Working with a Recruiter: Recruiting has been a major industry for half a century or more. 90 percent of companies use recruiters to help with staffing yet there remains a stigma in the eyes of job-seekers.
A good relationship with a reputable and professional recruiter can help your job search and your career profoundly and your investment in building a healthy alliance can last throughout your business life.
Choose the Right Recruiter
When working with a recruiter, choose an accomplished recruiter who has access to many potential employers and opportunities. The recruiter should be able to provide insights into how well your resume presents your qualifications and is positioned to help you attain the desired role.
Market insights, career paths, trends and compensation trends are all areas that should be broached with a potential recruiter and they should exhibit an appropriate level of knowledge to provide you with confidence that they are experts.
Try finding a recruiter who will explore your desires as much, if not more than your history. Just because you’ve been a Java Developer for 10 years does not mean we can assume that’s what you wish to do next.
Maybe you’re looking to transition to architecture, teaching or professional golf! A shoddy recruiter has a position to fill and launches into an investigation of whether you are a fit for their client, often ignoring whether the company is a fit for you; role, culture, location, career path and more are all part of a good match.
Choose A Recruiter You Trust and Then Relinquish Some Control
These days I encounter so many people who have had bad recruiter experiences, so- they are reluctant to be forthcoming – worse they are often dishonest. Try and get past your prior bad relationships and date until you find the right match.
Recruiters are experts at filling positions and assisting job seekers land. Keep in mind that overwhelmingly it is the hiring company paying the bills – they are our clients and few recruiters actively place people, they concentrate on satisfying their ping customers.
That said, the right recruiter is a professional networker and understands that their relationship with you is critical to their success – even if you don’t satisfy the needs of their current search. Your recruiter partner should still provide resume advice, market insights and assist with your networking, even if they won’t get paid for your landing this time around.
Information You Should Share With Your Recruiter
- Full and accurate compensation data
- Salary
- Bonus potential and achieved
- Stock, RSU, equity, tuition reimbursement etc.
- Cost and type of healthcare coverage you receive
- Frank reasons you are in the market
- Accurate data about why you have left other positions
- Key motivators or factors to YOU in your next position
- Other active searches you are engaged with and their status
Understood this requires a degree of trust, but all of this information is critical to a recruiter in their attempts to land a particular opportunity for you.
