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Recruiters: Useful? Or Not?

Recruiters or employment agencies can be effective if - and that’s a big if - they actually have been retained to recruit for a specific position. And if your résumé arrives at the precise time that this recruitment task has been accepted by the agency. And if your résumé makes it easy for the recruiter to fit you into a predictable pigeon hole. In other words, if you are a senior accounting professional, with an employment record of working in well-respected and well-known firms (easy to check your references and reputation) and are looking for a similar position as a senior accounting professional, in a similar industry ... you might get presented to the recruiter’s client (the company seeking a new staff member).

In many cases, however, the recruitment agency works on spec - that is, they troll the internet and their network for job leads, and then they offer “shoo-in candidates” on speculation to the company. A shoo-in candidate can be defined as “Over-qualified, with experience in the same sector or industry and modest salary expectations”. Because the recruitment was not commissioned, the recruitment agency will offer the candidate “at a discount” - less than their normal placement fee. Sometimes companies bite, particularly if they’ve been looking for some time, but in most cases they respectfully decline. You may have noticed how some job postings contain a small-print line at the bottom of the ad that reads: “No solicitation, please” or “No third-party responses”. That’s directed at recruiters.

You may be a potential career changer, perhaps with a non-Canadian employment history; maybe you speak English with an accent (as do I, incidentally) or you may have ambitious salary expectations, or your previous job is no longer what you’re looking for … most agencies won’t touch you with a ten-foot pole as soon as they sense that you may not be so easily ‘pegged’.

Oh, they’ll accept your résumé all right, and they may even talk with you, and tell you what a great candidate you are. They’ll keep you dangling, on the off-chance that an “easy fit” could come along. What they’ll tell you is that they are going to “aggressively market you to employers”, and that they are “already thinking of positions you would be perfect for” ... trust me: in many cases that’s marketing-speak; they’re just stringing you along.

It’s important to remember just WHO their client (or potential client) is: an organization with a vacancy that is not easy to fill ... not you. To the agency, you are just a commodity. It’s also important to understand, that when there is an actual vacancy - even if it is one that you think you would be suited for - a company’s willingness to take risks becomes even less than usual. You’ve heard of the expression “must be able to hit the ground running?” What that means in practical terms, is that the company wants someone who has done it (whatever “it” is) successfully before, and will not screw up. The recruitment agency is going to most want to please their client - and will not promote a candidate who could fail, or who has not worked in that capacity or in that industry before.

So, while it may seem like an easy way to have other people do your job-hunting for you - you’re going to have to do it yourself, the hard way, by developing and leveraging your business contacts and uncovering the opportunities that don’t get advertised.
In a competitive market, it’s really the only way you’ll find out about senior positions before they become vacant, and because you’ll have established connections to executive teams and board members, you’ll be contacted when the position does come open. 

Last updated on Apr 18, 2009 at 01:12 PM
Category: Career Marketing Career Strategies
2 comments | Leave a comment (must be logged in)

Comments:

Recruiting Animal (unregistered) wrote, in response to EmmaHamer:

I visited & read Emma Hamer’s site article but her site only takes comments from members. So here’s my reply that posting.

Dear Emma,

You seem to be a Canadian. Well, I’m a recruiter in Canada.
It’s possible, as you say, that if a recruiter sees that a company has been looking for a long time she might send over an unsolicited resume to see what happens.

It sounds like a good idea. And someone might get a job as a result. But I don’t know anyone who does that.

We will market a candidate to companies that might need someone like her.  It’s not social work; we do it so we can make money but what a fantastic free service if you get it.

Here’s something you’re right about. If you don’t have any strong skills a recruiter can’t do much for you.
So, if you want to make a career change, I can’t help you.

I mean if you have five years experience in inventory management and you want to move into pharmaceutical sales, an area in which you have no experience, you’re not really a good candidate.

But if you have good experience as a bookeeper, payroll clerk, Supply Chain Manager, Controller, Sales Rep, programmer, etc etc etc, and you want to continue in that career path, you might as well send your resume to a recruiter.

Why not have it in her database so that she can give you a call if a good opportunity for you comes her way.

However, most of the people I place do not come to me. I’m paid to find people who are hard to find and I go looking for them.

So, if a recruiter calls you on the job, you would be wise to be nice and establish a relationship. Because she might call you out of the blue with a good next step in your career - for no fee at all. The employer pays the shot.

All in all, Emma, when it comes to recruiters you’ve got a bad attitude. You only see the negatives. The people you work with might not be suitable candidates for recruiters—that’s the impression I get—but that doesn’t make us the enemy.

Regards

Recruiting Animal

http://www.recruitinganimal.com

Link to comment: http://www.careerealism.com/10-things-recruiters-wont-tell-you-but-i-will/#comment-8670972

By Emma on 2009 04 24

Comments:

Hello Recruiting Animal,

Unfortunately, you didn’t register with Disqus, either, or we could have had this discussion where everyone else can see it, and make up their own mind. Instead, I pasted your comment into my site’s comment box; I hope you don’t mind.

When I wrote about ‘recruiters’ in general, I meant all ‘providers of temporary, contract or permanent staff’. While you may not push candidates ‘on spec’, and I respect that, many recruiters do. My attitude is not negative; it is based on the experiences of my clients - most of whom are in fact career shifters or career changers. I stand by the gist of my post: that recruiters tend to place people that are easily pigeon-holed, and will not go out on a limb to promote an excellent candidate from a not-so-obvious background, and in that sense, recruiters are NOT the job-seekers best friend. The recruiter’s / headhunter’s / placement agent’s first and primary concern is accommodating their client: the company that has posted a vacancy. And, again from my experience, when there is a vacancy, companies generally are even more risk-averse than normal, and terrified of making a hiring mistake; hence the insistence that only candidates that have extensive experience in the exact same job and industry will be considered.

I agree, that if you’re a bookkeeper, and wish to remain in the bookkeeping field, it can’t hurt to send your resume in to a recruiter - but you can do just as well without one, if you are savvy about using your contacts, both professional and personal, to uncover opportunities.

And on another, but related note: recruiters that place you have to make money, as well - which comes out of the hiring company’s budget = less for you. Placement agencies, for instance, have an hourly mark-up of 15 - 20%; that’s their price for doing your marketing for you. If the candidate found the job themselves, they could negotiate 15 - 20% more per hour, and still stay within the hiring company’s budget.

Ditto for recruiters/headhunters; they commonly charge between 10 and 20% of the first year’s salary as their placement fee - also money that, if the candidate found the job themselves, could be added to their package.

What I tell my clients is that recruiters and placement agencies are for LAZY job-seekers, or for job-seekers who are still employed, therefore have no time to network, and just want to change companies.

For everyone else: developing and leveraging your network is the way to go.

By Emma on 2009 04 24

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