How Job Seekers can make the most of working with a Recruitment Agency

If you’ve been on the job market for any length of time, you will at some point be applying to a role through a Recruiter with a Recruitment Agency. Before I get into how to best make use of working with a Recruitment Agency, I wanted to first cover WHY working with an Agency is something you should make use of throughout your Job Search.

Here are some of the benefits:

1. The Agency usually has a direct line of communication and contact with the primary decision maker(s) of the hiring process, or those who have a high level of influence over hiring decisions at the Company. These are the individuals you most certainly want to get yourself in front of. Now, If it’s a Client they’ve been conducting business with over a long period of time and have a strong relationship with, they will have a great insight into the organization and have made previous placements for the team you’re applying for
2. A Recruitment Agency with strong relationships will have the ability to persuade and/or influence their Clients - they probably have proven themselves over and over again to their Clients in finding amazing hires so they've earned their trust. The Hiring Team values their perspective and opinion and are therefore open to their influence.
3. An Agency can provide further intel about the role, project, company, key players/decision makers, which you may not get otherwise based solely off the job description
4. They might have multiple career opportunities which may interest you with several Clients you can explore. Its very possible to be presented to multiple matching opportunities.

So how do you make the best of working with a Recruitment Agency? Here are some tips which may help you:

• Take note of Recruiters you have come into contact with whom you feel confident working with and make a note to connect with them periodically – you never know when they may have an opportunity to help advance your career. Make your list of top Recruiters and reach out to them first to find out what they’re working on
• Have realistic expectations about working with an Agency: Agency Recruiters generally receive job requirements from their Clients and then proceed to search for candidates. The extent to which a Recruiter can assist you in your Job Search is dependent on what opportunities are available with their Clients. This does NOT mean you shouldn’t be reaching out to Recruiters – when the right opportunity does become available, make sure they think of YOU first! What you have to remember is: they work for the Hiring Team FIRST. No hiring team with active job requirements = no job opportunities to recruit on.
• When approaching a Recruiter – whether through a phone call, email, LinkedIn or any other mode of communication – have a clear intention in mind. What is the purpose of your contact and what do you want from them? Is it an introductory call to introduce yourself because you’re not really on the market at the moment? Or are you on the market and you just want to find out what they’re working on? Have a clear intention in mind.

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More content:

Hiring Teams: Why your Top Candidate dropped out of your Interview Process (Article)

Watch Replay: How to use ChatGPT in your Job Search (Live Demo) - with guest Emal Bariali of BA BLOCKS.

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Dean Kulaweera

IT Recruiter & Founder, Tech Recruiters 360. Dean is a Recruiter specialized in the recruitment of mid-level and senior-level IT Professionals primarily in the Greater Toronto Area of Canada, and has been a keynote or panelist speaker at over 40 events across North America speaking about the job search and recruitment. To contact Dean, email dean@techrecruiters360.com