Are Recruiters Really That Bad?

Over the years I’ve met countless people who tell me they don’t like working with recruiters and give them a bad rap.

In my view those perspectives would likely change if they better understood HOW to work with recruitment agencies. What I can say though, is that the engagement model has changed significantly and building new relationships with consultants and agencies has sadly become extremely difficult for various reasons:

•  Most agencies don’t show the consultant’s name on the Linkedin or Seek ad to avoid getting inundated with calls
• Agencies are increasingly using keyword searches to match profiles and job descriptions. While this started well before the current market conditions, it is particularly prevalent now when they have to filter through hundreds of CVs in a short timeframe and are faced with highly specific lists of skills requirements from employers
• Hybrid working arrangements since COVID means that consultants and candidates are based in their offices less frequently. This means that face to face meetings are less common and harder to arrange. They feel like the exception to the rule nowadays
• When the market gets more competitive for candidates (like currently), roles are scarcer and agencies turn to their internal databases of candidates first
• In a tight market like this they have to move really quickly to submit resumes if they are competing with other agencies to place a candidate

 While this is the new normal it’s incredibly frustrating for someone like me whose biggest strengths are my energy, my drive and my ability to build trusting relationships quickly, all highly valued attributes or soft skills not evidenced in a resume.   

 What happened to recruiters meeting you for a coffee for 45 minutes to an hour face to face, to get to know you and your skills, and to get a sense of how you'd behave in an interview? To this day, those are still my strongest relationships and the ones I know are in my corner when I need them.

A few weeks ago I received a call from a consultant about a role. He spent time asking me about my experience to assess fit and once he secured me the interview, he asked me to meet him for a coffee in the city for an hour the day before. I knew that after that meeting, I’d built a relationship that will last and he’ll be looking out for me now and in the future. Sadly, that hardly happens anymore.

So how do you work with recruiters?

• Contact recruiters that you’ve worked with previously and that you’ve already built relationships with i.e. those that have placed you in previous roles, those that you’ve discussed roles with or they’ve secured you an interview.
• Don’t feel bad that you haven’t been in touch with them for a long time. It’s the nature of job search. We all have the best intentions to stay in touch with them but unless we are hiring managers as well, chances are you haven’t kept in contact.
• Check which agencies and consultants are advertising roles you are interested in and if you see that they are active in your space, apply for the role and then try to speak to them regardless of whether or not you are successful in securing an interview. Look for their contact details on their Linkedin profile. This has become much more difficult as noted above but your perseverance may pay off.
• A very effective way to meet new recruitment consultants is to check their Linkedin profile and to see which contacts you have in common. Ask your mutual contact(s) how well they know the consultant and if they do have a decent relationship, ask them if they wouldn’t mind sending a group Linkedin message to both of you with a warm intro to the consultant. Ask them to write a very brief intro about you. Just realise that if your contact doesn’t feel comfortable introducing you, don’t push it. They will have their reasons.
• Building a relationship with recruitment consultants take time. Treat them like a new friend and invest in that relationship. If you think speaking to them once does the trick, you’re badly mistaken. They speak to hundreds of candidates and read countless resumes each week and you will often not be front of mind as a result. Its not intentional. It’s just the reality. Connecting with them on a personal level helps build the rapport.
• Check in with them every couple of weeks with a quick phone call or Linkedin message to say you are still on the market and to keep you front of mind. If you have other interviews or opportunities on the go, let them know without revealing where. In that way it adds to your credibility and marketability and encourages them to find you something before someone else does.
• I have created a spreadsheet of all the agents I deal with and I update it with last conversation date and details if they mention a client opportunity or arrange an interview for me. An Excel formula tells me when it’s been more than 2 weeks from last contact so that I know when to check in with them again. If they feel you should call less frequently, they will tell you that.
• I can’t tell you how many times I’ve checked in after 2 weeks with a consultant and they tell me they or their colleague is working on a role that I may be suitable for. Had I not checked in, they wouldn’t have thought about me. That’s despite the fact that I spoke to them only 2 weeks ago.
• You’ll click with some recruiters and you won’t with others. Some will treat you as a commodity and won’t invest the time in getting to know you while others will make the time and see your potential. Don’t waste your time with those that call you about a role, tell you you’re a good fit and then don’t call you back about it. That happens far too often.  
• If you contact them every 2 weeks and they keep ignoring you, reassess whether it’s worth continuing to invest in the relationship. Don’t expect them to reply immediately though. They are often busy so respect their time and be patient.  

The next point is one that will be contentious and is context specific. I’m not proposing to do this when searching for an executive role or some highly specialised position. Nor am I suggesting that this is the best approach when the job market is booming.

•  Go wide. Job search in a challenging market is a numbers game. Hit as many targets as possible from as many angles as possible and you will secure something. This applies to relevant job applications, leveraging your network and reaching out to recruiters.
• Many recruiters will advise you to only register with a handful of agencies. I disagree. Register with as many as you can. Why?
• Candidates are competing for limited roles and you want to widen the net to maximise your chances. Imagine you deal with only 5 agencies and each gets 2 or 3 new Project Manager roles a month. Requirements are super specific and let’s say you are suitable for 2 of those roles. Maybe you get 1 interview if you’re lucky? Now there’s 3 of you competing for the role. Need I say more?  
• Why wouldn’t you engage with more agencies? What have you got to lose?
• If you’ve spoken to 15 recruitment agencies and are in touch with all of them, in my experience, probably only 4 or 5 have invested time in getting to know you and are truly working for you. The other 10 or so have probably only connected with you previously because they had a role where your profile came up as a good match in their keyword search. That may happen again so don’t discount them.
• Imagine that 2 agencies you are registered with have the same role (if you go wide!) and only one of them thinks you are suitable. You may end up getting the role as a result. It's happened to me before. What if you were only registered with the agency that didn’t consider you a good fit?
• The only proviso is that you’ll need to closely manage who represents you and where your CV is being sent. The last thing you want is 2 agencies sending your CV to the same client for the same role. That can get ugly. They need to ask for your permission before they send it. If they don’t that’s unacceptable, but it happens, trust me.
• Treat your personal brand as if you were selling a product and your life depended on it, back yourself and if a recruiter talks your skills down or is negative about your chances, move on. There will be those that are highly supportive and see your value and those who don’t see your potential or have no idea. Many recruiters have monthly sales targets and are less concerned about or lack the time to build longer term relationships with candidates. That just means that one day when you are in a hiring role, they’ll probably lose out.
•  There are times of day when recruiters are usually busy with interviews and meeting clients and candidates. For me, the best time to catch them is early morning or after lunch or near home time in the afternoon. Mid-morning and mid-afternoon they are usually busy with interviews and calls. Their availability will be dependent on how busy the market is and hybrid work arrangements may have changed this pattern.
• Discuss your pay expectations with them upfront so that you don't waste each other’s time. You don't want to be put forward for roles that aren’t aligned with your salary expectations. In this market, depending on your financial situation, you may need to be more flexible on rate unless you can afford to wait it out.

The Bottom Line:

·        Find creative ways to connect with recruiters

·        Build relationships with those that are receptive to it

·        Be religiously consistent in checking in with them

·        A recruiter might prompt a client to meet you

·        Go wide in this market!   

A lot of the above points to the importance of Linkedin and being able to tap into your network in times like these. That is what I’ll cover tomorrow.

 Sorry for the long post! Not ideal, I know. I think it’s potentially easier for a jobseeker to refer back to this list rather than having to watch a video several times.

Would love to see a discussion here.

 Please like, share and let anyone know who needs the help.