By Linda (Odineca) Calabria
I’m so happy to be back and writing another posting for Bullhorn Reach! This time I was asked to touch upon my experience of using recruiters and recruiting agencies.
Other than everyone’s usual encounter with recruiters calling or reaching out via LinkedIn or e-mails, I had never tried to find work through a placement agency until I was unemployed.
As I mentioned in my previous posting, I worked with two agencies. Yes, the agencies may not have preferred that, but as a job seeker I felt I needed as many eyes out on the market as possible.
It’s easy to think of a recruiter as someone you need to impress at all costs. However, they are working for more than just the client who hired them; they’re also working on behalf of job seekers. Yes, they are looking to place you in a job so that they can get paid but they’re also looking to find someone who is the right fit for a position. And at the end of the day if there were no job seekers, there would be no placement agencies.
To the job seekers out there: when coming in to meet with a recruiter I would be very specific in your wants and needs. I understand that there comes a time when you are ready to take ANY job that comes your way. However, in this situation you are being asked about what will make YOU happy and you need to take that into consideration. Be specific; tell the recruiter what your wants and needs are and what you specialize in. The recruiter is on your side so work with them just as much as they will be working for you.
However, if I can offer one cautionary tale it would be this. I was set up for an interview via a placement agency. I arrived to the interview ahead of time. As it turned out, somewhere some wires got crossed. I was not informed, and according to the placement agency neither were they, that the interview had been reeled in an hour. So, if I thought that I was 15 minutes early, according to the interviewers I was 45 minutes late. That was by far my most embarrassing interview ever. Here I was, late and at this point no one could meet with me.
So what is the take-away? Recruiters have a million things going on and who knows what actually went wrong in my situation. But this is your future and career. Follow up and be proactive about getting the information you need. Prior to the interview you should be given the name of the person with whom you will be interviewing. If and only if it is appropriate, introduce yourself, via LinkedIn, ahead of the interview and tell him/her that you are looking forward to the interview on such and such a date and time. For all you know, you’ll be told a different date and time. Manage yourself and those who work on your behalf. Don’t forget that at the end of the day, finding a job is YOUR job and no one else’s!
As always, prepare, double check and always send a thank you note!
About the Author:
Linda (Odineca) Calabria is a brand marketing specialist with experience in global marketing, social media strategy and implementation and product development. She graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science in International Business and from Suffolk University with a Global MBA. You can contact Linda on LinkedIn and read her blog.
