5 Reasons you should use a Recruiter for your next job hunt
People ask me from time to time – what is the benefit of working with a recruiter? (A cloaked way of saying, I feel, ‘What is the point of you?’)
I understand the motivation behind this question – and am happy to tackle it here to clarify for anyone who wonders the same, now or in the future.
I also understand the bewilderment – the practicalities of this concern are perfectly valid. Most businesses these days have a ‘Work for us’ page on their website, and the recruitment industry as a whole has a less than shiny reputation. It is logical that individuals would wonder what the benefits are to using a business like ours.
First and foremost – it certainly depends on the organisation you choose to partner with. Spend a little time choosing the recruiter that is right for you. Have you heard good things about them from friends or co-workers? Have you noticed them being active in your industry? I would probably recommend speaking to a few recruiters before you choose who you will give your search to. It is best, if possible, to work with one or two recruiters at a time, as adding more to the mix can end in work being duplicated, and neither recruiters, nor potential employers like having applications doubled up. It can create unnecessary complications and more work for all parties trying to solve these issues. There are exceptions to this but if your search is relatively narrow then pick someone you trust to have access to the best jobs in this space.
Recruiters have different ways of working – some are targeted and focused and will dedicate time and effort to making a plan of action with you, and then executing that plan. Talk to your recruiter about what they are going to do for you, and when. See if you like the plan, and can see that they have the ability and network to execute it. Other businesses have a ‘spray mud at a wall and hope some sticks’ approach. This can be beneficial if you are not that targeted and just want some traction. The issue with this type of recruiter is that they can be a little (for want of a better word) annoying – both to hiring managers and to you, when they try and push you for a job you have no relevant experience for or interest in.
I have used ‘Rec to Rec’ (recruiters for the recruitment industry) a fair bit over the years, and have been on the receiving end of this ‘Spray and Pray’ approach. It is frustrating as everyone you interview is also interviewing with several other businesses and it is a jumbled mess trying to coordinate and generally speaking people are gone from the market before one has time to catch up and figure out what is going on. It can be frustrating for all concerned, and does not buy an employer’s loyalty and trust.
I could write a whole other blog on how to select the right recruiter for your specific needs, but I digress – back to the topic at hand…
Here are some of the reasons we can be an invaluable resource to you whist you are considering options on the market!
Direct access to Hiring Managers – Those of us who have established businesses and relationships and have spent time building up those relationships can get direct lines to hiring managers, rather than applying to an opportunity on line and never hearing anything back from HR teams. We can therefore use these to manage your process, making sure it runs in a timely fashion, and often get more feedback for you than would get through less direct channels. We can give you insights into what these hiring managers look for, the type of team you would be working with, and what your life will look like if you are successful.
2. Industry knowledge specific to your role/capabilities – Want to know who is hiring and why? Want to know what brands would be excited to talk with you in a specific snapshot of the market, today? Want to know about opportunities you would not have thought of but might be perfect for you? Ask your recruiter!
3. Find opportunities where there are none – Want to move to a certain location or into a certain business, but can’t find the perfect job for you? Ask us! We can talk to people who we KNOW hire people like you and see if they could be interested. Many of the roles we fill are not on the ‘Open Market’ – i.e. – not advertised. We can leverage our relationships to find opportunities that no one else would know about before they hit the market.
4. Support managing the process – If you are speaking to a number of different businesses concurrently, you might find yourself with one opportunity skipping forward speedily whilst another drags behind. We can help streamline this to get them running in parallel, so in an ideal situation you will end up at the end with a choice of offers you can compare and pick the one with the best fit/terms.
Assistance with negotiations – Scared to ask for more? Let us do it for you! We have worked through many negotiations, and are compensated by % - so you can feel safe that our advice should be sound. If we think you can get a little more based on current market forces, we are here to do so for you – it works for us as well as for you. However, if we advise that this is the best deal you can expect, you can believe us and avoid creating bad feeling with your new employer as you try and negotiate more from them.
5. We can save you time! Finding a full-time job is a full-time job. Are you sure you have thought of all the businesses you would love to work with? Have you thought about all the interview prep you will need to do? Have you considered all the sources you would need to review to keep up to date with what the market is doing? Let us do that all for you! We also help streamline your administration as you only have responses coming from one source rather than watching your inbox – and we can filter good and bad news to you in a human way rather than automated mystery rejections.
In addition to the above, remember that you will (unless you request otherwise, GDPR first!) be added to our database and can be kept abreast of new opportunities that come our way if you do not find the perfect job on the first try. This means we can carry on looking for you for weeks or months/years after your initial search.
I have worked with a number of people over the years, and helped some move not just once, but two or three times. These people often swap from being candidates to being clients so we have known many of our clients for years and years and can give you the best shot at success.
Come on, talk to us! We are here to serve you! If you work in Deal Advisory, across Strategy/Commercial Due Diligence, Transaction Services/Financial Due Diligence, IT Deals Consulting/Mergers and Acquisitions, HR Consulting/M&A or Post Merger Integration or Carve-Out, we have opportunities for you all over the world!
Have a good week everyone!
