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Recruiters – A Necessary Evil?

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My experience with recruitment companies have been mixed. In my experience I have only met two recruiters who have acted professionally and have been value for money. I have seen both sides, both as a candidate and as a client. As a candidate I have been told to “embelish” my CV in areas I have no experience in (I don’t know where this would have got me in the interview). I instantly reject these types and have had the opportunity to let the agencies know what I thought of their practices when they came touting for business when I was in IT management.
They cut their own throats.
I have wasted so much of my time with replying to what I suspect were cv harvesting campaigns. Equally, I have wasted so much of my time interviewing candidates who have obviously “embellished” their CV’s.
Recruiters get a very high commission for the work they do, or rather, don’t do. Most HR departments that I have experience with, at my previous employers, don’t seem to have any idea how they are being ripped off, or indead how to check the credentials of recruiters.
What value is there in the recruiter?
Are they a necessary evil in todays WWWorld?

Topic

Agree wholeheartedly

In reply to Recruiters – A Necessary Evil?

Yes they are a necessary evil. I have had some experiences myself. They are totally nuts. specially the call center guys.

Seriously, this world is in dire need of HR proffessionals. Many of the current guys suck.

Probably are

In reply to Recruiters – A Necessary Evil?

As an industry though they are the biggest collection of tossers on the planet.
My absolute favourite is a guy who put me forward for a job before asking me if I wanted to be. He told me he’d done this in MY best interest !

None of these actions were of course in anyway promoted by said craphead’s desire for a commission.

Fortunately there aren’t many as bad as this guy, there are however far too many in the UK, who just word search their collection of cvs as then mass mail the opportunity.

Any recruiters reading this Java & JavaScript are two completely different things.

Also; not knowing what they are selling

In reply to Probably are

I have also been sidelined for jobs because I didn’t have a CNA even though I had a CNE. I also don’t know how many times I had to explain the difference between a MCP and a MCSE to recruiters.

99% haven’t a clue

In reply to Also; not knowing what they are selling

Effectively it’s down to me as a candidate to advise them on whether I’m suitable, drives me wild when they disagree from a technical point of view after a series of the dumbest questions ever.

Well you might know Delphi but do you know OO ?
Can you program in UML ??
All the programming work you did in the past, why do you think it’s still relevant ???

I’ve got to point now where I just tell them they are f***wits and put the phone down.

Buyer Beware

In reply to Recruiters – A Necessary Evil?

Just like anything else, be cautious on picking a recruiter.

From a job hunters perspective, I would never pay a recruiter. But I also realize that the recruiter works for the busness, not for me. I won’t rely on any single recruiter to find a job for me. I’ll send my resume to several of them, and continue to apply for jobs on my own. If I were doing contract work, I might narrow by scope down if I found a recruiter I liked.

From a business perspective, the hireing process costs money, even if you do it in house. You have to look at what you are getting for your dollar. You want to find a single recruiter that understands your business and what you are looking for. They should know that if they consistantly send you unqualified candidates, then you will take your business elsewhere.

Only necessary if you want them to be…

In reply to Recruiters – A Necessary Evil?

Recruiters are, just like any other business, marginally effective on average. I am sure there are good ones and that most are average. Average, quick honestly, equates to less-than-useful – because no one is looking for averages service or average employees.

If you are the candidate, recruiters are only as necessary as you make them out to be. They serve as an extension or replacement of your own professional network. If your professional network is strong, recruiters are redundant in most cases. Also, when your network of peers (both cross-industry and within your industry) is strong, you are in a much better negotiating position.

In most cases, it is better to serve as your own recruiter/liaison between the potential employer and yourself. Keep that 20-40% for yourself.

Now, I will get those who will posit that some employers only work through their recruiting/staffing company. I do not believe that is true. It might be true if you are simply an unknown submitting a resume, but not if you are in a constant state of professional networking.

Take a look at my blog entry from December of last year.
Don’t become a high-risk proposition..
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career/archives/002399.asp

And
Create Career Coincidences
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/pm/career/archives/001346.asp

Re: Recruiters – A Necessary Evil?

In reply to Recruiters – A Necessary Evil?

They can help you if they have access to something you don’t. Always make your decisions based on what is in your best interest, and not on their pressure.

Craig Herberg

[Author]

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