Working With A Recruiter 101

by Heather Gardner

Okay, so I must speak out!

I’ve been reading A LOT of posts that are less than favorable to the recruiting industry as a whole. Let’s give YOU a promotion. This post is called “Working with a Recruiter 101″. This may help those job seekers find the right partners in your search for the “dream” job. Please note the “with” part.

1. Jason Alba speaks about the importance of your own professional identity. Define who YOU are in the process – become CEO of Me Inc. Yep, look at your job/career search as its own professional entity, enterprise or corporation. After all, looking for a job “is” a full time job and YOU need be the owner and manage it. Who knows “YOU” better than you?
2. If you take item #1 seriously, you will then understand the role of the Recruiter, Resume Writer, Career Coach, etc. They are your “partners” in your career search. YOU, the CEO of Me Inc. will still run the show and take control of YOUR job search. You want interview each of your team members to ensure YOU are hiring the appropriate staff to HELP you with YOUR search. Yes, YOU will interview those Recruiters, Resume Writers, Career Coaches, etc. Just as they will interview YOU. YOU are entitled to ask them questions before YOU “hire” them.
3. During your interview/selection process, make sure YOU appropriately pre-qualify YOUR new team. Ask them questions that will help YOU select a good one. Here are examples of what you may want to ask right off the bat:

• “What locations do you recruit in?” Silicon Valley, New York, Utah, Europe, etc.? If you want to work in Florida, you will want to select a recruiter that recruits for positions in Florida.
• “What types of positions do you recruit for?” Staffing, Technical, Medical, Finance, Sales, etc. For a career in staffing, in Silicon Valley, call me. I wouldn’t be much of a resource for someone wanting a medical job in Utah.
• “What company(s) or types of company(s) do you recruit for?” You may be looking for something in High Tech, Bio-Tech, Public Sector, etc. If you are looking at working in the Education space, there are recruiters that specialize in this area as well.

Remember, I WANT the job as YOUR recruiter. If I’m a good recruiter, I will WANT to “partner” with you and make sure it’s a good professional match. Gosh, if I’m asking you to complete some paperwork, give me some one too! This will only help us both formulate a working partnership – yep, you heard me, I’ll complete an application for consideration to be YOUR recruiter. I will also be happy to “provide you with professional references upon request”!

1. DEFINE your career search. A lot of people are in career transition now. It is important that YOU define what it is that you are looking for. As CEO of ME inc. you are leading and managing the effort. The CEO doesn’t ask the Exec Admin what the business should be or to define the company’s Value Proposition. This is the CEO’s
   job. The CEO communicates the company vision to the rest of the team.
2. TAKE Control of YOUR career search and keep the roles of YOUR team in perspective. YES a recruiter can get you into doors that you may have difficulty getting into, but ultimately they are only a part of your search team, not your entire search. Once YOU have the interview, it’s up to YOU to sell yourself into the job, not the recruiters.
3. As a recruiter, I maintain LONG TERM relationships with my candidates. I don’t always have an immediate position for them, but by golly, if I know who YOU are professionally and know what YOUR “dream” job is, when the time comes, and a position appears on my desk, I’m going to call YOU. If you have prescreened ME, you will know this and stay with me for the long haul.

Good recruiters and career advocates know that in the future YOU will be the hiring manager. YOU will take your CEO status and run companies. I know that you deserve the same level of customer service one expects from Nordstrom.

I talk with folks all the time that do not meet any criteria of my recruiting areas. I won’t waste their time by having them complete unnecessarily paperwork, etc. if they are looking for a position outside of Silicon Valley, not in the staffing industry, I will give them alternative resource such as a recruiter near them, a career coach or resume writer. I still want to maintain a professional relationship with these job seekers; you just never know where I might recruit next. BUT, I won’t be rude or unhelpful if a job seeker is receptive and/or asks for my assistance or advice.

Job seekers who interview their perspective recruiters you will be able to see immediately by whether a recruiter is a good one to work with or not. If a recruiter is rude and doesn’t wish to participate with your prescreening – RUN! RUN, fast. Don’t waste your time. Take YOUR business elsewhere! This is a FREE trade market and you only want to hire professionals that are going to PARTNER and compliment your own efforts, not work against you or waste YOUR time.

As a professional recruiter, I’m always up for professional networking and partnerships. I am sure that to some, I’m an awful recruiter – you can’t please everyone. But more importantly, to those I partner with, it’s a match made for the life of their career(s). It’s a marriage. It’s a developing friendship. “It’s a good thing.”

Best,

Heather Gardner
Recruiter
831-464-1041

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