Have you been in the job market for a long time? Getting discouraged? Are you using job boards only to find jobs? Job boards are great to find out what’s out there. Financialjobbank.com always has an updated listing of new job possibilities.
While this is all well and good, you might want to consider expanding beyond the job boards and using a recruiter. A recruiter can be your best friend or your worst enemy depending upon your attitude towards them. I recently read an article wherein the author, who was a professional recruiter, had the opportunity to speak with a job seeker who was not quite so keen on recruiters. It turns out that he had a bad experience with one recruiter and now they are all worthless and selfish.
Being a recruiter is a tough job and, as a job seeker, realizing this will make the path smoother. Recruiters work very hard and most of them actually work on commission. If they do not place the right candidate in the right job, not only will they lose their commission, they will also lose their reputation in the recruiting community.
There are actually several types of recruiters – commission only, employee, and temporary agencies. The greater percentage is typically commission-based. This makes sense since it is the hiring company who is paying for their services. Why should the hiring company pay them if they can’t produce qualified applicants?
There are benefits to using a recruiter for your job search:
- Companies use recruiters for job placement as it saves them time and money in advertising as well as having to go through the whole hiring process. By using a recruiter, they know that they will receive only qualified job applicants. The recruiter does all of the pre-qualifying prior to sending the applicant to the employer for an interview. Therefore you know that you are not going to be sent on an interview for a position that is not within your area of expertise.
- Recruiters can save a lot of time for the job seeker. Think how long it takes from the time you submit a resume for an open position until you hear from the company – if you ever do. By using a recruiter, they are ready and raring to get a job seeker into the proper position so that they can be compensated.
- Recruiters can negotiate for you. They know all about the position as well as know about your particular circumstances and they will typically discuss a salary range with you prior to sending you out on an interview. This way if the salary range does not meet your needs, then you move on to the next one –no time wasted.
- Another benefit, for you, the job seeker, is that they are free. The employer pays the recruiter’s salary – you don’t pay a penny but still receive excellent benefits.
So, using a recruiter can pay huge dividends to you, the job seeker. However, just one word of caution – do not have a whole host of recruiters working for you. The recruiting world is small and the recruiters know each other or know of someone who works in the other recruiting offices. They talk to each other, too – so if you treat one recruiter in a negative manner, the word gets around. It is best to find one or even two good recruiters and stick with them for the duration of your job hunting years. It is always a good practice to touch base every so often with your recruiter even if you are currently working. Keep your recruiter up to date and they will be ready to assist you should the time come again when you need to find a new job.
By: Nancy Anderson, Staff Writer
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