I recently hosted a Design Talent Gathering at Flour + Water in San Francisco; one of my favorite restaraunts. It was an evening for design recruiters to gather and connect with one another—something they haven’t been able to do post-pandemic and with smaller design conference diminishing.

We talked about the state of the industry, what we’re seeing in our respective pipelines. The most crucial topic that came up was about the importance of high touch recruiting and investing in human relationships; something seemingly more difficult with AI and transactional automations.

Recruiting is like any relationship. It’s a connection that must be fostered, which is why I wrote previously about the parallels of job seeking and dating. High touch recruiting goes beyond the interview loop at the current company you work at. Instead, it focuses on a career-lasting relationship of matching talent to the best opportunity. For me personally, this is Laura Hunting, founder of Found By. I have known Hunting for 12 years. Whether you are a hiring manager or an individual contributor who recruits, I’ll share the important art of high touch recruiting.

Personal outreach

Many of us have received bad emails from recruiters; the one where they have an exciting exciting opportunity for you that’s two levels below your current title and 1/3 of your pay. Good recruiters do their research and know why you might consider responding to them. When you’re doing outreach to a propect, build immediate common ground to catch their attention. This might be knowing a mutual connection or seeing a compelling project on their portfolio that has a common thread with the role.

Informal conversations

Before asking the prospect to become a candidate and interview, offer an informal conversation to build the relationship. This alleviates pressure of committing to interviewing. Offering the informal conversation serves two purposes. The first is it warms people to the idea to consider their candidacy while knowing there is no expectation in the first call or coffee chat. It also lets the idea of working at the company marinate; invoking them to do their own research.

Follow up and provide frequent updates

Some hiring managers may feel shy about over-communicating, but I think it’s better to do that than leave gaps of days with nothing. Sometimes the update is, “I wanted to let you know we’re still working on getting feedback and you can expect an update by tomorrow.” There are also times where the candidate needs a nudge. Life is busy and they might be working at a full-time job already. It doesn’t hurt to send a friendly follow up or reminder. People often appreciate it.

Quality over quanity

The only time I’d say you should apply the, “Spray and Pray” tactic is when you’re doing aggressive outbound recruiting for a role. Even then, it should be tailored using a software like Gem or Ashby.

When I’m recruiting someone, I likely have talked to them for 2-3 hours total between calls and emails before they go through the actual interview process. Land the candidate where they want to be, even if it’s not your role Play the long game. The people you’re having conversations with at the current company you’re at may be new hires three companies from now.