Recruiter Pick Me, Pick Me
Today I want to spend some time on the subject of working with recruiters/headhunters during your job search. This is a topic where I believe a lot of confusion or misunderstanding arises. Let's get one thing straight: THE RECRUITER WORKS FOR A COMPANY NOT YOU. This is the most important fact to keep in mind when working with recruiters. If you keep this at the forefront of your mind you will loose most of the frustration you have with them.
Recruiters are hired by companies to find people. Most recruiters focus their searches and time in just a few areas. They are specialists in particular industries like Health Care, Technology, Non Profits, Manufacturing, Construction, Real Estate, etc. If they don't recruit in an industry you are in, don't waste your time or theirs by calling weekly or emailing all the time to see if anything new has come up. They are busy on their specific search not yours.
Now that we have a basis understanding of how a recruiter functions, it is time to briefly overview the challenges in working with them. The first challenge is their motivation. If you have the background they are looking for, you will stay on their radar screen. They are motivated by getting you hired if you have what they are looking for. What this still means is they are not looking out for your best interest. So if you are looking to move in a new career direction, recruiters are not the first people you should call. Why...glad you asked. They are normally looking for experienced people. So if you have been doing a certain job for more than 2 or 3 years there is a good chance they may want to talk to you. The reason they look for experienced people is because there are tons of inexperienced people looking for a career change. The experienced ones many times are happy where they are at, hence more difficult to find, hence the need to hire recruiters.
A potential downside to recruiters is they will not normally tell you why you did not get the job. They have a list of excuses but are limited on how honest they can be. There are many reasons for this but it is safe to say they only have time to prepare the good candidates for interviewing not coach and counsel the ones who didn't make it. It is a fact of the profession. But remember they are not paid by you and owe you nothing.
Job searching is somewhat of a game. The game is can you beat out the other people playing the game. The challenge of this type of games is you typically don't know many of the rules of the game or your opponents very well if at all. There are general rules to finding jobs and interviewing but not rules on how to win. Because of these facts, you need to be ready with good questions to uncover any limitations you may have BEFORE you get to the interview. This will increase you chances of being picked for the final round or the job. As always, good communication and questioning skills are most crucial.
There is a lot of unsaid information within this post. I know it but wanted to get out the most important details in hopes of expanding in future posts. In summary, recruiters work for companies not YOU, they look for experienced people and recruiters can assist you with the job game, however, it is very important for you to develop your communication skills on your own.
Let's Get Started!
Jeff
Recruiters are hired by companies to find people. Most recruiters focus their searches and time in just a few areas. They are specialists in particular industries like Health Care, Technology, Non Profits, Manufacturing, Construction, Real Estate, etc. If they don't recruit in an industry you are in, don't waste your time or theirs by calling weekly or emailing all the time to see if anything new has come up. They are busy on their specific search not yours.
Now that we have a basis understanding of how a recruiter functions, it is time to briefly overview the challenges in working with them. The first challenge is their motivation. If you have the background they are looking for, you will stay on their radar screen. They are motivated by getting you hired if you have what they are looking for. What this still means is they are not looking out for your best interest. So if you are looking to move in a new career direction, recruiters are not the first people you should call. Why...glad you asked. They are normally looking for experienced people. So if you have been doing a certain job for more than 2 or 3 years there is a good chance they may want to talk to you. The reason they look for experienced people is because there are tons of inexperienced people looking for a career change. The experienced ones many times are happy where they are at, hence more difficult to find, hence the need to hire recruiters.
A potential downside to recruiters is they will not normally tell you why you did not get the job. They have a list of excuses but are limited on how honest they can be. There are many reasons for this but it is safe to say they only have time to prepare the good candidates for interviewing not coach and counsel the ones who didn't make it. It is a fact of the profession. But remember they are not paid by you and owe you nothing.
Job searching is somewhat of a game. The game is can you beat out the other people playing the game. The challenge of this type of games is you typically don't know many of the rules of the game or your opponents very well if at all. There are general rules to finding jobs and interviewing but not rules on how to win. Because of these facts, you need to be ready with good questions to uncover any limitations you may have BEFORE you get to the interview. This will increase you chances of being picked for the final round or the job. As always, good communication and questioning skills are most crucial.
There is a lot of unsaid information within this post. I know it but wanted to get out the most important details in hopes of expanding in future posts. In summary, recruiters work for companies not YOU, they look for experienced people and recruiters can assist you with the job game, however, it is very important for you to develop your communication skills on your own.
Let's Get Started!
Jeff
posted by Jeff at
9:44 AM
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