No, I do not believe all recruiters suck and are liars, as someone from Chicago penned on an Indeed. com career forum right before I wrote this post. But after just speaking to a networking group consisting of mostly unemployed people about how to do a better job of presenting – and telling – their own stories, I am convinced recruiters don’t have the greatest reputation. At least among many job seekers.
Every time I mentioned the word recruiter in fact, there would be a collective groan from the group, often accompanied by a roll of the eyes.
I talked about social media of course, and how it can be used by those looking for work. But I also shed some light on how recruiters use it.
There were several sales people in the room, and when I talked about recruiters having to keep their funnel full, i.e., have a large pool of candidates from which to choose at any given time, that made some sense. It also explained they said, at least in part, why recruiters reach out to them even when they don’t have a specific job prospect in mind at the moment.
They did not, however, take too kindly to the notion of posting positions that don’t exist, simply for the purpose of harvesting resumes. That subject has been debated rather pointedly here at Staffing Talk, and you can read more here.
Growing more curious about the groans though as my presentation went on, I did ask a couple of people offline, after my presentation, why the negative perception of recruiters.
One person I spoke with, who was interviewing with several different I.T. companies, was caught off guard when one of his prospective employers asked him why he’d received his resume twice. It seems a recruiter whom this person had never had any contact with had pulled his resume off LinkedIn or a job board somewhere, and sent it to this person doing some hiring.
A recruiter whom this person had never had any contact with had pulled his resume off LinkedIn or a job board somewhere, and sent it to this person doing some hiring.
And this job candidate has a friend, who has been kind of quietly looking for a better opportunity, have to do some serious explaining after his resume landed on the desk of his current boss.
Another person I spoke with made a comment along the lines of “sometimes I’m not even sure who the recruiter is working for,” as if they weren’t doing a good job tending to this candidate’s needs.
I tried to gently remind them there shouldn’t be any confusion about that, because recruiters work for the hiring company. And that’s where their allegiance lies, not with the job seeker.
Of course in my speech I spoke about the value of networking, and getting out and talking to people. I relayed the story of a National Guard member I met at an event this past week. He had just returned from a deployment in the Middle East, and was attending an event about how to prepare yourself for the job market. He happened to strike up a pleasant conversation with the person next to him, and that person happened to be a hiring manager. And now he has at least a warm, if not hot, job prospect.
As I was doing some research for some networking statistics, and how many people find their jobs that way, I came across this quote from a job seeker.
“To me, the fact that most hiring occurs through networking is just another sign of laziness. Just because someone happens to sit next to someone from Company X at a few meetings of the local Blah Blah Blah Users’ Group, how does that show that they would make the best employee? It seems more like an excuse not to dig through resumes and do a thorough job of interviewing.”
Are these comments – and feelings – misguided? Off the mark? Easily discountable owing to the source(s)? Or do any of these people have a point?
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
“a recruiter whom this person had never had any contact with had pulled his resume off LinkedIn or a job board somewhere, and sent it to this person doing some hiring.”
THIS! I can’t tell you how many candidates have told us the same thing. To me it screams “I’m a recruiter who’s not very good at what I do, and I get paid on commission, so instead of actually recruiting I’m going to throw out a bunch of resumes and hope that one sticks.” These are the so-called recruiters who thought that this is an easy job and/or whose employers give little or no training. It’s because of these “recruiters” that those of us who are above-board, who work hard, and know what we’re doing, have a really hard time trying to change negative perceptions about our profession.
I’ve said it many times before – as either a job seeker or an employer – it is your duty to do a little research into the staffing companies that you are considering working with BEFORE you enter into a search with them. All staffing firms are not created equal.
David – I don’t know why I keep reading your posts, they just make me angry. Let’s hope that we can change perceptions one candidate at a time.
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Maybe I need to preface my posts with “the views expressed here aren’t my own.” You know what they say about not shooting the messenger, right Kimberley? I had no idea what I was going to write about in Staffing Talk yesterday. The post just fell in my lap when I received the reaction about recruiters at my speaking engagement. So I am just relaying the things I heard.
I do absolutely agree about the vetting and due diligence needed when it comes to working with either a recruiter or staffing firm. But that doesn’t have anything to do with, nor does it prevent, someone pulling your posted resume from another channel and submitting it to a potential employer without your knowledge. This was the first I had heard of that practice. Given your remarks, it may be more common than either of us would like.
I do want you, and everyone else to know though, I am only trying to create conversations with my posts. And to attract a little attention online, you need to also create some thought provoking headlines. Knowing our audience is comprised almost exclusively of those in the staffing, HR and recruiting business, of course it would be foolish to be truly disparaging or negative. In the two years or so I have been covering the staffing industry via Staffing Talk, I have to come to know it a lot better, and with that has come respect for the way the majority of people and their companies conduct business. As you point out though, a few bad ones can create problems for the rest. That’s true of every business.
So please keep reading. And commenting. And write a guest post if you feel strongly – or angry – about something!
David – I’m not mad at you, it’s just so frustrating to keep hearing of these horrible experiences. I’ve worked in the staffing industry for 10 years and unfortunately the impression that candidates have of us is not improving.
Several years ago we were in an extremely hot job market. We heard countless tales from candidates that our competitors were cutting corners in any attempt to fill an order. In some cases, they were sending candidates on interviews without ever have met them. Unfortunately, the tales that you have heard are not new news.
The market that I am in has over 300 staffing companies. <— Yes, you read that correctly. Many of them are "consultants" with little or no staffing experience who are only in it to make a quick buck.
So please, keep posting these stories. At least it gives us the opportunity to respond.
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The contingent recruiting model is broken and it leads to unethical behavior by both Recruiters and Employers. The video at the link above explains our view and the fix we are bringing to the market next month.
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Ken,
There is no problem with the “Model” rather with the absence of meaningful process and a defined methodology. The majority of Candidates, “recruiters” , HR Personnel and Hiring Managers are either uninformed or mis-iinformed of the value of clearly developed and utilized systems and processes.
No matter what the tool until that deficit is dealt with the results will get NO BETTER.
RW Stoufus
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Thanks for the reply RW. I agree that the process at most companies is broken.
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I am now a “Career Agent”. The word “Recruiter” does have a negative sound to it.
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Excellent Paul! I am now a “Career Architect”
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In order to change the image, it needs to start at the top. I have been in the business for almost 2 decades and as a director; it’s my responsibility that my recruiters, not only do their job; but do it professionally, with intergerity, respectfully and with pride. I trained them that we have two clients, the companies we represent and candidates. Our recruiters help in the interviewing process on why they are not being selected for a position and tips on their resumes. In some cases my recruiters have gone beyoud expectations, by meeting candidates at the job site and given gas money or parking money, so they can either interview or keep the job until their first paycheck. This is something our recruiters have done on their own, using their own monies; and I only learn about it from the candidate, who is just so grateful that we have the type of recruiters on our staff. So not all recruiters are Bad News Bears.
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