Rarely a day goes by when I don’t hear grumbles and rants from jobseekers about recruiters. “She said she’d call and she hasn’t!”, one will moan or “He won’t keep in the loop about my application” another will wail. Generally the complaints are these:

• Recruiters do not follow up with me on my job application.
• Recruiters are disinterested in helping me get into a new area.
• The recruiter wanted me to change my resume! The nerve!
• Recruiters won’t tell me the name of the company.

All of these criticisms come down to misunderstanding the role of the recruiter in relation to you, the jobseeker.

First let’s look at how the relationship works best.

The recruiter can be a jobseeker’s best friend. Particularly if you are a “hot candidate”. By “hot” it means you have a consistent work record (preferably with well-known companies), your skills are in short supply and in great demand, you have a strong industry network, and you are a match for the position the recruiter has in mind. If you fit that bill, then things will be smooth sailing. The recruiter will brief you on the employer’s needs, give you inside information about what to mention to press their hot buttons, follow-up with you and the employer post-interview and take an active role in communicating the remuneration expectations and offers. If you are to be the recruiter’s friend, you will help them in passing along contacts of similarly qualified candidates so a relationship can be built. This is the perfect win/win jobseeker/recruiter relationship.

Let’s look at the myths surrounding the recruiter/jobseeker relationship.

• Complaint: Recruiters do not follow up with me on my job application.

It is a common mistake that many jobseekers make to think of a recruiter as their “agent”. A recruiter is not helping you find a job; you’re not paying this person, he or she is not your manager or agent. A recruiter is hired by the employer to fill a position. Consequently recruiters’ allegiance is to the person with the purse strings, not the product (you). As a result, if you send in an application for a job and you’re not a match, the recruiter is not going to call you and scout around town for a job to match your skills. That’s your job!

• Recruiters are disinterested in helping me get into a new area.

We’ve already discussed what it means to be a “hot candidate”. Hot candidates are quickly and easily placed because there is a demand for their services. Conversely if you are the type of candidate that doesn’t form a ready “fit” such as a career changer with no experience and a lot of enthusiasm for entering a new field, then it is doubtful that the recruiter can build and sell a successful case for your hire as it doesn’t meet the employer’s brief. The employer is very unlikely to say “Get me a person with a lot of enthusiasm and no experience for this role!” It may be rude to show a level of disinterest in your great dream to achieve employment bliss, but frankly, you really are, on the whole, wasting their time. This is not the best forum for you to get a job. Look instead to your network, people you know who can get you before employers who are ready to take a chance because they see potential in you.

• Recruiter wanted me to change my resume! The nerve!

We all get a bit precious and protective of our resumes. (Especially when we have paid big dollars to get them written professionally). Jobseekers often become outraged at some of the old-fashioned, outdated or on the surface, ridiculous pieces of advice they receive from recruiters to change their resumes. What jobseekers forget is that the recruiter has insight and knowledge into the client’s needs and preferences. They will suggest these changes because they know that these are the employer’s “hot buttons”. Be flexible. No-one is asking you to change your $700 resume permanently. This is extra work that the recruiter believes will help you, help them to get paid if you are successful, and help the employer see your value. Will it kill you to do a “one-off” version of your resume for this job only for the sake of a great job?

• Recruiters won’t tell me the name of the company.

Let’s be fair. Recruiters are being paid by an employer to seek the right person. If the employer wanted to do the hiring, it would be done by the company, so this is clearly their preferred method. Frequently it is a sensitive situation to be handled confidentially. It could be that the announcement to shareholders has to be properly timed, or a person acting in the role must be managed out. Rest assured. If you are a hot candidate, you will be told everything. If you’re not a hot candidate, you don’t need to know. It won’t matter other than for “sticky beak” potential.

Now that you know that the recruiter has great potential to help you enormously, here’s how you can help them help you.

• Don’t stalk them daily asking if he or she has found anything for you
• Don’t ask for constant updates on your application. Sometimes days go past without anything happening. Learn patience. It’s a virtue.
• Don’t get angry. It never helps anybody and people really do feel less inclined to go that extra mile if you’re going to be difficult.
• Don’t arrive at an interview looking like you have walked straight from the nightclub to the recruiter’s office. An interview is an interview regardless of whether it is with the employer or the employer’s representative (the search consultant). Remember recruiters are going to recommend you (or not) based on your skills, appearance and demeanour. Act like the professional you are.
• Come prepared. Do homework. Ask intelligent questions.
• Don’t try to beat around the bush, give clichéd fluffy replies, lie or mislead. These people are pros. They can smell “stretching the truth” at two paces.
• Do what they say. If they ask you tweak your resume and wear a red tie to interview, just do it.
• If you would consider a counter-offer from your current employer then say so. It is wasting everyone’s time to leave them and the employer high and dry.

The relationship between recruiters and jobseekers can be mutually beneficial, as long as you understand your role in the process.