Recruiters Articles

by Allison Kapner

So rather than go in a boring step-by-step order and continuing with Step 2, I’m going to share a bit about working with recruiters… which, in the dating world, translates into dating guys that are just out for one thing.

For those of you who don’t understand the face of recruiting, times have changed. Employers used to hire recruiters for all levels and all functions. During the recession, companies began realizing how much they were spending on agency fees and started creating strategies around working with recruiters.

Internal HR staff are now trained to make cold calls and use social media to reach out for certain positions. So, for example, analyst roles most likely will not go through recruiters because of the number of applicants who apply on their own. Ask yourself, why would a company pay a VERY hefty fee for me when I can apply directly and not go through a third party?

So while recruiters who are experts in their field can be extremely helpful and add value, if you’re young and inexperienced, I wouldn’t count on a recruiter landing you your first job.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/randysonofrobert/ / CC BY 2.0

Recruiters – of the internal and external sort – can be your best friend or worst enemy. They can act as the gatekeepers to your dream employer, or can be the reason you don’t get your dream job. The genuine ones (such as me in my past life) care about you and put your needs first even if it means missing a deal. They do this because they know and respect good karma. The ruthless recruiters are only focused on you as a dollar sign. Recruiters, by nature, stay on top of their star candidates, the people who can actually interview successfully for the roles they are looking to fill. They woo you, keep you on their good side and walk you through the interview process. The second you mess up or the client decides to “pass,” you are back to the starting line until another job comes along that you’re the PERFECT person for.

The funny thing is, the worst thing you can do to a recruiter is work with other recruiters. They’ll say whatever it takes to keep you from others because they don’t make money if someone else places you…which leads me to a dating story and point that recruiters and men (sorry guys!) can in fact consciously or subconsciously share the same mentality.

I once met a guy – we’ll call him Aaron – who has an intense personality and acts as someone who is driven and motivated. For the first few weeks of knowing each other, he contacted me. I didn’t think much of it and didn’t respond much. In fact, he was upset that I wouldn’t friend him on Facebook. I was impartial. (Similar to how most candidates are in a good market when approached by a recruiter.) He persisted and we went out to a three-hour first date dinner. It was great. He wanted to know all about me (1st interview or “screening” per a recruiter) and I “passed” round one. He suggested going to get ice cream a few days later, and after going to four places and striking out four times trying to get ice cream, Aaron finally figured out a way to find us ice cream. I was impressed, he was creative and innovative. (Similar to a recruiter getting you a first round interview, if you’re a strong candidate, they’ll do whatever it takes.) This continued and things were going well. A few weeks into it, I decided it was time for me to finally give in and be nice and after him asking many times for a housewarming gift (weird, yes), I brought over cookie dough as a housewarming gift.

Stop the presses!! From then on, every time I received a text or spoke to him, the question was “how many guys do you bring cookies to?” Well, he obviously couldn’t handle the idea of me dating other people and he freaked himself out (later apologizing, then falling off the face of the earth). In his apology, he admitted he freaked himself out because he wasn’t ready for someone who would expect something out of him but he was too insecure to have me date others.

Moral of the story: If you can’t make a recruiter a quick buck or be a quickie to a shady guy, you’ll get dropped – and fast – which is probably for the better.

Second moral: Keep your options open until a recruiter asks you to only work with them (or until a guy asks you for a commitment). Don’t give either the satisfaction of being your one and only unless they prove themselves worthy.

Allison Kapner is a Relationship Manager in Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School where she is responsible for building partnerships with employers to ultimately create job and internship opportunities for students and alumni. She also advises and coaches students on job search techniques and brings a unique corporate expertise to assist candidates, as her past experience was as an Executive Recruiter in financial services in New York City.