FAQs
About Recruiters
Volume
II, Issue VII
Recruiting often
seems to be a mysterious process. Candidates wonder how they
can best "use" a recruiter … how they can
get a recruiter's attention … why recruiters aren't
calling them back … and so forth.
Below are some
of the most frequently asked questions of Sanford Rose Associates
search consultants - and how we answer them.
How
can I select a recruiter to help me with my job search?
Unfortunately,
you can't. Professional search consultants represent employers,
who engage them to fill position openings. In other words,
recruiters find people for jobs - not jobs for people. If
you are a superstar, a recruiter - with your permission -
may present you to employers known to be interested in superstars,
but almost no one will serve as your talent agent.
How
can I at least get noticed by the right recruiters?
That's a more
realistic question. The "wrong" recruiters and recruiting
firms are those who don't specialize in your industry or functional
background, or who tend to fill positions far above or below
your salary range. If you don't know a cross-section of firms
specializing in your industry or discipline, consult a good
reference work, such as Kennedy Information's The Directory
of Executive Recruiters, available at all major libraries.
You "get
noticed" in a wide variety of ways - by providing an
up-to-date electronic résumé with the kinds
of key words that match a recruiter's needs, by being helpful
and responsive when recruiters call, by maintaining a network
of business associates who will recommend you, by holding
an important position at a well-known company, by holding
elected or appointed office in professional societies and
trade associations, by writing or appearing in articles that
subsequently get "Googled" - in short, by making
it easy to find you.
Why
don't I hear back from recruiters?
If you are trying
to discover whether they received your résumé,
your call or e-mail is likely to be more annoying than helpful.
Assuming you sent your résumé to the kinds of
firms who recruit people like you, the odds are high that
a researcher will keep it on file. But the odds are low that
any individual recruiter will be working on the "right"
search assignment at the moment you inquire, so asking doesn't
help. On the other hand, if a recruiter has contacted you
concerning an open search and presented you to the client
company, you deserve to be informed of the outcome.
Should I be concerned about confidentiality when speaking
with a recruiter?
If you have never
spoken to a particular recruiter or are unaware of the person's
firm, you certainly can confirm who they are - by visiting
their website, requesting a reference, etc. Most reputable
firms are members of either the National Association of Personnel
Services or the Association of Executive Search Consultants,
two professional societies that maintain codes of ethics.
Once you have decided you would like to develop a relationship,
be honest and forthcoming - about your accomplishments, about
your compensation and about your needs. Recruiters stay in
business by respecting confidences.
How
early in the process will a recruiter want to check references?
After talking
with you and examining your qualifications for the job, a
recruiter will decide whether to present you to the employer
as a strong candidate for the open position. Before that presentation,
most recruiters will want to check at least one reference
for an independent verification of your background and accomplishments.
Later, if you stay in the game, a more extensive background
check is probable. (Under U.S. law, any reference or background
check requires your written consent.) At stage one, no one
will contact your current employer - but be prepared to volunteer
the names of one or two people who have had some business
relationship with you now or in the recent past.
What
do I do when I know I'm qualified for the job, but the recruiter
disagrees?
Professional recruiters
always consider the "fit" between a potential candidate
and the open position. Sanford Rose Associates, for example,
uses a proprietary matching process called Dimensional Search®
that compares a candidate's skills to job requirements, past
experience to future job needs and management style to corporate
culture. In one scenario, your skills may be a close match,
but the kinds of job experiences you have had may not. Or,
you may be a Lone Ranger, while the employer is looking for
a team player. And so on. (In some cases, it may even boil
down to how much you presently earn, compared to what the
new job can pay.) Nevertheless, if you believe a recruiter
is overlooking some key personal attribute, don't hesitate
to "sell" the recruiter. In the end, however, the
employer is paying the search firm to make those sorts of
judgments. Just because you are not the best fit for a current
position opening does not mean you won't fit the next one.
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