Essential Tips For Working With A Recruiter in 2024
Are you seeing Calls? Emails? Texts? Job Postings? From Recruiting Companies, YOU have NEVER heard of?
Well, I can tell you that after over 30 years in recruitment there are a lot of people out there calling themselves “Recruiters” that have no clue about WHAT they are doing! And more disturbingly, no ethics about HOW they are doing it!
This article is designed to help you with working with recruiters.
There are a lot of recruiting firms out there telling you they are the Best, the Foremost and My personal favorite… “THE EXPERTS”.
How do you know who to work with?
How do you know who to trust with YOUR Career!
I hope that the tips that I give you in this article will help you to choose whether you want to work with a recruiter and how to choose one or more that are right for you.
Why work with a Recruiter?
Using a recruiter can be a great advantage to a job seeker. Recruiters are your advocates at the client companies – hospitals, labs, biotech companies etc.
They often have a direct relationship with the hiring authority and can get your resume and information in front of the decision maker quicker than if you were to just send your resume or apply at a company website.
Recruiters are usually aware of most of the positions advertised and a lot of positions that are unadvertised. It can be a real timesaver for you to have someone else get the ball rolling for you in the initial application process.
How to choose a Recruiter
Is your recruiter experienced? Many people who call themselves professional recruiters are no more than glorified telemarketers who are just trying to play a matching game with resumes and job openings. Several years ago these types of recruiters were found primarily in other industries like information technology. With the growing need for lab professionals they have moved over into healthcare recruiting. That is why it is imperative that if you use a recruiter you know who you are dealing with. Remember the recruiter you choose will probably be helping you select the next job you take.
Questions to ask when you are selecting a Recruiter
Don’t be fooled by fancy websites and grandiose claims. The actual recruiter at the firm who you are talking to is the one who matters.
Find out how long they have been a recruiter.
How long have they been recruiting in YOUR area of expertise.
Ask for a reference on them from someone they have placed.
Have they taken the time to establish rapport and credibility with you?
Do you feel comfortable with this person?
Do you feel they have your best interests at heart?
Does it seem like they know what they are doing?
What should your Recruiter be doing for you?
What they should be doing
- The recruiter should be your advocate. They should be promoting you and your assets to the employer.
- The recruiter should provide you with interview coaching,
- The recruiter should help you with salary negotiation.
- The recruiter should be responsive to you.
How do you know they are doing it?
- Did they take the time in your interview to find out about you, what you want to do why you want to do it, what makes you special?
- Did they provide you with inside information about the client and let you know what to expect and how to handle questions during the interview?
- Did your recruiter give you an idea of what the pay rate is for the position and pledge to get you the best salary possible?
- Do they return your calls and e-mails, keep you posted on what is going on at the client, and provide you with feedback as to why you didn’t get the job?
Dos and Don’ts
Do work with a recruiter who you have been referred to by a friend
Do work with a recruiter who is experienced recruiting in your area of expertise.
Don’t work with a recruiter who tells you to work exclusively with them – you are not the only jobseeker they are working with so it is unfair for them to limit your exposure to jobs.
Don’t Let a recruiter push you into a job you don’t really want in a place you don’t want to be. This is about your career not their commission!
The Most Important “DO” of All!!
Do consider working with multiple recruiters, not everyone has the same jobs. It just requires a little more diligence on your part!
- Be sure to keep track of who is sending your resume, where and where you have sent it yourself.
- It is important that you keep track of the jobs yourself so that your resume is sent only once to a client.
- You have a LESSER, not BETTER chance of getting hired if an employer receives your resume more than once.
- Also bear in mind there are unscrupulous recruiters who if you tell them where you have applied, or another recruiter has sent your resume they will view this as a job lead and will be happy to contact that employer with other candidates of their own…competition for you!
- Insist that the recruiter tells you what employer and what job they are sending you to before they send it. You have shared your personal and professional information with you and owe it to you to tell you who they are sharing it with.
- Also bear in mind some unscrupulous recruiters just collect resumes and send them to employers and only contact you if the client expresses an interest. How would you like your resume to be accidentally sent to a sister lab or hospital or to your own boss! I have heard many horror stories like this. (Not to mention the recruiter who did ALL of the work won’t get paid, the unscrupulous one will because they just sent your resume over sooner without your permission.)
Characteristics of Great Recruiters!
Responsive – When you contact them they respond back within 24 hours
Enthusiastic – A great recruiter is excited about you and your job search.
Caring – They are there to help you regardless of whether the job is with them
Responsible –To a Great Recruiter your career is as important to them as it is to you.
Upbeat – A Great recruiter is upbeat and honest about your prospects.
Informed- They know what is going on in the field you work in.
Tenacious- A Great Recruiter is committed to helping you land in the right place.
Experience – They understand what you do and are great at what they do.
Respectful – A Great Recruiter respects your needs and isn’t just in it for the money.
I hope this article will help you in your decision to work with a recruiter and ultimately find the right job for you.
Pam Barker
President
RELIA Solutions
If you would like to subscribe to my histology careers bulletin send me an email to relia1@earthlink.net
If you follow professional golf, you know what I am referring to when I say LIV vs. PGA
If you don’t follow professional golf here’s a quick summary:
LIV golf is a new professional league that was formed and in the process they recruited top notch players from the PGA. Those that chose to go with LIV golf got huge bonuses and were barred from playing in the PGA where they had played for their whole careers. Flash forward 2 years and LIV and the PGA are merging – happy families right? WRONG! What about the players who showed loyalty and stayed with the PGA? Are they rewarded for loyalty?
So far not yet…
Do you see where I am going with this?
YOUR BEST EMPLOYEES – How do you keep them from leaving?
Big money being thrown around by travel companies?
New people coming in at higher rates than they started at or are making?
I know it has been a huge challenge to keep labs staffed but we need to make the employees who have stuck with us feel valued.
They need to be valued MORE than the new employee.
EVERY candidate that I talk to the first question I ask them is:
Why do you want to leave? Then WE talk about what would make it possible for them to stay. That’s right! I don’t recruit every histotech that I talk to.
I advise them on their career. I help them find reasons to stay if there are any.
Here is why they leave:
- DRAMA
- Being changed to a different shift to accommodate a traveler or new tech.
- Lack of support from leadership
- No opportunity to learn or do things besides cutting and embedding
- MONEY
Here is why they stay!
- A GREAT TEAM to work with
- A GREAT Manager to work for who is accessible and fair
- Opportunities to learn and grow
- More money and or PTO
Their lab environment/experience is up to you as managers.
Money/PTO
Here are some ideas for incentives.
- Bonuses: You can pay ad hoc bonuses, which are unexpected bonuses for completing a project, referring a new employee, or working effectively.
- Profit shares: A profit share is partial ownership of the company, and the number of shares employees receive typically depends on how profitable the company is.
- Time off or flex time: You can offer employees extra time off or flexible working hours after a busy period or as a recognition of their performance.
- Experiences or gifts: You can give employees company-sponsored experiences or personalized gifts that match their interests or hobbies.
- Recognition and praise: You can acknowledge and appreciate employees’ achievements publicly or privately, through handwritten cards, personalized book selections, or small donations to a nonprofit of their choice.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.
Have a fantastic day!
Pam Barker
President
RELIA Solutions
#ilovemyhistopeeps
#jobs4myhistopeeps
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#histologyjobs
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