In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks with Andrew Lewis, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition for Higg, a sustainability insights platform for consumer goods industries.

Andrew describes himself as a “strategic thinker”, an innovator, a leader, and a teacher, who sees life through an entrepreneurial lens.

Listen in as Andrew shares why the best recruiters challenge norms and think out of the box and how to fight outdated yet ever-present practices in the recruitment industry.

He also describes his personal brand strategy on LinkedIn and how to find your own voice in order to differentiate yourself on the platform.

Andrew addresses the continuing need for greater emphasis on relationship-building in the industry and why the biggest opportunity in modern recruiting is simply honest communication.

Finally, Andrew explains how to grab a candidate’s attention beyond the job description and why automation can never replace personal touch in the candidate experience.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• [01:30] The mindset of the most successful recruiters
• [05:41] Providing content to drive community
• [08:15] Explaining the ROI of content creation to hiring managers
• [12:26] Workforce planning best practices
• [15:56] Fighting outdated practices in recruiting
• [18:49] Building a brand on LinkedIn
• [27:03] Skills that are important to master as a recruiter
• [30:59] The value of building relationships
• [35:55] Why regularly touch base with candidates in your pipeline
• [41:47] Captivating candidates’ attention beyond the job description
• [44:10] Why not to automate the candidate experience

Key quotes:

• “Content and community are two outliers that are going to come to the forefront for recruiting in the next few years.”
• “Hiring really starts 6-to-12 months before you actually start recruiting for a role.”
• “In recruiting, we’re always fighting against outdated practices.”
• “Recruiters, in this day and age, have to look at becoming great marketers.”
• “Recruiters have this opportunity to capture people via storytelling especially if they have a strong mission.”
• “We can’t automate relationships.”