Does Size Really Matter?

This seems to be a question asked quite a bit as of late when job seekers are trying to connect with a recruiter to help get them placed with a job.

There are good and and not so good "recruiters" at any size firm I am sure. From what I am told and gather, the larger firms tend to be able to float not so good recruiters in their mix of many recruiters at their large firms. What I mean is that in a firm with many recruiters a not so good one can easily be found in many cases. It is the classic scenario of having a sales team of (for example), 50 sales people with ten of them being over achievers and 10 of them being under achievers, and the remaining somewhere in between. In many cases at the very large firms, the not so good ones may go unnoticed for a while. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying that is the general rule, but you can logically see how that could and does happen.

With the smaller agencies, if the recruiter is not good, or even great, then they generally wont be with the firm very long. If you can find a recruiting agency with recruiters that have been with the firm for many years, that could/should be a great signal to an all around great agency - with a good client list and great team of recruiters.

All this said, I still believe that job placement comes down to the recruiters and their relationships with clients. If there is no solid relationship between recruiters and hiring managers, then you can see how the likelihood of the recruiter placing a candidate would be low. Conversely, you can also agree that a recruiter with a solid relationship with a hiring manager may have better luck placing a candidate.

Sure there are quality candidates (on paper) all over the place. But a great recruiter places great candidates and clients recognize that and trust is gained leading to a more productive relationship. There is nothing worse than a recruiter placing what appears to be a great candidate at a company and three months later that candidate is gone. That is a bad situation. Hiring managers can loose faith in a recruiter's ability to find top candidates and lose the relationship when this happens.

So.... size doesn't matter at all. There are many more important variables to consider when selecting a recruiter to help get you placed.