recruiter was a nice guy, he would love to understand more about what we do and what motivates us.

 

Recruiters definitely want to hire!  At Microsoft, we are salaried employees who are goaled to hire as many people as the organization needs.  The more hires we make, the happier our managers are.  Every time I pick up the phone, I hope to find my next hire at the other end.  It is hard because not everyone I speak to is a match for what my organization needs, but I am pulling for every candidate I talk to.  I should also mention that we get “credit” for hires we make outside of our organization.  This means if you and I chat and you have the right skill set, but are more interested in another part of Microsoft and I introduce you to another recruiter, I still get credit.  This means that I am going to help you find the job that is best for you, not what is best for me.