The 4 secrets to an effective recruiter relationship - Sterling Career Concepts

The 4 secrets to an effective recruiter relationship The 4 secrets to an effective recruiter relationship As a member of theCareer Collectiveblogging community of resume writers and career coaches, this post is one of many this month discussing HR or job search-related misconceptions. I encourage you to visit other members responses linked at the end of my post and follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective.__________________________ Has an executive recruiter placed you in the past?Have you always wondered if a headhuntercould help you? Have you been frustrated trying to get results with recruiters or placement firms? Today, I am going to share with you some insights gleaned from mypast lifeas a New York City-basedexecutive recruiter. Thisknowledge will help youmake the most of recruiter relationshipsand determine if it can bea functional part of your job search plan. Here are four things you need to know when working with a recruiter: Executive recruiters dontwork for you. They are paid by the companies who hire them to fill open positions so their loyalty and their priorities are based those client companies needs. If your background matches a current need,youll get their ear, but ifnot, and if theirplate is full, they may file your resume away for the future. Do not be offended by this.Byvirtue of how their business model functions,youare important piece of the puzzle, but they do not need to find you a job. They need to fill their clients open recs. This is what dictates how they spend their time each day. Not every job search candidate canwork with recruiters. Let me explain myself.Its not based on salary levels or seniority. When Irecruited, I placed $40,000 candidates just as often as I placed candidates with $250,000 packages. Salary aside, your relevance fora recruiter is based on your skillset, yourexperience, and your job search goals. Recruiters dont typically work with career changers or entry level professionals. They are charged by their client companies to find, pre-screen, and presentparticular candidate profiles. Those tend to be candidates looking to stay in their field and who are ready fortheir logical next step or promotion or who are open to lateral moves to a competitor company.Whether a recruiter can assist youcan alsovary throughout your career dependingon yourcareer goals.At one point of your career, a recruiter may be able to present you to a clientcompany for a promotion, but a few years later, if youre looking to transition into a different part of the busines s, a recruiter may not be your best source of leads networking may be. Please remember, if a recruiter is not able to present your resume for a particular position, it does not necessarily mean you are not qualified for that role. It just means that the company isnt willing to pay a placement fee for your background to fill that role. You can always submit your resume to the company directly. This is often the case with junior or entry-level roles. Information is gold for a recruiter. They key to building an effective long-term relationship with a talented recruiter is the give and take of industry information. Offer leads or refer a good recruiter to colleagues or friends who are open to new opportunities. Let a recruiter know if you hear a particular company is hiring. If youre sent on an interview by a recruiter, share information and details with him or her afterwards names, titles, particular interview questions that you were asked, background as towhy the position is open (though good recruiters will already know this last tidbit). These details will help the recruiter with their process and will keep you in his or her good graces where you want to be when the right opportunity for your background comes across his or her desk. Trust the recruiter to negotiate for you. Theres two parts to this be honest with the recruiter in both the beginning and the end of the process. When you meetwith a recruiter (either on the phone or in person) andthe discussion turns to the details of your salary, for a number of reasons, please dont misrepresent yourself or inflate the numbers. First, recruiters speak with so many people, they tend to have a stronggrasp of market value so they may see straight through your elevated numbers. Not a great way to start off a relationship. Secondly, and more importantly, you can get caught in your lies later on if a company looking to hire you conducts a background check.I have seen candidates offers rescinded because of inconsistencies caught duringbackground checks. Its not fun andcompletely avoidable. So, at the start of your relationship. be honest and up front about your current or most recent salary and be realistic and honest about what its going to take to get you to accept a n ew position.A recruiter will go to bat for you to get as much as possible since it positively affects their commission. You are both on the same team here! More money in your pocket is more money in your recruiters pocket. Let them do their job and negotiate for you. Recruiters can be a great source of interviews and do place people in new positions. Its just important to be realistic about what they can do for you. Hopefully this inside perspective has cleared up misconceptions on how to best integrate executive recruiters into your job search plan. The followingare posts discussing the same topic frommy esteemed colleagues in the Career Collective: 5 Misconceptions Entry-Level Job Seekers Make, @heatherhuhman How Interview Savvy Are You?, @careersherpa Employers Dont Care, @ValueIntoWords Misconceptions about Using Recruiters, @DebraWheatman 15 Myths and Misconceptions about Job-Hunting, @KatCareerGal Are You Boring HR? @resumeservice Job Search Misconceptions Put Right, @GayleHoward Who Cares About What You Want in a Job? Only YOU!, @KCCareerCoach How to get your resume read (sort of), @barbarasafani Job Interviews, Chronic Illness and 3 Big Ideas, @WorkWithIllness The secret to effective job search, @Keppie_Careers Superstars Need Not Apply, @WalterAkana The Jobs Under the Mistletoe, @chandlee 8 Common Sense Interview Tips @erinkennedycprw Still no job interview? @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes Misconceptions about the Hiring Process: Your Online Identity is a Critical Part of Getting Hired, @expatcoachmegan