How do you choose recruiters?

[YHY]

Hi, I'm looking for a new job now and found that there're many recruiters out there. Can you share with me how many you'll use and under what criteria you'll choose them? Or is it better just sending resumes to the firms directly?

I've just got in touch with one for a few days but we still didn't get to talk yet even we've made appointments. She's always busy and missed my calls. I left her voice mail but she didn't get back to me yet. This is not a good sign to choose her, right?

Please feel free to PM me if you know any good ones or bad ones.
Thanks a lot in advance!! :notworth:

[whisper]

Remember, the recruiter is representing you. If you are uncomfortable with how (in this case) she is presenting herself to you, you may not be happy with how she presents herself to prospective companies.

[Maxine]

I judge how well they listen to me. If I tell them that something specific doesn't interest me and they keep calling me telling me how great it is - then they're on my sh*t list. Now, if they call and say "I know you're not interested, but I'm looking for the right type of person to fill this job. Do you know anyone who would be suitable?", then I respect that. :D

[Patience]

This somewhat depends on your current position.

If you are entry level it would be resonalble to contact a company's student program directly

At a higher level it could hamper the company looking at you. If you see something on a job website, that is an invitation to come in yourself.

If a recruiter comes to me with a specific job I will consider them for that job. If I am initiating the search I will start with someone I liked in the past, barring that word of mouth from your co-workers.

If you are new to the field you could consider the comments others have posted here, but it seems we only agree on who we don't like, everyone has a complaint about a recruiter someone else here liked. So if you want to PM me I will give you names of those who I liked, but I promise someone else here would have had a bad experience.

Two other things, Claude will probably we contacting you shortly. & if the one you are currently contacting doesn't have time for you now move on. Its a sign.

[DW Simpson]

Two other things, Claude will probably we contacting you shortly.

I think I've initiated one PM my entire time on the board, actually. I only respond when someone comes to me first. Anything else would be inappropriate and unwanted. In fact, that's also why I try to stay out of threads such as this one. :)

It's none of my business unless I'm asked.

[Patience]

Sorry, didn't mean to put you on the spot.

Just wanted to let him know you exist

[DW Simpson]

No problem, I figured that's what you meant. I just wanted to clarify so that no one is dissuaded from posting.

[Elisha]

I think I've initiated one PM my entire time on the board, actually. I only respond when someone comes to me first.

Sure...WHATEVER! :roll: :wink: You're a salesman. That's hard to believe.

[DW Simpson]

What I am is a webmaster who answers questions occasionally. If I'm a salesman, I'm a pretty bad one, because I don't do much selling.

Anyway, rather than commencing the piling on part of our program, and hijacking YHY's thread, I'll bet YHY would prefer other responses to their questions.

[YHY]

Anyway, rather than commencing the piling on part of our program, and hijacking YHY's thread, I'll bet YHY would prefer other responses to their questions.[/quote]


Thanks for your consideration. :lol:

[Tobias Funke]

Find someone you're comfortable communicating with at first.

Then, as opportunities arise, watch his/her behaviour. That's when you can check the following:

- Is the person really trying and selling me well? If they present you an opportunity, analyze what you think makes you a good fit for the job and what are the selling points in your resume. Then ask them the same question - you want to hear stuff that's coming from your resume, stuff you've told them about you. They have to be ready for pop quizzes all the time or else, they won't "sell" you as effectively.

- Recruiters can be perceived as adding to the "cost of hiring you" by companies, compared to you applying by yourself - make sure the benefits are there as well and it's worth it. Again, you want someone who will sell you well, who will give you the right info about the position/company, someone you can trust if you have to negociate an offer later on.

- Trust must be there and kept alive. Analyze their behavior through the process and grade them on their integrity. They should understand what's best for you, as opposed to what's best for them. I've had a recruiter throw a fit when I told them about a position on which I was going to apply on my own, after making sure they had not applied for me first. Some will play the "guilt card" and remind you of "all the work they've done for you" (remind them of results). If I want a guilt trip, I'll call my mom. Also, If they apply (or re-apply) for you somewhere without checking with you first, it's NOT a good sign. Even if this does not have any bad consequences on you at this point, keep in mind that it might in the future and if they've done it once, they'll do it again.

- Results are important - good reputations are not easy to build in that line of work. Ask them who they've placed, check if they know the market - you need someone who knows the are where you are and where you're going. A recruiter called me the other day to see if we would want to hire an Associate who "currently works in city XYZ as a consultant". Their lack of knowledge of the market made it easy for me to know who they were talking about since that city only has 1 consulting firm, with only 1 associate. Confidentiality was lost there; I'm sure the recruiter ended up calling someone somewhere who knows that person's boss - dangerous.

Hope this helps.

[jerrytuttle]

I had a recruiter pitch a certain position to me, and then tell me the name of a colleague who was already interested in the position.

I'm sure that colleague didn't want his name thrown around like that. You can bet I will not be dealing with that recruiter in the future.