Recruiter Myths
Myth 1: Recruiters are expensive
This myth is #1, because not only are recruiters not expensive for job seekers – they’re free! It’s actually illegal for recruitment agencies to charge job seekers a fee for placing them in a role. As recruitment consultants, our fees are paid by the employers who hire us to source top tier candidates for their roles. As a candidate who we seek out, interview and put forward to a client, you get all this service for no charge at all.
Myth 2: It’s a recruiter’s job to find me a job
Related to myth #1, because it’s the employer who engages us and pays our fees, our job isn’t necessarily to find jobs for candidates; it’s to find the right candidate for our client’s job. Think of it as a matchmaking service. We find out what requirements our clients are looking for in a new hire, and we source someone from our network who matches those requirements to find a fit. Unfortunately, we don’t get to place every candidate we meet with as it’s just far too much volume and we have to work within our clients’ parameters.
Myth 3: Recruiters can coach me on / help me find a new career
We love giving that extra level of service to all the candidates we meet with. When we can, we’ll suggest how to improve your CV and advise you on your job search. But we’re not qualified career coaches and it’s not within our expertise to provide ongoing professional (or personal) development. For those trying to transition to a new career, our services probably aren’t the most suitable. We’re hired to find individuals who are already top tier professionals in their field, so clients will only consider candidates with prior experience. However, if it’s job search advice you’re after, we have great resource sections for CVs and interviews.
Myth 4: A recruiter’s fees are taken out of my potential salary
Sometimes people are hesitant to work with recruitment agencies because they think that our fees are coming out of their salary. But the reality is that all our clients offer candidates a salary that is competitive with market value; if they didn’t, they’d never be able to attract top talent! Our fees are related to the added service we provide that is not taken from your salary. And in fact, the more you earn, the more we earn. So you can rest assured that we are negotiating extremely hard on your behalf and are not taking any pennies from your pocket!
Myth 5: Recruiters can be unresponsive and should always get back to you every time
This is literally impossible, once we receive your application we will always acknowledge receipt and add you to your chosen vacancy shortlist, however, we cannot return each and every candidates calls and emails (most of the time multiple, from the same candidate). We have to send a large portion of our time communicating with clients to ensure we achieve results for you. You need to work with your recruitment consultant and initiate a collaborative process that works for both you and us.
Myth: 6 Using a recruitment agency as opposed to applying directly puts me at a disadvantage
This is not the case, we often have vacancies that are not out in the public domain by the client themselves so you can only apply if using us. Also, we have established trust, relationships and a proven track record with our clients and they are well aware of/educated of how we operate before requesting to meet you. If you are good enough, our clients will meet you.
Myth 7: Recruiters only care about making a placement
Now this one is a bit more personal, but it’s definitely a myth for us. Believe it or not, making a placement isn’t everything in our business. We genuinely care about finding people the right fit; so we’ll never push you into taking a job that you’re not sure about or hide information from you. We won’t coerce you away from a promising job prospect that you found on your own, and in fact we’re happy to share any knowledge we have about prospective employers. We enjoy what we do and are in this for the long haul we love the real consultative aspect of recruiting and building long-lasting relationships with employers and job seekers alike. For us, it’s not about the quick win, we want to build that trust so we can work together throughout your whole career.
