Monster & recruiters
You're a professional, looking for a job. You post your resume on Monster.
You're going to get some calls, and right away.
They'll be recruiters. Not company recruiters, but people who work for recruiting firms. They'll all say pretty much the same thing. They have jobs available for people with your qualifications, could you send them your resume?
First, how recruiters work. Companies looking to hire give job descriptions to recruiting firms. Sometimes exclusively (only one firm is working for the company at the time), sometimes promiscuously (they give listings to all recruiting firms who call up saying they have available applicants). The recruiting firm sends screened candidates by. If the company hires the candidate, the recruiting firm is paid a commission, typically 20% of the annual pay of the new employee.
There's nothing really wrong with that story, but there's a lot of grey area, none of it favorable to the candidate.
(If and) when the recruiter receives the resume, the recruiter will ask "what jobs have you applied for on your own?". What is going on here is that the recruiter is limiting the scope where no commission will be possible.
This is the primary game which must be played with recruiters. It's in your interest to limit the scope where the commission will be possible, and limit it to jobs which you would not otherwise have applied for.
Observe the aggression analysis in the story. You're willing to have the recruiter compensated for services rendered. You're unwilling to support a demand for compensation because you replied to some other solicitation by the hiring company. The recruiter is aggressively seeking to muddy the water, to establish a claim on a commission when you send your resume in response to some solicitation. This is not in your best interest, to say the least.
The first rule:
You'll send your resume to the recruiter when the recruiter can describe a job opening which you find attractive.
Now there are some real sleazebag recruiters who will lie at this point, but most won't. They'll either tell you about a real opening, or they'll rely on badgering you to send the resume anyway. Don't do it. Unless the recruiter has a job you're interested in, there is nothing good which can come from that recruiter having your resume.
The second rule:
The recruiter must agree not to send your resume to anyone except in response to a particular, described job opening which you approved of in advance.
Keep good track of that list, it won't be long.
What this accomplishes is pretty clear. If you reply to some solicitation, the recruiter has no chance to muddy the water by suggesting that he had sent your resume to that company, and the company was replying to you because of his contact. Believe me, hiring companies do prefer to hire candidates which don't require a commission to be paid. If you have been working with a recruiter who has sent your resume to this company in response to a different job opening, make it clear to the hiring manager that you have responded to the solicitation, and that the recruiter is not involved.
The third "rule" is derived from all that:
You will apply for other jobs without notifying the recruiter.
There's no reason why you should tell the recruiter, since the recruiter has agreed not to send your resume except to a particular job with your permission. In the unlikely, but possible case that the recruiter comes up with a job you have already applied for, you simply explain the situation. Do not come to believe that the recruiter has an important influence which can be used to get you hired, so long as you let the recruiter represent you. The cost of the commission is negative beyond any affect the recruiter might theoretically have.
Lastly, you can negotiate with the recruiter for a split of the commission if you're deciding to take a job where they will be paid a commission. You can probably pull this off if you're taking a salary cut, or if you're passing by a higher paid offer. For one, it can really make the difference in your decision. The other job might not be higher paid if you're getting back 25% of the commission. Don't accept a recruiter compensated job before you explore this negotiation.
You're going to get some calls, and right away.
They'll be recruiters. Not company recruiters, but people who work for recruiting firms. They'll all say pretty much the same thing. They have jobs available for people with your qualifications, could you send them your resume?
First, how recruiters work. Companies looking to hire give job descriptions to recruiting firms. Sometimes exclusively (only one firm is working for the company at the time), sometimes promiscuously (they give listings to all recruiting firms who call up saying they have available applicants). The recruiting firm sends screened candidates by. If the company hires the candidate, the recruiting firm is paid a commission, typically 20% of the annual pay of the new employee.
There's nothing really wrong with that story, but there's a lot of grey area, none of it favorable to the candidate.
(If and) when the recruiter receives the resume, the recruiter will ask "what jobs have you applied for on your own?". What is going on here is that the recruiter is limiting the scope where no commission will be possible.
This is the primary game which must be played with recruiters. It's in your interest to limit the scope where the commission will be possible, and limit it to jobs which you would not otherwise have applied for.
Observe the aggression analysis in the story. You're willing to have the recruiter compensated for services rendered. You're unwilling to support a demand for compensation because you replied to some other solicitation by the hiring company. The recruiter is aggressively seeking to muddy the water, to establish a claim on a commission when you send your resume in response to some solicitation. This is not in your best interest, to say the least.
The first rule:
You'll send your resume to the recruiter when the recruiter can describe a job opening which you find attractive.
Now there are some real sleazebag recruiters who will lie at this point, but most won't. They'll either tell you about a real opening, or they'll rely on badgering you to send the resume anyway. Don't do it. Unless the recruiter has a job you're interested in, there is nothing good which can come from that recruiter having your resume.
The second rule:
The recruiter must agree not to send your resume to anyone except in response to a particular, described job opening which you approved of in advance.
Keep good track of that list, it won't be long.
What this accomplishes is pretty clear. If you reply to some solicitation, the recruiter has no chance to muddy the water by suggesting that he had sent your resume to that company, and the company was replying to you because of his contact. Believe me, hiring companies do prefer to hire candidates which don't require a commission to be paid. If you have been working with a recruiter who has sent your resume to this company in response to a different job opening, make it clear to the hiring manager that you have responded to the solicitation, and that the recruiter is not involved.
The third "rule" is derived from all that:
You will apply for other jobs without notifying the recruiter.
There's no reason why you should tell the recruiter, since the recruiter has agreed not to send your resume except to a particular job with your permission. In the unlikely, but possible case that the recruiter comes up with a job you have already applied for, you simply explain the situation. Do not come to believe that the recruiter has an important influence which can be used to get you hired, so long as you let the recruiter represent you. The cost of the commission is negative beyond any affect the recruiter might theoretically have.
Lastly, you can negotiate with the recruiter for a split of the commission if you're deciding to take a job where they will be paid a commission. You can probably pull this off if you're taking a salary cut, or if you're passing by a higher paid offer. For one, it can really make the difference in your decision. The other job might not be higher paid if you're getting back 25% of the commission. Don't accept a recruiter compensated job before you explore this negotiation.
posted by dwshelf at 8:46 AM
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