I’m a Recruiter. I say that with a lot of pride and maybe a little child-like naivety that everyone feels the same way I do. Imagine my surprise while speaking to a candidate I hear, “Oh, you Recruiters are all alike.” After a spit-take of my morning cup of Joe, I asked them why they felt that way. I listened while this poor person told me horror stories of past experiences with some not so reputable individuals performing under the title of Recruiter.
Now, I know there are bad examples of every profession. You’re thinking of Used Car Salesmen right now aren’t you? But this is MY profession, so please allow me the opportunity to clear up some gross misconceptions regarding Recruiters. Pardon me while I get up on this handy soapbox.
Recruiters really do care about their clients!
Shocking as this may seem, Recruiters really do care about their candidate’s experience with them and I’ll tell you why…reputation. Whether they are working independently or for a global firm, their reputation is everything. My mother used to say (insert heavy Greek accent here), “It is better for your eyes to come out than your name”, and as usual, Mom was right.
Recruiters live off of referrals. Whether they are from candidates they’ve placed or customers they’ve helped to fill difficult positions, referrals are critical to their continued success. If candidates have a great experience, they will refer people they know so they can get the same great experience. Same goes with customers. If you’ve developed a reputation for providing a great candidate experience, whether they get the job or not, you’ll get more candidates! So don’t be surprised if your Recruiter asks you to recommend them on Linked In or some other site they use. It’s as valuable as a fee.
Headhunting and poaching are part of the job. Be flattered, not offended!
Are images of jungle pygmies running through your mind right now? All kidding aside, the act of headhunting or “poaching” candidates is definitely part of the Recruiter’s job but doesn’t necessarily define it. If you think about it, where better to find the perfect candidate than at a competitor, right? If you receive a call from a Recruiter trying to get you to look at their opportunity, it’s because they have heard from someone or seen your profile online somewhere and they think you may be a perfect fit. It’s a compliment so take it as one! But let’s get one thing straight, a good Recruiter may poach candidates from competitors but not in a way that would risk defaming their reputation in the industry.
Headhunting can be done very professionally and without doing the “let’s play dial-a-name with the company phone directory” game. Besides, if the Recruiter has a great reputation very often candidates come to them from the competitor without any enticing ahead of time.
There is that reputation word again.
All Recruiters are driven by something. For some, it’s the hunt for that elusive perfect candidate. For others, it’s the opportunity to earn some good revenue. But no Recruiter is driven by doing a job that would make them or their customers look bad. Trust me, no one wants to get beat up at the next industry convention. So get to know a Recruiter, after all we are people too. We have families and lives outside of work just like you do. You may find out that what really motivates us is the deep rewarding feeling we get when we’ve changed someone’s life for the better by helping them find a new career.
I’ll step off of my soapbox now.
The Rant 