Why Use a Recruiter?

Let’s face it – finding a job, even when the economy is great, can be a challenge.  Whether your actively on the market after a recent workforce reduction, or simply passively open to new opportunities, seeing what exactly is out there can be daunting, tiresome, and often misleading.  That’s where we come in.

We’re a staffing firm.  What does that mean?  It means we work with companies who need to hire people, and work with people who need to get hired.  We’ll coordinate interviews with candidates and the hiring managers, facilitate background checks, reference checks, online assessments and anything in between that will help someone land their dream job.  But I’m sure you’ve asked yourself, “Why should I work with a middle man when I can just apply to the job online?”, which is a valid question.  There are several reasons:

1. Often, a staffing agency has the direct ear of the hiring manager, and therefore “front of the line access” when it comes to presenting qualified candidates:  If you apply through a company’s website, your resume may never even get close to the eyes of a hiring manager, despite having the experience they’re looking for.
2. We are connected to companies you may have never heard of and are able to peel back a few layers of the job boards that you might not otherwise see:  Even though your resume speaks for itself, you can’t just expect the jobs to come to you.  The fact is, there are a LOT of companies out there that you’ve never heard of, that we have.
3. You may not even know some of these jobs exist: Sometimes companies won’t publicly advertise roles that they’re trying to fill, and instead only put the roles out to staffing firms.
4. We can be closer to the money:  Because staffing agencies tend to focus on specific job niches, they usually have a solid understanding of market conditions (salaries, who’s hiring, etc.)

So, let’s say you’re on board with working with an agency, but there aren’t any roles available that seem like a match for you.  What do you do?  Do you wish them well and move on with your life, completely forgetting you ever spoke with them?  You probably shouldn’t.  In fact, a good recruiter will encourage frequent communications over the next few months, or years, as their sole focus is to fill roles with people like you.  That means that there’s a good chance a new opportunity is going to come up in the future with your name written all over it.  So, here are some useful tips for keeping the lines of communication open:

1. Make sure you’re connected with your recruiter on LinkedIn.  I can’t stress enough how important this is, as LinkedIn is the primary hub for most job searching and networking and is the best place to network and make introductions.
2. Shoot your recruiter an email and/or text at least once or twice a year, if not every few months.
3. If you come across any relevant local meetups or networking events, feel free to invite your recruiter (trust me, as a recruiter, this goes a LONG way when it comes to building a professional relationship).

And remember:  Don’t just reach out when you’re looking for a job.  It’s very important to connect with your recruiter even if you’re 100% happily employed, because conversations can lead to a lot of places that you wouldn’t have even considered before reaching out.