What recruiters don't tell you

I love learning about careers. I love helping someone figure out what he wants to do in life, put together a resume and then prepare for the interviews. I'm one of the strange ones that enjoys going on an interview... although I haven't officially been on one in ages. As you might suspect, I thought these interests would lend well to a career in recruiting. For a few short weeks of my life, I sat behind a desk calling random people telling them about "great" opportunities. I would leave my overzealous messages and wait for the return phone calls. Why did I do this for such a short time you ask? I suck at lying and I hate it. My boss told me that I just didn't like being on the phone... well, if you ask my parents, you couldn't pry the phone from my hands when I was growing up. If you ask AT&T, they would likely tell you I'm one of their best customers. I loved being on the phone. What I didn't like was lying to every single person I talked to during my short recruiting stint. Getting fired from that job was a dream come true... I just didn't know it yet.

Recruiting firms are working for the hiring client, not you. I must note that there are exceptions to this rule. Some recruiters will look for jobs specifically for you if either (a) you're a fantastic candidate with a rock solid resume or (b) you agree to pay a lofty sum of money. In either scenario, you're probably better off looking for a job yourself.

Here's how it works. Lets use the Acme corporation for an example. The recruiter, let's call him Carl, calls through a bunch of companies promising to find great candidates and at least one that the company will want to hire. Of course this service doesn't come for free. If Acme agrees to hire one of these candidates, thousands of dollars will be owed to the recruiting company. So, Acme agrees to these terms in writing and the search begins. Recruiter Carl sets out to find the star employee by posting on the Internet, looking through linkedin.com, networking, etc. Here's the part you might not know. The best employees are usually already working. Carl knows this so he calls companies that produce the best type of candidates for Acme company. He targets companies that train their employees well and have rigorous interview and hiring policies. He seeks companies with a proven track record of success that only hire the best. Here's how the conversation might go:

"Hello, thank you for calling XYZ company. How may I direct your call?" Receptionist.

"Oh, I'm hoping you can help me. This is John and I recently went to a luncheon where I met one of your employees. I was really hoping to connect with her but I can't remember her name. It's right on the tip of my tongue. I know I'd remember it if I heard it," Carl.

Carl waits for the receptionist to start rattling off names. Carl writes these names down and keeps searching. He knows that Acme likes to hire young, attractive men and women that are recent college grads with a few years experience tucked under their belts. He continues but this time, he gets more specific.

"No, I don't think that was her name. She was younger, probably about 24 or 25. Tall, blond, very sharp," Carl.

"Oh, you must mean Cindy. Let me put you through," Receptionist.

"Thank you. What is her extension if I get disconnected?"

Cindy isn't in the office so her voicemail picks up.

"Hello Cindy! My name is Carl and an anonymous source told me that you'd be great for a fantastic job opportunity I have. My client is a fortune 500 company that doubled their profits in the past year. They're one of Fortune Magazine's top 100 companies to work for they're offering a very attractive package with realistic first year earnings of at least $100,000. If you could please call me back at your earliest convenience I'd really appreciate it. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you soon," he hangs up and records Cindy's name in a log indicating what company she works for and the date he contacted her. Then he waits for her to return the call.

Carl has never met Cindy. Never seen her and likely never will. He has no idea what her qualifications are, if she's happy in her present job or if she would be a good fit for Acme. What he really cares about it placing Cindy at Acme and getting paid for the placement. Heck, he'd be better off if Cindy didn't work out and Acme came running to him to replace her with another candidate. Carl continues this method of searching for at least another few hundred calls before he eventually does find a couple candidates to interview and hopefully a hire. Since he has Cindy's extension, he can call through other extensions that are close in number to hers where he can offer up the same word track as before. His dream would be to get a dial-by-name directory of all the people in her department. After all, most people don't tell their co-workers about recruiter calls and opportunities. You'd be surprised how many times I arrived at an interview only to see a co-worker waiting in the lobby to interview after me. Recruiters love to throw a bunch of candidates from one company to see if one will stick.

Cindy does call Carl back and Carl starts seeing dollar signs as he realizes that Cindy is exactly what the company is looking for. He arranges an interview but tells Cindy that she must call him before and after the interview for prep and follow-up. Carl knows what the client is looking for and knows what buzz words to give Cindy in order for her to shine in the interview. These may or may not be words that Cindy would normally use and this might be a company that will be a great fit or maybe not. What matters is that Cindy is sold on the job and pumped up so that she can go sell herself in the interview. Carl takes special time to make sure that Cindy creates phrases to use that incorporate these buzz words and qualities and he teaches her things to avoid. Perhaps he got these avoidance topics directly from Acme when he asked about things that made other employees not work out in the past. Cindy goes on her interview and excitedly calls Carl afterwards.

"Hi Carl, the interview went great! I think they really like me. They want me to come back next week and meet the rest of their team," Cindy.

"That's great Cindy. When is that interview scheduled for? What questions did they ask you?"

Carl sits and writes down ever single question that Cindy can recall. He takes careful notes about the details of the interview so that he can properly prepare and educate his next candidate. These details aren't necessarily to help Cindy but to help Carl place a candidate if Cindy doesn't work out.

Carl talks to the hiring manager at Acme and learns that they really like Cindy but they have another candidate with more experience. They will continue to interview Cindy but they do have someone else waiting in the wings. Carl decides not to tell Cindy about this because he wants her to remain excited and energized about the prospect just in case the other candidate doesn't work out or decides not to accept the job. In fact, when Acme begins to stall with Cindy as they await an acceptance from candidate B, Carl makes excuses for the hiring manager, telling Cindy that he is out of town and not to worry about not getting a call back yet.

Meanwhile, Cindy has been distracted from her job that she was otherwise happy with and she has started to question if there's something better. Her productivity starts to slide as she works with recruiters and starts to interview. She may or may not find something that makes her happier. The more likely scenario is that her boss finds out that she's looking and she jeopardizes her existing job. Unfortunately, I know this from personal experience.

There are good recruiters out there that genuinely want the best for you. I would argue that this is the exception and not the rule.

Another tactic that recruiters often use is to post a job opportunity that doesn't really exist. Recruiters love to build up their "resume bank" to have great candidates waiting for prospective hiring managers. A bait and switch technique, many candidates will call about a posting, send in their resume and then be told that the job was filled. If the recruiter has another, less sexy client, he will often try to pass off this "new opportunity" to the candidate. Sometimes the recruiter won't even call the candidate back. Why would he when he has a resume to file and follow up on for the next hot opportunity that comes by?

Stay tuned for the do's and don't when working with a recruiter.