Monday, October 27, 2008

What Kind of Recruiter Do I Need?

Though I could write a novel on this subject, I have condensed the answer first by illustrating the three kinds of recruiters that are out there and thus leaving the answer to you the reader. And I would strongly recommend asking a recruiter which one they are before making a decision on which recruiter you want working for you.

The first kind of recruiter is one that works strictly with job candidates (job seekers).

The second kind of recruiter is one that works strictly with clients to get job orders.

And the third kind of recruiter is one that works with both candidates and clients. The term widely used to define this type of recruiter is a "Full Desk Recruiter".

JTL employs full desk recruiters only. And we opt for these recruiters for what we consider to be very good and important reasons. But before I explain why let me first differentiate this type of recruiter by highlighting the other two types of recruiters.

A recruiter that works strictly with candidates is doing nothing more than bringing people in to their own interviews in an effort to build up a database of potential job candidates. We basically call that data collection or data mining. The essential negative about this is that once this type of recruiter has you in their database, they really can’t do anything further to assist with your job search after they have met you. They can’t promote you to their clients because they don’t have any clients. In essence they again add you to their database and then simply hope that you will come up in a search that someone else is doing.

The second kind of recruiter is one whose primary focus is to build client relationships. Their job is to establish relationships and to get open job orders to work on. What is really tough about this one is that, as a recruiter, your reputation is on the line every time you submit a candidate. What you are in essence doing is putting your vote of confidence and endorsing an individual that you have a resume for and feel would be a good fit for an open job order.

The real problem with this is that you haven’t actually met the job candidate. They are simply sourcing resumes from a database of candidates that have been interviewed by the first kind of recruiter listed above. So they find open job orders, and then they search a database of potential candidates. In my humble opinion, and you bed the judge, this is just as bad as posting your resume on an Internet job board. This is like sending your resume into a company because you saw an ad where you are now hoping that someone at the company will look at your resume and then determine if your resume speaks to the job. And who is doing that function? Read through some of my previous blog posts to better understand why this is just not the best way to find a job.

The third and final type, again the type that JTL employees. is what we feel works best for all parties involved in this process - that is, the client, and the candidate. It is imperative that this type of recruiter really learns as much about his candidates as possible before presenting them to their client(s). This is a much longer process that requires spending time listening to a candidate and to better understand their life goals. It entails getting to know what it is that excites them and what precisely may be prompting them to seek a new or different job.

It is important for this type of recruiter to really determine if a given candidate is good for a given client's open job order. A simple resume just doesn't do this and that is a reality. A candidate’s resume shows qualification and nothing more. In fact, most of the time even that needs to be explained!

As a full desk recruiter there is nothing more exciting than meeting a quality job candidate, learning about them, and then promoting them to clients you have built a relationship with over years of working with them and their companies. A good recruiter isn't just about connecting someone looking for a job to some company looking to fill a job. That's precisely why good recruiters or recruiting firms have been around a while and have many, even hundreds of clients and many real testimonials.

So, I urge you to ask these questions to your recruiter. Spend the time to better understand which recruiter you need to help promote you in finding a new job.

Monday, October 20, 2008

How Many Recruiters Should I Have Working For Me?

From time to time candidates actually ask this question. I do have a simple answer that I generally respond with. And actually it isn't really an answer, but rather a question. It is, how many primary care physicians do you have? Or the other one I use is when you are marketing your home, how many realtors do you use? And finally, I sometimes use my infamous sports agent analogy - how many agents does a professional athlete need? Of course, I use these rhetorical questions to make my point.

The reality with job recruiting though is how many opinions do you need in order to feel comfortable? Some people feel that they need to hear what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. Does that make sense?

To be honest, I’m not as much into making sense to everyone as I am into making dollars. I've learned that there is no sufficient answer to most questions that would suffice all parties. So in short, I am short, with people who just cant understand the simplicity of using one great, professional, successful recruiter/recruiting agency.

So for those who I was, in the past, short with in my answer to your question, I wanted to elaborate ever so slightly. Honestly I just wanted something I could point people to when they ask so that I am 1) not having to repeat the same answer all the time and 2) not perceived as some pompous jerk.

In today's market you really only need one recruiter who is going to help you land that next opportunity. I have decided to actually blog a few more upcoming articles to support why you want one solid recruiter. What you need to do as a candidate is to do your due diligence to make sure that the recruiter/firm you are using is a creditable recruiter/firm.


  • Make sure that the company/recruiting firm is not someone trying to create this image of being something they are not. Ask for a list of some of their existing clients and check into them. Ask for client references.

  • Make sure it’s not someone with a home address listed as their corporate office. I am not saying that you can't be a good recruiter out of your home. The fact is, you can. But if the recruiting agency you are using is a one-person operation - it begs the question of how can they do everything by themselves. Good recruiting takes a team marketing effort and team strategy by and large.

  • Check with your state to ensure that they are indeed a licensed business with proper licenses and the legal ability to actually do business in that state.

  • Make sure that they have proper insurance coverages to protect themselves and you.

  • Verify their professional claims listed in their company bio and personal bios. For example, if a company says they have been recruiting for 15 years, verify it.

  • Make sure that their website uses the latest technology and not some totally created by some over-the-weekend website builder. You may ask why on this one. Why would that matter. In short, because it shows their investment back into their own business. It can be a signal of their business's success or longevity.

  • Find out how long some of their staff has been with the agency. Having a staff or recruiters that have been with the company for years is a strong signal of a successful firm.
All of these things are easy to seek and find out thanks to the Internet.

The best advice I could give you when working with a recruiter is to be open and honest and make sure that the claims they make can be backed up. Remember that the cream always rises to the top and the sludge always sinks to the bottom.