4 reasons to engage with a recruiter VS 3 reasons to avoid a recruiter

Read on if you are someone who doesn't know why recruiters are useful, or you're just not sure what to expect from working with a recruiter to secure your next career move.

I don't pretend to be the perfect recruiter, but I do pride myself on service and am often pretty shocked when candidates tell me their experiences and horror stories about working with recruiters. We're not all the same, and this should help you choose the best recruiter to work with, and how to spot red flags and avoid time wasters.

What are the benefits of working with a recruiter?

1)     They have excellent market knowledge

As a Life Science recruiter who specialises in QA, RA and QC recruitment, it is my job to keep on top of the going on in the market and the impact that will have on my candidates. That includes; technical knowledge like regulations, quality processes and emerging technologies, the economic landscape and how that is affecting the industry, for example; funding cuts or surges, acquisitions, hiring surges, freezes and redundancies.

It is important to connect with a specialist – the more niche a recruiter is, the more knowledgeable and influential they will be.

2)     They have inside knowledge and influence

Recruiters with a strong relationship with their clients will be able to give you inside information that will help you stand out against your competition in the hiring process. They’ll know the roles they are recruiting for far deeper than the job description because they will have met with the hiring manager and know what actually matters to them, they may have already placed within their team and the company. They’ll know the interview style, processes and questions and be able to help you prepare to put your best foot forward an impress. They’ll also know what the onboarding process looks like and be able to put you at ease on what to expect up to and beyond your start date.

3)     They will push for helpful and constructive feedback

Feedback is imperative whether you are successful or not – you need to be able to learn from failed interviews and understand why you weren’t progressed, so that you can work on that for next time. And, if successful it helps to know for the next stage what you can improve on.

There have even been cases where my candidates have struggled with a certain question due to nerves etc., and I’ve been able to capture what they wish they had said, communicated that to the hiring manager and essentially turned a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’ with progressing the candidate.

4) Working with a recruiter has absolutely no cost to a candidate

Worth a mention, because I do sometimes get asked from my candidates how much it will cost to help them secure their next opportunity. All this knowledge, advice and time is completely free, the company pays us to attract candidates and we are also paid based on the base salary we secure the candidates – which is why you should trust it is in our best interest to secure you the best package available.

Other career advice we can give for free (that others charge for) includes; CV advice, interview advice and upskilling, negotiation on salary and benefit packages.

When should you avoid or refuse to allow a recruiter to represent you?

1)    If they are ‘unable to disclose’ key information:

I hear it all the time from my candidates – they are ‘in process’ for roles via recruiter, but the recruiter couldn’t share any details about ‘the client’, or the salary. You’re not in process.  What this means 99% of the time, is that your profile and CV is being used for bait to win new clients. You candidates are our product, and whilst I will happily introduce your profile to my clients even where there isn’t a live role, and to prospective clients, I’ll tell you who and ask permission first. To make sure you are interested in the company at the very least.

Just yesterday, I spoke to a candidate whose time had been wasted by a recruiter, they had gone through a 2 stage process and been offered at job £7k under their current salary and the recruiter even admitted they submitted them at the lower price point because they ‘were confident’ they would be able to negotiate a higher rate when they seen how great the candidate was – they couldn’t. Of course, the best and honest route would have been to introduce their profile at the salary and package they are targeting, and a trusted recruiter who knows the market would be confident to present at the right price point, because they will know the market rate.

2)    If  they haven’t taken time to get to know what you want

This is a big red flag for me, how can we match you with a role if we don’t know what is important to you. I want to know what gets you up every day, what you love and hate about your job, your family situation, what you enjoy outside of work, your career goals and what you want from your next move.

The slight caveat, and what some candidates don’t understand is, I’m not willing to jump into sharing live roles or opportunities within the first minute or two of our first conversation. I need to know you first to know what roles are worth your time to consider and I’m not in the business of wasting your or my own time – we’re all busy, I get it.

3)   They have ghosted you

As above, feedback is important, and a recruiter should be interested in helping you improve on your interview skill. If they ever believed in your skillset as a candidate, they should want to form a long-term relationship and keep you updated with other opportunities.

Talk to me:

Like I said, I specialise in QA/RA/QC, and am always keen to have conversations with anyone in this space, whether you are actively looking, just want me to know what types of opportunities you are keen on being kept up to date on, or simply want to ask about the current market conditions and find out how your current package compares.

See below who to connect with for other specialisms:

Ronnie Anderson – Commercial and Clinical Operations

Natalie Hough – Bioprocessing

Martin Cove - Chemistry

Lynsey Hay – Temporary recruitment solutions

Chloe Lawson –  Early/General Life Science careers – Chloe supports all of us and will help connect you with the right recruiter. After an initial conversation.

Samantha Leeman Leeman – IT and Tech

Lauren N. – IT and Tech

SCi Partners – our sister company SCi Partners are specialists in Executive level appointments.

Don’t see what you are looking for? Drop me a line and I’ll recommend who can best help.