30 Nov All about RECRUITMENT!!!!

Recruiters are more than just someone who ‘finds you a job’. Whilst essentially that is the crux of what they do, good recruiters work for both candidates and clients reviewing companies, their cultures and individual roles on offer, to match those requirements with appropriately qualified people.

How RECRUITMENT works – A client will contact a recruiter to discuss a role they may need filled due to expansion of a business or a prior employee vacating the role. The job description is determined and the role is advertised and discussed with candidates who are suitably qualified and interested in the role.  They then garner applications from those who apply, arrange qualifying interviews with themselves and then the employer before assisting with salary negotiations and employment conditions.

Alternatively, candidates who are looking for work or a change in employment can contact a recruiter to discuss what they are after. They are then advised of appropriate roles as they arise, or are introduced to potential employers with the potential of a role being created to suit their experience.

Often the recruiter doesn’t get compensated for their work until the employee’s success in the role is cemented, often post their three or six month probation period.

BUT the work of a recruiter doesn’t end when the role is filled. Not for the good one’s anyway!

Top recruiters make it their job to provide ongoing human resources assistance to both their appointed candidates and clients. They are sounding boards for issues and provide guidance with business expansion to their clients.  Thus an intimate knowledge of the industry they work in and human resources is essential.

A good recruiter will possess experience and in depth knowledge of the field they work in.  They understand the demands of the business. They know their clients well, as matching a person to a job is also about matching personalities.

Sadly, not all recruiters work to these standards and bring the whole industry into disrepute.

Some recruiters farm out applications to employers for all different jobs that are not necessarily suited to the candidate. They also fire off resumes for candidates to potential clients to try to secure their potential business, using the quality of a candidate for their own gains.

Ask yourself…

If you apply for a job with a recruiter, do you know what is happening to your resume once you have sent that through? 

How many companies are seeing your resume? Are they even jobs or companies you would be interested in working for?

You may think you are applying confidentially for a role, but what if that resume was shared with your own employer or someone they knew?  Most industries are relatively well connected. We hear all the time of people applying confidentially for an advertised role with a recruiter, only to have that application shared with their bosses golfing buddy and before you know it, you are called in to his office to find out why you are looking for work.

THIS DOES HAPPEN!

Protect yourself by only working with reputable recruiters. Make sure they have a background in the industry you work in and that you meet with them to discuss how they operate to ensure protection of your personal information.

Discuss your goals both long and short term, and ensure you are on the same page as to the type of role, location and working arrangements you are after.

Poor practices or ‘hit and run recruitment’ is damaging to both clients and candidates.

By Melissa Karatjas
Director of RECD