I recently contacted a recruiter about a job that I knew I was perfectly qualified to do. I went on two great interviews, but then nothing happened for five weeks. I heard eventually that I didn’t get the job (after several calls). I thought recruiters were supposed to find people jobs, and now I feel that I don’t want to deal with these guys again.

How the recruiting business operates

The recruiting and placement world is comprised of three camps: clients, recruiters, and candidates. The clients provide the positions and the fees, and the candidates provide the services. The primary role of the recruitment firm in this equation is to act as the broker, or go-between, to provide the best possible candidates for the client. The hard part in all of this is getting the order from the client; without the client’s openings, no one pays the bill. Finding qualified candidates is the easier part of the process, but even here, the job is not an easy one.

All recruiting firms have one thing in common: their goal is to make money. They do this by charging their clients (employers) a fee for their services, which generally include the provision of qualified staff for very specific roles. Please note the highlighting of the word qualified – the clients of these firms pay these fees in order to have the best candidates, pre-screened, with the education, experience, and skills required to quickly be productive in their new jobs. This means that if you are a candidate who is looking for a “career change”, unsure of your next career move, or simply do not fulfill the major requirements of the position, you will not be given consideration. After all, if the employer were willing to take a chance on someone who was not a perfect candidate, there are many other less expensive methods to hire people than to pay a recruiter.

Therefore, the perfect candidate for a recruiter is usually someone who is working in a nearly identical position at a nearly identical firm, preferably a competitor in the same industry, who has a great resume and interviews very well. If this is what you are looking for, then using recruiters and agencies may be an effective strategy. Remember, anything you say to the recruiter is not confidential – assume you are talking also to the employer. This can be critical throughout the recruitment process, but particularly so during salary negotiations. The recruiter wants to close the deal and have you accept their position, even if the salary is lower than you would like. The difference for them is minimal, and they may have made commitments to the employer to find someone at the salary range the employer is willing to pay.

Some firms are generalists, who will take on any job from any client, while others specialize in one particular profession or industry. There can be some crossover in the categories of firms outlined below, in which staffing agencies will perform the services of recruiters, and vice versa.

Permanent and temporary staffing agencies

These firms are called upon to fill specific roles for their clients. They manage the recruitment process for their clients and have a database of qualified candidates ready on short notice, to take on specific roles, such as clerks, analysts, or other staff. Maternity leaves or other temporary absence roles are prime situations in which agencies are used to fill gaps for employers.

They are usually looking for candidates who can “hit the ground running” and are experienced in the particular role. Some individuals have been able to secure full time employment as a result of these contract positions, but there are usually no guarantees.

Recruiters and headhunters

Last year, there were an estimated 3,200 recruiters in Canada, all working to earn fees from their clients (employers) by providing qualified personnel. There are two types of recruiters – contingency and retainer. Both ask for typically between 15% to 35% of the candidate’s first year compensation as a fee for their services, but contingency firms are only paid if they successfully find a candidate, while retainers are paid whether they find a candidate or not.

Retained firms are usually less secretive about their client’s identity, since they know that they will be paid no matter where the successful candidate comes from. Contingency firms, on the other hand, can and have had other firms or even candidates themselves “poach” or apply directly to the client before they have been presented by the recruiting firm itself, and can therefore be denied their fees. The term “headhunters” comes from the practice of recruiters who don’t have enough qualified candidates to present, so they call up individuals in the same or similar roles at other organizations and convince them to consider the “exciting new opportunity” at another employer.

The recruitment industry is constantly changing, ranging from the national, top-tier of firms charging premium rates, to one-person operations with a telephone, telephone list, and a lot of perseverance. The industry, as in any other, attracts professionals of all stripes, from ethical, honest practitioners to outright charlatans out to make a quick buck. It can sometimes be difficult to see the difference between them at times. To be fair to the recruiting practitioners, it is a very tough and competitive business, with demanding clients, finicky and difficult candidates, and many people trying to beat them out of the placement.

As far as you, the candidate, are concerned, you are either on the recruiter’s frontburner, backburner, or irrelevant. “Frontburner” candidates are in the process of being seriously evaluated (second or third interview or salary negotiation stages) by the client for the position, and have not yet been rejected by the client. “Backburner” candidates are either being initially evaluated by the client, or are being “stalled” while other candidates are being considered. Many job seekers find it frustrating to contact a recruiter, be sent almost immediately on an interview, and then hear nothing for weeks and weeks.

From the recruiter’s standpoint, until they hear one way or the other from the employer on you as a successful candidate, they are not going to present you to another client for another job. The last thing they want to say to their client is that they placed you somewhere else. It is much better to keep you on the backburner until a decision has been made and find someone else for the other job. There is more likelihood of getting two fees that way. Candidates are the “product”, plain and simple, since it is only when the candidate accepts the position that recruiters are able to charge their fees.

Remember to treat all recruiters with professionalism, understand their motivation and what they are looking for, don’t be a pest, and be selective with which recruiters you choose to work. Use cover letters and a well-designed resume to help you get noticed. Recruiters and agencies have a place in your job search strategy, and people do get jobs using this technique, but research and experience indicate that they account for a small proportion of all new hires. Keep in mind that it’s nothing personal; that recruiter who didn’t call you back yesterday could be your best friend today…if you fit the bill, and the key to your career success tomorrow.

Michael Mayne, M.B.A., CMA, is Managing Partner and a Certified Professional Career Counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a Career Transition, Counselling, and Outplacement firm. Michael has been involved in the not-for-profit sector for many years, and is Past President and Treasurer of ALS Canada. To contact Michael, visit: www.catalystcareers.com.

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