Benefits of Working with a Recruiting Company

There are a host of choices for the job seeker: online recruitment sites, job posting boards, and dozens of networking sites. So much information and accessibility to job ads may give the active candidate a false sense of security that they can manage their job search on their own.  However, working with a Recruiter offers many benefits in any job market.

You will be in a smaller select pool when you work with a Recruiter. If you match the qualifications of a job the recruiter is working on, you are automatically in a smaller pool of candidates, therefore raising your chances of being the chosen one vs. being 1 of 200 resumes.

Headhunters are involved in about half of all senior-level job changes, according to a study by the International Association of Corporate and Professional Recruitment. Your recruiter will likely know the human resources manager or hiring manager directly, so instead of being another faceless resume in a stack of eager applicants, let the recruiter do the leg work for you and become your cheerleader.

Recruiters only get paid when you get hired. A recruiter's number one goal is to get you hired and until that happens they will do their best to educate you, prepare you, and coach you through all aspects of the interview and hiring process.  A headhunter’s services are free to job seekers, and the placement fees are paid to the recruiter by the company who hires you.

Recruiters provide no-cost advantages  such as strategic career guidance, history on the company and the job you are interviewing for, detailed resume analysis, and suggestions on navigating the interview process.

You will have a "promoter" by working with a Recruiter who specializes in your industry. In presenting your resume to a potential company, the recruiter promotes your strengths and assets to the employer. The recruiter will also help the person meeting you to connect the dots between your work experience and the open job.

A Recruiter can help improve your interview skills. Job seekers who use the services of a recruitment firm are better prepared for job interviews and have the inside scoop about the company, as well as the expected skills and the intangibles that the hiring manager desires in a candidate.  Because your recruiter has probably worked with the hiring manager and the company on prior placements, your recruiter will very likely know specific questions and/or topics your interviewers will ask once you speak with them.  Think of it like knowing the exam questions prior to taking the test.

Headhunters have access to unpublished or hidden jobs not yet advertised or posted on the Internet.  There are a few companies – particularly in Technology – who prefer to keep some of their prized job openings out of view to the general public.  They do this for various reasons, but if you don't have access to these jobs or know they exist, you certainly can’t interview for them.

Good Recruiters have a ton of industry contacts.  If you work with a seasoned Recruiter, they will know dozens (hopefully hundreds) of hiring managers who work within your field.  If you don't get the first position you are interviewed for, your recruiter will likely have a few more in mind or know of several more that will open up in the future.

You can get great information through your Recruiter. A savvy recruiter can provide great insights about trends in your field and in your market, as well as provide a barometer of how much you should/could be earning and other compensation criteria, professional must-have skills, and pass along background on a company's culture.

Confidentiality can be crucial. In the new world of social media, it's not a far-fetched possibility that your current employer could discover you are actively looking if you've posted your resume to every job board on the web.  In a perfect world, your employer wouldn't take it as a negative, but it would certainly lead to some awkward moments in the office.