Why You Should Use a Recruiter

When you're unemployed it's tempting to think that a professional can help you land the perfect job. Rather than thinking of recruiters or headhunters as magicians, think of us as matchmakers. My role and any other recruiter's role are to help match your experience and interests up with a similar open position.

Trust me here when I say it's not an exact science, and like match making in the romance department, even the best of them can be wrong. But a good recruiter can provide you with helpful job leads and advice on how to best position yourself to land a job. For instance one of my greatest assets as a recruiter is the ability to help you edit and rewrite a horrible resume.

Often the terms recruiter, headhunter, and search consultant are used interchangeably. Regardless of title, the important distinction is who is footing their bill. They either receive a placement fee from a firm or they charge job seekers a flat fee for identifying job leads and securing interviews. If you're paying a recruiter to find you job openings, then they work for you. If a headhunter is paid by a company to find the best-qualified candidate for an open job, then their loyalty is to that company. Recognize up front whom your recruiter is working for. It’s just the nature of the business. No hard feelings.

If you use a recruiter, it's important to find one that specializes in your field, for me it’s the obvious technical or federal arena, but for all the other job seekers out there, The National Association of Personnel Services (www.napsweb.org) or the American Staffing Association (www.natss.org) can help you locate a certified recruiter or staffing professional in your area.

I have also found that asking friends and former colleagues if they have anyone they would recommend works too.

Remember however, before paying for services, interview a potential recruiter to find out exactly what they promise to deliver. Ask for references and their success rate of placing people within your field of interest. Check them out on local networking site like LinkedIn (you can find me there), which explains their background and work history in detail. Also ask them to evaluate your resume and let you know, upfront, what they think of their potential to place you.

Be aggressive when working with recruiters. If you're paying, they work for you. Keep in close contact, even after you land a job. If you have a good relationship with a recruiter, they might keep you in mind when another job opens up. And try not to get discouraged if they aren’t contacting you all day everyday. It is there job to support and help as many potential candidates in the job market as possible.
Regardless of whom you use, you'll still need to take the ultimate responsibility in finding a new job. The best chance you have of landing the job you want is to manage your job search wisely, prepare well by having excellent materials (such as your resume, letters of reference, work samples, etc.), and remember to always remain professional and confident and make sure you have some excellent interviewing skills. First impressions are 90% the deal closer or breaker, the other 10% are being smart in utilizing your skills to get your self that initial interview!

Good Luck out there!