The reality of working with a recruiter

A reader of my personal blog wrote this morning to ask about recruiters. Having not looked for a job in sometime, he wanted to know whether I could recommend a headhunter in his area.

I actually don't know anyone, but even if I did, one headhunter would not be enough.

Many people share the misconception that, for senior level positions, contacting a headhunter is the way to find a job. To understand why this is wrong, you have to understand how headhunters work.

A headhunter (or recruiter) is engaged by a company to fill a specific position. She is given very specific qualifications, and she is paid for her services by the company. Sometimes she is paid on a retainer basis, but most often she is paid only when she successfully fills the position.

So her compensation depends on finding people who exactly match the specifications she has been given, and her client is the employer NOT the job seekers.

Depending on the size of her practice, she may be working on just one position at a time, or several, but she doesn't have hundreds and hundreds of openings. And because she is paid for filling a position, she doesn't have time to spend on candidates who don't match the job criteria.

This means that it's not likely you will be a match for the position she's currently trying to fill. It's not impossible - but the odds are not in your favor. Which is why you need to contact multiple recruiters to have any good chance of receiving a call back.

You must also understand that most recruiters specialize in either an industry or a field (marketing, sales, finance etc.) and sending your resume to someone who doesn't hire for your profession is just a waste of time.

So to work effectively with recruiters, you need to contact a large group of people who specialize in your industry or profession.

I recommend Executiveagent for this purpose - it compiles a list of recruiters based on the criteria you determine, and once you pay, your resume is emailed to all those recruiters. The fee is relatively inexpensive, and it's an efficient way to reach a lot of people at once.

The alternative is manual research. Buy a directory of recruiters from a bookstore, or use Google to track down as many names as you can.

Just remember - the recruiter is working for the company, not for you. You should not expect any personal attention or time to be spent with you, if you are not a match for a vacant position.

Cross-posted at Blueskyresumesblog.com

 

Comments

[Sabrina]

Excellent post. We always remind executives that they need to remember recruiters when they are networking. They might not have a search that matches you now - they might in the future. Help a friend - pass their information on to the recruiter if they are a fit. The recruiter will remember that you helped them close an open search.

[Dale Kurow]

This is valuable information, especially for new grads. I continue to receive calls from young people looking for jobs who think either I will get them a job (I'm an executive coach) or asking me which recruiters will them get a job. Indicating there's a fundamental lack of understanding of how the systems works. The best (and usually only) resource is still each job seeker's own efforts — networking, referrals, and research.

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