Revisiting the Magic Pot of Jobs rant
Speaking of Recruiting.com, Jim Durbin has a great post up over there about dealing with clients and candidates as a recruiter.
Look people, I’ve said it before, and now Jim has said it, but let me lay it out one more time.
Recruiters make money by putting people to work. It sounds like Jim is on a commission program, while I’m on a salary-plus-bonus scale, but the principle is the same. It is in our financial interest to help you find a job, but not just any job- the RIGHT job, the one that will make your new employer a repeat client, the one that will have you telling your friends about the great new job we helped you find.
And while my friend Chris is right that there are some jackass recruiters out there, people who shouldn’t be allowed near a job description, no recruiter worth his or her salt will waste the client’s time, his/her own time, and your time by blasting your resume out for every job description that happens to have a couple of words in common with your resume.
A good recruiter will be honest with you about what your prospects are, the kind of environment you’ll fit into, and how best to present yourself. You may indeed be really smart and a quick study, but if my client is looking for experience you don’t have, you aren’t getting the job and I’m not going to look like an idiot by submitting you when you don’t have the required qualifications. As Jim says, “Recruiters don’t get paid to waste time.”
August 9th, 2005 at 4:18 pm
Wow - I sound like a mercenary. I like the money, but the puppy dogs and pressing wildflowers are cool too - if they help me get into a networking event.
August 9th, 2005 at 10:17 pm
Not at all. A person’s got a right to make a living- let’s be honest, much as I love what I do, if I didn’t need a paycheck I’d find some other way to spend my time. Our clients don’t work for free, our candidates don’t work for free, why should we be ashamed to make money for matching them up?