Behind the Scenes of a Steadman Brown Recruiter: Jason Smith

As someone who is new to Salesforce and the recruitment world, I wanted to get an insight into what it means to be a recruiter at Steadman Brown. 

Jason began his journey at Steadman Brown in summer 2024 as a Salesforce recruiter for the technical market. He focuses on a range of roles from Junior Developers to Salesforce Tech Leads and Tech Architects, recruiting for both Salesforce partners and end-users. 

Here’s what I’ve learned:

How do you stay motivated as a recruiter?

“Being able to understand and help candidates is what it's really about”. 

Jason has a passion for computer science and coding, which is what helps him stay motivated throughout his role at Steadman Brown. Getting the chance to speak to and find roles for candidates who share the same interests as him also allows them to relate, and form more meaningful relationships. Through forming these relationships with candidates also comes the drive to take them from a start to end process to find their dream jobs! 

What difficult situations might you face with your clients or candidates?

“A recruiter is hit with many difficult situations; it's all about preparation and communication”.

Being able to deal with difficult situations is what makes a recruiter a great one. Preparation and communication are two key aspects of what creates a smooth journey. However, this is where difficult situations can also occur. Recruiters like Jason understand that honesty plays a crucial part in their role. Letting candidates know that they’re unsuccessful in their application process as soon as possible is vital. Steadman Brown gives their best attempt with all candidates to give rapid responses to preserve the candidates' time and ensure full transparency. 

Honesty also has to be maintained on the client side. Letting them know key details about their job adverts, and why it may need possible critique, is brutal. But as the recruiter, it's Jason's job to convey complete transparency and help his client understand why their role could set unrealistic expectations for candidates. Anything from transport to salary can be a big deal breaker for why a candidate may not be interested. As market experts, Steadman Brown offer a consultative approach for clients, helping them understand their vacancy. 

How do you balance the needs of clients and the aspirations of candidates?

“Maintaining the balance of client and candidate is simple. It's all about creating a link between the two that can help each other”.

Being able to understand the needs of clients to meet their expectations is really important to help fill their roles with great candidates. Candidates also need the same level of care and attention when it comes to the recruitment process. To create balance, negotiation must take place. It's Jason's job to communicate to clients and candidates what they both want from each other. He needs to create harmony between the two and fill in the gaps that each side may be missing. This can mean you may have to bring different percentages of each side to the table to create that 100%. 

Common misconceptions about the recruitment process?

“Trust”. 

A common misconception about the recruitment process is easily trust. The bond between candidate and recruiter needs to hold trust, as it's what allows them to find the right role for you. A common occurrence is that candidates may hold back their earnings due to fear of lower pay; however, not allowing access to numbers may affect the speed of your job search. Recruiters need to know their candidates’ salary history to be able to negotiate with clients. They want to achieve the best possible salary outcome for you, so full numerical transparency is essential. 

Are you observing any trends that have stood out to you in the Salesforce/recruitment market? 

“Since facing battles with Covid, the market has definitely improved”.

The technical market, at its current state, is doing very well. A huge variety of jobs are available at the moment, which is great for both candidates and recruiters. Roles like junior developers, all the way up to tech leads, are currently being worked on by Jason. 

Conclusion

Although I'm still learning, Jason has helped my understanding of the roles in the technical market and the different levels of importance each role holds. When a recruiter knows their market, it adds so much value to both the client and candidate's Salesforce recruitment journey.