A recruiter has a job for a reason; most large organizations use agency recruiters to fill a percentage of their vacancies.

There is a reason the likes of Michael Page, Robert Walters Robert Half and Korn Ferry have become so large.

Recruitment agencies and recruitment consultants have become an essential component in the hiring system of the corporate world.

A good recruiter doesn’t only find candidates for roles, they also consult on hiring practices, market trends and salary benchmarks.

Experienced recruitment consultants understand the markets in which they operate, often becoming indispensable recruitment partners.

Many recruitment agencies go as far as offering outplacement services to large firms, meaning that they support both onboarding personnel and offboarding them too.

It’s not unusual for multinational organizations to outsource their entire recruitment function to a specialist recruitment firm, this practice is called RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing).

In short, recruitment agencies and recruiters have been around for a long time and are here to stay.

Are you are serious about advancing your career in 2023?

If you are, you should understand how a typical recruiter and recruitment agency operates. This will help you leverage the services a recruiter can offer your job search.

Coming up

That’s what this article is all about. As a former recruiter, I’m going to reveal six things that you should always expect from a recruiter. Plus I’ll tell you four things that you should never expect from a recruitment consultant.

Many of the frustrations that people encounter when engaging with recruiters can be avoided with clear expectations and a clear understanding of what a recruiter can and cannot offer.

We’re going to look at:

• How recruitment agencies work
• Six things you can expect a recruiter to offer your job search
• Four things that you should never expect from a recruiter

How does a recruiter and recruitment agency work?

The first thing to understand is that recruitment agencies work on behalf of their client. For example, Michael Page might be contracted by Coca-Cola to source a Marketing Manager in New York.

If Michael Page successfully places a Marketing Manager into the role with Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola will pay Michael Page a fee.

In short, recruitment agencies offer a product to organizations and that product is human capital.

How much does a recruiter get paid?

Depending upon the role, seniority, location and industry, a recruitment company will typically charge somewhere between 15% and 25% of the successful candidate’s first annual salary.

Needless to say, there’s big money in recruitment. A recruitment consultant will usually be paid a basic salary with an additional commission structure on top, these commission structures are often very lucrative.

It’s also worth mentioning that a majority of the time a recruitment company, and therefore the recruitment consultant, will only earn a fee if they successfully place a candidate into a role.

The candidate will need to remain in the role for a minimum period of time for the placement to be classed as successful.

This is referred to as contingency recruitment as the fee is contingent upon a successful placement.

Contingent and retained recruitment

When a recruitment company works on a contingent basis, it is not unusual for there to be more than one firm trying to fill the same role. This is the reason why recruitment can be so competitive and faced paced.

There are times, however, when a recruitment company will charge an upfront fee for their services. This fee may be a percentage of the anticipated final commission. This is called retained recruitment.

When an organization pays to retain the services of a recruitment firm, that firm will usually be the only agency working on the role. This usually only happens when the position is quite senior or very specialized and difficult to fill.

Are recruitment consultants salespeople?

Recruitment is basically a sales role. As part of their role, a recruiter will be required to sell their services to an organization, like Coca-Cola, sell the role at Coca-Cola to potential candidates and then sell those candidates to Coca-Cola.

As I mentioned above, more often than not a recruiter will be in competition against other recruitment agencies to fill the role and earn the fee.

All of this makes recruitment a fast-paced and competitive industry where only the best salespeople succeed.

What can you expect from a recruiter?

Now that you know who a recruitment company actually works on behalf of, you’ll understand where their priorities lie.

Yep, you guessed it, their priorities lie with the organization that’s going to pay them the big fee. This means you can’t expect loyalty or even preference during the process.

That being said, a good recruiter can be invaluable to your job search and there are six things that you can expect a recruiter to bring to your job hunt that will really benefit you.

Knowledge and expertise in your industry

If you’re working with the right recruiter they should know a lot about your industry.

An experienced recruiter will have the inside track on who is and isn’t hiring, what employers are currently looking for, and what types of roles and organizations you should target.

Insider knowledge like this is incredibly helpful.

Expect honest feedback from a recruiter

You should expect a good recruiter to be upfront and honest with you, proving you with an accurate assessment of your strengths, gaps and chances of landing your ideal job.

It’s helpful to understand how realistic your expectations are, what kind of salary and benefits you can likely achieve and what level of competition you’ll face.

Interview preparation

One of the great benefits of working with a recruiter is the support you’ll receive during the interview process. You should make the most of this.

Interview preparation is something that any good recruiter should be able to help you with. Good interview preparation can make all the difference!

Speak to your recruiter to find out as much as you can about who will be interviewing you, what kind of interview style the company prefers to use and what kinds of questions you are likely to be asked.

If your recruiter seriously believes that you have a chance at securing the position, they will want to take the time to run you through some practice questions and provide you with feedback.

Remember if you get the job, they get paid.

Interview debriefs

As soon as the interviews are over, the recruiter will be on the phone with the hiring manager asking for feedback. You should expect them to pass this feedback on to you.

When you apply to a role directly, you often won’t receive feedback after an interview. A recruiter, however, will always get feedback and should always pass this on to you.

Honest interview feedback is incredibly helpful in your job search process.

Salary negotiation

Negotiating your own salary is awkward. It’s usually unclear how far you can push a company to increase an offer.

On the flip side, a recruiter will know what salary band is on offer plus what benefits should and could form part of your package.

A recruiter will also know where there might be flexibility, such as offering a one-off sign-on bonus, a car allowance or relocation support.

Don’t forget that your recruiter needs you to accept an offer, it’s also in their interest to get you the highest possible salary.

Confidentiality and professionalism

This should go without saying but sadly it’s not everyone’s experience. A recruitment agency should never submit your resume to a company without your consent.

The fact that you are in the market should also be kept confidential and your resume should never be used as a marketing tool to try to sign up new clients.

You should always expect and demand professionalism and confidentiality from a recruiter.

Access to the hidden job market

Typically recruiters work on filling roles that have been officially advertised. However, a really good recruiter will often know when a vacancy might be coming up.

Recruiters often have the inside track on who’s up for promotion or who might be on the way out. This means they’ll have an idea of when a company might like to see a resume like yours.

We refer to this as the hidden job market and getting access to these unadvertised vacancies is great for your job search.

What shouldn’t you expect from a recruiter?

Let’s look at what you cannot realistically expect from a recruiter or recruitment agency

Constant contact

Candidates like regular updates, panic when things go quiet and typically email, text and call recruiters way too much.

This is one of the biggest frustrations for a recruiter and it’s often the thing that turns a relationship sour.

Expect a recruiter to update you after an interview, speak to you before the interview and pick up or respond to one call or message per week.

You’re not the only candidate that they are working with and your role isn’t the only role that they are recruiting for.

On top of this recruiters get hundreds of LinkedIn messages, emails, calls and texts every week. It’s just not possible to respond to them all.

However, a weekly request for a progress update is perfectly reasonable so try to stick to that.

Don’t expect too much loyalty from a recruiter

You might have a great relationship you have with a recruiter. However, they will always put their best candidates forward for a role.

By best candidate, I simply mean the candidate that most closely matches the role requirements and is most likely to get the job.

A typical shortlist will usually contain 3-5 resumes. It’s unlikely that you’ll ever be the only candidate in the running for a role.

Don’t forget this, a recruitment company gets paid when they place a candidate. They are often up against other recruitment agencies and therefore they can’t risk putting forward anyone but the best.

Guarantees

Recruiters are salespeople and salespeople are great at telling you what you want to hear.

Just remember that no matter what they tell you, a recruiter can never guarantee you a role!

It’s not unusual for a role to be filled internally or even to be pulled off the table. This can happen even after you’ve had four interviews and met the CEO.

It’s just the way the world of recruitment works. That’s why working with a recruitment company does not guarantee you a job.

Miracles

You might be an amazing candidate with the perfect resume. However, if the role you want doesn’t exist, don’t expect miracles.

Recruitment companies should form part of your job search strategy. Only remember that they are just one of many tools you need to employ. There is no silver bullet when it comes to your job search.

Conclusion

During my time as a recruitment consultant in Dubai, I was able to build many great relationships with great candidates.

I was able to place many fantastic candidates into positions with Mondelez, Kellogg’s, Arla, Fonterra, Mars and many others.

There were even some candidates that I even placed more than once as their careers progressed.

Those who were most open to building a long-term relationship benefited the most from our services.

I often caught up for coffee with candidates every few months, even after I placed them into a role. It was during these times that we were able to share what was going on in the market.

It was also when I was able to share who was hiring and learn who was on the move.

The smartest and most forward-thinking candidates saw the benefits of these relationships.

And that’s what I would advise you to do also.