Using Recruiters to find a job. 3

[DestroJones]

I'm currently employed and have put myself out there on a popular job posting site and have been contacted now by 3 separate recruiters.

I verbally committed to work with the 1st and the 2nd.

Is it wrong to work with more than one? They are kinda like real estate agents. It would be wrong to work with more than one real estate agent. But unlike real estate agents , recruiters don't have access to all of the same jobs.

 

[rbulsara]

As long as you do not have any limiting official contract with anyone, there is nothing you cannot do to seek employment for yourself or looking out for your own interest.




Rafiq Bulsara

http://www.srengineersct.com

 

[MintJulep]

Recruiters are more like used car salesmen. They have no morals or ethics at all.

They are tools to be used and exploited on the off chance that they might help you land a job.

Certainly they shouldn't be your only tool.

It seems that when a recruiter and a hiring company enter a relationship the recruiter pushes very hard to be "exclusive" for the company or specific position. So it's unlikely that two recruiters will contact you about the same job. If it does happen you might consider "this sounds very similar to a position that I'm already speaking with another recruiter about."

 

[DestroJones]

They all want me to get on their company website and basically re-create my resume in their sign up info. It's getting tedious.

 

[macmet]

I was laid off late last year and had a tough time finding a job. In the almost six months I was laid off I was probably contacted by 25 recruiters, most of who promised they could find me something very soon.

At first I got my hopes up, but a couple weeks would go by and they wouldn't even remember who I was. Eventually I came to the conclusion that they would say pretty much anything to try to fill a spot with whoever they could find. They had no loyalty to me at all and I'm sure if I didn't return their call they'd just move on. I'm sure they do actually fill the roles they call about, but I get the feeling they tell a lot more people they're the perfect fit for the job than actually are.

So, no, it's not unethical. It could be a waste of time though. Granted, if you were unemployed, getting your name and resume out there can only help.

 

[TheTick]

Important rule: NEVER let a recruiter submit your resume to ANYONE until you know the name and location of the firm. If you get double-submitted, you will be double-roundfiled.

If the recruiter doesn't trust you enough to tell you such details, end the relationship.

 

[macmet]

Another note about recruiters. They often take your resume and edit it. I've gone through resumes from recruiters that look like garbage. Try to encourage submitting in PDF form.

You may have noticed by now, I am not a fan of recruiters anymore. If you put in the legwork yourself, it'll pay off in the end. IMO anyway.

 

[KENAT]

"They all want me to get on their company website and basically re-create my resume in their sign up info. It's getting tedious. "

It's not just recruiters that require that, many large organizations/companies are the same.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[MikeHalloran]

On the bright side, the automated resume mangler technology is getting better, so it picks out at least some of the right info from a Word doc.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[zer0c123]

Guess you're talking about staffing agents. You hear negative and positive things about them. Usually before I make any decision I ask them to tell me more about their agency, so I canresearch that they are legit or not.

Most of them won't even tell you the name of client, because of confidentiality. I think this is because clients don't want you calling them directly about the job. Many small companies don't have their own HR departments.

 

[beej67]

Be careful.

When I was interviewing back on 2002, I went with a recruiter. He got me an interview with Company A, a smaller one-office engineering company, and I got an interview with Company B on my own, a very large national engineering outfit that had several different offices in my city.

The office I interviewed at for Company B was doing very complicated environmental modeling, and I really liked the job, but it turns out that my same recruiter was on contract with someone at the OTHER office of Company B, which was doing site engineering for land development. I did not want a job in the other office, and my interview had nothing to do with the other office, but the recruiter, on finding out that I'd interviewed with Company B, muscled them so he could get a fee if I took the job even though he wasn't involved at all. In the end, I lost the offer at Company B because of him. It took all my willpower not to waltz into his office and start breaking things.

Recruiters are scum.

Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East -

http://www.campbellcivil.com

 

[rscassar]

I would talk with more than 1 recruiter at a time. But saying that, I prefer the thrill off going solo.

 

[tygerdawg]

Recruiters (hhhoooiiccchhhh, ptooo): The job-seeking equivalent of being tossed a chainsaw running at full throttle. If you catch it just right, it's a useful tool. Otherwise you're screwed.

Online resume submittal tools aren't much better.

My rule after many trials & errors playing this game: ALWAYS try for one-on-one personal contact first.

Develop your skills, bypass strategies, and rehearse your phrases to get past the gatekeepers (the HR Weasels), work on your 10-second door-opening sales pitch, learn how to sell yourself for any potential need that the company has. Research, research, research, network, network, network, be tenacious, clever, innovative, and ALWAYS superlatively professional. They can only tell you "no", but if you leave them with a good impression it has high potential to pay off handsomely later or from an unforeseen quarter.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[rscassar]

In my opinion, it is more effective to sweet talk the HR weasel. People skills sells more than anything.

 

[HPRifleman]

I have 15 years of working experience in my engineering career. All of my positions have been acquired through recruiters. Not because I like them, but because they were able to deliver the jobs and get my resume in front of people.

The negative attitude is understandable in some cases but for me they are just one tool in my ability to advance my career.

For the original poster, recruiters are like real estate agents only in the respect that a client (someone selling their house or a company looking to hire) contracts them to find someone (a house buyer or a candidate for employment). There is no requirement that you only work with one.

Actually I would recommend that you work with as many recruiters as you can. Each one will increase your chances of your resume being seen by potential companies. In the technical recruiting field there should be no reason for you to pay any fee.

 

[Radagast]

Star for HPR.

I will add... Do not allow your contract houses (Recruiters) to submit you to the same posting. You will get black balled.

20yrs Contract work and love it.

Mike

 

[shamsdebout]

When I was laid off I wanted to make sure I used all my resources. A couple recruiters contacted me and while I think they tried they weren't of much help. I contacted a recruiter that a former co-worker recommended and he helped me set up an interview fairly quickly. Unfortunately I didn't get the job but I do think he tried and I was grateful for his efforts. I found a job on my own. He has since contacted me for other opportunities but I told him I am currently content.

I recommend using recruiters, they are available resources that can be of assistance. The ones who keep in touch with you normally are serious about what they are doing.

 

[kelowna]

I get contacted very frequently with 'wonderful opportunities'.

My rules is that I will hear them out, I will supply my resume ONLY if they have a real opportunity and I am interested on it. I only send PDF copies of my resume. I get a firm commitment that they will not supply my resume to any company without my previous, explicit agreement.

That weeds out about 99% of the recruiters leaving only the serious ones or the ones with an actual, real opportunity. Surprising how many of them talk about an open position and ask for your resume, but when you request details of the position as a requirement before you send it, they do not even bother to answer back.

 

[dtse86]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...18880.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_careerjournal

A good article I stumbled on about recruiters.