Most recruiters want to be more productive--get more done in less time; but most aren't quite sure how to do it.  Many recruiters mistakenly believe that in order to improve productivity, one has to do more things, put in more hours (sometimes necessary) and create complex processes that only Einstein could figure out.  But the trick to increasing recruiter productivity is not just about doing more stuff, it's about doing more of the right stuff in a simple straight forward way that saves time and energy.  So here are some tips on increasing recruiter productivity:

1.    Take complex processes and make them as simple as possible.  Only do the things that are absolutely essential, eliminating extraneous steps in any process.  For example, do you interview candidates who you know aren't appropriate for your current job opportunity, simply because you MAY need them at some time in the future?  If so, you may want to simplify your assessment/interviewing process by not interviewing candidates whose resume clearly indicates they are not appropriate for the job opportunity currently available. You can always interview them at a later date after all of your essential tasks are complete.

2.    Keep a log of all your recruiting activities for a week and identify activities that are not essential.  Once those nonessential activities are identified either reduce the time spent on them or eliminate them from your daily routine. If you are working with an assistant you may want to delegate those tasks to him/her.

3.    Don't spread yourself thin attempting to juggle several candidates and job opportunities at once. Focus your attention on one task at a time and once that task is complete move on to the next.  For example, you may want to allocate two hours to each job opportunity and handle all tasks related to that job opportunity within that two hour timeframe. This method of working saves a tremendous amount of time and energy.  Attempting to "multi-task" can often reduce productivity.