Executive Recruiters: You May be Expecting Too Much of Them

I was talking to a friend of mine who lost a job she’d held for 8 years. Knowing that I work for a recruiting firm, she told me that she’d sent her resume to a recruiting firm that specializes in placing candidates in the financial industry. She said “I sent my resume to the recruiter and I even went to their office and talked to them. They never called me with a single job opportunity! They didn’t do a single thing for me! They were useless!” What my friend was feeling, I think is what a lot of people feel when they submit their resume to a recruiting firm. It is the feeling that people get, I fear, when they don’t understand how a recruiting firm works. So, I’d like to take time to explain what a recruiting firm like The SearchLogix Group does, so that you will have a better understanding of how recruiting firms work!

First things first …

The unemployment office and an executive recruiting firm have different goals. One has a goal of finding jobs for people. The other has a goal of finding people for jobs. The SearchLogix Group is a executive recruiting firm. We find the most qualified people to fill career openings at our client companies.

The Goal of the Unemployment Office:

People who work for a state unemployment office get paid by the state to find jobs for people who are unemployed. The state’s goal is to save the state money by getting an unemployed person a job. If they can do that, they not only save the state money, they increase the amount of funding it receives. Think of this way….  If you’re working, you’re not collecting unemployment compensation from the state and in states that collect income taxes, you become a contributor to that tax income once you’re employed. If you live in a non-income tax state, you are also putting more money back in to the state’s economy by spending part of your paycheck on goods and services in your area.

The Goal of a Recruiting Firm:

A recruiting firm gets paid service fees by the companies who hire them. It’s our job to help our client companies find the people they need.  We help our client companies by finding them the kinds of people they’re looking for and assist them with the pre-screening and interview processes. It’s our job to do it right and do it as quickly as possible. We save companies time and money. The sooner a company gets a job opening filled with the right person, the sooner they can reap the benefits of having that person on their team. Successful companies know that. That’s why they hire recruiting firms like the SearchLogix Group to help them.

If a recruiting firm gets 50 resumes for a single job posting, which candidates are most likely to be contacted by them?

The people who most closely resemble what their client company needs. Whenever you are reading a job description, be sure to look for the keywords “must have” and “required” and “plus”. If a company says you “must have” a certain skill set, they are not kidding. Neither are they kidding if they say that a particular educational level, experience level, background or skill set is “required”. If you meet the “must haves” and the “required” part of a job posting, then look at the “plus” section of the job posting. If the company thinks that having a certain skill, educational level, background, or skill set is a “plus”, that’s a clue about what will help you get an edge over the other candidates applying for the job. Of course, you have to have the “must haves” and the “required” parts of the company’s needs covered before you can add a “plus”.

Last but not least:

If you read a job posted by a recruiting firm, like the ones we are currently offering, and you feel that you’re a good “match”, I encourage you to submit your resume to us. Be sure that your name and contact information is included on your resume too. You’d be surprised how many resumes come to us with no contact information on them. You might be a great match for one of our open positions, but we need a way to contact you as soon as possible! Including any phone number(s) that we can use to reach you, as well as your email address. And one last tip: Make sure that the job # that you’re interested in is included in the subject line of your email or at the top of your email letter. That will help us to expedite the review of your resume.

In closing:

If you still have questions about what recruiting firms do or don’t do, please let us know by leaving a comment to this article. You can leave a comment by clicking the comment link that’s located under the title of this posting. Best of luck to you in your job search endeavors!

 

Comments

[Mark Radoff]

Your point that a recruiting firm works for companies is clear and logical, but does seem to gloss over how badly many recruiting firms treat job seekers. They often call job seekers, say they'll call back, then don't. Or they ask them "where else are you looking?" in the thinly veiled interest of finding companies with open positions that need to be filled. I don't expect to necessarily get a job from a recruiting company or executive search firm, but it would be nice to be treated with professionalism and respect. I say this from my own experience, as well as talking to people who have worked at search firms. My own blog and company were developed based on some of the shortcomings of the current model of business, and I'm sure things will continue to slowly change to benefit the job seeker over time.

[Dawn Turner]

You bring up a very good point about the recruiting industry, Mark. There is never a good reason to treat a job hunter with disrespect. If recruiters are doing that, they really need to take a step back and put themselves in the shoes of the job hunter. Treat others the way you'd like to be treated is a simple concept, yet people often forget to do that. It's unfortunate and an all too common mistake in the business world. Yet, it is the "make it or break it" part of a company's formula for success.

Anyone who is trying to remind others that respect is important, is A-OK with me! Thanks for sharing your experiences with us and bringing an important topic to the surface. Best of luck to you with your honorable intention to make recruiters the best that they can be! Happy Holidays!