As of December 2019, there were about 7.3 million jobs unfilled in the US alone. Around 700,000 of those jobs are in the tech sector. With so many unfilled positions, it’s no wonder that so many companies turn to recruiters to help fill the shortfall. Of course, if you’ve never worked with recruiters before, you probably have some questions.
Keep reading and we’ll discuss some of the most frequently asked questions about working with a recruiter.
Who Are You Really Working For?
Recruiters work in a strange middle ground between employers and employees. While recruiters often like the people they help find a job, they don’t work for those would-be employees. Recruiters work for the companies that hire them. Specifically, they work to help fill a company’s needs. Recruiters will never intentionally send a bad candidate your way because it makes them look bad and utterly fails to meet their agreement with you.
Do Recruiters Understand the Jobs They Try to Fill?
The answer to the question is a little less clear cut and usually boils down to something like, “It depends.” It depends, in part, on the recruiter/recruitment firm. A good recruiter/firm will usually try to stick with industries she understands fairly well. It also depends on the job in question. A job like a forklift operator has its quirks, but most recruiters can get a handle on it.
If a company wants programmers and computer scientists, the odds go down. If the recruiter had those skills, they’d likely be applying for the positions instead of recruiting for them. In those cases, they must rely more on job descriptions from the company to pair up skills and experience.
Will Recruiters Keep Confidences
Let’s say you want to diversify your workforce by adding more women or minorities. You might worry that the recruiter will notify candidates who don’t meet these general goals. You shouldn’t worry. Again, the recruiter works for you. Their job is to get you the right candidates for your needs. It’s not their job or place to inform candidates about any parameters you provide about filling the position.
Working with a recruiter for the first time can feel odd because you’re asking strangers to find your employees. The thing to keep in mind is that the recruiters work for you. After all, they don’t get paid if they send you bad candidates. As a rule, they’ll keep your confidence. They also tend to stick with industries they understand, even if they don’t know every detail about a specific position.
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