How Do Recruiters Operate?
I had a conversation with a former Hiring Manager that I no longer recruit for but I’ve stayed in touch with. He changed jobs and his new company uses a different recruiting firm. Now, after having a different experience with a Recruiter, he wanted to run a few things by me. My takeaway was that many companies don’t understand how Recruiters operate, they think we are all one and the same. In this article I’m going to provide a brief view into some different ways that Recruiters operate as they fit different needs and hiring models.
Recruiting firms function very differently and are not a one size fits all. Besides the obvious: some are bigger, some specialize, etc., the contracts they have, how they prepare candidates, and what the experience is for client and candidate can vary dramatically. Many recruiting firms spend 2-3 hours in the morning cold calling as many candidates as possible and spending 15 minutes which each trying to ascertain as much information as possible, only to spend the afternoon doing the same but with hiring managers. They don’t actually have the job and they don’t actually have the candidates, but they fake it until they make it. Another model is to capture as many clients as possible so they can post your jobs on their job boards. They market the job boards back based on business function or industry, and wait for candidates to arrive. A third model is establish a list of candidates and then “sell” them to every hiring manager in the area with an open position. Find five sales individuals who are interested in moving and then fish them around until someone bites.
Companies work with all these models so they must serve a purpose. However, a long-time Recruiter colleague of mine and I have discussed this and we agree that many companies just don’t know how their Recruiter operates. At Mier Talent Consulting, we are a retained firm because we work with a small group of clients. We rarely have more than one client in a product category (furniture, flooring, textiles, plumbing fixtures. Architectural products, etc.) so that we can target candidates from all of your competitors. We also look at each position individually: We had a commercial furniture sales position that focused on Higher Ed. and we found a candidate who came from educational learning products. He knew every college and university in the same territory. Our client initially hesitated, but after speaking with him, they immediately fast-tracked him and made a hire. We request 25% of our fee up front because we are dedicated to filling the position as soon as possible, we’ll get the rest after you’re thrilled with a great new individual joining your team. But first, we’re going to reach out to over 100 candidates, do multiple interviews with each candidate and talk about your position and company in great detail, and have that candidate ready for an in-depth discussion with you so you can feel confident in making your decision.
If this sounds interesting and you’d like to learn more about us, let’s set up a time to talk.
